Sarah slept like a log that night, definitely the best night’s sleep she had had since opening James’s letter. The first thing she did when she woke was to check her phone and she was delighted to see that James hadn’t tried to contact her again, either by phone or by text. She turned the ring volume back on, feeling greatly relieved to have made the decision. Hopefully the penny had now dropped with him and he wouldn’t bother her again.
She was dressed and ready by seven-thirty and the first person into the breakfast room. To her considerable pleasure, the next to arrive was Miles. She saw him glance around, register that they were the only two in the dining room for now, and then make his way over to her table. He looked down towards her. ‘Hi, Sarah. You’re up early this morning. Couldn’t you sleep?’ A flicker of concern crossed his face.
She shook her head. ‘Very much the opposite. I’ve just had a really good night’s sleep. What about you?’
‘So-so. It’s my own fault. I let myself get roped in to a pizza party last night with the gang. Needless to say, I ate and drank too much.’
Sarah found herself wondering if the “gang” included Jo, and felt pretty sure it did. Repressing a snort, she told him where she had been. ‘I was actually out for dinner with your brother.’ A distinct cloud crossed his face now and she remembered what Paul had said about Miles making him swear not to bother her. She hastened to explain. ‘We’re not talking a romantic soirée à deux, just two friends hanging out. It was a fantastic meal and I had a really good time.’ She caught Miles’s eye. ‘He can be very good, civilised company, you know.’
‘When he wants to be…’ Miles ran his hand through his hair wearily. ‘If only he’d do it more often.’
‘He will, Miles, I’m sure of it.’ She hesitated and then repeated what she had said to his brother the other night. ‘Would you promise me something, Miles?’ She saw him nod cautiously. ‘Would you and Paul take some time to sit down together and talk? I know he’s going to be good for the company and I’m sure he’ll work hard. Just talk to him, you’ll see.’
Miles stood there for a few seconds, looking down at the table. Finally he reached a decision. ‘If that’s what you want me to do, I’ll do it.’ He caught her eye and even managed a little smile that sliced straight to her heart. ‘For you, anything.’
‘Anything?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. Delighted to see him looking and sounding communicative once more, she pointed to the spare chairs at her table. ‘Are you going to join me?’
He was about to take a seat beside her – indeed he already had his hand on the back of the chair – when the three Welsh girls descended upon him like a cloud of locusts and spirited him off to another table. He barely had time to throw Sarah a despairing wave before he was engulfed and marched away. Sarah sighed and sat back, signalling to the waitress. ‘Un cappuccino, per favore.’
‘E un espresso per me.’ She looked up and saw Gianluca come into the room.
‘Ciao, Sara. Can I join you?’
She gave him a big smile and indicated the chair that, until a moment ago, had been earmarked for Miles.
‘How’re you doing, Gianluca? You’ve been looking a whole lot happier lately.’
He nodded his head. ‘That’s because I am. I think this trip’s doing us all good.’
At that moment, Jean-Pierre and Véronique appeared at the door and Sarah waved at them. ‘Hi, you two. Did you enjoy your meal in the cellar last night?’
They walked across and Sarah couldn’t help noticing they were holding hands. Clearly, they had decided to come out of the closet. In fact, she soon discovered what had been responsible for last night’s celebrations. Véronique very proudly extended her hand in Sarah’s direction, showing off a rather nice, probably antique, diamond ring.
‘Jean-Pierre asked me to marry him.’ Véronique looked across tenderly at her new fiancé and Sarah had to combat a feeling of foreboding. Just because it hadn’t worked out for her didn’t mean it wouldn’t work out for them. She managed to look encouraging
‘Congratulations, the pair of you. How exciting. We’d better issue a warning next time we organise one of these trips. Can result in life-changing decisions.’ She stood up and went over to kiss them both. As the word spread around the dining room, the others came over to add their congratulations as well. As Miles came to wish them well, Sarah spotted a momentary cloud across his face before he rallied. She caught his eye and tried in that brief exchange to convey her sympathy, feeling sure he had been thinking about his wife. She sat back down beside Gianluca and got him to go through the route with her, as much to rid herself of the feeling of despondency that had so suddenly descended upon her, than out of real interest.
He was happy to oblige. ‘Seeing as this is the last full day and tomorrow’s just a short run downhill to the airport, we’re going out with a bang today. We’re climbing up into the Monti Cimini, and that involves a climb that’s only a few metres short of the climb up to San Marino.’ Sarah looked up and saw Jean-Pierre looking worried. Beside him, Véronique’s expression hadn’t changed. In her current state of euphoria she would quite probably have received the news they were climbing Everest without batting an eyelid. Sarah gave Jean-Pierre a wink.
‘You’ll be fine, Jean-Pierre. It’s less than San Marino and you’re seven days fitter now. It’ll be easy, you’ll see.’
‘I hope so, otherwise this could be the shortest engagement ever.’ She was pleased to see he was smiling.
‘The scenery up there’s magnificent,’ Gianluca carried on. ‘The lake’s another extinct volcano and we ride round the rim of it.’ He looked up. Not only Sarah was listening. A number of the others had gathered round. ‘And the good news is that, once we’ve got up to the rim of the crater, it’ll be pretty much downhill after that.’
‘What, downhill all the way to Bracciano?’ Sarah seemed to remember it would still be a fair distance from Vico to home.
Gianluca’s answer was predictable. ‘Definitely, apart from the uphill bits.’
The first twenty kilometres were pretty tough, but everybody made it. It was yet another wonderful day, with a clear blue sky and no clouds on the horizon. Sarah was particularly pleased about this as the restaurant where they would be having their gala dinner tonight was apparently pretty much an outdoor affair, positioned right down by the lakeside.
The views all along the route, as Gianluca had predicted, were spectacular, with wooded hills, the sparkling blue water of the Lago di Vico and, as they descended, slopes cultivated with vineyards and olive trees. They stopped for coffee mid morning in a roadside café with a fine view of the lake from the terrace. It was still only eleven o’clock, but the temperature was already high. The rain the other day had disappeared without trace and, everywhere she looked, Sarah saw dusty soil and dry grass. If it didn’t start raining again soon, by the time August came around, only the very hardiest plants would have survived. She sat down under the shade of an umbrella advertising mineral water, took off her helmet and gloves, stretched her legs and ordered an espresso and a bottle of that same water. She rather hoped Miles would come along and sit with her, but instead, she was joined by the three Americans.
‘Hi, boys, how was the climb?’
Chuck was the first to reply. Sarah noticed he was definitely looking leaner and fitter and was very pleased to hear his answer. ‘Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. And the run down from the top has been great fun.’
‘That’s because you’re all a whole lot fitter now. So, are you flying straight back?’
This time Mike replied. ‘Unfortunately, yes. We were just saying, it’s a shame the trip’s coming to an end just when we’re getting fit enough to enjoy it, rather than just struggling to keep up.’
Sarah, too, had regrets. Her main regret was that the end of the ride tomorrow would mean a return to London, and to the sad remains of her previous life. ‘I know what you mean.’ She couldn’t suppress a sigh. ‘And then it’ll be back to reality again for all of us.’ She looked up. ‘So, have you enjoyed it?’
‘It’s been great.’ Chuck had no doubts and, from the way the other two were nodding their heads, neither did they. ‘A fabulous bit of organisation and you’ve been fantastic, Sarah. You’ve been our guardian angel, encouraging us and helping and just making everything go so well.’
‘Apart from the accident to poor old Lars, we’ve been very lucky. Everything’s gone remarkably smoothly.’ She didn’t mention the near fiasco of the gala dinner. ‘Let’s hope our good luck holds. Just try not to fall off between here and the airport.’
Mike gave her a broad smile. ‘We promise we’ll be on our best behaviour. What time do you expect we’ll get to the airport tomorrow?’
Sarah sat back and did a quick calculation. As she did so, she spotted Miles in the distance, sitting on a bench overlooking the lake, deep in conversation with Paul. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction at having pushed the two brothers together and hoped they would sort out their differences. She gave them a little wave and they both waved back. Returning her attention to Mike, she did a quick calculation. ‘It’s a very easy ride, mostly downhill or on the flat, and I reckon it’s only about fifty kilometres, so I would think we should be there by noon or one o’clock at the latest. What time’s your flight?’
‘Five-thirty, so we should have bags of time, even if we all eat and drink too much tonight.’
‘Of course, you all know it’s the gala dinner tonight, and you’ll be able to dance the night away.’ For a moment, Sarah caught Dan’s eye and read a clear expression of regret, no doubt at the thought of his liaison with Polly finishing or, at least, being interrupted. Polly herself hadn’t been as cheery as usual this morning and Sarah felt pretty sure that, although at the start of the trip it had been Polly comforting her, now, at the end of it, the roles were going to be reversed. She did her best to lighten the mood. ‘Have you all brought your ball gowns?’
‘And my dancing shoes, honey,’ Chuck was the first to reply. ‘Now that’s a thought. You’re going to be very popular. Can I have the first dance with you, Sarah?’
‘And the second with me.’ Mike was quick to jump in.
‘It’s a deal. And Dan, if you can spare any time away from Polly, you and I haven’t had a dance together yet. Do I put you on my list as number three?’
‘Just try and stop me, Sarah.’ Dan gave her a grin and then adopted a patently phoney grimace. ‘By the way, I think I can feel my sore leg coming on again. I think I’d better travel in the van with Polly from now on.’
‘Very sensible, Dan. You’ll need two good legs for the dancing tonight.’
They arrived at their destination in the early afternoon. The lake of Bracciano was two or three times bigger than Vico, and the hills around it were considerably lower, giving the whole area a less enclosed feel. The town itself sat about a hundred vertical metres above the surface of the lake and was dominated by the medieval castle. Their hotel was a little further round the lake, right down by the water, and there was even a beach close by. The hotel itself was made up of three separate buildings, all very old. The main part housed the majority of the bedrooms, but some of the group were accommodated in smaller, even more ancient-looking buildings in the grounds. As the rooms were allocated, Sarah felt a little twinge of regret when she saw that, although she was in the main building, Miles had been allocated the only room in the smaller of the two old annexes, a ramshackle-looking little stone tower that appeared to be held together by the ivy climbing its no doubt medieval walls. No sooner did this feeling come than she chased it away. What did it matter where he was lodged? Nothing was going to happen between them, that was pretty plain.
Needless to say, as soon as they got to their rooms, most people came straight back out again and headed for the water. Sarah followed suit, but wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see that neither Dan nor Polly appeared. Of course, he had to rest his sore leg, after all.
Sarah dumped her towel and walked cautiously over the coarse sand and gravel beach to the water’s edge and paddled in up to her knees. The water wasn’t too cold, but it was definitely chilly. Presumably it was a deep lake and the water was still feeling the effects of winter. From the road signs they had seen on the way here, just as in Umbria, snow and ice were not uncommon in the winter months so the temperatures would be low. She walked out until she could duck down and wet her shoulders, giving a little gasp as her overheated body came into contact with the water. She let herself slip forward and started to swim, using a slow, lazy breaststroke. After a little way, she rolled over and floated on her back, eyes screwed shut, feeling the warmth of the sun on her body.
‘Hi, Sarah, I recognised you from the other side of the road. There’s something unmistakable about the sight of you in a bikini.’
For a moment she thought it might be Miles, and she was already smiling as she rolled back onto her front again. But this time she had got it wrong. It was Paul who was swimming out towards her, shaking his head. ‘Blimey, it’s cold.’ Although it wasn’t Miles, the smile didn’t leave her face.
‘So would you be, Paul, if you’d been lying here all winter. Only a few months ago there was quite probably ice on here, you know.’
He swam right up to her and stopped close by, treading water. He glanced around but there was nobody within earshot. ‘I wanted to tell you, I had a long chat to Miles this morning and again this afternoon. We’ve been talking about the future of the business and I really get the feeling he’s coming round to trusting me at last. We’ve cleared the air, talking about a whole load of stuff, going back to our childhood. By the way, I owned up and told him about how you saved my bacon as far as tonight’s party’s concerned and how I was actually hiding in your bathroom while he was at your door.’
‘I wouldn’t have breathed a word.’ Secretly, Sarah was very pleased, especially as Paul had also been able to explain to his brother why it was he had been in her bedroom.
‘I knew you wouldn’t have said anything, but I wanted to square things with him. I owe it to him to be honest about my mistakes.’ He ran one hand through his hair and, annoyingly, it still sprang back into shape. Sarah could feel hers plastered down all over her head. ‘I know I have responsibilities to people other than myself, and I promised him, and I promise you, I’ll live up to them.’
‘You don’t need to promise me anything, Paul. You and your brother are in charge. As long as you two trust each other, that’s all that’s needed.’ Sarah was smiling. Somehow she really got the feeling he was telling her the truth and that could only be good for everybody in the company.
‘And, by the way, before coming down to the beach, I stopped off at the restaurant you booked for tonight to check it out, and it’s amazing. It’s only a couple of hundred yards away, right on the lakeside. The tables are on a sort of deck, built out right over the water. It’s going to be awesome.’ He gave her a grin. ‘Which reminds me, are you going to dance with me tonight?’
‘Join the queue, buster.’ She grinned back at him. ‘I’ll pencil you in at number four unless I get a better offer.’
***
Paul hadn’t been joking. The restaurant looked every bit as good as he had described it. When Sarah got there at seven o’clock, she was delighted to find a huge table already set for them and a very cordial manageress waiting to greet her. Equally good news was that the band had already brought along a load of instruments, amplifiers and speakers in readiness for their appearance, scheduled for nine-thirty. As Paul had described it, the terrace of the restaurant extended out over the water on stilts and that whole area had been reserved for their group. Above their heads was a trellis covered in vines and, if you listened carefully, you could just hear the gentle lapping of wavelets below them. It was a unique and romantic spot and, just for a moment, Sarah wished she wasn’t here with a big group of people. To be here with one special person would be perfect, especially if that person wasn’t still deep in mourning for his former wife.
She didn’t have much time for thinking of what might have been, as only a few minutes later Polly arrived with the bag of prizes. This had been Polly’s idea and Sarah had agreed enthusiastically. They had prepared prizes for Fastest Going Uphill, Craziest Going Downhill, Most Lurid Clothes, and a load of others. When Polly saw Sarah, she gave an appreciative whistle.
‘Wow, Sarah, where’ve you been hiding that dress? It’s gorgeous.’
Sarah had bought the very expensive silk dress in the sales six months earlier and this was the first time she had chosen to wear it. It was a lovely cream colour, fairly short, with a halter neck that showed off her shoulders and back.
‘I bought this to take on my honeymoon, but seeing as that didn’t happen, I’m determined to get my money’s worth. The only problem with it is that I haven’t got anywhere to put my phone.’ She felt pleased to be able to talk about her honeymoon without feeling miserable and Polly noticed as well.
‘Give me your phone, I’ll stick it in my pocket. It’s great to see you smiling again, Sarah. In fact, you’ve been smiling a lot over the past few days. I reckon this means you’re getting back to normal, don’t you?’
Sarah thought hard before answering. ‘I’m not really sure what normal is any more. This is beginning to feel pretty normal. You know, get up, rub on sun cream, ride a bike, get tired, eat too much, go to bed.’ She didn’t add the word alone, but she was thinking it. ‘To be honest, the idea of going back to London feels a bit strange now, but I suppose I’ll just slip back into it. But, as far as the smiling’s concerned, yes, I’m feeling a hell of a lot happier than I did two weeks ago.’
As everybody started to turn up, Sarah and Polly were on hand to welcome them with a drink. Jean-Pierre and Véronique were among the first to arrive and she was looking beautiful, wearing a gorgeous black maxi dress that was also open down the back, but unlike Sarah’s, this one was open almost to her bottom. Jean-Pierre couldn’t keep his eyes, or his hands, off her. Paul and Miles arrived together, both looking very smart, and Sarah was especially pleased to see the two brothers together. As it was a special occasion, Sarah and Polly were greeting everybody with kisses, and when her turn came to kiss Miles, Sarah felt her knees go weak as his hands touched the bare skin of her back. As his lips brushed her cheeks, she felt for a moment as though she was going to faint. This delicious, light-headed moment lasted until her eyes alighted on those of Paul, with a funny expression on his face. As he caught her eye, he winked and she blushed. Gathering her strength, she released Miles.
‘How’s your room in the tower?’
‘Amazing. It’s remarkably modern inside although the structure was probably around back in the days of the Borgias. I’m all on my own so I hope I won’t be lonely.’
Sarah would dearly have loved to offer to keep him company, but, of course, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead she stuck to her hostess role. ‘There are drinks on the tray, Miles.’ The way she was feeling after his touch, she didn’t trust her fingers to reach for the glass without spilling half of it.
‘Thanks, Sarah. That was a lovely welcome.’ It looked to her as if Miles had also enjoyed their brief moment, but he moved on without further comment and she turned her attention to the next arrivals, among whom she saw Diana, looking stunning in a very revealing dress whose neckline plunged almost as low as the back of Véronique’s dress. As the others arrived, she noticed Jo appeared to have relinquished Miles as a potential target in favour of Mike. Somehow, that pleased Sarah.
By the time of the prize-giving, everybody had arrived and spirits were high. A special award of a whistle was made to Glynis, to help her if she ever got lost again, and the prize for being the fastest uphill inevitably went to Terri. Papers were circulated and the men and women in the group held secret ballots to determine the sexiest man and woman. When the results were handed to Sarah, in her role as mistress of ceremonies, she wasn’t surprised to find Paul had swept the board among the women, while she was genuinely surprised to discover that she had won the men’s vote. There were many things she had been feeling over the past couple of weeks, but sexy definitely wasn’t one of them. As it was a secret ballot, only she and Polly had seen the results, so she fiddled the vote so that Véronique won the sexiest girl category. Polly gave her a quizzical look, but Sarah just gave the slightest shake of the head and made no comment. She finished with little presentations of her own to Gianluca for being a wonderful guide and to Polly for being so efficient, cheerful and, above all, for having spent so much of her time looking after poor Dan with his sore leg. Dan got an ironic chorus of boos and Polly got a lovely necklace.
By the end of the prize-giving, everybody had got a prize of some sort, even if it was a packet of antacid tablets for Weakest Stomach. By now, it was time to eat and Sarah told everybody to take a seat. She sat down halfway along the table, while Paul and Miles took up stations at opposing ends and Polly sat opposite her, with Gianluca alongside. Terri, needless to say, was right next to him on his other side. Once everybody was seated, Sarah heard a knife being struck against a glass and the noise volume around the table dropped. She saw Chuck, down towards the far end of the table, stand up.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a suitable moment to make our own presentation. As the oldest and ugliest person here, I’ve been given the job. We’ve all had a terrific time and we all agree the organisation has been second to none. You even fixed the weather for us, apart from that one day, but hell, we all make mistakes.’ He went on to embarrass Sarah totally before finishing with the words, ‘So, as a little sign of our appreciation to you, Sarah, for making everything run like clockwork and for helping even slowcoaches like me to get up the hills, here’s a little present from us all.’ There was a burst of clapping around the table and a small package, beautifully wrapped and tied with a ribbon, was handed to her. Before she could open it, there were cries of ‘Speech, speech’. Sarah was coaxed into standing up by Polly and Gianluca, and was, for a moment, lost for words. She looked around the table and saw smiling, happy faces and she knew it really had been a good trip.
‘Thank you, Chuck, and thank you all. I was just doing my job, you know. I’m lucky enough to have a job I love and maybe that’s why things went so well. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends to accompany me on this ride and, believe me, I really mean it when I call you friends.’ She glanced down at the package in her hands. ‘There was no need for this, but thank you so much for thinking of me. I’m the one who should be thanking you all.’ She raised her glass. ‘To all of you, cheers.’
As she sat back down again, Polly leant across the table. ‘Here, you’ve just got a text.’ She handed Sarah her phone. Looking down at the caller ID, Sarah saw it was from Lars. Hoping for the best, she swiped the green button and clicked on the message. It was short and very sweet.
Home safe and well. Feeling a lot better. Thank you, Sarah, for everything. Say hi to everybody there for me. Hope it’s been a great ride. Lars
Sarah stood up again and clapped her hands. ‘Just to tell you I’ve had a text from Lars. He’s doing just fine, and he says hi to you all.’ There was another round of applause and she sat down again and sent him a reply.
So pleased. Everybody sends love. Get well soon. XX Sarah
‘Well, go on, open the present.’ Polly reached over and took the phone back while Sarah undid the ribbon and looked into the package. Inside was a small, oblong box and, inside that, she was delighted to find a very smart new watch. She took it out and held it up so everybody could see.
‘That’s awesome, guys. I was going to buy myself a cheap watch at the airport and you’ve been and gone and replaced my broken one with this beauty.’ She blew kisses around the table as she slipped it on her wrist. ‘Thank you all so very much.’
The meal began and Sarah was thrilled and relieved to find it as good as she had hoped. The starters were numerous and varied, with excellent lasagne to follow. The wines were local and very drinkable, and the main course was wild boar in a rich, red-wine sauce. The dessert trolley, when it came round, was a glutton’s delight, with tiramisu, fruit tarts, chocolate cake, profiteroles and a choice of ice creams and sorbets. A couple of bottles of limoncello were circulated afterwards and, as the band struck up, Sarah was having serious doubts about whether she would be able to get up from her seat, let alone start dancing.
In fact, they all had to get up as their big table was dismembered and turned into smaller tables that were installed around the edges of the dance area. By this time, the band had launched into some kind of indefinable Euro-beat tune that started to attract people out onto the dance floor. Sarah felt a touch on her arm.
‘A promise is a promise. First dance.’
Sarah danced with Chuck and then the others until she had danced with pretty much everybody, including Glynis and a few of the other girls. As before, the one person who didn’t venture onto the dance floor was Miles. From time to time Sarah spotted him, steadfastly refusing the blandishments of a queue of women, all trying to get him up and dancing, but to no avail. When her new watch told her it was half past eleven, she took a break and helped herself to a glass of cool water. Even though tomorrow’s ride was short and flat, she had no intention of drinking any more alcohol, but she knew she had to keep hydrated as the temperature was still high, even now. She looked carefully around the dance floor, but there was no sign of Miles anywhere. After drinking the last of the water in her glass, she slipped out through the main part of the restaurant and onto the beach. She stood by the water’s edge for a few minutes while her eyes got used to the darkness and she started to cool down in the gentle breeze coming in off the water. Fifty yards away was a hefty tree trunk, washed up on the shore, and, as her night vision improved, she made out the shape of a figure sitting on it. She had a very strong suspicion she knew who it might be. She walked slowly along the beach until she was sure she knew it was him sitting there.
‘Miles, is that you?’
‘Sarah? Hi. I thought that looked like you in the starlight.’ He sounded tired.
‘Mind if I join you?’
‘Mind? Not at all.’ Sarah took a seat alongside him, both facing out across the still waters of the lake. The surface of the wood was smooth beneath her bare legs, as no doubt countless other people had also sat here, enjoying the view. There was very little light pollution and the sky was a mass of stars – so many that she realised they were actually shedding enough light to create faint shadows. She and Miles sat in silence for a while before she glanced towards him. Sensing the movement from her, he turned his face in her direction and she saw the starlight twinkle in his eyes.
‘You doing all right, Miles?’ She didn’t need to say more. Both of them knew why he hadn’t felt able to join in the fun and games.
‘I suppose so, Sarah.’ She realised that what she had initially interpreted as tiredness was in fact sorrow. ‘I’ve just been sitting here thinking. I’ve been to the lake before. I came here three or four times with Lucia, my wife, when I was living in Rome. We used to stay a bit further round the side of the lake, in a little hotel only a couple of miles from here, over to the west. It was a lovely, romantic spot and we had some good times there.’
‘I didn’t know. I’m sorry. So this visit has been bringing up all sorts of sad memories?’
She heard him take a deep breath before answering. ‘No, not sad, Sarah; happy and lovely memories. Like I say, we had some good times here. The sad part is that we’ll never have them again – at least, not together.’
Sarah couldn’t think of the right thing to say so she stayed quiet for a while and he seemed happy with the silence. Finally, she was just about to try changing the subject, just to get him talking about happier things, when he reached over and caught her arm with his hand. He let his fingers run down until they reached her hand and he took it in a gentle grip.
‘You’re wonderful, Sarah, you know that?’
She was so confused by the sensations his touch had spread throughout her body that she found herself floundering for words. ‘Me, wonderful?’
‘Yes, wonderful, and beautiful, and clever and kind and thoughtful. Everybody back there,’ he said, nodding in the direction of the music, ‘they all feel it and so do I. So does my brother, for that matter. I’ve never seen him so taken with anybody. By the way, I did as you asked and he and I had a long talk today and I think we’ve got things sorted out. You were right, you know; he has matured.’
Sarah was delighted to get confirmation of what Paul had told her. It looked like good relations had been restored between the brothers. She was acutely conscious of the feel of Miles’s hand on hers and did her best to keep the tone light. ‘Paul?’ She gave a little snort. ‘He keeps asking me to marry him.’ She hoped Miles could hear the humour in her voice but, just in case he missed it, she added. ‘I like Paul a lot now. I think I understand him better than before. As for marriage, he and I both know that’s just a joke.’
‘Why a joke? Is there someone else?’
For a moment, Sarah toyed with the idea of just blurting out her growing affection for him, but, cautious as ever, she resisted the temptation. Instead, she deliberately chose to misunderstand the question. ‘Someone else? I would think there’s a queue a mile long for your brother’s hand.’
‘And you, after your awful experience, do you think you’ll ever find somebody else?’ His voice was low, but insistent.
‘Maybe I have, Miles…’ She waited for him to probe further, but all she heard was the band’s rendition of an Italian ballad, with the singer’s tuneful voice lingering long over the notes. Finally, she decided to take the initiative. ‘And you, Miles? Do you think you’ll ever get over Lucia? It must be so very, very hard to lose a loved one like that.’
‘I’ve got to move on with my life, Sarah. I know that. It’s just so very, very tough.’
She sat there with him in silence until the band struck up again with their version of Elton John’s plaintive ‘Your Song’. Reaching a decision, she stood up, still holding his hand, and tugged him to his feet. ‘You and I haven’t ever danced together, you know. You owe me at least one dance, Miles.’
He hesitated a bit longer and then, instead of following her back towards the band, she felt his arms reach out and encircle her waist right there where they were standing. She stretched up and let her hands meet behind his neck as she rested her head against his chest, both of them moving slowly in time to the music as they danced on the beach in the starlight. She relaxed against him, loving the feel of him against her, loving this wonderful romantic spot and, deep down, knowing she loved this poor, heartbroken man.
When the music finished, they stayed like that, holding each other, rocking gently from side to side until he removed one of his hands and gently caught hold of her chin, raising her face towards his. She looked up into his eyes, hardly daring to breathe as he leant towards her.
Finally, at long last, their lips met and they kissed. It wasn’t a long, passionate kiss, but a soft, gentle kiss that reached right down through Sarah and turned her knees to jelly. She felt herself slump forward against him, his arms tightening to support her as she pressed against his powerful chest, loving the feel of his lips, his hands, his whole body against her. She could have stayed just like that for ever, but, after not nearly long enough, he stepped back, still supporting her in his outstretched arms. The starlight reflecting in his watery eyes betrayed the depths of his emotional turmoil.
After a long silence, he cleared his throat. ‘Sarah, I’m going to need some time.’
She pulled herself tight up against him once more and snuggled her head against his chest.
‘Take as long as you need, Miles. I’ll wait. As long as it takes.’
She felt his lips on the top of her head as he kissed her softly. Then he released his hold upon her, stepped back, turned and headed off up the beach towards the hotel.
Sarah stood there, alone but not unhappy, for what felt like a long time, long enough for the sweat on her body to dry and her heart to slow down to normal once more. Finally, as a distant bell chimed twelve, she surfaced once more and looked back towards the restaurant. The band were playing an Italian version of ‘Jailhouse Rock’ that would probably have had Elvis spinning in his grave, and she could see the outlines of the members of the group all up and dancing, celebrating their great achievement. As for her, she wasn’t going to start celebrating yet, but she knew a watershed had been reached.