Clover pushed herself up on her elbows, bored. ‘I said we’d eat down here again tonight.’

‘Suits me.’

‘Have you heard from Mats?’

‘Yeah. She says they got delayed and are getting back late so to tell Carlotta she’ll have dinner at the hotel.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yes. Oh . . .’ Johnny murmured. ‘She’s definitely shagging him. And if she’s not yet – she will be by the end of the week.’

Clover groaned, falling back into the pillows. ‘God, how bloody depressing. We’ve been here almost a week and Matty’s pulled the local lord. Meanwhile we haven’t even had a drink, much less a shag!’

‘I’m always available,’ Johnny shrugged.

‘Hey!’ Clover tossed a small cashmere scatter cushion at him.

‘I meant for the drink,’ Johnny tutted. ‘Obviously.’

Clover laughed, getting up from the bed. ‘I’m going for a swim. If I can’t get laid here, then at least I can get fit.’

‘Okay.’

‘Drink afterwards though? We could walk into town.’

‘Okay,’ he murmured, already distracted. She had lost him to technology.

She slipped out of the room and crossed the corridor towards her own room. She supposed if Matty was having a fling with Julian, it would mean more space for her, at least – and privacy. She changed into her bikini and grabbed a towel, throwing it over her shoulder and skipping quickly downstairs to the ground floor before she saw anyone.

She pushed on the door and— ‘This isn’t the pool!’ The words leaped from her, almost as a cry.

Kit stopped punching the bag, his gloved hands up by his face. He let them drop as he stared back at her, panting. ‘Evidently.’

He was wearing a pair of black shorts, his skin glistening with sweat. Clover felt frozen in her confusion. ‘Sorry, I—’

Time seemed to bend; like glass being mouth-blown, it slowly turned and oozed away from her. His eyes travelled slowly down her. With a start, she realized he wasn’t the only one half dressed.

Kit frowned. ‘Is that . . .?’

But with a gasp of horror, she was tugging the towel around her and already backing out of the room. The door slammed shut in her face and she stared unseeingly at it, her heart hammering in embarrassment and anger at her utter, utter stupidity. She stood there for several seconds, cursing herself. How could she have been so mindless, walking into the gym in her bikini? When he was in there. Him, of all people.

On the other side of the door, there was an equally baffled silence. Then she heard a pounding start up again. One-two. One-two. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven.