‘No.’ She shook her head so droplets flew. ‘It could have been the accident or-it could have happened anyway.’

‘Stress can-’

‘Perhaps,’ she interrupted, ‘but I’m the only one who knows what was really stressing me out.’

He searched her eyes with a frown in his. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m the only one who knows that I said goodbye to Tim Dixon in a little hut in Tonga because I was no longer in love with him, because I never had been. Yes, it came as a shock, his death, and it was sad.’ She tipped a hand. ‘Sad for Susie, sad because it was an untimely death, but devastating? No, not for me.’

‘So what…?’ His words hung on the air.

‘It was you I was stressed about. I-it hit me that day that I just couldn’t go on any longer, living with you, loving you but knowing there was no hope.’ Her throat worked.

‘But,’ he paused, ‘that night in the Tree House, you seemed to be looking for excuses for Tim. I’ve never forgotten that and what it could mean.’

Her mind flew back and she saw the candles again, their wine glasses, and heard the murmur of the sea on the beach. ‘I was, but only because whether I liked it or not he’s always going to be part of Susie so I wanted some mitigating circumstances for him. Something so as not to view him with utter contempt for her sake, that’s all.’

His face didn’t change. ‘When?’

She hesitated. ‘When?’

‘Did you fall in love with me?’

She closed her eyes. ‘When it was the last thing in the world that should have happened to me-almost from the beginning.’ Her lashes lifted. ‘When I loved nothing better than to be with you, when I felt safe, yes, but so much more, yet all the time I kept saying to myself-this can’t be happening to me, but not only that, he could never want me.’

‘Oh, Maisie,’ he breathed.

But she went on, ‘And that same day, the day Tim died, was the day Sonia told me all about why she was the way she was, because of your parents’ marriage, and it seemed to explain why you could be cynical about love and all the trimmings. It just-it was too much on top of the misery I was already going through.’ Tears beaded her lashes.

‘Maisie,’ this time he reached for her but only took her hand, ‘yes, I was cynical. That’s why I was starting to suspect only an arranged marriage was going to work for me. My parents put themselves through hell, and Sonia and I followed.’ He sighed. ‘But you gave no sign of distress until I told you about Tim. You were-bright and breezy.’

She managed to smile but twistedly. ‘If you had any idea how exhausting it was, keeping myself bright and breezy…’ She shook her head. ‘I think that might have been another factor. I was mentally so tired.’

‘Maisie-’

‘No, please let me go on,’ she begged. ‘I could never find the words to explain to you-I didn’t even know if it mattered to you-but Mairead was me responding to my music, the one area where I could shut everything else out…then I found in-in-’ she rubbed her face ‘-in dire circumstances like Sonia’s soirée, well, the only way I could cope was by extending that bubble a bit. I don’t suppose I’m making any sense but-’

‘You are,’ he said very quietly. ‘Can I tell you how it happened for me?’

‘Yes, please,’ she whispered.

‘Everything that had ever plagued me disappeared when I saw you in that hospital bed. That’s when I knew none of it carried any weight at all. That you were paramount to me and it was going to be sheer hell living without you.’

He raked a hand across his jaw. ‘In fact, everything came together, Maisie, Mairead, they merged and became,’ he paused, ‘the only girl in the world for me. But that’s when the agony really began.’

‘Rafe?’ She lifted her face to his and her eyes were green and incredulous. Her lips were trembling and she was shaking like a leaf in a gale. ‘Tell me I’m not dreaming?’

He smiled fleetingly at last but he sobered immediately and touched her face with his fingertips. ‘When I’m away from you I can’t get you out of my mind, when I have you in my arms it couldn’t feel more right. When I think of losing you, my whole world falls down and the only way to right it is to know that you belong to me and I belong to you.’ He closed his eyes briefly. ‘You could have no idea how ironic that is but it’s true.’

‘Tell me,’ she whispered.

‘I will one day but-’

‘Excuse me.’

They both turned convulsively to see a man standing on the jetty, regarding them a trifle awkwardly.

He said, ‘I heard the splashes and came running but you did the right thing climbing onto the boat. Then you seemed a little-um-preoccupied so I retreated but-uh-would this be your bag, though, miss? I found it on the jetty.’

‘Oh, thank you!’ Maisie breathed and Rafe reached over to take it. ‘Thanks, mate,’ he added.

‘Are you both OK?’

‘Fine, never better,’ Rafe assured him. ‘We actually make a habit of doing this.’

The stranger stared up at them then shrugged. ‘If I were you I’d get dry and warm before you catch pneumonia.’

‘Not a bad idea,’ Rafe said gravely and turned to Maisie, who was rather desperately trying not to laugh. ‘You wouldn’t have the keys for the boat in that bag by any chance, my love?’

‘Y-yes,’ she said a little unsteadily and pulled them from her bag.

They laughed together, standing in the middle of the Amelie’s shipshape little saloon, standing in the circle of each other’s arms, still dripping.

‘He must think we’re mad!’ she said.

‘He could be right. I’m certainly mad about you. I’ve done this once before without permission but I think it needs to be done again.’ And he started to undress her.

She put her hand over his with a sudden cloud in her eyes. ‘Susie…’ And she told him what had happened to her phone. ‘I should check in.’

‘She’s fine. I was talking to Grace only minutes before I bumped into you, just in case you’d checked in with her. Susie’s had a bottle and she looks set to sleep for hours.’

Maisie relaxed. ‘I love you too,’ she told him and helped him out of his sodden jacket. ‘We could have a shower-we should have a shower, and not only to continue a tradition we once established, and properly this time, but also to get warm and clean. See that little gas heater up on the wall there?’

He’d removed her sweater and he looked in the direction she was pointing. ‘Uh-huh,’ he said but distractedly because what he’d revealed was a pale lemon bra patterned with forget-me-nots.

‘Well, it provides instant hot water.’

‘Wonderful.’ He turned his attention back to stripping her trousers off. ‘Since,’ he looked into her eyes, ‘we’ve established that, may we proceed?’

‘Please do,’ she invited and a little glint lit her eyes. ‘I was only keen to-set the scene.’

He paused and looked at her narrowly. ‘You really want us to take a shower?’

‘I really do. I had an amazing fantasy once about…showers-boat showers to be precise-so-’

He put his fingers to her lips. ‘Say no more.’ He ripped off the rest of his clothes, turned away to prime the gas heater then picked her up in his arms and carried her into the Amelie’s bathroom.

It wasn’t as large or as grand as the Mary-Lue’s but the jet of water, after a few preliminary splutters, was warm and wonderful as it streamed over them.

Maisie took her bra off and her knickers and stood revelling in it. Then she looked into his eyes and saw a question in them. She turned the water off, wound her arms around him and pressed her breasts against the hard wall of his chest as she offered him her mouth.

The result was dynamite. Their kiss was everything she’d fantasised about. His hands on her sleek, slippery body were everything she’d dreamt about as tremors of desire rose from deep within her.

The hard months slipped away and she felt at last as if she’d reached a safe shore, a haven, but not only that, one shot with rapture and pure pleasure.

When he lifted his head at last it was to ask her if she still believed she was dreaming.

‘No,’ she gasped. ‘Oh, no! But-would you mind not stopping? Because that was pure magic.’

He laughed softly. ‘There’s actually no stopping me now but we need a bed. Come.’

The double bunk on the Amelie was also in the aft berth and, again, not as luxurious as the Mary-Lue’s, but perfectly adequate for two people who were setting each other alight.

‘Do you have any express wishes in this instance?’ he queried as he stroked her from head to toe and all the sensitive, wonderfully erotic places in between.

Maisie drew a shaky breath because Rafe was looking down at her with tenderness and laughter as if it was a private joke only they could share.

‘I have had one overriding wish for a long time now.’ She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

He put his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her face to his. ‘Tell me.’

‘Just to be openly in love with you and relaxed and happy about it.’

His eyes softened and he kissed her. ‘Still?’ he queried against the corner of her mouth.

‘Mmm…Do you have any express wishes?’

‘Yes. You’ve just put it into words.’

‘Oh, Rafe.’ She felt herself melt beneath her own rush of tenderness and she cupped the side of his face in her hand.

And that was the mood that claimed them as they kissed and made a timeless exploration of each other.

And although they could have been anywhere, Maisie began her own journey into a sea of delight.

He told her things she would never have guessed. Such as how he’d been almost unbearably tempted to make love to her after Sonia’s soirée. Such as the iron discipline he’d had to exercise the night they’d slept in each other’s arms at the muster camp.

‘No,’ she breathed.