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‘Okay, let me just tie her up before you guys get off.’ Evan hopped from the boat to the jetty with the assurance of a man who had done it many, many times before. ‘And be careful. It moves, so the gap can be wider than you think.’
One by one, they filed off the boat. Once again, Spencer and Tyler were the first off, and Eddie helped Sandra and Zahida down. After that, it was Holly’s turn.
Evan stretched out his hand, though this time something made her hesitate. It could have been the swarming butterflies that had attacked when she’d got too close to him before, or it could have been the newfound confidence that had come with her current status as a successful amateur waterskier.
‘I’m sure I’ll be fine,’ she said.
‘I have no doubt you will be.’ Evan’s eyes locked on hers. It was a far more intense meeting of gazes than Holly had expected and it caused a somersault in her stomach more violent than some of Naomi’s face plants. Swallowing down the heat building in her, Holly stepped forward, not noticing the puddle of water right where she placed her left foot. It was a mixture of bad luck and lack of concentration, for no sooner had Holly shifted her weight towards the jetty than the wake from a leaving yacht caused their speed boat to lurch upwards.
Before she could even reach out her hand to grab hold of something, Holly plummeted straight into the water.
18
Holly’s arms flailed around her and the sudden iciness caused her to gasp aloud, though she had barely hit the water when two pairs of arms grabbed her.
‘We’ve got you. We’ve got you.’
Having taken an arm each, Fin and Evan hauled her up and onto the jetty, where they dropped her onto the wooden blanks. The entire thing couldn’t have lasted more than thirty seconds, and yet her body was trembling from head to foot.
‘What happened? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?’ Caroline was beside her in an instant, brushing up and down her arms as she checked her over. ‘Tell me, where does it hurt?’
‘I’m fine. I’m fine.’ Holly flapped her hands as she tried to push the attention away. As if falling in wasn’t bad enough, having everyone staring at her while she was dripping wet was the last thing she wanted.
‘Can you stand?’ Evan’s calm and quiet voice was a complete contrast to Caroline’s fussing.
‘I’m sure I’m fine.’
Hoping that it was merely her pride that was bruised, Holly went to stand, but the instant she put her weight on her left foot, her ankle buckled and searing pain shot up through her leg. She toppled forward, where Jamie was thankfully waiting to catch her.
‘I think I just stood up too fast,’ she said optimistically.
Freeing herself from Jamie’s hold, she gingerly put her foot down on the wooden planks again, only to feel the same pain bolt upwards to her knee.
Before she could say anything else, Evan had hooked himself under her arm and took her weight.
‘Eddie, you speak French, right? Can you go to one of the restaurants and ask them for some ice? We’ll put that on it until we get to the villa and we can have a proper look. I can always call the doctor if we need.’
‘No problem,’ Eddie said, already walking towards the marina restaurants, with Naomi hot on his heels.
‘It’s really not that bad.’ Holly tried again to take a step on her own, only to flinch the minute her foot touched the ground. There was no denying it. Her ankle hurt. And not the type of hurt where you could rub it better and forget about it after a couple of hours. A lump formed in the base of her throat as she realised that her holiday was about to take a very different turn. Tears pricked her eyes. ‘Maybe a bit of ice would be good.’
As they travelled back from the marina, Caroline, ever the dutiful friend, held the ice pack to Holly’s ankle – the whole way – and then helped her onto the sofa, where they inspected the joint for the first time since the fall.
‘I think it’s unlikely you’re going to do the hike tomorrow,’ Caroline said as she stared at Holly’s foot.
Caroline was right. While the swelling had stopped, there was no chance of Holly being able to get her foot in her hiking boot and the purplish tinge of a bruise was blooming across the surface of the skin.
Groaning, Holly tossed the ice pack to the side. Her level of self-pity multiplied with every passing second. ‘Of course it would be me. And of course it would be on the first day.’
‘We got ice on it quickly. It might be better in the morning.’
As much as Holly loved Caroline’s optimism, she suspected it would take more than one night before she was doing any more outdoor activities, and she was about to say as much when her phone buzzed.
Pressing her lips together, she fought the tears that pricked her eyes as she picked up the phone and accepted the video call.
‘Look who it is. It’s Mummy! Say hello to Mummy.’ In the tiny rectangle of her screen, Hope was bouncing up and down on Ben’s lap, frowning at the camera.
‘Hope, how are you, my baby girl?’ At the sound of her voice, Hope’s face lit up and the tears that Holly had been battling once again threatened to appear.
