and caressing her neck, before sliding his fingers down her back, skimming her skin with a gentle touch. ‘Are you sure you can’t be persuaded?’
Her pretty mouth tightened and for a brief second he saw a flash of petulance on her face before she smiled, sincerity filling her rich dark eyes.
‘Darling Nicky, you know how hard it is being a model. You have to be on it all the time. And I don’t want Cory to be browner than me. We’re both up for the same shoot when we get back and they want someone with a good all-over tan.’
‘I’m sure a couple of hours won’t make that much difference,’ said Nick, nipping at her mouth with another gentle kiss as he put his arm around her shoulders, the sneaking thought batting at his mind that he was chasing an elusive butterfly.
‘It will,’ she said, her voice sharp as she shook him off. ‘And I’d have to shower and I don’t want to get my hair wet.’ She reached for her earphones and plugged them back in, tucking her head between her arms, effectively shutting him out.
Nick rolled over onto his back, hot and horny, but at the same time mortification burned his cheeks; he’d never force himself on a woman. He knew what no meant, but Tara had somehow managed to make him feel like some kind of overeager fumbling schoolboy. Embarrassed, as much by the signs of his physical reaction as the worry that he’d come across as some kind of sex pest, he rearranged his swimming shorts, grateful that they were baggy. ‘I think I’ll go for another swim,’ he said gruffly, not that she gave any sign of having heard him.
As he swung his legs over the side of the sunbed he looked up to see Maddie at the top of the steps with a knowing smirk on her face. He flushed and glared at her.
‘I was just coming to see if anyone wanted a drink.’ Amusement brimmed in her eyes, suggesting she’d overheard his thwarted attempt at seduction and thought it highly funny.
‘No, thanks,’ he snarled, his face burning as he walked past her down the stairs. For a moment it was tempting to push the dratted woman overboard. She always managed to catch him at the wrong moment.
As soon as he hit the water, the refreshing coolness calmed his bruised ego and he sliced into the waves in a determined crawl, wanting to put as much distance between him and the boat as possible. He focused on clean strokes, breathing and feeling the water stream over his body, working his muscles hard to burn up some of the antsy, edgy energy threatening to explode. Stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe.
When his shoulders started to burn he slowed and eased into a more leisurely breaststroke, taking the time to look around. Maddie was probably still laughing her head off. Why was it she had the ability to make him feel even more out of his depth than he already did? It always seemed as if she saw too much. He flipped on his back to gaze up at the sky and let out a long sigh. Tara confused him. She made him feel heavy-handed and gauche sometimes, but then there were other times, when she gave him that dazzling brilliant smile, that he felt he could conquer the world and fell armies for her. They came from such different worlds; there were bound to be teething problems but they could get through those, he could adapt. She was so beautiful; she was worth it, wasn’t she?
He frowned; perhaps part of the problem was that he wasn’t used to all this inactivity. At home, by this time he’d have already put in a full day’s work, been for a run, walked several miles and put in some hard physical labour, shifting sacks of feed, building fences or wrangling sheep. Every day was different, although there was a constant reassuring cycle of familiarity. Looking up at the sky and the land in front of him, the dark green, the azure blue above and turquoise sea, he shook his head. How could he even think he was missing home when all this was on offer? He could hear his mother’s amused voice telling him, ‘You must have turnips for brains’. He smiled. He missed his family, that was for sure, but that was allowed, wasn’t it? Knowing his place, the banter with his brothers, the unconditional love and the sense of community. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes. Surely he wasn’t homesick. He was a grown man, for goodness’ sake, having the holiday of a lifetime. His brothers had been green with envy when he’d told them how amazing the boat was. How many other people were invited on a millionaire-style boat trip?
Come on, buck up, Nick, he told himself as he started to swim back to the boat. So your girlfriend didn’t fancy a shag; it’s not the end of the world.
‘Hey, Nick,’ called Siri, who was bobbing about on one of the ridiculous flamingo inflatables when he reached the boat again. ‘We’re going to get the jet ski out, fancy a go?’
‘You bet,’ he called back. Yeah, his brothers would be seriously envious when he told them about that.
As they puttered towards the quayside, the engine humming and throbbing, Maddie wiped the breakfast table, rounding up all the dishes in record time, dashing backwards and forwards between the galley balancing as much in her hands as she could with each trip. Already in her head she was working out how quickly she could get the rooms cleaned and finished.
It was day three of the trip and just before breakfast was served this morning Ivan had weighed anchor and they’d left another of the pretty bays where they’d stayed the night and were now heading to their first port in the town of Bol on the other side of Brač. There was a distinct buzz of excitement among everyone as they neared land.
Over breakfast there’d been much debate on the plan of action for the day.
‘We have to go to Zlatni Rat,’ declared Tara.
‘Yes, we absolutely must,’ said Cory in immediate support.
‘What the hell is that?’ asked Siri. ‘Sounds awful. Like a rodent zoo or something. Doesn’t sound like your kind of thing at all, Tara.’
‘Don’t be silly, Siri,’ giggled Tara. ‘It’s a very famous beach. Voted one of the ten best in Europe. I need to get a picture of me there.’
‘The third best beach in Europe,’ added Cory. ‘It looks divine.’
‘It is a very fine beach,’ interjected Ivan from his position at the wheel. ‘One of the best in Croatia. You should definitely visit. You can take the snorkels and fins; the water is very clear. You can hire windsurfing boards. I would recommend you spend the whole day. There is an excellent promenade to the beach with plenty of bars and places for lunch.’
Tara clapped her hands. ‘It sounds perfect. We have to go.’
Douglas gave one of his good-natured shrugs. ‘I’m easy.’
‘We know that, sweetie,’ said Cory, her smile not quite meeting her eyes. Maddie narrowed her eyes; the girl didn’t know how lucky she was. Douglas absolutely adored her and she wasn’t always very kind to him.
‘As long as I can be a complete slob, sounds good to me,’ said Siri, stretching. ‘Give me a good book, sunshine and the sea and I’m a happy bunny.’
‘It’s been a while since I did any windsurfing, but I wouldn’t mind another shot,’ said Simon, glancing at Nick. ‘You ever done any?’
‘A bit,’ said Nick, with that bland look which Maddie had quickly clocked was his defensive don’t-give-too-much-away expression. Simon seemed determined to challenge him at every turn, almost as if he wanted to show him up in front of Tara.
