‘I’d like to meet her someday,’ he said. ‘She sounds fascinating.’
‘I’d like that,’ Izzy said. She was proud of her mum’s strength of character and independent ways. ‘Although she’s nothing like your mother. My mum is a little unconventional and doesn’t believe she has to conform to other people’s notions of how she should act.’
‘I like her even more for that.’
Izzy laughed. ‘Good, just so you’re forewarned.’
‘Regardez ici,’ Loulou shouted. ‘Le menu.’ She held two menus in the air and waved them over impatiently.
‘Come on, you two,’ Jess called, ‘we have to hurry up and get our order in, this table is booked for another party in an hour and a half.’
‘Moules frites, s’il vous plait,’ Izzy said to the waiter before turning to Ed. ‘Did that sound OK?’
‘It did,’ he said, ordering a large rare steak, chips, and salad. ‘Hell, I’m hungry.’
They ordered three bottles of house red and sat back to enjoy the evening. Izzy spotted Catherine sitting at the opposite end of the table to Jess and refrained from smiling when she noticed the concentration on Roman and Philip’s faces as they did their best to keep the two from making any conversation.
She watched for a few minutes. ‘I think they’ve got their work cut out for them, don’t you?’ she whispered to Ed.
He looked at each couple. ‘Rather them than me. Your friend seems very determined and I know Catherine will be biding her time to get Jess alone for a proper row.’
‘As long as they don’t ruin this meal, I’ll be happy,’ Izzy said. She breathed in the smell of the moules as they were delivered to a nearby table, wishing they could relax there for the entire evening. ‘That food looks delicious; I’m going to enjoy every mouthful of mine when it comes.’
‘Not as much as I will,’ Ed laughed picking up his knife and fork. ‘I hope it’s served soon, I’m ravenous.’
The following day they sailed on to Porquerolles where the water, bluer than Izzy had ever seen it, sparkled in the bright sun rays. They moored the yacht about five hundred yards from the shoreline. It was so hot on board and Izzy couldn’t wait to jump into the sea to cool down.
Impatient to get into the water, she climbed down the stairs at the stern of the boat and jumped in. She swam a little way from the boat and lay back, closing her eyes and looking up towards the perfect blue sky.
‘You having fun?’ Ed asked, swimming up to join her.
‘I am,’ she sighed, relishing the coolness of the water as she moved her legs slowly back and forth. ‘It’s so peaceful out here.’
‘It can get a bit noisy up there with the rest of them,’ he said.
‘Aren’t you enjoying the cruise?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘I am, but I’m used to spending a lot of my time by myself in a large garden, so being cooped up with so many other people in such a small space can be a bit claustrophobic sometimes. This is the perfect antidote though.’
She thought so too. Izzy closed her eyes and breathed in the warm air.
‘I’d really like to get to know you better,’ Ed said, interrupting her thoughts.
Izzy laughed. ‘I don’t think we’re going to have much chance with so many of us on this yacht.’ As soon as she’d finished speaking she suspected that hadn’t been what he meant. She could feel her face reddening at her stupidity.
‘It is a little cramped.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But what I meant was I’d like to start dating you.’
‘Oh.’ She’d expected him to say something a little less formal. She stared at him. She felt more for Ed than she had ever done for anyone, except David.
Ed turned away. ‘It’s fine. I understand if you’re not interested in me in that way. It’s just that, well, after our rides together I sort of assumed you felt the same as me.’
I do, she wanted to shout, but something stopped her. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. ‘Ed, I do like you,’ she said, dipping slightly into the sea so that he had to grab hold of her to lift her up again. ‘Thank you,’ she said, coughing to clear her throat from the small amount of seawater she’d swallowed. ‘It’s just that, well, I’m going to have to think about it, if you don’t mind. For personal reasons.’
He frowned and she could see he was confused by her answer. She opened her mouth to elaborate a little further when someone splashed them both and cheered.
They turned in the water to see Roman and Loulou giggling and messing about in the sea.
She shook her head and giggled. ‘Maybe chat a little later?’
‘No problem,’ he said, going to dunk Roman.
After watching the brothers splashing each other, she and Loulou swam back to the boat.
Izzy grabbed the towel that she’d left on the deck and went to settle down on the front of the boat next to Jess. Relieved to be lying down, Izzy closed her eyes. Her cool skin dried in the hot sun and she was beginning to doze off when Jess nudged her. There were raised voices floating up from below. ‘What’s going on?’ she whispered, looking at Jess. ‘Is that Catherine and Philip in there?’
Jess giggled. ‘Why do you think I wanted us to come and sunbathe here?’ She pointed downwards. ‘She’s always so smug but when you came out in your bikini and went to the back of the boat to get into the sea, she noticed him staring at your arse and went mad.’
Izzy usually hated the thought of someone else’s boyfriend ogling another woman, but when it came to Catherine she was happy to make an exception. They dozed as the gentle sea breeze cooled their tanned bodies and Izzy held up a bottle of sun cream for Jess to take.
‘Rub some into my back, will you?’ Jess knelt up and did as Izzy asked. ‘Do you think Roman will come and visit Jersey?’
Izzy undid her bikini top and closed her eyes. ‘I should think so. Ed lives there, don’t forget.’
‘Good, I hate to think that this is the last time I’ll see him.’
‘Hmm.’ She pictured Ed’s sun-bleached hair, wondering how dark it would be if he didn’t spend most of his time working outside. His physique wasn’t as fine as his brothers’, much more rugged and also much more to her taste. She groaned.
Jess giggled. ‘Are you dreaming about someone? I’m sure he likes you too. Maybe you could hook up when you get home.’
Catherine’s glass-splintering voice rang out. ‘She’s still going on at her poor husband. She’s a right little tyrant,’ Izzy said, glad to be out of the way.
‘Those nasty little bitches,’ Izzy heard Catherine screech. The entire group must have heard her.
‘I’m glad it’s not her turn to do the cooking tonight,’ Jess said. ‘She’d probably poison us.’
They closed their eyes again and listened as Philip retaliated. He didn’t have any trouble standing up for himself, Izzy noted. ‘She’s got her work cut out for her there,’ she giggled.
‘She has.’ Ed said, his huge frame blocking the sun and giving them a break from the intense heat. He held two wine glasses in one hand and a can of beer for himself. ‘Rosé?’
They nodded and took a glass each. ‘Thanks,’ Izzy said. ‘I could do with this.’
‘Can you hear her down there?’ Jess asked, taking a sip of her drink and closing her eyes in enjoyment.
‘I think everyone in a three-mile radius can hear her,’ he joked. ‘She’s used to getting her own way, so I can’t see their marriage being an easy one for either of them.’
‘Come and join us,’ Izzy said.
He sat down next to her and opened his mouth to speak, when Catherine shouted, ‘Daddy said you were a buffoon and he wasn’t wrong, Philip. You are.’
‘Now you listen here …’
Before he could add anything else, they heard Xavier slamming open their door and telling them to shut up. ‘If you are not able to speak like, er, adults, we will deposit you on the next port.’
The threesome laughed. ‘Xav rarely loses his temper, so he must be furious,�
�� Ed said. He drank some of his beer and rested on one elbow, facing the girls. ‘I’m going to find a café with free Wi-Fi tomorrow and check my emails. If you want to come with me, let me know and I’ll make sure I wake you before I leave.’
Izzy remembered that her family had asked her to keep in touch. ‘I’d definitely better come with you. We’ve kept our mobiles off because the roaming charges are so expensive, so we’ll need to check our website and any emails from home.’
‘The only messages that matter to me are ones cancelling more jobs,’ Jess said. ‘And I don’t need to see those until I get back and have no choice.’
Izzy privately agreed. She closed her eyes, trying to savour this moment on a beautiful yacht, gliding through the Mediterranean with the sun beating down, a cool glass of rosé in her hand, and a very attractive man lying next to her. She didn’t want this holiday to end. Jersey and her troubles suddenly seemed so far away. She calculated the remaining days of her trip: twelve. Twelve whole days on board Le Rêve with Ed. Even with Catherine’s determination to humiliate them at every opportunity – as well as them still having to take their turn to spend a couple of nights sleeping on deck, what could possibly beat this?
That night it was Jess and Roman’s turn to cook. By the pink tinge to Jess’s cheeks when she called the others to go and get their food, Izzy suspected that her friend and Roman had enjoyed a little intimacy, as she and Ed had done when it had been their turn to cook. The others ate their food in the galley, so Jess and Izzy decided to take their plates on deck. It was too hot for them downstairs, especially, Jess moaned, after spending the best part of an hour trying to cook a meal for ten people on the tiny stove.
‘I hope it’s not too disgusting,’ she joked.
Izzy thought they were lucky to have Jess making the meal for them. She was an impressive cook, when she could be bothered. ‘This risotto is delicious,’ she said, eating another forkful. ‘Did Roman help at all?’
‘A little,’ Jess replied nonchalantly, not willing to give anything away.
Voices from below stopped them from saying anything further. They rolled their eyes heavenward, waiting for Catherine to have another go at Philip. Then, hearing Philip’s tones at the stern of the boat as he chatted in passable French to Loulou, they glanced at each other, wondering who could be downstairs.
‘I’m so unhappy. I’ve made a dreadful mistake marrying that fool,’ Catherine whined. Her voice floated clearly up to where Izzy and Jess sat. ‘Ed, you know I’ve never really found anyone as perfect for me as you, don’t you? I only got engaged to Phil after we split up to make you jealous.’
‘What the hell?’ Jess whispered, pulling a sympathetic face at Izzy. ‘Oh, Iz, I’m so sorry.’
Izzy’s appetite vanished. Ed and Catherine? She thought that was supposed to be nothing more than a rumour. Why hadn’t he been honest with her? Then again, she mused, why should he? They’d only ridden out together a couple of times, chatted a few more, and kissed. It wasn’t as if he was her boyfriend, was it?
They strained to hear Ed’s reply, but could only hear murmurs, so it was hard to work out his reaction. Jess put down her plate and stood up.
‘Where are you going?’ Izzy asked.
‘To see what they’re doing in that cabin.’
Izzy watched her friend creep over and bend down silently, peering into the cabin below through a porthole. Izzy’s expression changed and she glanced over at Jess, shock registering across her face. Unable to help herself, Izzy went to join her, pushing her out of the way so she could have a look. She stared into the cabin just in time to see Catherine stand on tiptoes and kiss Ed. Izzy gazed down at the man she was falling for, unable to look away as Catherine’s hands began undoing the top of his shorts.
‘What’s going on?’ Jess asked, frantic to know.
Izzy couldn’t speak. She saw Ed’s hands go down to Catherine’s, just before Jess pulled her away. ‘What’s happening, Iz?’
Izzy let her see and moved back on shaky legs to sit back down. Jess hurried behind her. ‘Oh, Iz, I’m so sorry. I really thought he liked you.’
Chapter Ten
Ed held tightly to Catherine’s wrists, pulling them away from his flies. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘You don’t want me,’ she said, bursting into tears. ‘Bastard.’ She flung herself down on the bed and cried.
Ed stared after her. He’d never seen her so distraught. He wanted to comfort her, but didn’t dare give her the wrong impression, so pushed his hands deep into his pockets and waited for her to calm down. It didn’t take long.
‘Right, are you going to tell me what this is all about?’
She wiped under her eyes and sniffed. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.’
‘No, you shouldn’t have.’ He leaned against the cabin wall. ‘What would Philip have thought if he’d come in and seen you?’
‘I know, I know, shut up.’
‘Catherine, you know I see you as my cousin, not …’
‘A woman?’
He could see she was still angry with him. ‘I don’t think I’ve given you the wrong idea.’
She exhaled sharply and pushed her hands through her usually immaculate hair. ‘You haven’t.’
He wanted to be on deck, making the most of being with Izzy, but couldn’t leave the situation unresolved. ‘Tell me what’s upset you. I can see something is wrong and I know it’s got nothing to do with me.’
‘It’s my father,’ she said sniffing again.
‘Go on.’
She pulled at the duvet cover on the bed next to her. ‘I overheard him speaking to you about money before I got married.’
Ed closed his eyes. ‘You weren’t supposed to know,’ he said.
Catherine looked up at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears. ‘Is he going bankrupt, Ed? Will he have to sell our home?’
Ed, unable to see her so devastated and frightened, sat down next to her and took her hands in his. ‘No, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t have to come to that.’
She looked down at her hands in his. ‘How, though?’
He didn’t know that yet. ‘We’re going to have to come up with some ideas, and if you want to help,’ he squeezed her hands gently, ‘which I’m sure you do, then you can maybe go and ask your clever husband to help you come up with a few ways to help your father out of this financial mess.’
‘Just don’t tell those girls,’ she whispered.
Ed thought that was rich coming from the person who’d seriously damaged their business, and said as much to her. Catherine snatched her hands away from him.
Ed studied her; she was acting so out of character, it didn’t make sense, even after what she’d told him. Then it dawned on him. ‘That’s why you eloped, isn’t it?’
She nodded, still staring at the floor. ‘I couldn’t let him pay for a wedding if he didn’t have the money to,’ she said.
So there it was. The reason why she’d run off without anyone having a clue it was about to happen. ‘I’m helping your dad and I need you to go and apologise to Jess and Izzy for letting them down.’
‘I didn’t mean for it to ruin them.’
He nudged her shoulder with his own. ‘I believe you, but they don’t know that. I’m sure they’ll feel much better if they know that you never intended to hurt them. You don’t have to tell them why you eloped, just say that you didn’t think of the consequences.’
He looked down at the top of her head while she considered his suggestion. ‘Well?’ he asked, now desperate to return to the deck and see Izzy again.
‘Fine, I’ll apologise.’
Ed came out on deck about a few minutes later looking a little harassed, but didn’t mention anything of what had happened in the cabin. He sat down beside Izzy and Jess and stared out at the horizon. ‘You two looking forward to docking in Le Lavandou tomorrow?’
‘Yes,’ Izzy replied, determined not to let h
im know how devastated she was. ‘After the café Jess and I thought we’d go and explore the town, see if we can find a few bits to take home with us.’
‘We did?’ Jess frowned. Izzy glared at her. ‘Oh, yes we did.’
‘Mind if I tag along with you?’ he asked giving her a smile that earlier would have sent excited shocks pinging through her body, that now only added to her heartache.
‘Not this time,’ she said, not caring that he seemed hurt by her no doubt unexpected reply. ‘We’re having a girly day together.’
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Jess said, not bothering to hide her distaste of him. ‘I’m sure you’ll find other companions to spend the day with.’
Ed frowned. ‘Have I done something to upset you two?’
Izzy shook her head.
‘Just because we’d prefer to spend the day together,’ Jess said, ‘it doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. Or maybe you’ve got a guilty conscience about something. Have you, Ed?’
He gave them a quizzical look then turned to Izzy. ‘I didn’t think I had. Izzy, is there something I’ve done to upset you?’
‘Yes, there is.’ She glanced at Jess. ‘For once Jess was trying to be subtle, but I’m past caring about niceties,’ she said. ‘I want to know …’
‘Edouard de Lys,’ Philip shouted from the galley as he marched up the stairs to join them. ‘You and I need a chat.’
‘Shit,’ Izzy said. ‘Why can’t we ever have a proper conversation on this bloody boat?’ She narrowed her eyes at Jess.
‘I was looking forward to you giving him hell,’ Jess murmured as Philip marched up to join them.
Ed groaned. ‘What could we possibly have to discuss, Philip?’
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 74