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When they broke away from each other, Holly met Evan’s eyes, only to find him smiling just as widely as she was.
‘I wasn’t expecting this to happen,’ he said, running a finger across her palm before he kissed her again, just as tenderly. ‘I wasn’t expecting to meet someone like you.’
Holly shifted back, pressing her lips together tightly. ‘You know, I’m really not that special. I’m incredibly ordinary.’
‘You are definitely not,’ he said, and kissed her yet again. ‘I knew it from the first moment I saw you. I can’t explain it. There was just something about you. And I’m so glad I trusted my instinct.’
She wanted to respond and agree. Or at least kiss him again. After all, it had been an incredible kiss. Even now, fireworks continued to erupt within her. Her whole body was alive with the tingles of excitement that could only come from a first kiss. But for some reason, her gaze shifted from Evan, back outside through the window. The car had gone and with it, a pang of disappointment. But did she really want Giles there? And what did it mean that now, when she was this close to moving past him, he was in her mind more than ever?
‘We should head back to the villa,’ she said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. ‘The others are probably wondering what’s happened to us.’
The ride back to the villa didn’t feel anywhere near as scary as the one to the vineyard, though whether that was to do with several glasses of wine, or the fact that Holly had her arms wrapped far more tightly around Evan than before, she couldn’t say. All in all, though, she couldn’t have imagined a better way to end the evening than watching the moon reflect off the water as they weaved their way back down the hillside.
When they reach the villa, Evan parked up inside the garage before the pair of them removed the helmets. Instinctively, he moved to kiss her, but rather than reciprocating the way she had done at the vineyard, she placed both hands on his chest and stepped back.
‘It’s not that I don’t want to. I do. So much. But this is Jamie and Fin’s trip, you know? If people know that we’re… whatever we are… then that will detract from it and I don’t want things to be awkward? Am I making sense?’
‘You are making perfect sense. Honestly, I get it. I mean, it makes me like you even more and I hate you for that, but I get it.’
She smiled, trying to hide the flicker of guilt that she felt. No matter how much she’d enjoyed feeling herself pressed up against Evan as they rode home, it had been impossible not to let her mind wander back to the car at the vineyard. If that had been Giles, she wondered, what would she have said to him? Or would they need to speak at all? Perhaps they had been through so much together that they were past the stage of needing words. Again, she shook her head and forced herself to quash the thoughts. Giles was her past, and while Evan might not be her future, he was her present. He was kind, and funny and basically everything she could ever have dreamed of. When she went back to Bourton and reality set in, all this would be nothing but a fun memory and so it seemed a shame not to make the most of it.
They stepped out of the garage, but when Evan reached the front door, he stopped and turned to face her.
‘As I’m going to spend the entire evening having to force myself to keep my hands off you, I might just need one more kiss before we get inside. Is that okay?’
Why was there something so lovely about a man asking to kiss her? Maybe it was the accent, or maybe it was because the newness and excitement was something she hadn’t experienced for so long. Pushing aside all the doubts and uncertainties, Holly allowed herself to focus on the moment.
‘I suppose one more kiss would be all right.’ She stepped towards him and pushed herself up onto tiptoes, her lips finding his as if they were drawn there magnetically. And once they touched, she had no desire to pull away. No, what she wanted was for the world to slip away for a moment, just the way it had done at the vineyards. Yet no sooner had the thought occurred than a chorus of singing started from the balcony above them.
‘Holly and Evan, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!’
As they broke apart, she looked up to the wrap-around balcony, where the entire group were there with drinks in their hands, looking down on them and laughing. A crimson blush flooded her face, as Evan slipped his hand into hers and squeezed.
‘I guess this means we’re busted,’ he said.
‘I think we are definitely busted.’
* * *
The strangest thing about sitting on the sofa with Evan was how comfortable he seemed to be with it. Not that it wasn’t nice, having Evan’s hand resting casually across her knee. Once or twice, she even forgot it was there, and moved to drop her shoulder onto his, only to jolt back upright and realise how ridiculous the situation was. She and Ben had been affectionate enough in private, and offered occasional displays in public, like a quick kiss on the lips when he popped into the shop at lunchtime, but never early on like this. And never with so many people around them. How was it that Evan had made her feel so comfortable so quickly? Especially with all the doubts she had.
As much as she didn’t want it to be true, the only explanation Holly could see for the romantic haze she found herself in was that Evan was a game player. The type of man who made women feel completely at ease, then broke their hearts. Much the same way as someone else had done to her when she first moved to Bourton. But Giles had had good reason to try to make Holly think he was interested in her. Besides, if Evan really was that much of a Casanova, why didn’t Jamie say something? And why had he introduced her to his mother? Whatever Evan’s angle was, she was having a hard time figuring it out. Still, she was only there for a short while. It seemed silly to stress about it too much. After all, she was hardly going to fall in love with the guy in a couple of days, was she?
After several minutes of ribbing from the group, they had walked in hand in hand and sat down on the sofa by one another. Considering how much Caroline had pried about things earlier, Holly expected an interrogation, but so far there hadn’t been the slightest bit of questioning. It would come, though. She knew her friends.
‘Tell me that there’s no walk involved tomorrow.’ Naomi sat with her feet in a bowl of warm, soapy water. ‘I can’t do any more walking.’
‘I promise, no walking. Just lazing on a boat.’ Evan replied.
‘Do I have to walk to the boat?’
‘It’s not that far. Just down a jetty. And I promise, when you’re on the boat, that’s it. I’m sure one of us will be okay to bring you your drinks so you don’t even have to get up.’
‘You know she’s gonna hold you to that.’ Holly tilted her head to look up at Evan.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll bring you all your drinks too.’
With that, he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on the lips.
