There were screams and yells as he toppled forward. A couple of his mates tried to catch him but he slid across them like a crowd surfer in a mosh pit, losing his jeans as he went. Keely felt as if the world had been switched to slow motion. She saw him sliding towards her. She raised her hands to protect herself, but one of his arms went around her shoulders and she lost her balance. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, then everything went black.

* * *

The lights from the old Volvo reflected off the tunnel of trees as Euan drove Keely back to Levallier Dell. Luckily, Noddy had only broken a collarbone and nothing else. He was spending what was left of the night in hospital.

Keely ran her fingers self-consciously over the plaster on her forehead as she recalled Noddy landing on top of her. For a moment, the only sound had been the blare of the music, then voices had come from everywhere and Noddy had been carefully lifted, allowing her to see again. Keely had been so embarrassed she hadn’t known what to say. She’d been acutely aware of Noddy sprawled across her, his lower body clad only in his boxers.

Anna had tut-tutted next to her, muttering about people drinking too much, and insisted they both get checked over. Keely blushed again as she remembered Flynn’s wry smile, once they’d established no one was badly hurt.

“That’s Noddy for you,” he’d said. “Always sweeping the girls off their feet.”

Keely had a deep cut above her eye but it hadn’t needed stitches. The nurse had used some kind of glue and assured her there would hardly be a scar. Apart from a few sore spots that would probably make fine bruises in a day or so, she had been declared fit to go home.

There weren’t many cars left in the yard as they pulled in under the carport but the lights in the cellar door were all on. Keely noticed the little red sports car was also still there.

Euan turned to her. “Here you are, safely home. Once again, I apologise for what happened, Keely.”

“Euan, it’s okay…” she started to protest. He had apologised several times already.

“Noddy’s not a bad lad. He drinks a bit much but he’s a talented young winemaker and he loves to surf, so he has got something going for him.” Euan’s smile crinkled across his face.

They got out of the car and walked through the carport to the cellar door. Euan stopped in front of her. “I forgot, you’ve moved to the studio. I can drive you down there, unless you’d rather stay up here tonight.”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll walk down in a while. I’ll just see what else needs doing.”

“No, you won’t. We’ll do it tomorrow.”