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And then she heard the clack, clack, clack of an approaching helicopter and breathed a sigh of relief. Gio didn’t even need to cross the water now. The coastguard could—
‘No! Oh, no, don’t try and get in the water,’ Harriet shrieked, moving away from Alice and running towards the water’s edge. ‘Oh, Dr Anderson, my Dan is trying to get into the water.’
Gio saw it too and shouted something to the boys before diving into the sea to cross the last strip of water. He used a powerful front crawl but even so Alice could see that he was being dragged sideways by the fast current.
It was only after he pulled himself safely onto the strip of sand that Alice realised that her fingernails had cut into her palms.
She saw him lift one of the twins and take the other by the hand, holding them firmly while the coastguard helicopter hovered in position above them.
The sand was gradually disappearing as the tide swirled and reclaimed the land, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered on the beach and were watching the drama unfold.
Alice bit her lip hard. The helicopter crew would rescue them all. Of course they would.
Still with her arm round Harriet, she watched as the winchman was lowered down to the sand to collect the first child.
The baby was screaming in Harriet’s arms but she just jiggled it vaguely, all her attention focused on her twins.
‘Let me take her.’ Alice reached across and took the baby and Harriet walked into the sea, yearning to get to the boys. ‘Hold it, Harriet.’ With a soft curse Alice held the baby with one arm and used the other to grab Harriet and hold her back. ‘Just wait. They’re fine now. Nothing’s going to happen to them.’ Providing the coastguard managed to pick up the second child and Gio before the tide finally closed over the rapidly vanishing sand spit.
Discovering new depths of tension within herself, Alice watched helplessly as the winchman guided the first child safely into the helicopter and then went down for the second.
By now Gio’s feet were underwater and he was holding the child high in his arms, safely away from the dangerous lick of the sea.
The helicopter held its position, the crowd on the beach grew and there was a communal sigh of relief as the winchman picked up the second child, attached the harness and then guided him safely into the helicopter.
‘Oh, thank God!’ Harriet burst into tears, her hands over her face. ‘Now what?’ She turned to Alice. ‘Where are they taking them?’
‘They’ll check them over just in case they need medical help,’ Alice told her, her eyes fixed on Gio who was now up to mid-thigh in swirling water. She raked fingers through her hair and clamped her teeth on her lower lip to prevent herself from crying out a warning. What was the point of crying out a warning when the guy could see perfectly well for himself what was happening?
‘Will they take them to the hospital?’ Harriet was staring up at the helicopter but Alice had her gaze fixed firmly on Gio.
There was no way he’d be able to swim safely now. The water was too deep and the current was just too fierce.
The crowd on the beach must have realised it too because a sudden silence fell as they waited for the helicopter to lower the winchman for a third time.
And finally Harriet saw…
‘He’s risking his life.’ She said the words in hushed tones, as if she’d only just realised what was truly happening. ‘Oh, my God, he’s risking his life for my babies. And now he’s going to—’
‘No, he isn’t.’ Alice snapped the words, refusing to allow her to voice what everyone was thinking. ‘He’s going to be fine, Harriet,’ she said, as much to convince herself as the woman standing next to her in a serious state of anxiety. ‘They’re lowering the winchman again.’
What was the Italian for you stupid, brave idiot? she wondered as she watched Gio exchange a few words with the winchman and then laugh as the harness was attached. They rose up in the air, swinging slightly as they approached the hovering helicopter.
Alice closed her eyes briefly as he vanished inside. For a moment she just felt like sinking onto the sand and staying there until the panic subsided. Then her mobile phone rang. She answered it immediately. It was Gio.
‘Twins seem fine but they’re taking them to hospital for a quick check.’ His voice crackled. ‘Tell Harriet I’ll bring them home. It isn’t safe for her to drive in a state of anxiety and shock and by the time she gets up to the house, picks up the car and drives to the hospital, I’ll be home with them.’
Deciding that it wasn’t the right moment to yell at him, she simply acknowledged what he’d said and ended the call. ‘They seem fine but they’re going to take them to the hospital for a check. Dr Moretti will bring them home, Harriet,’ she said quietly. ‘Let’s go back to your house now and make a cup of tea. I don’t know about you, but I need one.’
Gio arrived back at the house three hours later. Three long hours during which she’d had all too much time to think about that kiss and the fact that she’d told him far more about herself than she’d intended.
Annoyed with herself, confused, Alice abandoned all pretence of reading a medical journal and was pacing backwards and forwards in the kitchen, staring at the clock, when she finally heard the doorbell. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
She opened the door and lifted an eyebrow, trying to regain some of her old self. Trying to react the way she would have reacted before that kiss. ‘Forgot your key?’
He was wearing a set of theatre scrubs and he looked broad-shouldered and more handsome than a man had a right to look. She sneaked a look at his firm mouth and immediately felt a sizzle in her veins.
‘Careless, I know. I went swimming and I must have them in my trousers.’ He strolled past her with a lazy grin and pushed the door closed behind him. Suddenly her hallway seemed small.
