How to Fall (12 page)

Darcy brightened when she saw it. ‘That’s better.’

‘I’m glad you think so. It’s all part of the plan.’

‘What plan?’

‘I’m just going to get dressed,’ I said casually.

‘Don’t leave me like this! Tell me about the plan first. Jess . . .’

By the time I got back to my room, Darcy was bouncing up and down with frustration.

‘What plan?’

‘Playing up to Mr Denton by making him think I’m interested in him.’

Darcy pulled a face. ‘If you’re trying to pull Ryan, Natasha will kill you.’

‘Who said anything about pulling him?’ I bent to look in the mirror, which was small and in the darkest corner of the room. I could barely see myself in it. I’d have to take Darcy’s word for whether I looked OK or not, and her version of OK probably wasn’t the same as mine. ‘I’ve met guys like Ryan before. I have to show a certain amount of – let’s call it appreciation – or he’ll lose interest and I won’t get as far as finding out what he thinks about what happened to Freya. But I don’t want to go too far either, or that hell-witch will make my life a misery for the rest of the summer.’

Darcy nodded. ‘So nice top and make-up with skanky jeans and – please tell me you’re going to dry your hair before you leave the house.’

I had pulled it back into a loose knot at the nape of my neck. ‘I was just going to leave it like this.’

‘No.’ Darcy shook her head so violently her plaits flew into her face. ‘I absolutely refuse to let you do that. You look as if you’ve just been swimming.’

‘It’ll be fine when it’s dried a bit more.’

Darcy slid off the bed and went to stand with her back to the door. ‘Hairdryer. Now.’

‘I don’t want to be late.’

‘You won’t be.’ She checked her watch. ‘OK. Maybe
just
a few minutes late. But that makes it look as if you spent ages trying to decide what to wear and primping. Wet hair means you couldn’t care less what he thinks of you.’

‘Which is pretty much true.’

‘Don’t dismiss him too quickly,’ she warned. ‘You’re underestimating him if you think he’s just about the looks and the girls.’

‘Does somebody have a little crush?’

‘No. Not at all.’ But she was blushing. ‘It’s just too easy to make assumptions about him because he’s cute. He’s not stupid.’

‘I didn’t say he was.’

‘He can’t help how people react to him either. He’s not in charge of Natasha.’

‘I didn’t get the impression he minded, though.’

‘Maybe he’s flattered by it.’

‘Oh, probably. You don’t wear a T-shirt that tight without having a fairly well-nourished ego.’ I unravelled my hair and shook it out. ‘Do I really have to dry this?’

‘That hair is a privilege.’ Darcy sounded stern. ‘You need to make the most of it.’

Thirty minutes later I was hurrying towards the harbour, hoping Ryan had been patient enough to wait for me. It was unfortunate but typical that the
harbour
was on the other side of a fairly steep hill; making up the time wasn’t easy. My arms ached and my cheeks were still red from the heat of the hairdryer, but my hair hung down my back in perfect curls. Even I had to admit Darcy had been right to make me dry it properly.

I slowed down a little when the harbour was in sight, not wanting to look hot and bothered when I arrived. I’d had enough of being at a disadvantage in front of Ryan Denton, if I could possibly avoid it. It didn’t seem likely that I could actually impress him, given my previous track record, but I thought I’d get more out of him if he wasn’t quietly laughing at me most of the time.

He was there before me, which wasn’t a surprise given how late I was. He was leaning against some railings, his hands in his pockets, and his sunglasses were hiding his eyes.

‘Sorry. It took me longer than I expected to get changed.’

‘You’re forgiven.’ A big smile with lots of very white teeth. ‘I don’t mind waiting when it’s something worth waiting for.’

‘Too kind.’ I glanced at him, trying to work out if he was flirting with me or just practising for when he really wanted to charm someone. With the shades, I
really
couldn’t tell. ‘Thanks for showing me around.’

‘No problem. We can’t have you missing out on the best Port Sentinel has to offer.’

Like your good self, maybe?

I scanned the small harbour. ‘Wow. Look at all the boats.’ It was full of sailboats at anchor, dipping and bobbing as the water moved under them.

‘That’s why we’re here. So you can look at the boats.’

‘You have to admit, they’re quite impressive.’

‘They’re OK.’

‘You don’t sail?’

‘I used to. I don’t have time for it these days. Too busy playing football at weekends.’ Ryan shrugged. ‘I prefer surfing anyway. Less kit. More fun.’

‘I wouldn’t know.’

‘You don’t surf?’

I shook my head, amused at the idea.

‘Have you ever been sailing?’

‘No. It’s not really that easy to find somewhere to go sailing in London.’

‘I keep forgetting that’s where you’re from.’

‘I wish
I
could.’ I sort of meant it, to my surprise. It was good to be away from my usual world for a while. I took a deep breath of sea air. ‘It feels as if London’s a million miles away. Have you always lived here?’

‘No. My family moved here from Bristol about eight years ago. I’ve only lived here for half my life.’

‘Long enough to be a local.’

Ryan laughed. ‘No way. Your parents have to be from here before you count as local. And that’s at the very least. Grandparents are even better.’

‘So I practically qualify. On my mother’s side, anyway.’ I wrinkled my nose. ‘I still think you might know it better than I do.’

‘That’s why I’m the tour guide and you’re the tourist.’

‘OK. Get guiding.’

I fell into step beside Ryan and we strolled along the edge of the harbour. There was a slight breeze, enough to ruffle the surface of the water and make music from the ropes on the boats as they tapped against their masts. It sounded like hundreds of tiny bells ringing.

‘So. This is the harbour. I think it was once used for proper fishing but now it’s mainly leisure craft.’

‘Right.’ The harbour wall curved out into the sea and ended in a beacon. ‘Are we going down there?’

‘Only if you want to see the harbour from a different perspective. It’s not very exciting.’

‘Fine.’

‘Do you see the rock just beyond the harbour wall?’

I shaded my eyes. ‘It’s hard to miss it. What’s special about it?’

‘That’s where the town gets its name. That’s Sentinel Rock. Sailors used it to navigate into the harbour. The water’s pretty shallow here and the seabed is rocky, so there’s basically only one channel that’s deep enough for the boats to come in safely. Before there was the beacon—’

‘There was the rock. I get it.’ I grinned at him. ‘I may be a non-sailing Londoner but I understand that boats need to float.’

‘How’s the tour so far?’

‘Riveting. But I get the feeling your heart isn’t in it.’

‘Ah. You spotted that.’ Ryan shrugged. ‘It’s a good excuse for a walk on a nice day with a pretty girl.’

‘I’m flattered.’

‘OK. We move on.’ He put a hand in the small of my back for no reason I could see. I moved away a little and he dropped it down by his side. We walked on for a few paces and I felt something touch my hip, then settle there, as Ryan draped his arm around me again. I looked down at his hand, then up at him.

‘Ryan, can I ask you a question?’

‘Go for it.’

‘Are you seeing anyone at the moment?’ I knew
how
he would interpret that and the grin on his face told me I was right.

‘Nope. You?’

‘I just broke up with someone.’

‘And you’re heartbroken? On the rebound? In the mood for a holiday romance?’

‘None of the above,’ I said firmly. ‘I was just wondering because Natasha seemed kind of possessive of you.’

He looked out to sea. ‘Ignore her.’

I persevered. ‘You were in a relationship, though.’

‘Not officially.’

‘I don’t think there’s any such thing as an unofficial relationship. Either you’re involved with someone or you’re not.’

‘Well, we’re not involved any more.’

‘What about last year? Were you seeing Natasha while you were chasing after Freya?’

Ryan stopped walking. ‘Where did that come from?’

‘It’s just what I’ve heard.’

‘From Darcy? You don’t want to listen to her. She’s full of it.’

I frowned. ‘I didn’t get that impression from her.’

‘She loves to gossip.’

‘So you weren’t keen on Freya . . .’ I said slowly.

‘I didn’t say that.’ He took off his sunglasses, squinting a little, but his eyes were steady. Honest, you’d have said. ‘I really liked her. She was beautiful. But you know that already.’

I blushed. ‘I never met her.’

‘You know you look exactly like her.’

‘So I’m told.’

‘Well, then.’ Ryan leaned in, staring at me. ‘It’s amazing. You’re really identical.’

I shook my head. ‘You’ve just forgotten the details. If she were here, you’d see we aren’t that alike.’

‘I remember her,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll never forget her. And you’re just the same as her. Even the hair.’ He picked up a strand of my hair where it had fallen over my shoulder and ran it through his fingers. ‘Just the same.’

‘I thought her hair was short.’

‘Yeah. She cut it.’ He let go of my hair abruptly. ‘I liked her more before.’

‘So you stopped chasing her once she’d cropped her hair?’

‘I still liked her. I just preferred her with longer hair.’ He laughed. ‘Anyway, I wasn’t chasing her. I don’t do that.’

‘So what’s your technique?’

‘I told her I thought we should get to know each
other
better. It was up to her whether she went for it or not.’

‘And she didn’t.’

He gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘It didn’t happen.’

‘Maybe because she didn’t like the idea of helping you to cheat on Natasha?’ I knew I was on thin ice but Ryan was so laid-back, I thought I’d get away with it.

He grinned. ‘You’re almost right – there was someone else involved. But it wasn’t anything to do with me. Freya was in love with someone else.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘She told me.’

‘Who was it?’

‘I didn’t ask,’ he said, sounding as if it was a stupid idea.

‘This is a small town. You can’t guess who she meant?’ I had a fair idea, and I’d been there less than a week.

‘Not really. I thought she was single. That’s why I told her how I felt about her.’

‘And you never saw her with anyone?’

Ryan shook his head. ‘But she seemed serious about him, whoever he was.’

There was no easy way to ask this. ‘Are you sure he existed?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it’s one way to turn you down without hurting your feelings, isn’t it?’

‘I wasn’t hurt.’ His tone contradicted the words – he had been hurt, and annoyed, and it still rankled with him that she hadn’t been interested.

‘Obviously not,’ I agreed. ‘But Freya was a nice person, from what I know of her. She might have been worried about it – even if there was no danger of you being upset.’

‘So she invented a boyfriend to put me off.’ He shook his head. ‘You’ve got a heck of an imagination.’

‘Really not. It’s just a possibility. Aren’t you curious?’

‘Not as much as you are, obviously.’ Ryan frowned. ‘If you’re hoping I’ll tell you what was going on with Freya, you’re out of luck. I didn’t know her well enough for that.’

‘You knew her well enough to be sure you wanted to go out with her,’ I pointed out.

‘That wasn’t so much to do with her personality.’ He gave me a cheeky sidelong glance.

‘I know you’re not that shallow.’

He laughed. ‘OK. It wasn’t all based on how she looked. I did like her as a person. She was so different.’

‘From Natasha? I bet.’

‘Nats is all right.’

‘Nats is terrifying, quite frankly. Maybe Freya was too scared to get involved with you.’

‘I wouldn’t know.’

‘Maybe Natasha told her she had to put you off.’

‘You’d have to ask her.’ We had walked up the hill, back towards town, and down the other side, and now we were approaching the beach. ‘You can ask her now, if you like. She’s over there.’

Ryan pointed at a café on the seafront. It was surrounded by tables with blue-and-white striped umbrellas. Every table was full. It took me a second to spot Natasha. She was sitting in the sun, slender legs stretched out to add to her even tan, with two of her friends. She was wearing white linen shorts and a fitted top, but her main accessory was a scowl the size of a family car.

‘Oh no.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.’ Ryan put his hand on my back again and I flinched.

‘Don’t touch me in front of her, and don’t defend me either. She’ll never believe you’re not interested in me if you act like that.’

I had picked up speed to get past Natasha before I burst into flames from the sheer hatred she was directing at me, but Ryan put his hand on my arm and made me stop, then turn to face him. The two bimbos at
Natasha
’s table were murmuring to each other, openly staring. I recognized one as the girl who’d seen me on my first day in town, and the other from the seafront gathering.

‘The thing is, I don’t want to mislead her. It’s not fair to pretend I don’t like you.’ He looked past me to where Natasha was sitting and waved at her.

‘Is this a game for you two?’ I demanded. ‘You make her jealous, she defends her territory – is that it?’

‘By no means.’ He sighed. ‘Look, Natasha and I were together for a couple of years. It wasn’t an easy break-up. It’s my fault – I’m really bad at walking away. I’ve told her it’s over but I want to stay friendly with her. This is a small town, as you’ve noticed. I don’t want any hassle. It’s boring.’

‘Boring. Right.’

‘That doesn’t mean I can’t see other girls. I know Natasha would prefer it if I didn’t, but I’m not going to stop myself from going after someone if I like them.’ Ryan seemed completely sincere and I believed him. It wasn’t unfair, I thought, that he should get to move on even if Natasha didn’t want to.