Carlo pulled the boat in and, with their shoes off, they jumped on board and scrambled across the deck down to the saloon, tearing off their clothes and throwing them aside as they went. By the time they reached the saloon, Carlo was naked and Leanne left standing in her tiny knickers.
‘Where’s your cabin?’ Leanne asked, looking wildly around.
‘I’ll show you later.’ Carlo pulled her close as they sank down onto the couch, the moonlight streaming in through the portholes.
Leanne’s skin was on fire as he touched her. A wave of joy coursed through her. This was it. She was finally doing what she had longed for ever since she first saw him – their chemistry undeniable from the off. She matched his caresses with some of her own that made him groan with pleasure and she arched her hips, ready for him. ‘I can’t wait,’ she whispered.
He lay down on top of her, ready to finish what they’d started. ‘You’re amazing,’ he breathed into her ear.
‘So are you. Oh, Carlo, I think I’m falling in love with you,’ she whispered, overcome by emotion.
He suddenly froze.
‘I can’t wait any longer.’ She closed her eyes and waited for him to respond.
But he suddenly pulled away and collapsed in a heap on top of her, his body slick with sweat.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked, confused.
‘I’m sorry,’ he mumbled into her chest. ‘It’s not working. Too much wine.’
‘What? But we’re just going to…’ Leanne looked at him, shocked. He couldn’t do it after a few glasses of wine? She sat up and stared at him. This was not what she had expected. He strutted around like some sex god and now this?
He grunted something into the cushions.
Leanne realised he was very upset and felt a surge of pity. She stroked his hair. ‘It’s all right. Perfectly understandable.’
‘Sorry if you’re disappointed.’
‘Not at all. Happens after a lot of booze,’ she soothed. ‘Not your fault.’
‘No, it was both of us.’ He rolled onto his back, looking at the ceiling.
‘What?’ Leanne stared at him. ‘Both of us? What did I do to put you off?’
‘You were, you were too… demanding.’
Leanne glared at him. ‘What do you mean? Too demanding? Cast your mind back to a few minutes ago. We were both so into it we couldn’t wait. I wanted you, you wanted me, and then…’
‘Please,’ he mumbled. ‘Don’t rub it in. You expected too much. That put me off.’
‘Put you off?’ Leanne scrambled off the couch and groped around for her clothes. ‘Gee, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that much, really. I thought… maybe we’d make love and then we’d…’ Her voice trailed off. It started to dawn on her what had happened. He had wanted a quickie, and she had expected romance. She had mentioned the word ‘love’ and that had scared him. That was the true reason he hadn’t been able to finish what they’d started. So he was right, she thought bitterly. It had been her fault. Why oh why had she let herself fall this hard for a man again? Why hadn’t she listened to the warnings of her mother?
‘You won’t tell anyone about this?’ he mumbled.
‘Why would I? I’m going now,’ she said, when she had pulled her shorts and top back on, shame coursing through her. ‘Can’t find my knickers, but you’re probably lying on them.’
He didn’t reply. She stood there for a while wondering what to say, but then she heard it. Loud snoring. He had fallen asleep. That’s how much he cared. Her legs like jelly, Leanne climbed the steps onto the deck, found her shoes and jumped ashore. Not wanting to return to the motorboat, she sat on the edge of the quay, her feet dangling over the still water, staring at the dark sky studded with glimmering stars. It was the wine, she thought. I shouldn’t have agreed to have sex just like that. And I shouldn’t have said anything about falling in love. That was so stupid. Next time they’d skip the booze.
If there was a next time.
* * *
The walk through town in the moonlight was enchanting, Maddy thought as they walked up the narrow streets, where they could see lights in some of the houses, and people sitting outside drinking wine. They crossed the bridge to the other side and paused for a moment to admire the view to the sea and the moon hanging above the islands. The water lay like a sheet of glass reflecting the heavens above them. Maddy looked up at a myriad of stars and sighed happily. ‘How beautiful,’ she said to Tony, who was standing beside her.
‘Lovely.’ He leant on the parapet and looked into the dark water. ‘The air is so still, not a breath of wind.’
‘I hope it’ll start blowing tomorrow. I know how much you love sailing.’
‘Yes. It’s my favourite thing.’
Maddy looked down the bridge. ‘Where are Lucilla and Claudia?’
‘They said they’d head back to the boat.’
She nodded. ‘Good idea. It’s late and that wine was strong. We should go back too.’
They started to walk back. ‘I hope Leanne and—’ He stopped.
‘What? That Carlo and Leanne are all right?’ Maddy laughed. ‘I’m sure they’re absolutely fine. It’s such a romantic evening.’
‘So it is,’ he said flatly, walking a little faster.
Maddy fell into step with him. ‘Are you worried about something?’
‘Not really. They’re grown-ups.’
‘So they are.’ Maddy looked at him but it was too dark to make out his expression. What was that all about? Was he worried about Leanne? Or did he have feelings for her? Oh come on, she told herself. Don’t turn this into a love triangle drama. Tony was far too sensible to let Leanne break his heart.
But she knew from experience that love had absolutely nothing to do with good sense.
Nineteen
The Instagram photo had the desired effect. Leanne had nearly a thousand more followers the next day and hundreds of likes and comments, all positive, most of them asking about the clothes.
‘This is excellent,’ Lucilla said as she checked it all on her phone at breakfast on the rear deck. ‘And we’ve had an offer of a feature from two major newspapers. Carlo will be pleased. And so will our client.’
‘Where is Carlo?’ Maddy asked. ‘I thought he’d call in before they set off.’
‘They left very early,’ Claudia said. ‘The wind was up and they didn’t want to miss out on it.’
Lucilla nodded. ‘Okay. We’ll see them at lunch when we anchor outside Zlatni Rat.’
‘What’s that?’ Leanne asked, idly stirring her coffee, her mind on the night before.
‘It a very famous beach on the island of Brač,’ Nico replied from the saloon, where he was mapping out the day’s journey on the charts.
‘That’s right,’ Maddy said. ‘I looked it up in the guidebook. Great place for a long swim.’
‘Good,’ Leanne said, not really listening. She was relieved Carlo had not appeared this morning and wondered how she should handle the situation with him. The thought of facing him made her sick with nerves.
‘You okay?’ Maddy asked, studying her. ‘You look pale.’
Leanne forced a smile. ‘Too much wine, I think. And very little sleep.’
‘Yes, that wine was a little strong,’ Claudia remarked, pouring herself coffee from the pot. ‘I have a bit of a headache myself.’ She glanced at Leanne. ‘But you were already in bed when we came back. I thought you were asleep.’
‘Not really,’ Leanne murmured into her coffee. ‘I heard you come back. I was awake quite a long time after that – thinking.’
Lucilla shot her a probing look. ‘Too much thinking, perhaps?’
Leanne shrugged. ‘Yeah. Maybe.’ She got up. ‘I’m going to do a little work on the blog. Give me a shout when we arrive at – whatever that beach is called.’
‘Zlatni Rat,’ Nico repeated. ‘Then we’ll head off towards Korcula, with a stop for the night on the way.’
‘Fabulous,’ Leanne said, feeling anything but,
and went into her cabin, banging the door shut. She sank down on her bed and buried her face in her hands. She needed to cry, but the tears would not come. Instead, she kept playing what had happened the night before over and over again, chiding herself for having got it so wrong. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid,’ she railed and lay face down on the bed. Then the tears started to fall and she cried silently into the pillow until she was too tired to do anything except lie there, exhausted.
There was a knock on the door. Before she had a chance to answer, Maddy slid inside, closing the door silently behind her. Leanne was about to tell her to leave, but Maddy held up a hand.
‘I’m not going until I see you’re all right.’
‘I’m fine.’ Leanne turned onto her back and stared out the porthole. She could hear the engine and feel the boat moving out of the harbour. ‘We’re on our way,’ she mumbled.
Maddy sat down on the bed. ‘Yes. We’ll be at that beach by lunchtime.’ She touched Leanne’s shoulder. ‘Was Carlo horrible to you last night?’
Leanne cringed just thinking about it. ‘No. It was me. I made a huge mistake.’
‘Oh. You mean…’ She paused. ‘Do you want to tell me about it? Maybe I can help?’
‘Help with what?’ Leanne demanded. ‘You can’t turn the clock back and undo my stupidity.’ She flung an arm across her eyes. ‘You see, it was all so romantic last night. The wine, moonlight, the harbour, him kissing me like I was the most gorgeous woman on earth. Jesus, that guy can kiss.’
‘Why am I not surprised?’ Maddy said, with a glimmer of a smile. ‘I’m sure he’s good at everything else too.’
‘Oh, yes, that’s what I thought.’ Leanne sat up and stared at Maddy. ‘We were so hot for each other, he made me feel like I was on fire. We ran to the sailing boat and tore all our clothes off. We were on the couch in the saloon because we just couldn’t wait. He was so amazing, so sexy. We were about to – you know. But then…’ She stopped.
‘Then what?’
‘I had to go and say something that totally put him off.’
‘Like what? Like… you know, it wasn’t big enough?’
‘Jesus, no. Why would I say something like that? It was much worse.’
Maddy looked confused. ‘What on earth was it? Come on, spit it out. You’ll feel better when you’ve told me.’
Leanne pressed her face against Maddy’s shoulder. ‘I said I was falling in love with him,’ she whispered.
‘I see. Well, maybe that was a mistake…’
‘The biggest ever,’ Leanne sobbed. ‘And I said those stupid words just as we were about to – you know. And that made him freeze and then he just collapsed saying he couldn’t do it. And then he fell asleep and started snoring. Great end to a romance, don’t you think?’
Maddy made a strange sound. ‘Oh. Okay. I see.’
Leanne stared wildly at Maddy. ‘See what?’
‘You scared him. I’d say all he wanted was your body, but then you held out your heart to him. To a man like that, it would have been frightening.’
‘A man like what?’ Leanne looked suspiciously at Maddy. ‘Do you know something about Carlo I don’t?’
‘No. I don’t. But I know the type. Good-looking and confident on the surface, scared shitless of commitment inside. Sex is fine but don’t ask him for anything more. Shallow as anything.’
Leanne nodded. ‘Yeah, that was my thought too. I tried to make him feel better by saying it was okay and that it happens after a lot of booze. Not that I meant it, but I thought it’d help. Then he said it was my fault because I expected too much from him. I mentioned love and he just crumbled.’
Maddy smoothed Leanne’s hair from her face. ‘Saying he was falling in love, or giving you more than just sex was what he must have meant by “too much”.’
‘Yeah, I suppose that’s it,’ Leanne said miserably.
Maddy took a deep breath. ‘You know what? In a way that makes him a better man. I mean, how many times have men said “I’m in love with you” and not meant it, just to get what they want? To Carlo, it would have been a lie and it sounds like he couldn’t say it and not mean it.’
‘Full marks to him, then. Nul points to me.’ Leanne collapsed against the pillows. ‘I shouldn’t have opened my stupid mouth. But at that moment I felt so full of love for him I thought I was going to burst. What was that, then?’
‘Infatuation.’
Leanne thought for a moment, reality sinking in. ‘Yes. That’s probably what it was. Real love doesn’t happen so soon, does it? What did I think this was, the movies?’
‘How do you feel about him now?’
‘I don’t know. The way he behaved afterwards wasn’t very nice. Not coping with what I said made him look like a bit of a wimp, to be honest. But I’m supposed to work with him and do a few more shoots. I can’t even bear to face him right now.’
‘Just pretend nothing happened,’ Maddy suggested. ‘If anyone can style it out, you can.’
‘But I can’t.’ Leanne’s eyes filled with tears again. ‘I got carried away and came on to him last night, Maddy. I can’t get that out of my head. The shame of it.’
Maddy took Leanne’s hand and looked into her eyes, willing her to listen. ‘Don’t feel ashamed. Who hasn’t had too much to drink and fallen into bed with some sexy guy? Don’t you think a lot of women – and men – wake up after a night out and wonder what they were thinking? Wine and the moonlight and a guy like Carlo kissing you… how could you resist?’
‘Well…’ Leanne started. ‘That makes it sound a lot better.’ She looked at her hands, then at Maddy. ‘You’re not going to tell Dad about this, are you?’
‘Of course not,’ Maddy exclaimed. ‘It’s your private business. All of this stays between you and me, I swear.’
Leanne nodded. ‘Okay. It’s just that it hits me sometimes that you’re my best friend and you’re dating my dad. It feels very strange.’
‘It feels strange to me too,’ Maddy confessed. ‘But I would never discuss the things you tell me in private with Erik. That’s up to you.’
‘God, no!’ Leanne exclaimed, jumping up from the bed. ‘I’ll never tell him or anyone else. I couldn’t bear it.’
‘Good. Then try to get over it and act like you don’t care. Can you do that?’
‘I’ll try.’
‘Good. It’ll be okay. I’d say he’ll be perfectly polite and then he’ll say something to you in private and you can both move on. Carlo is a nice guy behind it all, Leanne. He’s probably as confused as you are right now.’
‘I bet he’s wondering how he’s going to get me to back off. And he had the nerve to ask me not to tell anyone.’
‘And then you told me.’
‘You’re not just anyone though. You’re Maddy.’
Maddy’s eyes softened. She got up and put her arms around Leanne and hugged her tight. ‘Don’t be sad. You’re my best friend too and I love you.’
Leanne hugged her back, feeling better with her friend’s arms around her. ‘Love you too, Mads,’ she said into Maddy’s shoulder.
‘Your dad loves you very much too. And Bridget.’
‘Bridget? Where is she?’
‘Lucilla took her for a walk before we left. I think she’s asleep in one of the chairs on the rear deck.’
‘Oh. Good.’ Exhausted after all the emotion, Leanne pulled out of Maddy’s arms and lay down again. ‘Thank you for the TLC. I feel better now.’
‘Good.’ Maddy patted Leanne’s leg. ‘You have a snooze and I’ll wake you up in an hour.’
Leanne smiled weakly. ‘Okay. Go and finish your breakfast with Lucilla and Claudia – sorry to tear you away. I really like both of them, you know. They’re great fun.’
‘And Lucilla likes you too, even though I know you were worried, and Claudia thinks you’re fabulous. Tony’s very fond of you too.’
‘Tony’s great,’ Leanne mumbled, her eyes heavy. ‘He’s like a big rock you can lean on.’ Her eyes closed and
she fell asleep before Maddy had closed the door.
* * *
Maddy returned to her breakfast, deep in thought. What a mess Leanne had got herself into. But maybe the turn of events was a good thing? Her blurting out that she was falling in love with Carlo, in the heat of the moment, had frightened him away, but his reaction might also have shown that he wasn’t right for Leanne. That all he was after was sex and nothing more, and Leanne deserved better than that. But would it turn her off him, or make her even more determined to get him?
Maddy sighed and took a big bite of the flaky croissant Claudia had bought at the bakery this morning. It was still warm and deliciously buttery. Why was life so complicated? Why couldn’t they have a normal holiday without all this tension? The situation with Leanne was not the only trouble brewing under the glitzy surface. There was also Lucilla hovering in the background, her eyes on Carlo. Then Claudia, who seemed on edge most of the time, constantly checking her emails and watching everyone around her when they were in public places. And Tony, who looked like he’d been in some kind of hell. Carlo was the only one who didn’t seem too concerned about anything, except now he probably was. And Maddy herself, with her soon-to-be ex-husband and looming divorce, and this budding romance with a handsome Norwegian, who just happened to be Leanne’s dad. So much drama. You couldn’t make it up.
Maddy gazed out over the blue water and the white sails on the horizon, the islands dotted in the distance and motorboats going to and fro. It was a lovely, breezy day with just a few clouds, birds soaring in the air, and she enjoyed the cool wind on her face and the cries of the seagulls. They were keeping a fast pace, passing smaller crafts on the way. Maddy waved at a group of people in a speedboat and they waved back, revving their engine to whizz past them.
‘Lovely day,’ Claudia said, sitting down beside her.
‘It’s a grand day, all right,’ Maddy agreed. ‘So fresh here out at sea.’
‘We should really clean up after breakfast, but I think we’ll wait until we stop or we’ll break everything,’ Claudia said with a laugh.
A Holiday to Remember: An absolutely hilarious romantic comedy set under the Italian sun Page 15