‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Hi,’ Noah replied.

‘Good swim?’

‘Sort of. I had my ass whooped by a girl.’

‘Woman, thank you very much. And yes, you did. Obviously.’

Noah’s eyes flickered down the length of her body, and Hannah wondered how he was seeing her, whether he was appraising her the way she had him, if he liked the watermelon costume. She was thankful for the thick steam, even though it seemed to be getting steadily hotter.

‘I feel hustled.’ He was still breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling. ‘I didn’t know I was going up against a pro.’

‘I’m not a pro, and anyway, if we went running, you would leave me in your dust. Take the loss like a man.’

He glanced at her, his lips pressed together. ‘I can do that,’ he murmured.

‘Can you?’

‘As it’s you.’

‘Because you want me to be happy?’

His lips twitched. ‘I didn’t mind following you in the water. If we went running, I’d probably lag behind then, too.’

‘Oh?’ It was definitely getting hotter in here. ‘Why’s that?’

He turned slightly towards her, and Hannah tried not to gaze at his firm chest, the trail of dark hair that ran down the centre of his stomach, his abs defined under the skin. ‘A beautiful view always keeps me motivated, and if I had you ahead of me—’

‘Noah,’ she cut in, thinking of the photo of him and Beth, the one that appeared on his phone screen when she rang him.

‘What?’ he whispered.

She wanted him to keep going, to tell her she was beautiful and that he liked her as much as she liked him. But did he really think it was OK to flirt with her so openly? And it wasn’t as if Beth could be his sister – he’d called her babe. It was all sorts of wrong. ‘I’m overheating,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s hot in here, isn’t it? Too hot. I think I’m just going to—’

‘OK,’ he said, suddenly concerned. ‘Do you want me to get you some water?’

‘No, I’ll be fine. I’ll just … see you later.’ She stood quickly and pushed open the door, the cool air a balm on her flushed skin. She picked up her towel and hurried back to the changing rooms, her heart pounding.

Chapter Five

When Hannah drew back the curtains the following morning, she had to squint against the bright shards of light breaking through the cloud. The wind still howled, the waves were still ferocious enough to swallow her whole, but there was a glimmer of sun. Sunshine wouldn’t fix her train line, but it would make her extra time in Cornwall more pleasant – she might even be able to go outside.

She showered and dressed, then picked up her phone. She’d texted her mum the previous evening, when she’d been hiding like a coward in her room, to let her know she’d be delayed for a few days.