Page 86 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Just saying…’

‘You concentrate on doing justice to all that lovely food.’

‘I plan on doing just that, thanks.’

Sated and on their second cocktails, Vicky and Suzie had put their feet up on the wall as there was no one else on the roof terrace. It was still fairly early in the season for tourists, although they could hear some chatter in languages other than their own below them. The sun on her face and the food in her stomach allowed Vicky to drift off a while, until a loud buzz gave them both a start.

Suzie reached into her bag for her phone.

‘Speak of the devil. It’s Christian, asking me if I want to go out on a boat trip with him tomorrow.’

‘And do you?’

‘Not particularly. But it might hasten his departure.’

‘You keep telling yourself that.’

Suzie replied and dropped the phone into her bag.

‘And what about you? Off on any more ‘patrols of the grounds’ with the now not so grumpy vet?’

Vicky had asked for that.

‘I am actually, in a couple of nights’ time. But you know that’s just a business thing. We need to try and stop any more animals from being poisoned.’

‘Oooh. Very commendable.’

Both women drained their glasses and sat back to rest their eyes a moment.

Chapter Twenty

Suzie hoped that no one with a nosy bent was around to see her waiting on the dock opposite the café Christian had named as the meeting point. As instructed, she had her bikini on under her clothes, and a waterproof swim bag complete with towel, suncream, hat and sarong, but he was already twenty minutes late. Timekeeping had never been Christian’s forte. She’d give him another ten minutes. She had better things to do with her day than wait around for him.

With one minute left to go, she heard a loud horn in the distance. Christian was at the wheel of a classic Riva wooden speedboat which glided into the dock, cutting through the water like a knife through butter, to the obvious admiration of a couple of tourists. Of course he was. She’d had visions of a day on a fishing tub, but this craft was all polished sleek lines and expensive style, à la Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor waving to adoring fans on the Italian Riviera.

He pulled the boat into the allotted space in front of her with ease and raised his peaked white captain’s cap as the boat’s nose kissed the dock. Navy blue swim shorts, a crisp white polo and the darkest of dark glasses completed his look.

‘Ahoy there!’

Christian had always thrown himself into anything he did, whether it was a stage performance or a trip to the shops. Any chance to dress up and he was away. She’d forgotten quite what a drama queen he could be. So much for keeping their outing low-key. Everyone having coffee on the quay turned their heads in their direction. The only plus point was that because he was wearing sunglasses and a hat, it was mainly the gorgeous boat that people were staring at rather than him.

Having secured the guy ropes, Christian stood at the bottom of the boarding plank, or ‘passerelle’, as she’d learnt to call it after watching too much Below Deck on television. He beckoned her on.

‘After you…’

‘You’re late. I was almost about to call it a day.’

‘Yes, sorry. The guy I hired it from wanted to tell me about every inch of the boat and its history. I couldn’t get away. I’m not sure he really wanted to let her out of his sight.’

Christian put out his hand to help her on.

‘She is a beauty though, isn’t she?’

Suzie couldn’t argue with that.

‘She certainly is. And I’m sure worth a fortune. Do you know what you’re doing?’

Christian pulled in the passerelle and indicated for her to take a seat.