Page 76 of An Italian Wedding Adventure

But as they made slow progress across the vast water, she had to admit there was peace in the quiet co-operation of paddling. Lily and her friend Adelaide followed Kira with firm, co-ordinated strokes, occasionally oversteering and straightening up with a laugh.

A woman buzzed past on a hydrofoil surfboard, causing Lucia and Katie to shriek as they steered out of the way. They turned to watch the surfer come to an elegant stop and then sink into the water. Sophie took the camera from its clip on her vest and snapped pictures of Lily smiling, talking to her friends and soaking up the sunshine.

‘Sometimes, I imagine I can see in her expression that she knows she’s pregnant,’ she murmured to Andreas, glancing over her shoulder at him when he didn’t respond.

He wasn’t looking at Lily, but at her, sending a shower of misgiving over her skin. ‘It’s a special moment to capture, I suppose,’ he said. ‘Are you okay?’ he added softly.

‘What kind of question is that?’ she scoffed.

‘You just seem…’

‘Whatever word you can’t find, I’m not that. I’m a little stressed, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.’

‘If it was the ladies pretending they needed help?—’

‘You can do whatever you want with whoever you want and I’m not going to stand in your way if you want to flirt with half the wedding party,’ she blurted out.

Oops. She stopped paddling entirely, resting the pole over her lap. The view was too beautiful for what was going on inside her, so she squeezed her eyes shut against the vivid colours and tranquil landscape.

‘Sorry, I know you weren’t flirting. Youdon’tflirt. You’re just doing your job.’

He was silent for a long moment, but when he spoke, the bastard splintered her open even further. ‘If it helps you to know, I asked them to delay our departure for Manaslu – back in June.’

‘Who— What are you talking about?’

‘We were discussing dates for the expedition and I said I wasn’t available until October.’ His tone was casual, but in the silence that followed, she heard him swallow heavily.

‘Huh.’ Her ears rang as she struggled to interpret what he was saying. He’d chosen to be here – for awedding, when he could have had the perfect excuse not to be.

‘Just remember I’m only here for you, because you asked me.’ With that statement, his voice roughened and he cleared his throat.

‘There was a time,’ she began carefully, ‘that asking you to a wedding would not have produced this result.’

‘I know, Sophie,’ he said gruffly, as though he couldn’t quite believe the change either. ‘But I’m looking forward to winning your Foo Fighters T-shirt. I hope you brought it.’

‘Ha!’ She figured it was safe enough to peer over her shoulder at that and found him with a faint smile on his lips, peering right back. The lump in her throat expanded. ‘Maybe you’ll lose. Weddings do tend to beveryemotional in the moment.’

‘I’ve got an idea of that already. I don’t know how you do this several times a year.’

‘Emotions are my speciality,’ she said lightly. ‘I hopeyoubrought your forfeit?’ She used a teasing tone to hide her genuine curiosity, but she didn’t expect that he’d be prepared to give her a gemstone. An explanation would be preferable to the object itself. She couldn’t decide which she was more likely to receive.

He hesitated for a moment, a flinch rippling across his facial expression. ‘I did,’ he said evenly.

Sophie wasn’t sure how to respond. She eventually decided on, ‘I hope you remembered to lock the door.’

Straightening her shoulders, Sophie returned to the task at hand, shelving her own angst for the time being. Setting the camera to record video, she clipped it back into her vest and hefted the oar again as Andreas steered them effortlessly after Kira. They paddled lazily away from Riva heading south-west, where the cliff faces ranged steeply up out of the water. Orientation was different on the lake and although Sophie knew that the mountain slanting up on the shore behind them was Monte Brione, Riva’s landmark peak, she’d lost her grip on north and south.

As the cliff faces drew nearer – or their little boats drew nearer to the cliffs, but movement felt relative to Sophie out on the water – the steel terrace of an abandoned building came into focus, clinging to the rock. It was draped in vines and a rusty sign that read backwards from this angle announced it was a hotel, or had been at some point in the past.

Kira steered for the hotel and then veered right, heading for a low arch supporting a hiking and cycling trail above.

‘We’re going in there?’ she asked, turning to Andreas with wide eyes.

A smile pulled up one side of his mouth as he nodded. ‘The Ponale waterfall is only accessible from the lake.’

Her breath caught as she gazed at the imposing rock walls. The water seemed to draw the boats towards the opening under the arch. She told herself that couldn’t be the case, as the water was flowing outintothe lake and not the other way, but there was nevertheless a sense of being inexorably drawn to the secret entrance of a mythical place.

The group was silent as the rushing water grew louder. Sophie squinted against the sunlight, searching for the waterfall that must be the source of the sound, but she saw only rocks and vines. Then Kira slipped between two outcroppings and disappeared into the shadows. One by one, the other boats followed, punctuated by gasps and shouts of delight from the hen party.

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