A Whirlwind Engagement

by Jessica Hart

  She was in a crowd all day, and at night she lay stiffly next to Josh, yearning to be able to touch him. She was never alone and she had never felt lonelier. Josh was scrupulously polite but it was clear how he felt. Once she had rolled over and brushed against him by mistake, and he had flinched.

  'Sorry,' she had muttered, horribly embarrassed, and huddled back to her own side of the bed.

  What was it Josh had said about the week turning out to be even harder than he had expected? Now Bella knew exactly what he meant. She didn't know whether she longed for the week to be over, or dreaded it as the last chance she might have to be this close to Josh.

  He was looking apologetic now. 'The diving course finishes tomorrow,' he said. 'Maybe we could do something together on Friday?'

  Some of the others had hired jeeps and found secluded beaches or great little fish restaurants. 'OK,' said Bella, trying desperately not to sound too eager, but unable to stop her heart quickening in anticipation of some time alone with him. At least she could make the most of it before Aisling realised just what a mistake she had made in letting him go.

  'Aisling says there's a boat trip out to some of the uninhabited outer islands then,' Josh said. 'There'll be a chance to go snorkelling, too. We could go on that together if you like.'

  Sick disappointment twisted in Bella's stomach. It sounded as if he couldn't bear the thought of a day without Aisling. She was furious with herself for that brief moment of excitement, but if she objected, she would sound like a spoilt, sulky child.

  'Sure,' she said dully.

  In spite of her disappointment, her spirits rose on Friday morning. Josh had breakfast with her and there was no sign of Aisling. Maybe she had changed her mind, thought Bella hopefully. Meanwhile, the day stretched ahead of them, a whole day with Josh. They might not be alone, but at least he would be there. The way Bella felt at that moment, it would be enough.

  And it was a beautiful day. The sky was a deep, cloudless blue, the sea still and translucent, and the early morning sun behind the palm trees threw ragged shadows on the white sand. It was a picture of paradise, thought Bella. Impossible to feel depressed in a place like this on a day like this.

  To hell with Aisling, she decided defiantly. I'm going to enjoy today whether she's there or not.

  Unfortunately, Aisling was there. When the rest of them arrived, she was waiting down by the jetty with Bryn, who had obviously been persuaded to take a day off from killing fish and looked as if he was regretting it already.

  There were eleven of them altogether, including Cassandra. Having spent the week organising trips for everyone else, she felt she was entitled to go on one herself, she explained.

  'Now, is everyone here?'

  She began counting heads, while Josh frowned at the boat tied up by the jetty. 'Are we going in that?' he interrupted her.

  'What's wrong with it?'

  'It's very open and very low-and it's going to get even lower when we all get in it,' he pointed out.

  Bryn strolled over to join in the discussion. 'What's the problem?'

  'I'm just a bit concerned about the lack of protection,' said Josh, not looking as if he welcomed Bryn's input at all.

  'Good God, man, there's a perfectly adequate sunshade!'

  'I wasn't thinking of the sun,' Josh said evenly. 'I'm thinking about what would happen if we ran into rough seas.'

  'What rough seas?' Bryn was openly dismissive. 'The sea's like a millpond.'

  Josh's slate-coloured eyes narrowed as he looked at the horizon where you could just make out a faint smudge. 'I've got a bad feeling about the weather,' he admitted.

  Bryn followed his glance. 'Just a heat haze,' he pronounced. 'Come on, let's go.'

  'Just a minute,' said Josh quietly, but something in his tone stopped Bryn in his tracks. 'Who's in charge of this boat?' he asked Cassandra, who was beginning to look flustered.

  'It's Ron's boat. He's terribly reliable and he's done lots of trips for us before, but he can't come himself today so he's sent Elvis instead,' she said, and pointed at the boy sitting patiently at the tiller. 'He's only thirteen, but he's been helping his father on this boat since he could walk.'

  'I'm sure Elvis knows what he's doing,' said Josh dryly. 'I'd just feel better if there was any sign of a life-jacket on board.'

  'Oh, stop being such an old woman!' said Bryn. 'We're not going to need life-jackets on a day like today.'

  'Yes, do stop fussing, Josh,' said Aisling. 'If we hang around looking for life-jackets it'll be too late to go at all.'

  There was an immediate uproar from the others, and Josh found himself overruled as they piled into the boat, which promptly sank perilously low in the water. Josh didn't like it at all, but Bella, who had been chatting and hadn't heard any of the discussion, was already in. Short of dragging her out bodily, there wasn't much he could do about it, and he certainly wasn't letting her go off in a boat like this without him.

  Reluctantly, Josh untied the rope for Elvis and got in as well with a last glance at the horizon. Maybe he was wrong about the weather.

  For most of the day, it seemed that he was. The tarpaulin rigged over the boat gave some shade, but it was still very hot and the sea was oily and still as they puttered out to the furthermost islands. The mood was cheerful, as if everyone realised that they would be going home to winter in a couple of days and were determined to make the most of it. Only Josh kept a watchful eye on the horizon, but the smudge didn't move.

  They anchored at last on a tiny exposed atoll where the coral wall fell away into deep, clear, turquoise water. Leaning over the edge of the boat, they oohed and aahed at the iridescent fish that darted in and out of the coral.

  'See?' said Bryn with a sneer. 'If we'd listened to Josh, we'd still be looking for life-jackets and we wouldn't have seen this.'

  Bella stood up abruptly. 'Where are the masks and flippers?' she asked, changing the subject before anyone else could jump on the jeering bandwagon Bryn was clearly intent on setting rolling. 'I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to go snorkelling before lunch.'

  Josh wished that he could shake the uncanny sense of impending disaster. He was torn between watching that ominous smudge on the horizon and following Bella into the limpid water. Surely she'd be safe here? But tides could be treacherous, and sharks weren't unknown…

  Suddenly afraid to let her out of his sight, Josh put on a mask and snorkel and tipped neatly into the water after the others. She had only been snorkelling once before and he caught up with her easily and shadowed her unobtrusively as she drifted happily along the reef, unaware of his presence until he touched her arm and pointed.

  Bella looked to see a huge turtle swimming gracefully past, so unlike lumbering progress on land. Rapt, she watched it go then lifted her head out of the water to remove her snorkel as Josh surfaced beside her.

  'Wasn't it beautiful! Oh, that's one of the best things I've ever seen!' She was so thrilled that Josh's unease began to recede. Bella was happy, he told himself. Everything was fine.

  Not wanting to crowd her, he made his way back to the boat after a while, and sat and talked to Elvis until the others started to trickle back. Bella was one of the last. Josh saw her head pop up out of the water by the ladder and, in spite of his decision not to worry, he was conscious of a sharp sense of relief.

  Throwing her flippers ahead of her into the boat, she climbed up the ladder and pulled off her mask. It left a red mark on her face and her hair was all wet and tangled, but she looked gorgeous, thought Josh. She was lit up with excitement, and bubbling with enthusiasm.

  'Wasn't it fabulous? I can't believe the colours! What are those blue and yellow stripy fish called? And did you see the turtle?'

  They were all happy and laughing, comparing notes on what they had seen and talking about lunch which the hotel had provided.

  'I'm starving,' said Bella. 'Let's eat now and then we can have another snorkel later.'

  She clambered over the muddle
of snorkels and flippers towards Josh to retrieve her shorts and top but, just as she got there, someone else climbed onto the boat, making it rock suddenly. Losing her balance, she fell against him.

  Josh caught her instinctively, and for a breathless moment he held her against him. She was still dripping, and she was warm and wet against his bare chest where their skin touched. Unable to stop his arm from tightening around her, Josh found himself looking straight into the blue eyes, and his heart missed a beat.

  'OK?' he asked, dry-mouthed and shaken by how much he wanted her.

  Bella nodded dumbly and jerked herself out of his arm before she did anything silly like running her hands up over his shoulders or down the broad, muscled back. She was shocked by the impact of their bare flesh, by the jolt of electric excitement that came from the briefest and most impersonal of touches.

  The feel of his skin against hers was all that it took for her to forget all the careful resolutions she had made, all that deciding to make the most of what she had got, all those noble, self-sacrificing thoughts telling herself that she only wanted Josh to be happy.

  Who was she trying to kid? She wanted a lot more than that. She wanted to cover him with kisses and taste the salt on his skin. She wanted to feel his hands hard against her body. She wanted him to pull her down into the mess of rubber and shoes in the bottom of the boat and make love to her there and then, and to hell with everyone else.

  That would rock the boat, in more ways than one.

  Swallowing hard, Bella concentrated fiercely on pulling on her clothes.

  Meanwhile, Josh was trying not to think about how quickly she had pulled away from him. Had she noticed the instinctive tightening of his arm, or read the naked desire in his eyes? Was that why she had recoiled like that?

  To take his mind off her, Josh turned to look at the horizon again, and stiffened. The smudge had resolved itself into an ugly black line advancing across the blue sky.

  He got to his feet. 'I think we should go,' he announced.

  Immediately there was a chorus of protests about lunch and wanting to stay where they were and other chances to see the turtle.

  Josh cut across them. 'Look!' he said, and pointed to the blackness on the horizon.

  'Oh, but it's miles away!

  'It's lovely here.'

  'We need to go,' said Josh. 'Now.' The authority in his voice shut them up at last. 'Who's not here?' he asked.

  'Bryn,' said Aisling. 'He said he wanted to look around the other side.'

  'We'd better go and find him. Did you see which way he went?'

  Elvis started the motor while Josh pulled up the anchor, and they made their way slowly around the atoll looking out for Bryn's snorkel. Everyone had picked up on Josh's sense of urgency by this stage and uneasy glances were cast at the advancing black line.

  'There he is!' They had wasted precious minutes before Bella spotted the snorkel poking out of the water ahead.

  Elvis brought the boat up alongside Bryn, who registered their presence enough to wave but blithely carried on snorkelling.

  Josh sighed. 'I'll go and get him.'

  Flipping neatly over the side, he swam to intercept Bryn. They were too far away for Bella to hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that Josh was having difficulty convincing him to get back in the boat, in spite of being able to point at the menacing black sky in the distance.

  Aisling was watching them anxiously. 'Can't you do anything?' said Bella. 'He'll listen to you, won't he?'

  'Not if he thinks I am trying to get him to do what Josh wants him to do.' Aisling glanced at Bella. 'Bryn's jealous of Josh because… well, you know…'

  Yes, Bella knew, but this didn't seem the time for petty jealousies.

  Fortunately, someone shouted just then that the two men were on their way back to the boat. It was never clear exactly what Josh had said to Bryn, but judging by the expression on Bryn's face as he climbed grudgingly into the boat it was nothing very pleasant.

  'I don't know what all the fuss is about,' he grumbled to Aisling. 'Those clouds are nowhere near, and anyway, I'm not afraid of a bit of tropical rain!' He jerked his head to where Josh was consulting with Elvis. 'The Kommandant over there seems to be insisting that we head back, but I don't see what's wrong with staying here.'

  'There's no shelter here,' said Bella clearly.

  Bryn tapped his hand against the tarpaulin. 'This'll keep off the worst of the rain. We might get a bit wet, but it'll soon pass over. These tropical downpours always do.'

  'This is going to be more than a passing shower,' said Josh, overhearing him. 'It's too exposed out here. We need to get back to one of those islands we passed on the way out and try and find some shelter if we can. At least we could get off the boat. It's not designed for rough weather.'

  'Well, I say we should sit out here,' said Bryn loudly, looking around the boat. 'Who agrees with me?'

  Josh stepped up until he was nose to nose with him. 'We're not putting this to the vote,' he said very quietly, but in a voice that sent a little frisson down Bella's spine. She had never heard Josh talk like that before and she was very glad that his anger wasn't directed at her.

  'There's a storm coming,' he went on in the same cold, clear tone. 'This boat is unsafe and as Bella pointed out, there's no shelter out here. I am not prepared to risk Bella's life, or anyone else's come to that, on the chance that this will just be a "downpour". We're not voting on anything. We are going back to that last island as fast as we can so I suggest that you just sit down and shut up.'

  Bryn sat.

  Josh went to sit beside Elvis, who was looking very young and very nervous by now. 'OK, Elvis,' he said, clapping him on the shoulder. 'Full steam ahead!'

  'Where does he get off ordering everyone around?' Bryn muttered. 'He'll have us all goose-stepping next! If I'd known I was signing up for the army, I'd never have come on this holiday.'

  'Pity you didn't,' muttered Cassandra, who was sitting next to Bella.

  Bella glanced at the nervous faces around her. 'Josh knows what he's doing,' she said, more for their benefit than for Bryn's.

  'Yes, shut up, Bryn,' said Aisling, looking strained.

  It was very hot still. The sun beat down, bouncing and glittering on the water, and they were all glad of the awning over the boat which at least gave some shade. The sea was flat calm and so clear that you could see shoals of fish beneath the boat, flashing silver as they turned suddenly and caught the light.

  There was something eerie about the idyllic scene, thought Bella. Ahead, all was calm and perfect, but if you glanced behind, as they were all doing with increasing nervousness, the blackness was creeping menacingly closer, gobbling up the blue sky, as it advanced inexorably towards them.

  The boat was pegging bravely onwards. Josh looked over his shoulder. 'Is this the fastest she can do?' he asked Elvis casually.

  'Yes, sir. This is top speed already.'

  'Well, don't worry, we'll just keep going as we are. It's not much further now.'

  Everyone began to look more hopeful, although Bella suspected that it was more because Josh sounded positive than from any evidence that the situation was improving. She had been scanning the horizon desperately for land, and she hadn't seen any sign of an island anywhere near by. It was as if they were all, with the exception of Bryn, instinctively looking to Josh for reassurance.

  'It does seem to be getting closer,' said Cassandra in a quavering voice. 'Is it going to overtake us?'

  'We might get a bit wet,' Josh told her cheerfully, 'but once we get to that island we can sit it out.' He nodded at the iceboxes which contained their lunch. 'We've got food and drink, so we won't starve. We'll be fine.'

  There was something incredibly reassuring about him, thought Bella. He wasn't the best-looking man on the boat, he certainly wasn't the best dresser, and he didn't have smart cars or the latest technology to flash around. But he was the one person you wanted with you in a situation like this. He was so calm,
so solid, so safe. It was impossible to believe that he would let anything bad happen.

  'You're doing a great job, Elvis,' he was encouraging the boy, who smiled nervously and tried to stop biting his lip and darting glances over his shoulder.

  'Oh, yes, great!' said Bryn sarcastically. 'Personally, I'd save my compliments for someone who bothered to listen to the weather forecast! I'm going to have something to say to the hotel when we get back,' he huffed. 'The whole situation is outrageous. I shall demand my money back, and suggest that they use more professional people in future for any boat trips they organise.'

  Elvis was looking stricken. As if he didn't have enough problems right now with a boatload of westerners and the mother of all storms rushing up behind him, he could obviously see his family's livelihood disappearing as well.

  Bella glared at Bryn. 'If we get back, it'll be thanks to Elvis, not you,' she said clearly. Under cover of a smarter of hear-hears, she leant across to Bryn, who was sitting almost exactly opposite her. 'Now shut up about it,' she said through her teeth. 'He's just a boy, and he's scared.'

  'He's not the only one!' said Cassandra.

  They were all sitting tensely, leaning forward slightly as if to will the boat faster through the water. It was hard to believe that only a few minutes ago they had been talking and laughing and thinking about lunch. Now they waited in increasingly ominous silence for the storm to catch them.

  When someone spotted an island in the distance, their spirits rose dramatically, but just as they were congratulating themselves on the narrowness of their escape, a tiny puff of wind lifted the oppressive heat.

  Josh leapt for awning, as the puff was followed by another, and then another. 'Let's get this down!'

  'But it's going to pour,' Bryn objected as the blackness loomed. 'We won't have any shelter.'

  'If the wind catches this, it'll tip us over, and keeping dry will be the last of our problems,' said Josh.

  Three of the other men had got up to help him untie the awning while Bryn sulked, but already those first delicate puffs of breeze had grown into a wind that was making the task more difficult. The canvas was flapping horribly, while the boat tilted in the choppy water and the men staggered on their feet as they wrestled with the knots. There were a few murmurs of distress, and Cassandra was not the only one looking suddenly white-faced.