[Escape 01.0] Escape for the Summer

by Ruth Saberton

  His answering grin could have powered Rock’s street lighting for a year.

  “That’s exactly how I feel,” he nodded. “I know she’s old but she’s got heart. And she’s been in a Bond film too. She’s sleek and sexy – a true Bond girl. What more could a man want?”

  Andi laughed. “So she’s the Ursula Andress of the boating world?”

  “Wrong film; I think Ursula Andress was in Dr No, which was the first Bond film.” His brow crinkled thoughtfully. “I’ve been struggling to come up with a name for her and I think you might have just nailed it. What do you think of Ursula?”

  “I love it, but don’t you want to choose the name?”

  Jonty passed her a life jacket, and then helped her secure the ties and tuck them in. His deft fingertips brushed against the bare skin of her arms and, although the sun was hot, she shivered.

  “I was half thinking about calling her Miranda,” he admitted shyly, tugging the straps tight before turning his attention to his own. “But I think your name would be better suited to something more elegant and classy and new; a Princess maybe? Or a yacht?”

  Andi was flattered. The way her life had gone lately, Ursula had been an exact metaphor when she was rotting and full of weeds. Her, elegant and classy? Really? Was that the impression Jonty had of her? She felt a twinge of unease; would he still feel the same if he knew about Tom and her sacking?

  “I think Ursula is perfect,” she said, trying hard to shove these bad memories back into the dark corners of her mind. “So, Mr Bond, where are we going?”

  Jonty opened up the throttle and the boat glided gently away from the pontoon.

  “I thought we’d go gently up to Wadebridge, grab some chips and then float back with the tide,” he said over his shoulder. “I don’t want her maiden voyage to be out to sea, just in case we hit a problem.”

  “More chips? I’ll sink the boat.” Andi glanced ruefully down at her stomach. She always had a wonderful time with Jonty but a lot of their activities seemed to involved cream teas, pasties or chips.

  Jonty knocked the boat into neutral and turned to face her. Although she couldn’t see his eyes from behind the shades, Andi felt the intensity of his gaze and her skin danced with goosebumps.

  “You look perfect,” he said firmly. “Absolutely perfect.”

  As they put-putted upriver to Wadebridge, Andi allowed herself to bask in both the glorious sunshine and Jonty’s words. Although she knew she quite obviously wasn’t perfect – as someone who’d spent most of her formative years being compared to Angel, she was far too aware of her own physical flaws to ever be under such an illusion – it still gave her a Ready Brek glow that he might think so. She stole a glance at him, intently concentrating as he guided the boat upstream, and found herself wondering what the soft skin just below his ear would feel like against her lips.

  Right! Stop there! Andi scolded herself. Honestly, thoughts like these were so not the way to go. If she carried on like this she’d be looking at the cognac-hued skin of his strong forearms and the muscular chest sculpted beneath the soft white tee shirt. The heat must be getting to her. Maybe she should just hurl herself overboard into the icy river? There was no way she was going to allow herself to think like this. They were friends and she was not going jeopardise that. Besides, after Tom she was steering well clear of men. Her face felt hot, and not just from the sunshine. She really hoped he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

  Luckily for Andi, Jonty might be skilled with all things marine but like most men he wasn’t a mind reader. Calling her over, he gently showed Andi how to steer the boat and trim the engine. Before long she was so engrossed in this task that she scarcely noticed he was standing so close to her that their forearms brushed. And if when he put his hand on hers to help guide the steering her heart skittered like the moorhens alongside the riverbanks, then it was from the excitement of driving the boat, nothing more.

  As they returned to Rock, heavy from fresh air and vinegary chips, Jonty let Andi take the wheel and guide Ursula downstream. While she steered, loving the way the little boat responded to the slightest motion, Jonty pointed out egrets and the blue flashes of kingfishers. At one point he moved to pick up her fleece from the stern and the boat lurched to an abrupt halt.

  “What did I do?” Heart hammering, Andi looked over to him in panic. She’d only been in charge of Ursula for a few minutes! Surely she couldn’t have broken the boat already?

  “Absolutely nothing,” he assured her. “You’re doing it all perfectly.”

  Reaching down, he carefully unwound a length of what looked like old-fashioned red telephone flex from his knee. He had nice knees and, above his battered deck shoes, muscular tanned legs. She swallowed and looked away.

  “This is the kill cord,” he was explaining, as he held up the wire. “The driver clips it on and if there’s an accident and he takes a spill, the engine stops instantly and hopefully nobody’s injured. It’s vital and saves so many lives. I just forgot to take it off when we swapped over.”

  “Phew! I thought I’d broken her.”

  He grinned, a dimple dancing in his cheek. “No, I was just being very responsible and giving you a safety demo.”

  “Don’t give me that. This is just your way of getting girls stranded out on the water with you!” she teased, and Jonty raised his hands in mock surrender.

  “You’ve got me! What more can I say? Boats are great – lots of girls willing to take their clothes off and wear bikinis!”

  Andi thought about her own pale and very bikini-unready body. There was no way she was revealing that any time soon.

  “Seriously though, did you enjoy it?” Jonty asked, as he restarted the engine on their approach to the pontoon. The gentle breeze lifted his hair from his strong-boned face as he looked hopefully down at her.

  “I loved it,” she said.

  What wasn’t to love? They’d seen stunning wildlife, Jonty pointing out a variety of seabirds she’d never really noticed before, and the stillness of being out on the water had been wonderful. There was so much more to see by water, from the bicycles rolling by on the Camel Trail with their jaunty flags and kiddy carts, to the stunning hidden properties that fringed the riverbanks. They’d even spotted a seal, sleek and sad eyed, popping its head out of the water. The real world, the one where boyfriends cheated and colleagues stitched you up, was a million miles away and like a half-remembered fragment of a bad dream.

  If only every day could be this peaceful and this perfect. If she could spend every day boating with Jonty, then Andi thought it probably could be.

  Jonty beamed at her, a smile of such delight that her heart melted like butter on a hot jacket potato. “I knew you would. She might not be the flashiest boat but she’s done us proud today.”

  Andi patted the console. “I think she’s wonderful. Who needs flashy, anyway? We’ve seen some amazing wildlife and I’ve had the best time. Thank you so much for taking me out.”

  It was one of those moments when time seemed to hover. Sound ceased and the movement of the water slowed in that suspended second. Gradually, Jonty’s hand touched her shoulder; his fingers were cool and strong against her sun-kissed skin, and even the blood pulsing through her veins seemed to pause in anticipation.

  “You don’t need to thank me,” he said softly. His hand rose from her shoulder to her cheek, brushing a stray curl away. His shy smile was white against his tan and his stubble midnight dark. His lips were just a kiss away. Tenderly, Jonty tucked the curl behind her ear. “Andi, there’s something I need to tell you—”

  There was a roaring in her ears, which wasn’t her racing heart – and for a moment Andi thought she had lost consciousness. The earth was certainly moving, anyway – and if it dipped and rolled this much at just the mere thought of kissing Jonty, then whatever would the reality be like?

  Then she was thrown from her feet and slam-dunked onto the deck with such violence that the air was punched from her lungs so that she lay
gasping like something out of Deadliest Catch.

  “Hold on!” Jonty was shouting. Winded, she watched him leap across the surging deck with the deadly grace of a panther, somehow keeping his balance as he knocked the engine out of gear. With horror she realised that they really were lurching from side to side, the water either side of the hull dangerously high, as the wake from a RIB passing at lightning speed all but swamped Ursula. As the RIB zoomed by, shrieks of excitement and the throaty roar of many horsepower filled the air. With legs trembling like a newborn foal, Andi clambered to her feet.

  “Are you all right?” Having gained control of the boat, Jonty’s arms closed around her as he guided her to the driver’s seat. “Have you hurt yourself?”

  Above her heartbeat, currently banging like something from a Magaluf nightspot, Andi could hear the concern in his voice. She shook her head. “I’m fine apart from maybe just a few bruises. What happened?”

  Jonty’s face was tight with anger. “Some total moron just drove his boat flat out past us. He must have been going at about sixty knots, way too fast for this stretch of the estuary. The wake could have sunk us.”

  Ahead, the huge RIB was still blasting across the river, scattering smaller craft and jet-skiers like ninepins. Jonty pushed his shades onto his head and his eyes glittered with fury.

  “That bloody idiot is going to kill someone if he carries on like that,” he grated, still holding her so close that she could feel his racing heartbeat against her cheek. “Haven’t these boy racers learnt anything? Apart from nearly capsizing us, that pair of three-hundred-horsepower engines could make short work of anyone in the water; the props are nothing but giant blenders. Bloody stupid bastard!”

  Andi was taken aback. Jonty was normally so laid back he could double as a hammock; she hadn’t seen him like this before.

  “Sorry to swear,” he added, seating her carefully and checking her legs for cuts, like a racehorse owner at Aintree, “but that kind of behaviour makes me wild. Out on the water accidents can happen in a split second, and when you add some show-off city boy without a clue and more horsepower than brain cells, it’s a recipe for disaster. Last summer there was a dreadful tragedy here, and you’d think people would have learnt from it.” He frowned. “Apparently not.”

  “I’m fine,” Andi assured him. To be honest she was more annoyed that they’d been interrupted than that by tomorrow she’d look like she’d had an argument with an iron bar. Had Jonty really been about to kiss her? Or was the sun stronger than she realised?

  Whatever the moment had been, it had passed. Jonty was businesslike now and the delicious tension of earlier had melted away. “That’s lucky for him. I couldn’t be responsible for my actions if he’d hurt you.” Turning to the console, he clicked the engine into gear and, his face grim, pointed Ursula in the direction of the pontoon where the RIB was now moored. Moments later they were alongside the RIB. The legend Wet Dream was emblazoned across the hull.

  “Says it all,” muttered Jonty.

  “Want me to catch a rope, mate?” A man with wrap-around Prada shades, a tan the colour of yacht varnish and the most peculiar highlighted hair gelled up into a funky Mohican beamed across at them. Dressed in head-to-toe expensive sailing gear, he looked like a Tangoed cockatiel that had been caught in an explosion in the Musto factory.

  “Is this your boat?” Jonty demanded.

  The cockatiel glanced at Ursula and preened visibly. “It certainly is. Do you want to come on board?”

  Jonty threw him an expression of such disgust that, in a just world, it should have laid him out in a heap on his shiny fibreglass deck.

  “What I want,” he said, in a tone so icy that Andi wouldn’t have been surprised to see a polar bear swim by, “is for you not to drive her like a complete cock. Have you any idea of the damage you could have done just then? There’s a speed limit on the river for a reason.”

  “Chill out,” said the cockatiel airily. “Nobody’s hurt, except maybe your pride.” Craning his neck, he looked critically at Ursula. “What’s that, seventy-five horsepower?”

  “Showing off on the water is a recipe for disaster,” Jonty said evenly. Andi noticed how his fists clenched as he fought to keep calm. “There’s nothing to prove by hooning around.”

  “I’d say that too if I was in that pile of crap,” said the cockatiel pityingly. “You can tell the men from the boys by the size of their toys. This beauty can cruise happily at eighty knots. What do you say to that?”

  A muscle twitched in Jonty’s cheek. “I’d say you should be wearing a kill cord.”

  “A kill cord? Am I hearing you right? You don’t have a baby like this and strap yourself down.” He grinned, revealing toilet-bowl-white teeth. “Don’t worry man, I can handle her.” He winked at Andi. “I can handle anything!”

  “You can’t reason with stupidity,” Jonty said wearily to Andi, but her attention was suddenly elsewhere. On the deck of the RIB, to be precise, where a stunning blonde in a tiny white string bikini was waving to her.

  It was Angel.

  “Andi Pandy! Oh my God! What a brilliant coincidence! Travis,” Angel said excitedly to the cockatiel, “this is my sister! The one I’ve been telling you about!”

  “The gorgeous big sister?” Travis gave her a wolfish grin. “What are you waiting for, baby? Hop on board!”

  Jonty turned to Andi. Confusion was written all over his face.

  “Do you know these people?”

  Andi opened her mouth to try to explain (although quite how you explained Angel was anyone’s guess), but it was as if she was suddenly possessed of ventriloquism skills: her sister’s voice seemed to be speaking for her.

  “Jonty! It’s me, Angel!” she called, blissfully oblivious to the fury coming from him in waves. “Oh, Ands! This is brilliant timing! Laurence has just gone to pick up some champers for a picnic; we’re going to blast out to Lundy. Travis has been dying to meet you. You must come with us.”

  “Yes, you must,” said Travis to Andi. He pointedly turned his back on Jonty while his eyes took a leisurely tour of her body. “Any sister of Angel is a friend of mine, especially one who’s single and looking for company.” He fixed her with that white smile and Andi was relieved she had her shades on, or there might have been permanent retina damage. “Hop aboard, sister of Angel. We have bikinis and sunscreen on board, although both are optional.” When he said this he actually winked.

  Seriously, was the guy for real?

  “Thanks for the offer but I’m busy,” Andi said coldly. She would throttle Angel when she next saw her – if Travis didn’t drown her first, that was.

  “Later then,” Travis said firmly. He clearly wasn’t used to the word “no”. To Angel, he said, “Hold tight then, baby! Let’s nip to Padstow and pick up Laurence.”

  As Travis busied himself with casting off, Angel leaned across the boat, treating the whole of Rock to her best Jordan impersonation, and called to Andi, “See! I said you could find a rich one if you looked harder! Come for dinner with us all tonight. Borrow my green Chloé dress! We’ll pick you up from The Wharf Café!”

  Before Andi even had the chance to tell her sister exactly what she thought, there was a sudden roar of engines, spray filled the air and the RIB shot forwards like a scalded cat. Angel shrieked with excitement as the boat screamed across the estuary, her long hair flying like a golden banner and with not a thought of life jackets in her head. Actually, Andi thought in despair, with not a thought at all in her head.

  Jonty was looking stunned. “That’s your sister’s friend?”

  “Afraid so,” Andi admitted.

  “My God.” He looked disgusted.

  Andi couldn’t blame him. At this point in time she wasn’t exactly proud of her sister. Travis Chumley, pet-food millionaire or not, was clearly not going to be a great influence. Still, Angel was her sister and Andi couldn’t help feeling protective.

  “He’s a friend of a guy she’s started dating,” she attempt
ed to explain, but the right words evaded her and even to her own ears the reasoning sounded weak. “Angel likes the finer things in life and she’s certainly found them here. She’s seeing a viscount and it’s all very mysterious. I haven’t been allowed to meet him yet, but if his friends are anything to go by...” She trailed off awkwardly because Jonty was looking seriously unimpressed.

  “So you mean she’s a gold-digger?” he said coldly. “She’s come to Rock just to trap a rich man?”

  “No!” This sounded awful and instantly Andi jumped to her sister’s defence. “It’s more complicated than that. I think she really likes this Laurence.”

  Jonty’s top lip curled. “No, I think it’s simple enough. The world is full of shallow women like that.”

  “You don’t know my sister. You can’t judge her,” said Andi, needled. Nobody put Angel down. Defending her was second nature.

  His face darkened. “I don’t need to. Believe me, I’ve met enough women to know her kind.”

  “She’s just insecure,” Andi insisted, but Jonty wasn’t having any of it.

  “Stop making excuses; she’s a user,” he said bluntly. “But I guess you already know that if she’s out lining up rich men for you too. Maybe you should have joined them rather than wasting time here?”

  Andi’s vision blurred dangerously. How could he say this? “If you really think that then you don’t know me at all.”

  Jonty shrugged. “You’re right. I don’t think I do. Not if you’ve sent your sister out hunting for rich men.”

  They stared at each other, the mutual sympathy of earlier evaporating like early morning river mist. There was an anger radiating from Jonty and a tension she hadn’t seen before, which seemed to her almost an overreaction. Andi stepped back. Time that had seemed so slow earlier now began to accelerate and the distance between them was far more than inches.