AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘No… I should have… I wanted to…’
He paused, dropping them into a silence that grew thicker and thicker with every breath.
‘Is everything all right here?’ Evan said. ‘I’m feel like I’m missing something.’
Giles didn’t reply; he was still staring at Holly and it wasn’t just Giles who couldn’t keep their eyes off her. Jamie, Fin, Caroline and the rest of the group had stopped their nattering and were staring at her expectantly. She needed to say something. She knew she did. But she couldn’t think what.
‘It’s Fin and Jamie’s hen do,’ she blurted out. ‘Stag do. Hen do and stag do. They’re doing it together. A joint thing. In France. That’s why we’re in France.’
Giles nodded.
‘I didn’t realise with the booking. It was a different name.’
‘Yes, Evan booked.’
‘I see.’ His voice was quiet. Barely audible above the waves that lapped at the side of the boat. ‘How have you been? How’s Hope?’
‘Nearly eight months, if you can believe it.’
‘Crawling?’
‘Yes, she’s into everything.’
‘I can imagine.’
They paused, hundreds of unspoken words spiralling between them, and she was about to ask what he had been up to when Spencer spoke.
‘So, are we actually going anywhere, or are we staying in the marina all day?’
Silence swelled.
‘There are some other boats,’ Giles finally said, breaking the immensely awkward pause. ‘Or if you give me half an hour, I’m sure I can get one of my buddies to take you out, if that’s easier.’
‘I don’t mind.’ Jamie looked directly at Holly as she spoke. ‘It’s up to you. Are you okay with this?’
‘I… I…’
She turned to look at Evan. She didn’t know why, but she needed to see he was still there, but when she turned to face him, he was staring out at the water.
Did she want to go on a boat with Giles? Did she want to tell him everything he had missed in the last eight months and have him rib her for her failed attempts at baby-led weaning and horrendous nappy disasters? Did she want to open old up wounds that she had only in the last couple of days felt close to healing? No, she didn’t, but this wasn’t her day, her week, her holiday. This was Jamie and Fin’s.
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ she said, forcing her lips into the biggest smile she could. ‘Now, are we going to get out of here or what?’
36
With Holly having given the go-ahead, the group started to move towards the front of the boat, where it didn’t take Sandra long to yell about finding the hot tub, though Holly lingered back.
‘I need to head up to the bridge. Getting out of the port is one of the tricky bits as far as my job goes.’ Giles still hadn’t moved from the same spot. ‘But perhaps later, you and I could catch up?’
Holly nodded. ‘A catch-up sounds good.’
‘Okay, then I’ll see you later. And I am honestly so sorry about earlier.’
‘Really you don’t need to explain.’
Giles pursed his lips as if he might say something more, but instead turned and disappeared, leaving Caroline and Evan standing on either side of her. Holly didn’t want to face either of them, but one needed far more of an explanation.
‘I’ll join you in a minute,’ she said to Caroline with enough pointedness that she hoped her friend would get the hint.
