One Moment At Sunrise

by Karen Aldous

  ‘Adrienne, darling,’ Aunt Bernie bustled herself in between Gina and her mother. ‘Hope you don’t mind, I’ve ordered a couple of bottles of champagne: two for this table and two for Gabriella’s parents. Just as a celebratory drink for you all. I probably won’t get a chance tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you, Bernie,’ Adrienne said, kissing her sister-in-law who was as redheaded as Adrienne was blonde. ‘Did you hear, George? Your sister has…’

  ‘Yes, yes. Thank you, Bernie. Very generous,’ he said crossing his legs then swallowing the rest of his beer.

  ‘Are you OK, Dad?’ Gina asked, trying hard to appear casual. ‘You don’t seem yourself.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he grunted then forced a smile. ‘Tired, but fine.’

  ‘I’m going to say hello to Gabriella and her family,’ Gina said, shuffling out from the table and eager to get away from the uncomfortable stare.

  ‘Take this with you,’ said Aunt Bernie, handing her a glass of champagne.

  As the chatter flowed among the party, so did the champagne. Gina and Gabriella chatted for a while about Gabriella’s wedding preparations and listing all the beauty treatments she’d endured ready for her big day. Gina had to concede, her soon to be sister-in-law appeared highly polished and nothing, it seemed, had been overlooked. Her skin glowed – her tan sprayed on in just the right portions – her hair and nails were immaculately manicured. Gina didn’t think there any more Gabriella could do but, Gabriella insisted, she, her bridesmaids and her mother would have the full expertise of a professional make-up artist for the big day tomorrow.

  As food arrived, Gina returned to her table. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was and tucked into her salad with gusto. Aunt Bernie topped up glasses around the table except her father’s: he preferred beer. The conversation around the terrace was increasing in volume and Gina couldn’t help noticing the gorgeous vain man again, sitting opposite, giving her the occasional glance. Now with her glasses back on her head, she tried not to be intrigued. She still had no idea who he was although he appeared to be with the bride-to-be’s family. He was certainly a looker though.

  She admired the way his dark brown hair cascaded loosely, hanging low over those walnut-brown eyes. They dominated his face of otherwise well-proportioned features. As she gazed again, his eyes bounced back. Her whole body tingled. He smiled, revealing even white teeth, beautiful and perfect, just like his seductively sensual lips.

  ‘Cheer up,’ he shouted aloud for everyone to hear. ‘I can still let you have my number.’

  Gina’s cheeks roared in flames and she ducked her head back down to her salad, distractedly slicing the remainder of chicken breast on her plate. Not knowing where to place her eyes, she focused them on her glass.

  ‘Don’t ignore me now,’ he bellowed. ‘I was enjoying your attention.’

  He winked as she raised her eyes.

  Gina sat horrified. How bloody embarrassing. Scratching her temple she gazed around her but was grateful that little attention was actually being paid to him. Her mother and aunt had clocked him however.

  ‘You seem to have caught that young man’s eye, Gina,’ her aunt sang out what was blindingly obvious.

  ‘Yes, he’s so subtly just let me know,’ she replied, turning the volume up of her own voice. ‘Shame. I was so enjoying myself.’

  ‘I’ll show you how to enjoy yourself,’ he said standing and staggering towards her.

  ‘No, thank you,’ she told him, throwing out an arresting palm at the same time as he was pulled back to his seat by a young woman next to him.

  ‘Shush, sit down, Ollie. You’ve had too much to drink,’ the woman said, coaxing him back to his seat. ‘Sorry,’ she mouthed at Gina.

  ‘I’m not sorry.’ Ollie tried to stand again. ‘She’s a beautiful girl and I think she fancies me, ‘cus…’

  ‘Nobody’s going to fancy you in this state, Ollie,’ the woman continued. ‘You’ve been drinking all day. You need to go and sleep it off.’

  Chapter 2

  Feeling drained, after an hour Gina took herself off for a leisurely stroll along the lake while it was still bright. A soft breeze showered her skin, rekindling her energy and quietening her mind. Refreshed, she stopped at a bench alongside the path. Sitting by the lake, she sank into a mellow trance as the evening sun soothed her porcelain skin. The crowds who had pounded the promenade earlier had ceased and she rested her head back and wallowed in the peace. She absorbed the spectacle before her while breathing in the pure Swiss air, embracing the stillness. Clear lake waters lapped at the shore in front of her while majestic snow-tipped mountains enveloped the lake’s edge. The sun’s rays turning the surface a shimmering silver against the clear cobalt sky.

  Gina began reciting a poem in her head then, twisting her mouth as she forgot a line she dug her hand in her bag. She’d got it printed in her diary, the reason she’d bought it, and pulled it gently from her bag. She opened it.

  Clear, placid Léman! Thy contrasted lake,

  With the wild world I dwelt in, is a thing

  Which warns me, with its stillness, to forsake

  Earth’s troubled waters for a purer spring.

  Lord Byron

  Gina closed the diary and repeated the words in her head as she had in her youth. She treasured the sentiment even more now as an adult. How peaceful and at one she felt with herself here compared to the hustle and bustle of life in London. Not to mention her troubled relationship with Max.

  ‘Mind if I join you.’

  Startled, she shot up from her slumped position on the bench, pulling down her sunglasses.

  ‘Sorry for being an arse. Oliver Martin, Ollie,’ he continued, offering her his hand. ‘I’m the bride’s cousin and, yes, the loud-mouth.’

  Peering up, she lifted up her palm, taking a sturdy hand and shaking it.

  ‘Oh. I was enjoying the peace actually,’ she said, swinging her head back towards the lake.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry. I’d been drinking rather too much. One of my cousins has been away for almost two years and, well, we started on the beer rather early,’ he added, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  Gina sat back, shifted uncomfortably in her seat and crossed her legs, trying not to show the unease his presence stirred inside her. She folded her hands together around her diary to contain the trembling. Her blood rushing faster than the nearby waterfall.

  After staring at her for a few moments he began. ‘The…the rehearsal seemed to go OK, I thought.’ He swallowed. ‘Are you looking forward to tomorrow?’ He hovered. He was tall, as imposing as the mountains behind.

  Shielding her eyes as she looked up, she said, ‘Yes. I can’t believe my baby brother is getting married – and, before me!’ she said. Why she was being polite she didn’t know. This was the arrogant drunkard who’d embarrassed her at dinner, she reminded herself.

  ‘What a beautiful setting for a wedding. Would have gone for the Montreux Palace myself,’ he said, perching his smartly attired frame next to her, emanating a scent so enticing her body temperature created an instant flush to her face.

  Stalling for time, Gina glanced up at the distant mountains, holding herself until her breath settled. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, momentarily catching a glimpse of the enchanted Château de Chillon nestled at the edge of the lake.

  As she turned to him, his dark eyes sparkled behind thick velvety lashes. Mesmerised, she swallowed.

  ‘It…it is spectacular. I love it here, particularly when it’s a clear day,’ she said still clutching her diary in her hand. Purposely, she slipped it back in to her bag. ‘And, I actually think this hotel has a far better view, particularly over towards the Château.

  ‘True. Me too. I sit and just stare. It’s bewitching,’ he added. ‘Even more so when a mist hangs over the water and the clouds float below the mountain peaks. Quite dramatic.’

  ‘Yes, it can transform in seconds; so beautiful,’ Gina purred, relaxing a little. H
e had certainly tapped into her passion for the lake.

  ‘Too much time on our hands, eh? I…I hear you’re in the property business?’ he said, shifting his body towards her slightly. Gina’s skin tingled.

  Gina frowned. ‘Mmm. You’ve been talking to my brother?’

  ‘Yes, but it was Gabriella who mentioned it – it’s my forte too.’ He raised his eyebrows expecting a reaction. ‘I’m building six villas just along there,’ he said pointing down the lakeshore towards the Château de Chillon.

  ‘Oh, wow,’ she smiled, genuinely impressed.

  ‘Ollie.’ A shout came from the hotel terrace. He stood and acknowledged the voice with a swift wave.

  ‘Ah, it’s Gabriella. I’m in such demand. I hope we get to chat later,’ he said jumping up.

  Her eyes followed him as he raced up the hotel steps to his cousin, her very soon to be sister-in-law. She inhaled, his enticing scent trailing, and wondered how he had managed to charm her after the awful brashness he’d subjected her to earlier.

  Suddenly she began to shiver. Her shoulders hunched as an icy air pierced her bones and crawled along her skin.

  ‘Shhh, Jesus what the…’

  She grabbed her arms, hugging them to warm herself. Frowning, she breezed out a ponderous sigh. This was really weird. Where was that chill coming from and why? Afraid to move, she closed her eyes, leaning back in the bench, still lost in thought and, gradually, as her fingers tingled, the heat returned. She slid her head back, absorbing again the soft warm rays of sunshine which sent her drifting into a relaxing slumber.

  Waking with a start, she blinked several times trying to focus her drowsy eyes. The sky had darkened. She’d dozed off she realised but, that was hardly a restful nap. She’d dreamt she’d been submerged into a dark cave, like a dungeon with just a single shaft of light shooting across it giving a reflection of damp glistening stone walls. Heaps of either rocks or bodies scattered a wide arched hall. Then as a putrid stench clenched her nostrils, she saw beside her, a silhouette of a hooded woman, huddled in the darkest corner shivering, trying to ward off a dank cold.

  Rubbing her arms, Gina sat up, rolling her shoulders back and straightening her spine. A second later, a strange heaviness bore into the air surrounding her and the musky, earthy punch gushed to her nose like someone was right next to her. She shook her head slowly as she pulled her knees up, feeling like her toes might be stepped on. Was there someone here? Someone, she sensed, was here, right now with her. Or was she going mad?

  Suddenly the hooded figure appeared in a faint form, kneeling in front of her. Feeling her heart pounding but holding her breath, Gina glared. The woman’s blue eyes, pierced up at her from her hood. She wasn’t as old as her shape suggested, maybe ten years older than herself, just unkempt, but there was a fine-boned face under the sallow skin. Her deep set eyes shone with desperation, her rounded shoulders appeared sharp, barely fleshed under what looked like a hessian sacking. Gaping down, Gina writhed as the woman spread out her cloak, revealing curled fingers that were clutching something which she began thrusting – a bag, a package – out towards her.

  Gina’s hand shot over her dry mouth and she swallowed.

  ‘What do you want?’ she found herself asking. ‘Do you need help?’ she whispered. ‘You’re scaring me.’ She released her breath.

  Gina shook her head, blinking several times. The figure then began fading as it floated out to the lake disappearing but the presence remained palpable.

  Gina sat fixed to the bench, knees still up and feet resting on the bench. Help, she screamed inside, but was unable to move.

  In an attempt to calm herself, she breathed in and out slowly. The dense air thinned.

  ‘Shit, I need a drink,’ she blurted out and dashed away from the bench and ran into the hotel.

  Quickly scanning the reception for her brother or parents, she scrambled up the steps through the salon and out to the terrace. She peered down at the empty bench. Whoever she was, she’d gone. Gina scrambled to the nearest seat at the bar, relieved to know she was in the land of the living. Heads spun in her direction, sensing her panic. As she perched on the stool she peered around her.

  The barman in uniform – black and gold brocade waistcoat – headed towards her from behind the bar, his forehead forming lines across it as he spoke.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  Gina swung round her head. ‘Yes, fine. I’m fine. I’m sho…fine. Thank you.’ Her head shook a dazed nod as if to satisfy the spectators. ‘Can I have a vodka and slim-line tonic please?’

  ‘Yes, Mademoiselle.’ He smiled with kind dark eyes, reaching for a tall glass. Then a familiar voice sounded behind her.

  ‘Gina, what is it?’ Her mother rushed up, cradling her daughter’s slender shoulders.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘I got a bit hot outside. I must’ve looked a bit flushed as I came in, that’s all.’

  ‘Aunt Bernie said you tore in like you were being chased by a lion.’

  ‘What? No, she’s being silly. That’s an exaggeration – I think Aunt Bernie is using a bit of dramatic licence there, Mum.’

  ‘You don’t look hot, sweetie, you look drained.’ Her mother added, as she smoothed the dark hair from her daughters face and brushed it back over her shoulders. ‘White, in fact. Like something’s sucked the life out of you.’

  ‘What! Stop fussing. I’m fine,’ Gina insisted. ‘Fine.’

  Gina couldn’t believe how close her mother was to the truth. What had happened out there? And who was that woman? She really did feel sapped. Like blood had been drained out of her but if she told her mother what she’d dreamed, and worse, felt, well, she’d think her cuckoo!

  She stretched her arm out on to the shiny granite bar as the barman approached with the tall iced drink. Her throat parched, she swiftly poured half of its contents down in one; feeling the liquid soothe as it sank.

  ‘Gina, sweet pea. You’ll make yourself sick. Slow down. Or drink water if you’re that thirsty.’

  ‘Mum, please, I’m thirty-two, not eight.’

  ‘Oooh, too much information.’ Ollie grinned, sidling up to them. ‘I’d have had you down as twenty-five tops,’ he said, leaning on the bar.

  Gina shuddered at his comment.

  ‘Gina, have you met Ollie Martin, Gabriella’s cousin? We just found out he lives in our neighbourhood. His parents are just across the road, in fact.’

  ‘Yes, we met earlier,’ Gina said, brushing her mother’s hand off her face.

  ‘You never told me how beautiful your daughter is, Adrienne. Like her mother, of course.’

  ‘I don’t need to. It speaks for itself,’ Adrienne pouted.

  Gina closed her eyes and cringed at her mother’s pride and at Ollie’s chat-up line. But she couldn’t ignore his aroma and aura, there was certainly some magnetic force going on. And, something irritating too. Picking up her glass, she finished of her drink.

  ‘Right, I’m going to find James and Gabriella and say goodnight. I’m exhausted.’

  ‘But it’s only nine o’clock. The night is young. Let me buy you both a drink.’ Ollie waved at the barman. ‘What are you drinking?’

  ‘Not for me thank you. I’ve had a long day and I don’t want to turn up at the wedding tomorrow with huge bags under my eyes.’

  ‘I’ll have a white wine, Ollie, please?’ her mother said, brushing her fingers through the crown of her short wavy hair. ‘I’m sure you could manage another hour darling.’

  Gina jumped down from the stool and straightened her jumper before flicking her handbag over her shoulder. She could feel Ollie’s eyes sweep over her, surveying her breasts then wandering to her legs. Her face flushed as he stood broad and lean before her and she witnessed his hunger.

  ‘Well, I’ll say goodnight,’ she managed and, to her surprise, Ollie stepped forward and swept his arm around her shoulder, sending shockwaves right through her as he held her close and kissed both her cheeks.

  ‘I’m sorry you h
ave to go,’ he said. ‘Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’

  ‘Yes, see you in the morning, darling.’ Her mother hugged and kissed her too. ‘Dad and I won’t be late.’

  ‘Are you staying at your parents’? I’ll see you back.’ Ollie held out a hand.

  ‘No. No. I can manage. Goodnight,’ she said before rushing off to say her goodnights to everyone else.

  As she started her walk from the hotel and along the lake path, a brief flash of the figure she’s seen by the lake swam across her eyes.

  ‘No,’ she squealed, squinting her eyes so nothing could enter them and running like hell towards to her parents’ apartment block. Struggling to get the keys in the lock, she dropped them twice before opening the communal door. Once in she felt safer in the bright light but hesitated at the lift.

  ‘Oh fuck, lift.’ She pressed the button and the doors opened. ‘Be brave, be brave,’ she repeated aloud until she reached the fourth floor button. Keys at the ready and sweat now seeping from her forehead she let herself in through the front door.

  She headed to her bedroom, praying the image of the lady at the lake would now leave her alone.

  CARINA™

  ISBN: 978 1 474 04963 4

  One Moment at Sunrise

  © 2016 Karen Aldous

  by Carina, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

  All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.