Sunrise on the Coast: The perfect feel-good holiday romance (Island Romance Book 1)

by Lilac Mills

  Trust Alex to notice. ‘Are you OK? We don’t have to go to the top if it worries you, though I assure you it’s perfectly safe.’

  ‘I’m fine. Honest.’

  ‘No, you are not. Tell me; maybe I can help.’

  Sophie took a steadying breath, willing her eyes to stop filling with tears. ‘I was just thinking about my mum, that’s all,’ she said. ‘It’s nothing.’

  ‘It’s not nothing, please don’t be ashamed of your tears. You loved her very much, I can tell.’

  ‘Yes, I did. Sometimes I forget she’s gone and when I remember it hurts all over again.’

  ‘I haven’t lost anyone close to me, thankfully, and I can’t imagine what you are going through, but from what other people have told me the pain does get easier to bear. Although I don’t believe it ever goes away entirely. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Emotion is what defines us, what makes us who we are, and keeps our memories alive.’

  ‘Wow. Insightful.’

  ‘Is it? I know words can’t help, but that’s all I can offer you.’

  You could offer me a hug, she thought, then immediately shook the idea off. How ridiculous she was being, but she couldn’t help reacting to his nearness, to the compassion she saw in his eyes as he looked at her, the scent of him, male and citrusy, the fine black hairs on his powerful forearms.

  Hormones. Pheromones. That’s all, she rationalised. It was the woman in her reacting to the man in him. Nothing more. Pure animal attraction, and as far as specimens of the opposite sex went, he was a gorgeous example. Apart from that, they had nothing in common. His way of life and experiences were so far removed from hers that they might as well be on different planets. They had no points of similarity; and, to be honest, his personality often left a lot to be desired. He was hardly Mr Tactful. And he could be quite rude and abrasive.

  He could be empathic too, though, and he wasn’t afraid to apologise when he was in the wrong. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

  Oh, give it a rest, she said to herself. No matter how attracted she was to him, or how much he was starting to grow on her, he’d be out of her life in a couple of days. She’d probably never see him again as long as she lived.

  There – how was that for a dampener? Not only was she feeling incredibly sad because of her mother, she was now also imagining never setting eyes on Alex again. Well, she certainly knew how to kill a mood…

  Alex, aware of her melancholy (she hoped he put it down to lingering sorrow at the loss of her mum) kept up a running commentary regarding the formation of the islands, Tenerife in particular. He pointed out various items of interest as they travelled deeper into the national park.

  ‘Here you can see Los Roques de Garcia,’ Alex informed her as they drove past, and Sophie saw several strange rock formations towering in the distance, stacks of layered rock which had been eroded at their bases, pointing like fingers towards the heavens. ‘They have names like “Finger of God” and “the Cathedral”,’ he said.

  She studied the weird, twisted pinnacles of rock in awe, craning her neck for a final view of them as the car swept past. ‘It’s very beautiful and extremely fascinating,’ she said, recognising why Alex was so enamoured with his job. He was also a good guide, not blinding her with science but informing her in layman’s terms and making it interesting as he did so. Even though she’d been on this road before when she was on the coach tour, she was seeing it with fresh eyes as she learnt more than she ever thought was possible about the geology and history of the area. She was right, her mother would have loved it. As she gazed at the magnificent rock formations around her and at the raw, rugged splendour of the landscape, she vowed to enjoy every second of it, in her mother’s memory.

  You only live once, and she’d be damned if she was going to let grief hold her back. Her mum would want her to live her life to the full and she was going to make sure she did exactly that. And if this stunning scenery taught her anything, it was that the world keeps turning and she had to make sure she claimed her tiny place in it.

  Chapter 22

  The guard on the gate waved them through and Sophie took a last lingering look at the safety of the cable car station before turning her attention to the path ahead. Instead of following the other tourists who had a permit to hike from the station to the summit, Alex led her around the side of the mountain and the others were soon lost from view.

  ‘This is what is known as Route 11 and it leads to La Fortaleza viewpoint, but more importantly, we can reach the crater rim without having all those people around us,’ Alex explained.

  ‘Is it allowed?’ There was a track of sorts, but it wasn’t particularly well defined, and it was much rockier than she’d anticipated.

  ‘It is for me.’ He turned around to smile at her.

  She smiled back before the astounding views claimed her attention. She simply had to stop to take them in, because walking and gazing around was an accident waiting to happen on the uneven surface. Although the path was better in some places than others, she didn’t want to risk a sprained ankle or worse. Then an image popped into her head of having to be carried back down in Alex’s arms and her insides did a little roll.

  As they carried on around the topmost cone – which was far higher than she’d imagined – the whole of the north of the island hove into view, spread out before her, and she recalled flying just above the tip of the volcano when her plane had navigated the island in preparation for landing.

  In the distance she was certain she could see another island, but the haze and clouds made it difficult to tell. When she mentioned it to Alex, he said, ‘You can see Gran Canaria from here, and on a particularly clear day you might even be able to make out the coast of Africa. Remember the calima?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I’ve been up here when the prevailing winds have changed from northerly to easterly, and seeing a bank of orange cloud bearing down on the island is a sight to behold. As you know, thankfully it doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it takes your breath away.’

  The whole island was taking Sophie’s breath away, especially this part. The contrast between the wide roads, the palm trees, the white villas and hotels near the sea and this primeval landscape was awe-inspiring. Up here, she felt the raw power of nature; she was simply a little speck on the side of the third highest volcano in the world. The thought was humbling, but she’d never felt more alive than she did right now.

  Her eyes wide with wonder, she drank in the majesty and the splendour and was so glad Hugo had insisted Alex brought her here. When she’d visited Teide last time, as part of the coach tour, she had been astounded by it – but that visit now seemed a little too safe, too secure. The cable car station allowed people to enjoy the volcano without having to risk broken ankles, and that was great for those who would otherwise be unable to get to the top. But walking on the rocks directly, feeling their rough surface under her feet, and more importantly, being on her own with no one else in sight, made Sophie feel like an intrepid explorer.

  But she wasn’t on her own, was she? Alex was by her side…

  ‘Are you ready to go up there?’ Alex asked, intruding into her thoughts.

  She followed his finger as he pointed towards the conical peak towering above them. ‘Up there?’ she squeaked.

  ‘That is the top. I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit of a trek and the gradient is hard, but you’ve come this far…’

  She took a deep breath of the thin, cool air. ‘I suppose I must. How long will it take?’

  ‘About forty-five minutes.’

  Sophie craned her neck and gazed at the tip of the mountain. It looked really high and very steep, and from what she could see there didn’t appear to be much of a path. It was more of a narrow trail of trodden down loose volcanic rock.

  ‘We’ll end up at roughly the same point on the crater rim as all the other people,’ he told her, ‘but without having them on the same trail, so it’s a bit more private.’
>
  ‘Right then, let’s get started,’ she said, placing one foot on the loose pumice and feeling the ground give a little. This would be like walking on sand, she guessed – difficult, hard-going and extremely tiring. She’d certainly sleep well tonight!

  The pair of them trudged up the slope in relative silence, with only their laboured breathing to be heard over the sound of their boots crunching on the rocks.

  Nothing grew on this uppermost peak, she noticed, not even a tiny blade of grass or a cactus.

  Gasping, she clambered up the last stretch on all fours, levering herself up to the crater edge, and peered over it.

  Her eyes widened. She was expecting something more…

  ‘Don’t tell me, you thought you’d see a lava lake?’ Alex said.

  Hearing the amusement in his voice, she replied, ‘No. Not really.’ Then, after a pause as she took in the bowl of what looked like white dust beneath her, she admitted, ‘Kind of.’

  He scooted down beside her, his thigh touching hers. ‘Teide is an active volcano. It might not be erupting now, but it has done so in the recent past and will do so again. What you see here is a layer of dust covering a plug of rock. The dust is from the fumaroles. Notice it is yellow in places? That’s caused by sulphur dioxide. It’s best to be upwind of it. For one thing, it smells like rotten eggs, and for another it’s not advisable to breathe too much of it.’

  Sophie noticed that the wind was at her back, blowing away from her and across the volcano’s summit, and she inhaled deeply. She couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs, and while she understood it was due to the altitude, she also had a feeling that Alex himself was partly to blame for her breathlessness. She was acutely conscious of his leg next to hers and she could feel the heat of his skin through his hiking trousers and her jeans. In fact, if she didn’t move away from him right this second, she thought she might spontaneously combust. Hot now (because of the exertion of the climb, she told herself), she unzipped her jacket and fanned the collar.

  To her annoyance, Alex appeared to be neither out of breath nor warm. In fact, he looked as cool as the sea in the distance, and she tore her gaze away from him and shuffled slightly so they were no longer touching.

  Either Alex didn’t notice, or he didn’t care, because he continued to stare intently at his surroundings, and she guessed his mind must be on his job and the volcano they were perched so precariously on.

  ‘I wish I didn’t have to go back to Iceland,’ he said, after a long pause, and for a moment she was surprised until she realised that he must mean he wasn’t ready to leave Teide yet. To her dismay, she also wished he wasn’t going. But for her peace of mind and to protect her fragile heart, she knew it was for the best. She could so easily see herself falling for this complex, charismatic man, and that was something she most definitely didn’t want to do.

  The hike back down to the cable car station was easier, and with every step she took Sophie felt revitalised as more oxygen entered her lungs, so that by the time they got out of the swinging glass and metal box, and she stood on terra firma again, she was positively bouncing.

  ‘That was brilliant,’ she cried. ‘One of the best experiences of my life.’

  ‘Really?’ A smile lit Alex’s face, and she blinked at the delight and passion she saw there.

  ‘You really do love your job, don’t you,’ she said, as they headed back to the car.

  ‘I do. It’s fascinating and I could spend all day up here. Unfortunately, for every hour I spend in the field, I have to stare at a computer screen for twenty. Still, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.’

  ‘I know you said you’d been looking after your mother for a long time, but what did you do before that?’

  She grimaced. ‘Worked in an office doing routine admin. Not very exciting.’

  ‘Um, no, maybe not… What about interests?’

  ‘I like to read. A lot. Walking, watching films and documentaries. That’s not very exciting either, is it?’

  ‘Do you enjoy these things?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then it doesn’t matter if other people think they’re not exciting. It’s what you enjoy doing that’s important.’

  ‘I do envy you, though,’ she said. ‘You have a calling, a vocation. To you, what you do isn’t just a job.’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ he agreed. ‘But it’s not all spewing lava and pyroclastic flows, either.’

  ‘Pyro-what?’

  He laughed as he opened the car door for her, and she got in. ‘A pyroclastic flow is a mass of volcanic matter and deadly gases which is ejected from a volcano. It can reach speeds of more than five hundred kilometres an hour. If you’re in the path of one, you’re toast. Literally.’

  She expected him to laugh, but his expression was sombre.

  ‘It’s a terrible thing to witness,’ he said, ‘but compelling too. I’m just glad they don’t happen too often.’ He started the car and brightened. ‘How about a snack in a little place I know, followed by impenetrable darkness?’

  ‘Er… the snack sounds good. I’m not so sure about the darkness bit.’

  ‘You’ll love it, I promise.’

  Bemused, Sophie sat back and let the scenery unfold as Alex negotiated the route through the caldera. She remembered travelling this way on the coach, and she looked forward to driving along wooded roads with gaps between the trees where pretty villages could be seen. It was undeniably a beautiful and impressive part of the world, and as they descended she wound her window down to let the warmth of a Tenerife afternoon flood the car.

  After coffee and a delicious pastry – and Sophie making a quick call to Hugo to check he was OK, only to be given short shrift for waking him from his nap – they resumed their journey.

  ‘It’s not far,’ Alex told her, ‘but it does involve some more walking.’

  ‘You do know it’s still light and will be for another couple of hours?’ she pointed out.

  ‘Not underground, it’s not.’

  ‘What? Are you serious?’

  ‘We are going to the Cueva del Viento – Cave of the Wind – and it’s one of the longest volcanic tubes in the world. Well worth a visit.’

  Really? While she admired his enthusiasm for all things volcanic, she hadn’t been expecting to visit a dank cave. Thank God this wasn’t a date, because she’d be most disappointed. Sightseeing was one thing but rooting around in the depths of the earth was something else entirely. What was wrong with exploring one of those gorgeous villages she’d seen along the way? Her version of an afternoon out was considerably removed from Alex’s. She’d quite happily wander down a cobbled street or two, and maybe browse in a shop, even though she wouldn’t have any intention of buying anything. She might even visit one of the lovely little churches she’d read about.

  But a cave? No thanks.

  ‘It’s really interesting,’ Alex tried to assure her, and she gave him a sideways look in return. He gave her one back. ‘If you don’t come out of there with a smile on your face, I’ll clean the villa from top to bottom,’ he promised.

  ‘It doesn’t need cleaning.’

  ‘OK then, I’ll weed the garden and water the plants.’

  She considered his proposition, then held out a hand. ‘Deal.’

  He took it and shook it quickly before returning his hand to the steering wheel, but the fleeting touch sent shivers of excitement through her and she had to suppress a gasp. Oh, Lord…

  All she needed to do was to maintain her equilibrium for the rest of the afternoon. Despite the fact that she was enjoying herself immensely, she needed to focus on not enjoying herself too much. It would be over soon, both the afternoon and Alex’s visit. She only had to keep her composure for a short while and not do anything daft, then he would be out of her life and she could move forward with her heart and her dignity intact.

  ‘You do realise that I’m not going to smile, don’t you?’ she warned him. ‘No matter what.’

  ‘We’ll
see,’ was all he said, and she steeled herself to keep her expression blank. There was no way he was getting a smile out of her afterwards, not with weeding and watering at stake.

  ‘Here we are,’ he said, after driving up one of the steepest streets she’d ever seen and pulling into a car park. ‘Let’s get you kitted out with a helmet, then we’re good to go.’

  ‘Do they let people wander in or is there a tour guide?’ she asked.

  ‘Entry is by organised tour only, usually. But not today. Today you are with me, and I’ll be your guide.’

  He was greeted warmly at the visitor centre and, once he’d explained what he wanted, was given a set of keys and two helmets. The keys, she discovered, were for a Jeep – which Alex drove along a winding dirt track through a lovely forested area – and for the gated entrance to a steep flight of steps.

  Sophie would have been quite content to stop there and explore a bit, but Alex was determined to get her underground.

  He made sure her helmet was secure (she tried not to look into his eyes as he fiddled about with her chin strap), then he unlocked the gate and ushered her down the steps.

  ‘Is it safe?’ she asked, touching the yellow plastic helmet nervously and thinking she must look a sight with it on.

  ‘Perfectly. The roof is low in places, which is why we need to wear a helmet. There are several tours a day, and the authorities wouldn’t allow that if there was any danger. Now, let me tell you about this astounding place.’ He switched on a torch and she saw a tunnel before her, stretching into impenetrable darkness beyond the meagre spill of light.

  ‘This tunnel is eighteen kilometres long, making it one of the longest lava tubes in the world. It’s actually a labyrinth of passages formed over three levels…’