Page 121 of Escape to the Country

‘He seems pretty relaxed about the whole grooming thing,’ said Eleanor.

‘Perhaps it’s just your gentle touch,’ said Tom.

They both locked eyes for a second before Dylan leapt up and carried on towards the river.

Seeing the glistening water through the trees, Eleanor was seriously tempted to follow Dylan into the water to cool down. She was just considering kicking off her flip-flops when she saw a movement on the other side of the river. Expecting perhaps to see a deer, instead she saw a couple of teenage girls trying unsuccessfully to hide behind some trees.

‘Tom,’ she murmured. ‘We’ve got company.’

She could feel him immediately become alert, his whole body tense. ‘Who is it?’ he asked, glancing around as he came to stand next to her.

‘Behind the other riverbank. A couple of your fans, I think.’

He looked across and made eye contact. They could both just about hear a gasp as the girls realised that they had been spotted. The snapping of many twigs and blur of school uniform confirmed that they were moving away, anxious not to be seen.

‘What is it that they want?’ he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Eleanor laughed. ‘They want to see our amazing romance, of course.’

He looked across at her and raised his eyebrows. ‘Really? Well, if they want to see romance,’ he said, stepping forward to stand right in front of her. ‘Let’s show them some, shall we?’

Before she could register what was happening, his lips were coming down onto hers.

‘It’s all for show,’ he murmured against her lips as they met.

But somehow, it turned into something else altogether. Time stopped still. It built into a passionate kiss that assaulted her senses until she couldn’t think of anything but him. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching for Tom to bring him closer to her.

Eventually they broke apart. Eleanor and Tom stared at each other, both breathless and wide-eyed, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Eleanor stared up at him, still trying to steady her breath. ‘Well, that showed them,’ she said, her voice sounding husky.

‘Exactly,’ he told her, looking equally stunned.

And then he broke into a warm smile and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

At the sound of nearby splashing, Tom turned away to play with Dylan, leaving Eleanor standing beside the river on her own, feeling more confused than ever.

This was bad, she told herself. She shouldn’t have kissed him back. But it had felt so good. And he had kissed her first, after all.

She tried to tell herself that it was just a crush. It had begun before Glastonbury and their accidental kiss had just made it worse. That was all.

And yet, she knew it wasn’t that at all. She looked out for him every day. She enjoyed his company. She had told him things about her dad that only her best friends knew about.

He was just a friend, she decided.

A gorgeous, handsome, good-looking friend.

But she knew deep down that it wasn’t a crush. That she had to stop lying to herself.

Because she was pretty certain that she was falling in love with Tom.