Page 33 of An Italian Wedding Adventure

He shook his head, dismissing her concerns. ‘You weren’t close to your limit. I was keeping an eye on you.’

‘How do you know what my limit is?Idon’t even know any more.’

Turning to her in an irritatingly matter-of-fact manner, he began, ‘Sophie, it’s been a while, but you still approach a challenging hike the same way you used to. I’m a mountain guide qualified in two different countries. You were fine. And the only reason the thought of a via ferrata makes you nervous is that you’ve forgotten what you’re capable of.’

‘Maybe I don’t want to be challenged any more!’ she blurted out, disliking the cold, sinking feeling that accompanied her admission. Had that been Rory’s appeal?

But there was no disappointment in the way he studied her. If anything, there was just a touch of sympathy. ‘Maybe you’re just out of practice at that, too,’ he said.

‘I’m not Kira,’ she insisted. ‘And I’m not the same person I was eight years ago.’

‘No one is the same person they were eight years ago.’ The only evidence that he was smiling were the little brackets at the corners of his lips.

‘You must have been bored today,’ she insisted, raising her chin.

He regarded her intently, the sheen in his eyes turning to copper as the sun dipped low and reflected off the water. ‘I hope I didn’t give you that impression. I couldn’t take you up Manaslu, Fini, but… it was good today.’

Fini…The old nickname gave her goosebumps.

‘What was it, 1279m of altitude? How high is Manaslu?’ she asked, changing the subject.

‘It’s an eight-thousander,’ he said, biting his lip as though he was trying not to smile. ‘But if I can’t be up there, I may as well be here.’With you. Surely he couldn’t have meant that. ‘What did you do on holiday with Rory then? He seemed a hardcore outdoor type on that trip.’

‘Possibly we were both pretending,’ she said grimly.

‘Pretending? You weren’t pretending.’

‘I was trying to impress you! It was silly, I know.’

His brows lifted as he processed what she was saying. ‘You didn’t enjoy the cliffs in Dorset?’

‘God, it was always so windy!’ Sophie said. ‘You had to patch my wounds every time. That rock was sharp!’

‘I have good memories of that,’ he said with a rueful smile.

‘Me too,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘I played a damsel in distress a little too eagerly.’

‘The Dolomites? You didn’t enjoy that?’ His tone was pained.

Sophie stared out over the gently lapping water. There was a light breeze, just enough for the windsurfers gliding smoothly in the distance. ‘I did,’ she confessed. ‘And I was glad I’d had the climbing boot camp beforehand, because those routes were incredible. But… I had thought maybe I was finally invited to meet the family.’

She was embarrassed to admit the truth, but it was a relief as well, in the same way it was a relief to look at him and see a flawed man and not some kind of god. He grimaced and followed her gaze to the other side of the lake: lush hills, crooked peaks and sun-baked villages below.

‘That was my issue, not yours.’

‘What’s wrong with your family then? The little things you mentioned sounded pretty normal.’

‘My family is completely normal. Parents married for forty years, they live in harmony with each other and the world. They’re so normal, they don’t understand why I climb mountains.’ His smile was tight. ‘And they would have marched you to the church in my hometown and emotionally blackmailed me until I married you.’

‘Ah, so I had a narrow escape.’

‘Exactly!’ he said with emphasis, not looking at her. ‘How’s your sister? I hope she didn’t say, “I told you so,” when we broke up.’

‘She’s good. She took up trail running and now has a super-fit husband and two super-fit kids and lives in Scotland.’ She glanced at him. ‘Of course she said, “I told you so.” It’s her responsibility as the older sibling.’

‘She never liked me,’ he commented mildly, as though Tash had been right to be sceptical of their relationship.

‘You know she dragged me on that trip to Sardinia? I’d never done anything like that before and didn’t particularly want to. “Kicking and screaming,” was how she put it.’

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