Page 52 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘That’s amazing,’ he told her. ‘I’ve never seen that before.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s easy if you know where to look,’ she replied.

‘You write yourself off quite often,’ he said.

‘Besides, it depends on the time of year and where you are in the world as to what you can see,’ she carried on, appearing to ignore his comment.

‘Did you hear me?’ he said. ‘You put yourself down, maybe even more than your awful ex-boyfriend did.’

She frowned. ‘Not everyone is interested in stuff that I am,’ she muttered.

‘So?’ he told her. ‘That’s not a reason to hide what you are. You’re super intelligent. Maybe he was just threatened because you’re probablybrighter than he is.’

Beth broke into a grin. ‘I did have to show him how to programme the satnav on his car.’

Noah grinned. ‘Told you so.’

‘There’s also still a huge inequality in science,’ she carried on. ‘It’s starting to change but there’s still not enough women in that field.’

Certainly not women who looked like her, thought Noah, glancing at the tight silver jumpsuit which showed off her curves and long legs.

A group of swimmers huddled up to join them at the firepit and Noah found himself hoping that he would find the time to learn more about Beth whilst they were both at Maple Tree Lodge.

27

Beth spent the whole of Saturday poring over her notes for the stargazing night. She knew that for it to be a total success, it was a question of getting the right balance between imparting wisdom and knowledge versus complete boredom.

Convinced that everyone was going to think it was a total snoozefest, by late afternoon she could feel her nerves rattling and wandered into the snug to get away from the hotel guests, all of whom kept telling her how excited they were about the upcoming evening.

‘What am I going to do?’ she asked, slipping onto a bar stool and watching as Frankie prepared the bar for what was hopefully going to be a busy evening.

‘About what?’ asked Frankie, who was busy cutting up fruit for all the drinks she would be serving later.

‘When I make everyone so bored later,’ said Beth with a heavy sigh.

Frankie fixed her with a brief but stern look. ‘That’s not going to happen. But if it does, then I’ll make them all an extra-strongcocktail and they’ll instantly forget everything that came before that,’ she replied.

‘Does that work for my bookkeeping as well?’ asked Ben, coming into the snug with Lily close behind him.

‘There you are,’ said Lily to Beth. ‘Where have you been hiding all day?’

‘Preparing my speech,’ said Beth, with a grimace.

‘What’s with the face?’ asked Lily, looking concerned.

‘She thinks she’s going to bore everyone to death,’ Frankie told her. ‘Here, do you want one?’

She held out a mug full of steaming hot liquid for Beth to take.

Beth shook her head. ‘I don’t want any tea, thanks,’ she replied.

‘Oh, it’s not tea,’ said Frankie. ‘It’s an Irish coffee. Think of it as an emotional support beverage.’

Beth continued to shake her head.

‘Listen, it doesn’t matter if you’re nervous,’ Lily told her. ‘Everything’s going to be absolutely fine. Trust me.’

Ben took a sharp intake of breath. ‘You may have spoken too soon,’ he said, out of the corner of his mouth as he stared at the doorway.