Page 16 of Best Laid Plans

In the distance, the cliffs rose majestically before her, the foliage vividly green against the soft grey of the rock.

It was so peaceful here, on her own in the middle of the sea with the vast sky above her and the undulating water disappearing into the horizon. This withdrawal was exactly what she needed right now to soothe the raging noise in her head.

It had been fine being alone with Julien when they were walking.

The constant forward motion and changing scenery had kept her mind distracted from the intensity of his nearness, but now they were stuck in one place together she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hide how he made her feel when she was around him.

Deep inside her head she knew – she knew – that Julien wasn’t emotionally available right now and that she should accept that as fact – he’d certainly warned her about it enough times – but it didn’t stop her from wondering – hoping – what if?

When she finally forced herself to look back towards the boat, she saw that Julien was standing on the diving platform, his face turned towards her, shielding his eyes against the last low rays of the sun.

‘Are you coming in? It feels wonderful!’ she shouted, aware that her pulse had picked up again at the discovery that he’d been watching her all this time.

He paused for a moment and she got the distinct impression he was searching for an excuse not to join her, but apparently he thought better of it, pulling his T-shirt over his head in one deft move and stepping up onto the edge of the boat.

Indigo trod water, feeling her body being lifted and dropped by the gentle waves as she stared in rapt delight at his muscular physique, immensely glad of the cooling effect of the water as her body surged with nervous heat.

He dived in with the same grace he applied to every physical action and swam towards her, powering through the water. When he reached her, he stopped, barely touching distance away and gave her a wide grin.

‘You’re right; it does feel wonderful.’

She smiled back, wishing with all her heart that it was okay for her to reach out to him, to slide into his arms and wrap her legs around his waist, to ride the waves with him and laugh and play, then kiss him hard, so he’d know how much she was enjoying being here with him.

How he’d opened up this whole new sense of excitement for life in her that she so desperately wanted to cling on to.

For this to be their holiday.

She longed to ask him how he’d feel about spending the rest of his week with her, but she knew she’d be on dangerous ground. This link between them was so tenuous it would snap as soon as she put any kind of pressure on it.

So, instead, in an attempt to relieve her frustration and wipe that easy smile off his face, she drew back her hand and swished a sheet of water at him.

He didn’t see it coming and got a face full.

‘Right!’ he said with an ominous growl after he’d recovered from the surprise of it, wiping the water off his face with an expression that promised retaliation.

She shrieked and swam away from him, turning back to find him in hot pursuit.

They laughed and played like a couple of kids, chasing each other through the water and sending great sprays of it back and forth until Indigo held up her hand in defeat, her eyes now stinging from the make-up she’d forgotten to take off before jumping into the sea.

‘Ow, ow, ow! My eyes! Wait, Julien, wait, I can’t see.’ Distracted by the smarting pain, she forgot to kick and dipped down into the water, sucking in a mouthful of it.

Kicking back up in alarm, she spluttered, coughing the water out and wincing at the revolting taste.

‘Are you okay?’ she heard Julien say, somewhere close by.

She nodded, but proved herself wrong by accidentally taking in another gulp of briny water when she drew in a breath to try and cough the sharpness out of her throat, starting to panic as she felt herself sinking back down beneath the waves again.

‘It’s okay, I’ve got you,’ he said right next to her now.

She felt his arm slide around her waist, and he pulled her securely against his chest, lifting her further out of the water. She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his hips to make it easier for him to swim and he kicked hard, quickly taking them the few metres back to the boat.

Reaching to grab hold of the rail at the stern, he hauled them both onto the diving platform and they toppled backwards with the momentum, Indigo landing on her back beneath him.

He looked down at her, his face only inches from hers, his eyes dark with alarm.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, the concern in his voice making her shiver.

She was suddenly acutely aware of how little clothing she was wearing and how solid and warm the boat’s deck was under her back and how good the hard press of his body felt between her legs.

All she could do was nod in response.

‘You look like a bedraggled panda,’ he murmured, his voice sounding rough and deep as he ran his thumbs gently under her eyes, wiping the make-up away.

The simple tenderness of this action undid her and, from out of nowhere, an overwhelming urge to cry hit her, forcing the air from her lungs and tightening her throat.

But she didn’t want to let the tears come.

Not like this, not with him looking at her like he was.

He’d see it – her vulnerability and need.

So, in the absence of a better idea, she raised her head those few precious inches and kissed him.

In her head, she’d meant it to be a kiss of gratitude, an apology to smooth away his worry, an acknowledgement of his act of kindness, but, as soon as her lips touched his, she was lost.

She let out a small moan as she registered the firmness of his mouth, then a gasp as his lips parted so she could sweep the tip of her tongue against his.

He tasted so good: musky and seductive and sweet all wrapped up into one delicious essence.

Pressing her lips harder against his, she tightened her grip and pulled his body closer to her, so she was hard up against his solid chest, revelling in the strength of him as she wrapped her limbs around him.

She was drowning again, only this time in his scent, turning into a bundle of nerve endings under his touch. Her whole body sang with joy as she felt the power of him surround her, drawing her down deep into the oblivion of the kiss.

Until something changed.

Her heart started to hammer as she realised he was withdrawing from her.

‘Wait, Indigo, stop,’ he muttered against her mouth, lifting himself away so she had to loosen her grip on him.

Misery sank through her in a heavy wave as she realised what she’d done.

Exactly what she’d been warning herself against for the entire day.

She’d given herself away again.

When she dared to open her eyes, he was shaking his head, his eyes squeezed tightly closed as if he was trying to will away what had just happened.

And then, like before, when laughter had overtaken her, something seemed to snap inside, only this time it was the tears that came, racking her body with brutal sobs.

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’ she managed to struggle out between gasps, wishing she was anywhere but there with Julien right then. She hated him seeing her break down like this.

‘I guess I’m still feeling a bit raw and lonely after Gavin dumped me like he did. Not that that’s much of an excuse.’

His dismayed expression told her everything she needed to know. She’d totally blown it with him now.

‘Stay here. I’ll go and get us some towels,’ he said, getting up awkwardly.

She felt the cool movement of air on her skin as he left her, which was immediately replaced by the hot sting of humiliation.

Sitting up, she rolled onto her knees then carefully got to her feet, not entirely sure her legs were going to hold her up.

No way was she going to cower here like an idiot until he returned.

By the time she walked onto the main deck, he was coming back with two large fluffy white towels. He handed one to her and used the other to wipe the remaining water from his face.

‘Thank you,’ she said, wrapping it tightly around her, unable to make eye contact with him.

‘Indigo? Are you okay?’ he asked quietly.

When she finally plucked up the courage to look at him his expression was dark with frustration.

‘I’m just going to go and wash my face,’ she said, tearing her gaze away and turning to make her way shakily down to the belly of the boat.

In the bathroom she sat down onto the closed toilet seat and dropped her head into her hands.

What a fool she was. And she only had herself to blame. She’d thought she could handle being here with him – that it wouldn’t mean anything to her, but it did. It did.

It meant the world to her.

After washing away the remainder of the make-up, she took a deep bolstering breath and left the bathroom, deciding to ask Julien to take her back to shore right now, before things got any more awkward between them – if that was even possible.

She found him sitting on the sofa when she shuffled back onto the deck, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him. He hadn’t bothered putting his T-shirt back on and his bare chest glinted with water droplets in the final dying rays of the sun.

Another tormenting rush of awareness made her skin tingle from head to toe.

She perched on the edge of the sofa next to him, readying herself to make some excuse about being tired or needing to get up early the next morning so he wouldn’t have to feel guilty about getting her off his boat as soon as possible.

Acutely aware that this would be the last time she’d ever see him, she took a breath and turned to face him, her throat tight with sorrow.

‘Tell me what happened with your ex,’ he said before she had chance to speak, regarding her with a furrowed brow.

She stared at him, wondering whether she’d misheard.

He just looked back at her with an expectant expression on his face.

‘Are – are you sure you want to hear it?’ she stuttered.

‘ Oui .’