Page 8 of Best Laid Plans

On to Praiano. A tough day’s walk and the first leg of your journey west…

Julien knew he shouldn’t have kept on drinking after leaving Indigo at the table, but he’d needed to do something to numb the mortification that had trickled through him like ice water when he thought about how bitter and miserable he’d sounded.

The look of hurt on her face after his blunt rejection of her offer of friendship had stayed imprinted on his mind’s eye till he’d finally managed to wash it away with his fourth beer.

This was exactly why he’d decided to spend the week on his own. The last thing he’d wanted was to let his frustration over the failure of his marriage ruin the first proper break he’d had in a very long time, let alone affect someone else’s holiday.

He took another long pull on his water bottle as he slogged along the rocky coastal path towards Praiano, willing the throbbing pain behind his eyes to dissipate.

Because of his hangover, he’d started the walk later than he’d intended and was paying for it now by having to trek hard through the midday sun to make up for the time he’d lost.

According to the hotel receptionist, there should be a small trattoria about an hour’s walk from where he was. He was looking forward to eating a nourishing, carb-heavy meal to pick him up and give him the boost of energy he needed to get through the rest of the journey.

He attempted to while away the time by thinking through the next stages of a new build he’d been overseeing before coming here but, to his chagrin, Indigo’s hurt expression kept popping back into his head.

The worst thing, he finally accepted as he struggled along, was that he’d found himself beginning to like her as she’d revealed more about herself – particularly when she’d talked with such passion about the cafe and cooking classes that she’d set up to cater for vulnerable members of her community.

He couldn’t help but compare her to his ex-wife Celine, who, without even discussing it with him, had given up her job as a legal secretary as soon as they were married, spending her days shopping and watching reality TV instead.

He’d not made a fuss at the time, thinking she’d probably grow bored after a while, but she hadn’t.

Instead, she’d looked to him to provide all her entertainment and society, as well as supporting her financially.

Which had been fine for a time.

After years of having his nose to the grindstone and putting his business ventures before his personal happiness, meeting the beautiful, wild and carefree Celine had been like being caught up in a cyclone of desire and his formerly work-orientated life had suddenly become a whirl of new experiences and unpredictable passionate moments.

Until the bad luck that had changed everything for them, and his once happy-go-lucky wife turned into someone he didn’t recognise any more.

Pushing against the surge of discontent that continued to live within him, forever threatening to pull him under, he strode on, picking up his pace as the trattoria finally swung into view.

He trudged up the steps to the seating area inside, now desperate for some shade and sustenance, and managed to secure a small table near the door, slumping into the chair with a sigh of relief.

A loud squall of laughter floated over from the other side of the restaurant, and he turned around to see what was going on.

There was a large group of walkers all crowded around a table at the back, which heaved with the remains of what had obviously been a hearty lunch.

The only person who didn’t have a large empty plate in front of her, but was instead nursing a glass of what looked like water, was Indigo.

She was talking animatedly with a ruddy-cheeked middle-aged man sitting next to her and the rest of the group were leaning in, listening to the story she was telling.

There was another roar of laughter as she concluded her tale and she sat back with a wide captivating smile on her face, then drained the last of her drink and stood up.

His eyes were immediately drawn to her long, shapely legs as she stepped back from the table and his heart rate picked up as his mutinous mind conjured up the impression of how they might feel wrapped around him.

He turned away quickly as she went to grab her bag, not wanting her to catch him watching her, aware of a heavy pull of disgust with himself in the pit of his belly.

What was he doing? This was ridiculous. He wasn’t going to cower here like an idiot. He looked up as she walked past his table, readying himself to face the music, but she didn’t notice him sitting there, her eyes looking a little glazed as she made for the door.

Had she eaten anything since breakfast? He suspected not, judging by what he’d just witnessed, and now she was about to walk for another few hours in the hottest part of the day.

He shifted in his seat, irritated by her foolhardiness, aware of an achy tension in his body. Not that it was any of his concern. She was a grown woman who could fend for herself. If she weren’t, surely she wouldn’t have come on this walking holiday alone?

Except that she wasn’t supposed to.

The thought gave him pause.

But no, she’d made the decision to come on her own and just because they’d shared an association it didn’t mean he should feel responsible for her wellbeing.

He watched out of the window as she walked slowly away, then turned back to the matter in hand.

Looking after his own needs – in the form of lunch.

* * *

An hour later, he was back on the path, trudging towards a viewpoint where he planned to take another quick break and stare out across at the swell of the ocean while he caught his breath.

There was a long bench sitting proudly on the apex of the clearing, shaded by a fig tree, its branches heavy with fruit, and on that bench, stretched out with her head on her rucksack, was Indigo.

Julien came to a sudden halt and stared at her, his pulse rattling through his veins.

She looked exhausted, her face pink and the exposed part of her neck and upper chest glistening with perspiration in the heat.

His heart gave a jolt at the sight.

He really should keep walking and leave her alone to rest; she hadn’t seen him standing there yet, so now would be a good time to turn around and keep on going. He could take a break another half mile or so on.

But he didn’t move. Something was stopping him. Some misplaced sense of responsibility.

Sighing, he made his way over to her, resigned to checking that she was okay, thereby clearing his conscience.

She sat up quickly when she noticed him approaching, pulling her rucksack onto her knees and looping her arms around it, as if using it for protection against him.

Did she really have everything she needed for the whole week in that small bag? he wondered fleetingly. His own luggage was about three times the size of hers – hence getting it transported by courier from place to place as he progressed along the walk.

‘Hi, Indigo,’ he said as he came to a halt in front of her.

Her shoulders stiffened and she gave him a curt nod. ‘Julien.’

‘How are you today?’

‘Fine, thanks. You?’ From the tone of her voice, she was clearly struggling to be polite.

‘Hungover,’ he admitted, giving her a rueful smile.

She didn’t smile back.

Tense silence crackled between them and Indigo’s stomach took the opportunity to rumble loudly.

‘Have you eaten enough today?’ he asked, aiming for an airy, upbeat tone but not quite pulling it off.

She tightened her arms around her bag and gave him a level stare. ‘That depends on what you mean by enough.’

‘Did you eat lunch?’

There was a pause, where she seemed to be arguing with herself about whether to answer him truthfully. ‘No,’ she said finally.

‘Why not?’

‘I wasn’t hungry.’

There was an edge to her voice that told him she wasn’t in the mood to be questioned any more about her choices.

‘You mean you didn’t manage to procure any extra food from the breakfast buffet?’ he joked.

Her chin lifted fractionally and her shoulders tensed. ‘That’s right,’ she said with a sarcastic bite to her voice.

It was the dismissive way she deliberately looked away from him into the distance that finally tipped him over the edge. ‘You’re crazy, you know that? You can’t go walking for hours in this heat without eating enough.’

The look she gave him could have frozen water.

Sighing hard, he rummaged in the small rucksack he was carrying his provisions for the walk in and located his emergency energy bar. Striding over to the bench, he held it out towards her.

‘Here, take this.’

She looked at the bar with some disdain. ‘No, thanks, I don’t need anything from you.’

From the tone of her voice, there was undoubtedly a lot more she wanted to add to that statement. Like exactly where he could stick his cereal bar.

Clearly, he’d hurt her feelings last night, but, in his defence, he’d been doing her a favour letting her know right away that she was wasting her time if she was expecting anything more to develop between them this week.

Not that he was going to drag that up again right now.

Sighing with impatience, he dropped the energy bar onto the bench next to her, then stepped back, giving her a reproving look.

Okay, he’d done his duty now – he could walk away with integrity.

But, instead of picking up the bar, she stood up and shucked her rucksack onto her back, ignoring it completely.

‘Well, it’s time I got on with my walk and left you to enjoy the scenery on your own. Enjoy the rest of your vacation, Julien,’ she said pointedly, echoing his words to her last night.

He watched her walk away from him, his jaw aching with tension as he fought the urge to go after her and tell her to stop being such a stubborn fool and at least stay and rest for a bit longer, the pressure of the denial restarting the throb of pain in his head.

* * *