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It was only when they reached the harbour and she looked out across the water to the sleek, beautiful motor yacht, riding there at anchor, dwarfing everything around it, that she realised.
‘Your boat?’ Her voice rose as she turned to him. ‘You expect me to have dinner on your boat?’
‘Why, yes.’ He smiled at her. ‘It’s like a millpond out there, Rhianna. You can’t be that poor a sailor. And I have an excellent chef, so what’s the problem?’
You are, she thought, and I am. I’d prefer not to be quite so alone with you, but to have other people at other tables around us. And I can’t walk on water if I need a quick exit.
As she hesitated, he added, ‘It was either Windhover or the Boathouse at Garzion again, and I felt that might be a trip too far down memory lane for both of us.’
‘How right you were.’ Her own smile was forced. ‘Well—if this is the deal, let’s go. After all, we don’t want to keep your chef waiting.’
And felt her heartbeat quicken as she went with him.
CHAPTER FIVE
AT THE harbour wall, she was forced to take his hand again to negotiate the slippery steps down to the waiting dinghy, where a grizzled man helped her aboard, his teeth flashing in a smile that managed to be admiring and respectful at the same time.
‘This is Juan,’ Diaz said casually. ‘He helps me with the boat. His brother Enrique does the cooking.’
An efficient outboard motor propelled them across the calm water to the side of the yacht and a small platform at the foot of a broad steel ladder, leading to the upper deck, where Enrique, dressed in dark trousers and a white coat, waited deferentially to show her to the companionway leading down to the saloon.
Carrie’s ‘floating hotel suite’ didn’t even begin to cover it, she thought, looking round her in astonishment at the elegant pale tweed sofas grouped round a large square table, with drawers and cupboards beneath it.
Behind the seating area was a dining table, large enough to seat eight people, but tonight set only for two. And beyond that, judging by the delectable smells, was the galley.
‘A drink?’ Diaz suggested as Enrique disappeared, presumably to put the finishing touches to their meal. ‘I can offer you fresh orange juice, if you’re still swearing off alcohol.’
She noticed decanters and glasses waiting on a side table, and said lightly, ‘If you can promise that Juan will be there to save me if I fall overboard, then I’ll have sherry, please, as dry as possible.’
‘If memory serves, you’re probably a better swimmer than he is,’ Diaz observed drily. ‘But let’s say I guarantee that drowning won’t be an option.’ He handed her the sherry and raised his own glass. ‘Salud!’
She echoed the toast a little shyly, and sipped. She looked at him, her eyes widening. ‘That’s superb.’
‘I’m glad you approve. You’re permitted to sit down.’
She complied, and he took the seat opposite. ‘I’m still trying to take it all in,’ she said frankly. ‘It’s just amazing. And it—she—really is brand-new.’
‘Just out of her trials,’ he agreed. ‘She’s the new version of my previous boat and rather more powerful, giving me a greater range.’
‘I—I didn’t realise you were interested in boats.’
‘How could you?’ he said. ‘You went off to London when you were eighteen, shaking the Cornish dust off your shoes. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.’
‘No.’ She didn’t look at him, aware that her throat was tightening.
‘And we haven’t seen a great deal of each other since that time,’ he went on slowly. ‘Or not until the last few months when we—met again. And once we had met there were always other things to talk about. We never really got around to my leisure interests, if you remember.’
She stared down at her glass. ‘I’m hardly likely to forget.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I think that at least is true, if not the whole truth.’ He gave a harsh laugh. ‘The curse of a good memory.’ He paused. ‘So, tell me something, Rhianna. Why, in spite of everything, did you come to this bloody wedding?’
‘Because I couldn’t think of a convincing reason to stay away,’ she said. ‘I could hardly tell Carrie that I was being pressured by you. She might have asked you for an explanation, and imagine how embarrassing that would have been. What price the whole truth then?’ She paused. ‘Anyway, I needed to say goodbye.’
The firm mouth curled.
‘To Carrie.’ She gave him a defiant look. ‘And to all the rest of it. Everything. Cutting the last links for good. You should find that reassuring.’
