Page 12 of Best Laid Plans

There was a murmur of voices in the distance, which he assumed was Indigo filling the rest of her party in on the tribulations he’d put her through since they’d first clapped eyes on each other, and he dropped his head to his knees and let out a long, low breath.

So this was what payback felt like.

* * *

Indigo made it a few more metres down the path – after breezily explaining to the three women she’d made friends with at breakfast that Julien was another hiker she’d met on the walk – when her conscience refused to let her take another step.

There had been an odd expression on Julien’s face when she’d walked up to him that had lodged itself in her head and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been very wrong, despite his assertions to the contrary.

After the humiliating episode last night, she’d been determined to forget about him and carry on with her holiday in the way she’d planned – she’d be coolly friendly, of course if – no, when – they bumped into each other – but that would be it.

She wasn’t going to put herself in a position where she made a fool of herself in front of him again. Because she didn’t need an emotional roller coaster ride like that right now.

She was supposed to be looking after herself this week.

But something about the way he was sitting there still niggled at her.

‘I’m going to go back and check that Julien’s okay,’ she told her new friends, experiencing a dip of disappointment at leaving them when they’d all been getting on so well.

‘Okay. Perhaps we’ll see you in Positano,’ the more senior of the women, Ruth, said, giving her a friendly smile. There was something else in her expression too, as if she suspected there was a little more to Indigo’s about-turn than she was admitting to.

Not that it mattered what Ruth thought. Julien had helped her out by getting her the boots she was currently wearing, thus saving her holiday, and she owed him big for that.

He was probably fine anyway and would wave her concerns away in that arrogant way of his, so she’d be able to catch her new friends up again – but she just wanted to make sure.

Julien looked as though he was about to stand up as she made her way back to him along the rough, narrow path, and she began to feel foolish for worrying and was about to turn round again when she noticed that the tendons in his hands were white with tension as he clung to the rock behind him and a sheen of perspiration had broken out across his forehead.

What was going on here? Was he ill?

‘Julien? Are you sure you’re okay?’ she asked as she came within striking distance of him.

He dropped his chin to his chest at the sound of her voice, as if he was exasperated with her for coming back and bothering him again.

A sting of annoyance jabbed her, but she didn’t back off. ‘Are you feeling ill?’

He lifted his head to look at her and she could tell by the expression on his face that her instincts had been right. There was something badly wrong here.

There was a long pause where she worried whether he was even capable of answering her. Then she saw him swallow hard before letting out a long, frustrated sigh.

‘I was fine with the first bit of this walk,’ he said, his voice sounding strained, ‘but then the path got narrower and I started to feel like the ground was sloping downwards towards the drop, which made me dizzy. Logically, I know it isn’t doing that, but my brain keeps telling me otherwise.

I’ve never been great with heights, but I haven’t been affected this badly before. ’

He was afraid of heights? No wonder he looked so distressed.

‘Didn’t you read up about this bit in your guidebook?’ she asked, wondering how the heck she was going to help him get out of here. It wasn’t as if she could toss him over her shoulder and carry him the rest of the way.

He let out a huff of breath. ‘What guidebook?’

‘You don’t have a guidebook with you? Or have even looked for a walking website to check?’

‘Non. I’m – what do you English say? – winging it. I wanted to experience this holiday without any expectations.’

She couldn’t help but laugh at the superior expression on his face. ‘You are the most mercurial man I’ve ever met,’ she said, unable to stop herself from teasing him. After the way he’d acted last night, it was somewhat satisfying to get one over on him.

He gave her a rueful grin. ‘I’m glad I amuse you.’

She could tell from the shake in his voice that he was genuinely rattled, though. It must be a terrifying thing, believing that you’re stuck alone on the side of a cliff face, not able to go either forwards or back the way you came.

That thought galvanised her.

‘Okay, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to walk on the inside with one hand touching the wall or foliage, and I’ll walk next to you on the open side.

You look ahead, but slightly inland so you’re not looking at the drop the whole way along.

I’ll make sure we stay safely on the path. Okay?’

He stared at her for a moment, then blinked as if her words had taken a moment to sink in. ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’

Once again, she realised there was much more to his question than its face value. She knew what he was really asking.

Shaking her head, she put her hands on her hips. ‘You think just because we had a minor disagreement I’m going to walk away and leave you here?’

His mouth twitched at the corner and he shook his head. ‘No. That doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you’d do.’ He sighed, his exasperation with himself clear. ‘Okay. Let’s do it.’

‘Okay then. Now, give me your hand.’

He looked up at her and frowned. ‘What?’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not trying to seduce you,’ she said, laying on the sarcasm, ‘It’ll keep you grounded.’

‘I mean, what if I fall and pull you over with me? I don’t want to be responsible for tipping us both off a cliff.’

She let out a huff of breath at the doubt in his voice, but reined her irritation back in. ‘That’s not going to happen; I have fantastic balance. Now, give me your hand.’

Taking an audible breath, he let go of the rocks behind him and lifted his hand tentatively towards her.

She grasped it in one of hers. ‘Okay, good. Now stand up slowly.’

He did so, wobbling a little as he righted himself and faced the direction in which they needed to go.

‘Great, we’re set,’ she said, feeling the tension in his grip. ‘Just keep looking at the wall and I’ll guide us safely forwards.’

They set off slowly, Julien’s steps hesitant at first, but becoming more sure as they made their way slowly along the pathway. Their clasped hands grew sweaty in the heat, but she didn’t let go of him to wipe them on her shorts. She didn’t think he’d appreciate that.

‘Talk to me, take my mind off that thousand metre drop just inches away,’ he said when he wobbled a little at one point.

‘I think a thousand metres might be a slight exaggeration?—’

‘It doesn’t feel like it to me,’ he cut in gruffly.

She bit back a smile. ‘What do you want to talk about?’

‘Anything. I don’t care. Tell me about the people you’re teaching to cook.’

‘Oh, my goodness… Well, there are some real characters in my cooking group.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘There’s one guy whose wife left him six months ago after forty years of marriage because she was fed up with him being so insensitive and lazy. He’s learning how to cook so he can woo her back.’

‘Is it working?’

‘It seems so.’ She grinned at the memory. ‘Apparently his “Spaghetti Sorry-Babe” was a real hit and she’s going back this week to sample his “Apple Turnover a New Leaf”.’

She continued to tell him anecdotes about the people she’d come into contact with in the last year, actually starting to enjoy herself as she remembered things she’d not thought about for a while.

It reminded her of how rewarding it had felt to make a difference to these people’s lives. Even if it was only in some small way.

Julien listened intently, chiming in every now and again with a gruff question or comment, and by the time they reached the end of the vertiginous section and had come out into a wider, flatter path his voice sounded almost normal again.

She was glad to have been able to help him, even though, as usual, he’d made it unnecessarily difficult for her.

The man was too proud for his own good – but she wasn’t going to hold it against him. She knew all about pride.

It occurred to her that if she’d been here with Gavin and it had been her that had been scared of heights, he would have lorded that weakness over her – even though he would have disguised it as teasing – and he wouldn’t have let her forget about it for the rest of the holiday.

There was no way she was going to do that to Julien, and she felt sure he wouldn’t have done it to her if the roles were reversed; he seemed too classy for that.

She gently extricated her hand from his vice-like grip, somewhat disappointed now to let go. It had been nice having that connection with him as they’d talked.

He seemed a little surprised by the loss of her touch and turned to look at her with his brow drawn into a frown.

‘Are you okay now?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I’m fine. My heart doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode in my chest any more.’

He looked away towards where the azure-blue ocean crashed noisily against the rocks far below them.

She gazed at his profile, taking in the strength of his jaw with its faint show of bristles, noting a small scar where the bone swooped up towards his ear.

She wondered briefly how he’d got it, then pushed away the instinct to ask him.

It was probably too personal a question and he might get snippy about answering it.