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‘What? I didn’t do that?’

‘Really?’ Giles looked at a random table. ‘You saw him, right?’

‘Absolutely. Yes, absolutely,’ a woman replied. Several other people hurriedly nodded.

Without even a hint of a smirk at having got people so quickly onside, Giles turned back to Craig. ‘They will all give their statements, and I might even press charges. So you have a choice – leave content that you’ve already enjoyed a load of free drinks, or stay and get a free night’s accommodation in a police cell. I’m fine with either option.’

54

A genuine round of applause rose through the air the minute the men left the restaurant. By that time, the actual hotel manager had appeared and was looking most confused as the group scurried away, shame-faced. By contrast, Giles strolled back to his and Holly’s table, receiving countless pats on the back en route.

‘Thank you so much,’ Clara, the waitress said when she came over to them. ‘They were going to be trouble. They had the champagne brunch this morning and saw the free flow as a challenge. I said I didn’t want them in, but it’s not my job to make calls on something like that.’

‘I’m just glad it’s all sorted,’ Giles said, ‘and obviously I will pay for all of their drinks.’

‘That’s okay,’ the waitress replied. ‘Someone else covered it. They didn’t want me to point out who, but they said that you’d already done your bit, they could do theirs. And somebody else paid for your meal too.’

‘Really? Thank you. I… Thank you.’

She smiled broadly, clearly pleased at the effect their generosity had had on Giles. ‘I’ll just go get your food. It shouldn’t be a minute.’

A moment later, she was gone and the rest of the diners were getting back to the meals.

‘Wow, quite the hero, aren’t you?’ Holly said, but she couldn’t help grinning. ‘Although you know, I’m not sure you’d have actually got away with lying to the police and saying he attacked you. They would have probably wanted to see some evidence of that.’

‘I knew it would never get that far. I’ve dealt with hundreds of idiots like him on the yacht. People who think they’re entitled to everything and that every person wearing a uniform is below them. The minute you actually call them out for their behaviour, they haven’t got a leg to stand on.’

‘Well, you did a good thing there. A really good thing.’

Rather than smiling at Holly’s comment as she expected, Giles looked unusually saddened.

‘You know, when I sometimes think about myself and how I spent so many years like Craig, thinking I was above people, it makes my skin crawl. I actually feel physically sick.’

‘You were never that bad,’ Holly said.

‘I wasn’t, but I was very close,’ he replied. ‘And then I do something like snap at a waitress, who’s just being friendly like she’s supposed to be, and it feels like I’m right back there again. Like I haven’t changed. Like maybe this other version of myself has just been a facade.’

All the joy that had been buzzing around only a moment before was fading. Holly leaned across the table, needing to be closer so he knew she was listening.

‘Giles, I have never known anybody who makes more of an effort to be a good person. Or doubts that they are so much. Everybody has bad days. Everybody has moments where they say things they regret. When they snap because they’re tired or… in your case, hungry. That doesn’t make you a bad person. And the fact that you’re even thinking it does is proof of that.’

He nodded, but his gaze stayed fixed on the table. When Holly followed suit and looked down, she realised why. At some point, their fingers had become completely entwined. They crossed so perfectly and were so at ease, she hadn’t even noticed. A thick lump filled her throat as her pulse began to rise.

‘Right. Who ordered the fish?’

Holly looked up to see the waitress had returned with two plates. Hurriedly, she pulled her hands back and placed them on her lap.

‘Look at that,’ she said, avoiding Giles’s gaze completely. ‘Our food’s come.’

55

The food was delicious, although due to the complimentary desserts they were given, they spent far more time eating than expected and it was almost four before they finally went to check out the flowers.

Holly wasn’t sure what she had expected from a flower exhibition – probably vases. Beautiful vases filled with all different shapes, sizes and colours of blooms. But as she stepped into the first room, she felt the air rush from her lungs.

‘How the hell did they get that in here?’ she said.

Holly was looking at a structure that was at least ten feet high. The copper metal frame looked inches from the vaulted ceiling, and its tarnished orange blended perfectly with the reds and burnt umbers of the flowers cascading down from it. Suddenly, the word ‘exhibition’ made sense. She wasn’t looking at wedding bouquets. She was looking at art.