The Secret Cove in Croatia

by Julie Caplin

  Chapter 14

  As they neared the island, rounding the south-eastern tip heading towards the town of Hvar, the number of sailboats proliferated and Ivan steered into an inlet which was already busy, with other boats anchored.

  ‘This is a good place to stay,’ explained Ivan. ‘It’s sheltered and not too far from the harbour, which is just along the shore. Although it is very busy already.’ From a boat only a hundred metres away strains of music bounced across the water. ‘It will take about twenty minutes in the launch. Have you ever driven a motorboat?’

  ‘No,’ said Maddie, a prickle of alarm running down her spine.

  ‘Can you drive a car?’

  ‘Er … well, sort of.’

  Ivan cocked his head.

  ‘Well, I passed my test but I’ve never driven since. Couldn’t afford the insurance.’

  ‘But you know how?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I will give you lessons this afternoon after lunch.’

  ‘Why? Why can’t you drive the launch?’

  ‘Because we will be here for a few days. I am going to visit friends. You will have to run the guests in and out of harbour. And there is nowhere to moor, so it’s like a taxi. You drop them off and then come back when they call. We’ll go out in the launch after lunch.’

  It was during lunch, as Maddie was serving a prawn salad, that the first plaintive text arrived from Cory.

  When do you think you’ll get here?

  When Douglas read it out, Simon snatched the phone from his hands and with a look of malice glanced around the table. ‘OK, what are we going to say? Make them stew or keep them on tenterhooks?’

  Douglas made a half-hearted attempt to take back his phone. ‘I’ll just tell her we’re on the way and will let her know ETA nearer the time.’

  ‘Where’s the fun in that?’ Simon began to stab at the phone, saying word by word, ‘No. Idea. Stopped for lunch. And a swim. Going to call in at nice-looking place for a drink. See you later.’

  ‘I’d not bother answering,’ said Siri. ‘Definitely leave them to stew.’

  Maddie noticed that Nick hadn’t looked at his phone at all and wondered if he’d had any communication from Tara. Despite the seeming laughter and jollity of the poker game upstairs, there was a definite set to his jaw.

  ‘Just tell them we’ll be there soon,’ said Nick dispassionately. ‘Whatever you tell them isn’t going to be soon enough.’

  ‘Haven’t you heard from Tara, then?’ asked Simon with mock sympathy.

  ‘No,’ said Nick, seemingly unmoved.

  Maddie admired his apparent stoicism, or was it misguided loyalty?

  ‘But she’s not the best at remembering to charge her phone.’

  ‘She’s certainly been busy on Instagram this morning,’ Simon drawled, giving Nick a taunting smile as he handed Douglas’s phone back to him. ‘Hvar looks rather stunning.’

  ‘I’m not really on Instagram that much,’ said Nick.

  ‘No, I don’t suppose there’s much call for scenic shots of sheep.’

  ‘Sheep?’ asked Siri. ‘Why would Nick want to post photos of sheep?’

  Simon hooted with pretend laughter. ‘Didn’t you know? Tara let slip that our Nick here is a bona fide sheep farmer.’

  ‘Someone has to be.’ Nick shrugged, but the set of his jaw had firmed even more. ‘Where do you think the wool for your fancy sweaters comes from? Dropped in little bundles from outer space?’

  Simon flicked at the arms of the fine wool jumper casually knotted over his shoulders and ignored Nick’s comment.

  ‘Nothing wrong with being a sheep farmer,’ blustered Douglas, which in Maddie’s view made things worse.

  ‘No one said there was,’ said Simon, the wry twist to his mouth suggesting the complete opposite.

  Maddie sighed and retreated to the galley. Sometimes Simon could be such a bitch.

  Almost as if he’d read her mind, he appeared not long after with the large glass jug she used to serve water. ‘Thought I’d get a top-up.’ He flashed a smile at her. She gave him a brief nod and renewed her efforts at cleaning up the prawn shells dotted over the counter top.

  ‘Maddie, you’re not cross with me, are you?’

  ‘Why would I be?’ She turned to face him, folding her arms and then quickly unfolded them because it looked as if she were keen to hear what he had to say.

  ‘I can tell – your mouth turns down and goes a bit pouty.’ He leaned forward and touched her lower lip. ‘It’s very sexy.’

  She pulled back, rolling her eyes. ‘Don’t be silly –’ she said batting at his hand, even though inside some small gullible bit of her sat up and took notice. She reached for the tap to soak her cloth.

  He suddenly clutched his hands to his chest with mock alarm. ‘Don’t tell me you fancy Nick? And you’re cross with me for being mean to him?’

  ‘Now you’re just being ridiculous. Of course I don’t fancy Nick.’ She didn’t even like Nick – well, not initially. He’d grown on her, a bit.

  ‘If you must know, it makes me uncomfortable. Some of the things you say.’

  ‘You’re such a sweetheart. It’s just banter. I don’t mean any of it.’

  She shrugged. ‘Nothing to do with me.’

  ‘But it is, if it’s upsetting you.’

  ‘Did I say I was upset?’ she said quickly. ‘Like I’ve said before, you’re the guests. I’m just crew.’

  ‘But you don’t approve.’

  ‘Simon …’ She looked into his altogether too good-looking face, aware that his proximity was making her pulse misbehave and doing her best to hide her reaction to him. ‘Why do you care? What are you doing down here?’

  Simon sighed and held her steady gaze. ‘Because you intrigue me. You make me feel … well, it sounds cheesy, but you make me want to try and be a better person. You’re so honest and natural. It’s so refreshing. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you. Come out to dinner with me?’ He slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled at her neck, stroking her arm, his fingers trailing up to the back of her neck.

  ‘I can’t,’ she replied, pulling back, even though a frisson of excitement flashed through her and inside a little voice was crowing, He wants to go out to dinner with you!!!! This gorgeous, just-stepped-out-of-a-magazine, model handsome man wanted to take her, ordinary Maddie Wilcox, out to dinner.

  ‘Course you can,’ Simon breathed into her ear.

  She squirmed. ‘I really can’t.’

  ‘Why not?’ he asked, his voice low and husky, his hands skimming the underside of her breasts. ‘You have fantastic tits, you know. You really are driving me mad.’

  Maddie swallowed as he pressed against her. ‘Because I’m working and you’re a guest.’

  ‘You’re telling me.’ His fingers stroked her hairline at the nape of her neck, making it hard for her to think. His hands seemed to be everywhere. ‘There’s a rule that stops crew going out with guests? Bollocks. No one can stop anyone going out with anyone. And if there is a rule I’ll take it to the Court of Human Rights.’

  She let out a breathy, girly laugh that really wasn’t like her. ‘I’m still working,’ she managed to get out, although his hot breath in her ear again was very distracting, as was the hand squeezing her breast making her feel a little uncomfortable.

  ‘But you must get time off.’

  She flinched as he ran a palm over her groin, whispering, ‘Come on, lovely Maddie, you’re running out of excuses.’

  ‘I do get time off, but only when everyone leaves the boat.’

  ‘Well, that’s sorted. In fact, even better. We could have the boat to ourselves one night.’

  His husky, hoarse suggestion brought a contradictory pang of pleasure and anxiety. He was so sophisticated and worldly. Was he expecting her to sleep with him?

  ‘The chances of that happening …’ Maddie shook her head. ‘Look, I need to get tidied up. And you really shouldn’t be down here.’ She pushed his rov
ing hand away. God, she sounded so prissy and prudish, but he was moving way too fast for her.

  Simon smiled and kissed her on the side of her mouth. ‘I’m going, I’m going. And don’t you fret. Leave it to me.’

  ‘This button is the trim control.’ Ivan tapped the button on the throttle with his thumb. ‘You press it to bring the trim up.’

  ‘You’ve lost me,’ said Maddie, standing with her legs wide apart to counteract the bobbing of the boat in the light swell as Ivan showed her the controls, aware that up above on the yacht she had an audience for her first ever motorboat lesson.

  ‘Let me show you. Sit over there.’ He nodded towards the other tan leather seat in the bow of the launch and started the engine. ‘This is the throttle; you push it forward to increase your speed. When you set off, just push it forward very, very slowly. Can you feel a slight drag?’

  Maddie nodded although she couldn’t tell any difference.

  ‘That’s because the engine is down in the water, the trim controls the engine angle. You trim up once you’ve moved off, to bring the engine higher out of the water, which optimises the angle of the boat. It pushes the stern down and the bow up, so you move through the water with less drag, so more fuel efficient and makes the boat goes faster.’

  ‘Right, engine up, stern down, bow up.’

  ‘Watch.’ He speeded up and then pressed the button.

  Immediately she could feel the difference; the engine speeded up and the ride was smoother.

  ‘But if you trim up too much, this is what happens.’

  As he held the button down the boat began to bounce up and down. ‘See, we call it porpoising. Jumping up and down. Not good for the revs or fuel consumption. You see plenty of the young guys showing off, just shows they have no idea what they’re doing. And it isn’t safe for passengers. You don’t want to lose one over the side.’ He flashed her an evil grin. ‘Well, it’s best not to.’

  He took her on a quick circuit of the bay and then out into the open sea, increasing the speed gradually until they were flying, Ivan standing at the wheel, his teeth white against his dark beard in a grin of pure delight. Maddie laughed as the wind whipped at her hair and pushed the wayward curls out of her mouth and eyes, feeling her heart race with exhilaration.

  ‘This is great,’ she called, looking back at the foamy white wake billowing behind them.

  ‘Yeah,’ he yelled above the noise of the engine. ‘As long as the fuel’s on the client. These babies burn through it. Keep an eye on the gauge when you’re coming in and out. They sell fuel in the harbour.’

  Circling, he turned the boat back towards the bay. ‘Now it’s your turn.’

  Jumping up, her palms prickling at the thought of getting hold of the wheel, she settled into the driver’s seat, pretty sure that probably wasn’t the right terminology at that moment, not that she cared. Never in her life had she imagined driving a motorboat.

  But before he was about to let her loose, Ivan went through the controls again with considerable patience and a thoroughness she had not expected.

  ‘Always feel that you are in control of the boat. There are no medals for going fast. Don’t ever forget the safety of your passengers or the other people around you.’ He tapped the wheel to emphasise his words. ‘There can be serious accidents with a motorboat. People can die.’

  Maddie swallowed; this was quite a responsibility.

  ‘Always check the water around you before you set off.’ He slowly turned his head from left to right. ‘Always. Even when you’re leaving dock. Never go into a buoyed area where there are swimmers. Always make sure your passengers stay in their seats. Sometimes that is hard, especially if they are coming back from a happy night out.’

  ‘OK.’ She nodded carefully, praying she was going to remember everything.

  ‘But it can be lots of fun. Just be safe as well. Now it’s your turn.’

  The engine had been idling as he talked her through everything, but now she tentatively took hold of the steering wheel.

  ‘That’s it, ease forward on the throttle.’ The boat began to move forward. ‘Now pull the trim up.’ She pressed the button slowly, feeling the change of the angle of the boat as the bow lifted up, and gradually pushed the throttle forward, feeling the boat picking up speed. Wary at first, her heart bumping, she held tightly to the wheel with one hand and the throttle with the other, her concentration fixed on the boat and the sound of the engine.

  ‘Play with the trim, get a feel for it. Today the conditions are good, but don’t be fooled by the weather we’ve had; we can get thunderstorms that appear from nowhere in the summer. If the water is choppy you want to trim down, get the boat flatter in the water as it’ll be steadier.’

  ‘God, I hope I remember all this,’ said Maddie.

  ‘The boat will tell you; you can feel the drag, the engine revs.’

  For a while she played with the throttle and trim under Ivan’s exceptionally patient guidance and then, like magic, something clicked; it all seemed to come together.

  This sensation of the boat slicing through the waves, leaving the churning wake like a long white comet’s tail, was just the best feeling in the world. She lifted her face up into the wind, feeling the cool bite of the spray of water on her skin and, charmed, watched the rainbow iridescence as the sun lit up the fine droplets. Feeling in control, she relaxed as the hot sun warmed her back, its bright rays glinting off the waves with lightning flashes of brilliance.

  Ivan made her practice turning the wheel in a wide sweep before getting her to do S-bends, as he called them, turning the wheel left and then right, allowing her to get a feeling for the boat.

  ‘What do you think?’ he asked, sitting back in the other seat, putting his feet up on the front.

  ‘Awesome,’ said Maddie.

  ‘Now faster,’ he urged, once she’d got a real feel for the boat.

  Flashing him a dazzling grin, she pushed the throttle forward, standing upright, feeling like a warrior princess at the head of an invincible army as they raced across this sea. She laughed out loud at the ridiculously fanciful notion, not something she was prone to at all. Clearly being on a luxury yacht was starting to turn her head.

  ‘Woo-hoo,’ she screamed into the wind. ‘This is so much fun.’ She grinned at him.

  He fixed her with a stern look. ‘But, whatever you do, you mustn’t let any of the guests drive the launch. They can while I’m in the boat with them and I’ll let them have a turn in the bay this afternoon. But you are insured because you are crew. They are not.’

  ‘You’re kidding,’ laughed Maddie. ‘No one’s driving this except me.’

  ‘When we go into Hvar later, I’ll give you a few lessons about manoeuvring into dock.’

  Maddie’s face fell. ‘Eek, that sounds hard.’

  He laughed. ‘Don’t worry – as long as you go really slowly, it’s easy. You took to this, no problem.’

  As soon as they returned to the boat, the whole party, who had been watching from on deck, were keen to go out for a spin in the motorboat, with the exception of Siri, and Maddie left them to it, glad to come back to earth quietly by herself as they all climbed down into the launch. She watched as Simon was the first to take the wheel; he wasted no time in hitting maximum speed, with lots of showy turns. Boys and their toys, she thought, heading up to the top sun deck. She probably had a quick half hour to soak up some rays before they came back.

  ‘Oh, hi,’ she said, coming to a halt at the top of the steps.

  Siri raised her head from her book. ‘Hi, that looked fun.’

  ‘It was. So much fun. You didn’t fancy it?’

  ‘With all that testosterone fighting for supremacy, no, thanks.’

  ‘Yeah, I get that. Maybe you could ask Ivan to take you out another time. He’s a very good teacher. Can I get you anything?’

  ‘No, I’m good, thanks.’

  Maddie turned to go down the stairs.

  ‘You can stay … I won’t tell
anyone.’

  Maddie smiled. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind? I was just going to have a quick lie-down.’

  ‘Doesn’t bother me. Although I tell you what does bother me … those shorts. Serious fashion crime.’

  Maddie laughed, remembering the very first time she’d meet Nina. ‘And I have Crocs.’

  ‘No.’ Horror crossed Siri’s face. ‘Please tell me it isn’t true. Although I think they might be slightly more forgivable than the shorts.’

  Tugging at the fabric, Maddie looked down at them. ‘They’re not that bad, are they?’

  Siri shuddered. ‘That would be an affirmative in every language under the sun. Seriously, do you even own a full-length mirror?’ She rose. ‘Take off your T-shirt.’

  Startled, Maddie took a step back. She had a bikini on underneath but there was a determined glint in Siri’s eye that worried her.

  ‘Off,’ said Siri, tipping her head to one side with a definite hint of challenge.

  Slowly Maddie peeled off her T-shirt.

  ‘Oh, dear God. A travesty. Those are men’s shorts. No wonder you look like a pudding on legs. Fabulous legs, by the way.’ She actually walked around Maddie as if she were a prize pig on show.

  ‘Take them off.’

  ‘What?’

  An impromptu strip down to her bikini in public was not what she’d signed up for, but Siri was already plucking at the belt, pulling the buckle undone. As soon as the belt loosened, too soon for Maddie’s comfort, Siri tugged them down and then took several paces back, her eyes running up and down Maddie’s figure in professional assessment, while Maddie was desperate to grab her T-shirt and cover up again.

  ‘Blood and thunder, woman. You have a gorgeous figure. I thought as much. Great shoulders as well, by the way. Seriously, with a figure like that, you can really wear clothes.’

  Maddie turned scarlet.

  ‘What the hell are you doing hiding it under those rags?’

  ‘Gorgeous figure my arse.’ Maddie turned her T-shirt the right way out. ‘Is this a posh person’s idea of having a laugh?’

  Before she could pull it back on, Siri snatched it out of her hands.