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‘How, come? Where are the others?’
She opened her mouth, only to close it again several times.
‘Umm, I… I…’ She struggled to think of what she was going to say. Before the wine, she’d had the vague outline of a speech prepared, but even then it had been sketchy. And that was before she’d seen him and the beautiful woman kissing. That was before she realised what a complete and utter mess she was making of her life. And so she said the only thing she could say.
‘Do you want some of this wine?’
44
Holly wasn’t sure what surprised her more. The fact that Giles sat down on the seat opposite her without a moment’s hesitation, the flawless French with which he spoke and got himself another glass for the wine, or the way the previously grumpy waitress’s face lit up when she spoke to him. It was far from the surly attitude the woman had had when she dumped the carafe down on the table for Holly. Judging by the way the pair of them laughed together, they could have been old friends.
‘You know each other?’ It was hard not to think about how many women Giles had around the marina to fetch him wine glasses at his beck and call.
‘It’s a close-knit community here. Maria’s brother owns another restaurant over in Èze. I used to go there regularly with my uncle. But he sold it last year. She doesn’t need to work here. Not financially, anyway; she just does it for the social side.’
Holly stayed quiet. Evidently, the lack of needing the job clearly translated to a lack of needing manners, too. Still, even with the way her head was spinning, Holly could feel that wasn’t something she should say.
A moment later, Giles had been given a wine glass, which this time the waitress topped up, before saying something else Holly didn’t understand. From the way she laughed and fluttered her eyes, though, she was definitely flirting with Giles.
Finally, after some less-than-subtle throat clearing by Holly, the waitress took her leave.
Giles took a long drink from his glass. ‘How did you get here? Did someone drop you?’
‘Actually’ – a broad smile stretched out on Holly’s face – ‘I drove here. On a Vespa.’
‘A Vespa!’ Giles’s jaw dropped. ‘Since when did you drive a Vespa?’
‘Since tonight, on a road at least.’ Holly was feeling very pleased with herself. ‘I hadn’t even been on one until the day before yesterday. Evan took me up to a vineyard on one. Then he let me have a go on it. And according to him, I’m a natural.’
‘According to Evan?’
‘Yes.’ There was something about Giles’s tone that made her stop. The glint that had glimmered in his eyes had also gone, and the lightness that had been filling Holly took a sudden weight.
‘Why did you come down here, Holly?’
The cool night air stirred with a heat, which caused a clamminess to fix to her skin.
‘I don’t know. Closure, I think. But then…’ She paused, debating what to say next. ‘I came to your boat. You said you wanted to talk, but I came to your boat and…’ Her words trailed into nothing, though her eyes bore into Giles’s and she knew he understood. For a moment, they stared at each other, the bond between them so strong it was almost as if the world had stopped swaying. The pair simultaneously took a sip from their drink before they spoke in unison.
‘That girl—’
‘You and Evan.’
They stopped, and Holly tipped her glass to Giles, gesturing for him to continue.
‘She’s not what you think.’
‘You don’t have to explain.’
‘I know I don’t, but I want to.’
‘It’s fine. Please. It was stupid of me to even come down here.’
‘No, it wasn’t. It was what I wanted you to do. I asked you to.’
He reached out to grab her hand, but she backed away sharply, knocking her knees against the underside of the table. Without a second’s pause, Giles leaned forward and grabbed the two wineglasses before they could topple.
‘Reflexes from the boat,’ he said with a narrow smile that dropped almost as quickly as it formed.
