Chapter 28
28
Andreas had not expected to awake on the morning of the hen party with his mind and his heart – and his arms – full of Sophie. God, she was beautiful when she slept, her hair a mess, her face slack, pressed into his shoulder, one arm slung over his torso.
He possibly shouldn’t have let it happen, especially when she’d had a shock to remind her of her own loss and he was still smarting from her assumption that he was sleeping with Kira. Objectively, it hadn’t been an unreasonable one. He didn’t usually tie himself up in knots over relationships, kept his head clear for self-preservation, but she should have known his head wasn’t clear.
Please don’t, Andreas , she’d said when he’d tried to tell her he’d never felt this way about anyone else. Sophie did weddings and commitment and lifetimes and he knew, when he left for Manaslu, he’d upset her and he hated the prospect.
Enough to cancel the expedition? He was starting to consider the possibility.
His skin went cold at the thought, restlessness, anxiety, images of her marrying and divorcing Rory Brent surging through him. It was enough for him to gently remove her arm and haul himself out of bed. He’d never brought anything good into her life or given her a reason to forgive him for rejecting her so baldly all those years ago.
Kira eyed him when she came out of her room at the scent of coffee, but he silenced any questions she might have with a shake of his head. She hadn’t seemed surprised when he’d arrived home last night with Sophie and her suitcase in tow.
By the time Sophie emerged, looking disoriented, he’d already checked the equipment for the day and stacked it by the door, as well as filled Kira in on Lily’s pregnancy and the safety adjustments required.
‘There are eggs in the pan on the stove,’ he said to Sophie by way of good morning, running a hand over the back of his head instead of obsessing about whether to kiss her.
‘Thanks.’
He tried to shake his mood when they got to the car, but the frustration rose in his throat again when Sophie climbed into the back, as though she thought he’d rather have Kira in the passenger seat, when he’d been looking forward to admiring Sophie’s bare legs and her look of concentration as she worked on her tablet.
Hen parties were familiar ground both in Weymouth and at home, but he felt a shiver of unease that day when he pulled up in the car park in Riva to see Lily and her five friends in their swimsuits and wraps and kaftans, already pouring sparkling wine into tumblers. He’d experienced the odd tipsy client making eyes at him in the past and the prospect made his skin crawl that day.
Sophie was out of the car like a shot, immediately on duty to help Lily hide the fact that she wasn’t drinking.
Andreas greeted the women briefly, ignoring a lingering look from the tall bridesmaid he thought was called Lucia, and went to where the owner of the kayak hire business was waiting by the water’s edge with five boats.
‘Filippo! Buongiorno.’
‘Ciao, gria? di, Andreas.’
While the hen group chattered and applied sun cream and tried on the life vests, Andreas noticed Sophie standing to the side sending wary looks at the kayaks. She was still wearing her shorts and the soft blouse with embroidery along the hem that made him want to brush his fingers along her buttons. Her gaze snapped up and she caught him watching her. She hurried over.
‘I was just thinking, you don’t need me to come, right?’
He crossed his arms. ‘I thought you were supposed to take photos.’
‘You or Kira can manage that surely.’
‘Kira and I are going to be managing the group. You’d get more photos, better footage. What’s really the problem?’
She didn’t immediately answer.
‘You still don’t like small boats,’ he supplied for her, trying not to smile at the memory of her rafting in Sardinia.
‘I never have,’ she said through gritted teeth.
‘That didn’t stop you before.’
‘ You’re the one who told me about listening to your fears.’
‘Listen – and then do it anyway. I think that’s what I would have said. You just need to get used to it. I could take you out to practise capsizing. That would show you how safe it really?—’
‘Nooo, thank you. I’ll skip the capsizing. I just— There are a lot of other things I could be doing.’
‘You’ve got it all under control.’
She scowled, blowing her hair out of her face as she did so, and she looked so sweet, his mood lifted against his will. ‘Don’t use your mountain-guide voice with me. I know you’re human and you’re just saying that.’
He grasped her hand, squeezed and let go again when it was obvious that she didn’t want the others to see. ‘At least they didn’t ask to have the ceremony on the water.’
Her eyes widened in horror.
‘Get dressed!’ He peeled off his T-shirt for emphasis, but the effect was ruined by a titter from the women behind him and he inwardly groaned when Sophie’s smile faded.
‘Okay, everyone!’ Kira called the group together.
Andreas glanced back at Sophie to find her shrugging out of her light blouse to reveal a black one-piece with two cut-outs at the hips and his mouth went dry. Kira’s voice became nothing more than a buzz in his ears as his thoughts travelled back to the night before, when he’d used his hands and his lips on her skin – all over her skin.
‘Andreas? Andreas! ’
Blinking to clear the fog in his brain, he turned reluctantly from the sweet view of Sophie’s frown to work out what he’d missed. Hopefully, Kira hadn’t called him too many times.
‘We might need your help to push off. We’ll go in pairs and I’ll lead in the single kayak.’ Kira hefted her paddle like a spear.
‘Who are you going with?’
At least Lucia resisted a wink, but Andreas still stiffened at the question. ‘?h?—’
‘He’s going with Sophie!’ He could have given Lily a kiss on the cheek. ‘She’s taking photos, so he’ll need to paddle for her.’
‘Yes, I’ll be Sophie’s chauffeur,’ he managed.
Lucia still requested his help to climb into the plastic boat. Kayaks were notoriously wobbly and most accidents happened while getting in and out, so he supported her as gallantly as he could.
‘Arse first,’ he instructed her in a clipped tone.
‘Did you just say, “arse first”?’ she repeated with a snicker.
‘If you try to step in, you’ll rock the boat, so…’
‘I suppose it’s arse first then,’ she said with a smile, plonking her bottom into the seat as he held her arms. He repeated the process with Lucia’s boatmate.
‘What’s your name, sorry?’
‘Katie.’
He gave Katie a tight smile. ‘There you are. All okay?’
When she beamed up at him, he gave them a push to shove the boat off the crunching shingle and all the way into the water.
When he straightened, he realised a queue had formed for his help and Kira was rolling her eyes from her position, sitting at ease in her single kayak as it bobbed on the clear, blue water.
‘I’m Chigozie,’ the next member of the hen party introduced herself with another bright smile. She held out her hands and he helped her into the boat.
‘Rita,’ said the next one and with a grunt, he pushed them off.
‘Does anyone want to have a go themselves?’ he asked no one in particular.
Lily appeared next to him and mouthed, ‘Sorry,’ but he reassured her with a shake of his head and a genuine smile.
‘Here, let me help,’ he offered quietly, settling her into the front of the kayak.
She looked up at him. ‘I’m not sick.’
He gave her a nod in acknowledgement.
‘But Sophie might be sick with jealousy,’ she added in a whisper.
‘I hope not,’ he grumbled, helping the other bridesmaid into the boat behind her.
‘I’ll manage myself.’
He froze at the sound of Sophie’s voice, cool and calm. But her steps wobbled a little as she picked her way over the shingle and into the shallow water.
‘I can’t believe you said, “arse first” to my clients,’ she muttered.
He grimaced. ‘What should I have said? Bottom first? We’re not precious about the word “Arsch” in German.’
As she leaned over to grip the sides of the plastic boat, there were a few more jokes he could have made about his view, but he looked away and bit his tongue.
When she slipped one foot gingerly into the boat that was bobbing in the gentle waves, Andreas saw a flash of what was about to happen, but he was too far away to stop it.
The boat tipped and then shot out of her grip, leaving her teetering in the water on one leg for a moment before she came crashing down with a shriek. A cheer went up from the hens out on the water and they raised their paddles in salute as Sophie spluttered.
Andreas fetched the kayak before it floated away and then crouched next to her, where she was sitting in the water hanging her head, the waterproof camera clipped to her life jacket. ‘I hope that thing isn’t recording,’ he said gently, tipping her head up and brushing a few drops off her cheeks.
‘I’m guessing that’s not what you meant by “arse first”.’
A smile touched his lips and it felt like the first genuine one all morning. Sliding his palm down her arm, he gave her a squeeze because he couldn’t give her a kiss. ‘No, that’s not what I meant.’