‘You’ve driven all this way. Seems a shame not to.’
Didi hesitated, still torn. After a couple of seconds, Shay said easily, ‘I’ll leave you to have a think about it.’ Turning in the water so he was facing away, he began to swim towards the other side of the lake.
Oh, just look at those broad, tanned shoulders, those powerful arms. She watched as he cut effortlessly through the water. Dragonflies with iridescent wings hovered and darted above the lake, whilst birds wheeled lazily overhead. The glitter of the sun’s reflection bouncing off the surface was almost blinding. Didi glanced over at the low wall to her left, her heart swelling as she spotted Shay’s keys tucked away in a crevice between two rocks. It was where they’d always left any valuables, back in the day. She added her own car keys, then removed her T-shirt and shorts and left them on the sand beside his Nike bag.
He’d reached the centre of the lake now. She launched herself into the water and began swimming out to join him.
‘Just like old times,’ he said when only a few metres separated them.
‘Well, not quite.’ During that long, hot summer thirteen years ago, they’d cycled over from Elliscombe, bringing food and spending entire days at a time here whenever work allowed. There’d been music and dancing, swimming and splashing, all interspersed with laughter and kissing.
A lot of kissing.
Not to mention the rest . . .
Oh God, was she mad to be doing this, feeling the way she did right now?
Then again, she’d only come here to have a swim. It wasn’t her fault Shay was here too.
‘No Aaron this weekend?’
‘It’s his boss’s birthday. He has to be in London. Lots of celebrating to be done.’
‘And you don’t mind?’
‘I haven’t been abandoned. I was invited.’
‘But you stayed here instead.’
‘It was going to last all weekend and I can’t stand his boss.’
Shay’s eyes sparkled. ‘Well, good for you.’
‘Plus the hotel’s busy,’ Didi added.
‘I’ve noticed.’
‘You’ve been busy too. How’s the renovation coming along?’
‘We’re on schedule, just about. I had Dad over with me today, keeping an eye on things. Until he fell asleep on his sunlounger out in the garden. Then I stopped work for thirty seconds to refill my water bottle and he came inside to see what was going on.’ Shay grinned. ‘Called me a lazy sod.’
‘Better stop skiving off then,’ said Didi, ‘and get a move on with that house.’
He swept his hand across the surface of the water, sending an arcing wave into her face.
‘Oh dear.’ Didi wagged a finger at him. ‘You shouldn’t have done that.’ Scooping with both hands, she splashed him back, then shrieked with laughter and launched into an energetic crawl, heading for the far side of the lake where the branches of the willow trees bowed down and kissed the surface of the water.
They splashed, swam and raced each other for the next thirty minutes, before getting out, spreading their towels on the narrow sandy beach and lying down to let the late-afternoon sun warm them up and dry them off. Just as they’d done all those years ago.
‘We never did find out who lived in that place.’ Propped up on one elbow, Didi twisted round and pointed to the impressive Victorian property behind them, set in stunning grounds and with an uninterrupted view over the lake. All they knew was that it was called Hestacombe House, and back then they’d occasionally glimpsed an elderly man at one of the upstairs windows. Now there were swings and a slide in the garden, and a pair of children’s yellow wellingtons lodged high in the branches of a well-established monkey-puzzle tree.
Had the original owner died, or had he sold the place and relocated, perhaps to somewhere more exotic? Who knew? Either way, this view and the lake itself might still be unchanged but life had moved inexorably on. They all had.
Hadn’t they?
‘I’ll tell you who does still live here,’ said Shay.
They’d never known anyone from Hestacombe. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. ‘Who?’
He pointed over to the right and she followed his gaze. From around the bend in the lake, where low-hanging branches and thick reeds had previously obscured their view, a pair of swans now emerged. ‘Oh wow.’ She sat up to see them better. ‘They can’t be the same ones, surely?’
They certainly looked the same, but was that possible? Thirteen years ago there’d been a pair of swans here, always together, invariably gliding along in unison. Didi and Shay had made up stories about their lives, their complicated families and the arguments they had in private whilst maintaining a blissfully happy public persona for the benefit of visitors to the lake.
‘Betty and Neville.’ Shay was shielding his eyes from the sun. ‘It definitely looks like them.’
The pair drew closer, as elegant and synchronised as Torvill and Dean, and Didi spotted the mark on Neville’s neck, the result of an injury sustained long ago. ‘It is them. See the scar. They’re still together.’ Ridiculously, a lump had sprung into her throat, because it was so romantic. ‘After all these years.’
‘Are you about to cry?’
‘Shut up. Of course not.’
Shay’s mouth twitched. ‘Glad to hear it. Because that would be weird.’
He was just a man, he didn’t understand.
They watched as Betty and Neville glided past, ignoring them completely, needing nothing but each other’s company. Still raised up on one elbow, Didi closed her eyes and felt the sun warm her eyelids. How was Shay feeling about them being here together? He was wearing a pair of faded red board shorts and she was in her old black swimsuit; his bare legs were just there and hers were here, right next to them. Was he remembering how they’d once lain on this beach with their limbs entangled, their bodies pressed together? Did he ever think about the kisses they’d shared? Was every detail of the sensation of her mouth on his still as fresh in his mind as it was in hers? What was going through his mind right now . . . and was she completely crazy to be asking herself that question, given what was going on in hers?
Because if Shay were to turn towards her now, touch her arm, brush her hair back from her temple with his hand . . . would she be able to stop him? Or even want to?
Her pulse quickening, she knew the answer would be no.
From a tree behind them, a blackbird was singing. She opened her eyes and gazed up at the cloudless sky, remembering that it had been Red who’d taught her how to recognise the songs of the different species of bird around the cottage. Tilting her head, she prepared to tell Shay—
Oh what?
Seriously?
Whilst she’d been lying beside him, awash with adrenalin, happy memories and forbidden thoughts, he’d fallen asleep?
Didi exhaled, her ego crashing back to earth with a thud. She didn’t know whether to feel crushed, cross, insulted or relieved that her feelings clearly ran so much deeper than his.
Talk about a kick in the teeth. Then again, maybe it was just as well.
Oh, but how galling to realise that whilst she’d been secretly fantasising about Shay, he’d been thinking of her as nothing more than an ex-girlfriend who’d once featured in his past.