She jumped to her feet, the movement startling him as much as it did her. ‘Have to go,’ she said, and without another look in his direction, she ran as fast as she could, to put as much space as possible between her and the utterly gorgeous, fabulously-tempting young man. She resisted the temptation to look back to see if he were watching her or, God forbid, following.

A minute later, a frisson of anxiety made her stop and glance behind, but she’d come around a bend and all there was to be seen were fields and trees. No heron, sadly no kingfisher or young man.

She ran on. Young man. Maybe only a few years older than Remi. He was younger than she by twenty years, maybe more. Movie star good looks, a lean athletic body. And those eyes! Amelia, she knew, wouldn’t have hesitated to have taken advantage of the situation. She’d probably have dragged the poor man into the fields and had her wicked way with him.

Molly laughed, feeling lighter than she had in days. The brief encounter was beginning to take on a dreamlike quality. They hadn’t even really touched, only a brushing of arms and yet it had been the most erotic experience she’d had in a long time.

Crossing back over the bridge, she slowed to a walk as she approached the hotel. She’d been gone over an hour and in that time, it had completely woken up. Already, with the day warming, there were people sitting on the patio. Gardeners were tidying flower beds, waiting staff were darting about with trays held high. Conscious of her dirty running shoes, she slipped them off and walked barefooted across to the stairway. The silence of early morning had been filled with sound. Voices drifted from the restaurant; she imagined she heard Amelia’s amongst them.

Back in her room, Molly quickly undressed and stepped into the shower, a smile playing over her lips. She remembered the stranger’s intense stare – and felt a shiver of desire. Would it have been so wrong to have given in to that moment’s madness? Who was it that had said that the only thing they’d regretted were things they’d not done? She couldn’t remember but they were wise words – or words of justification. She couldn’t decide. The shiver of desire was replaced by a pang of regret for what might have been.