‘Look in the gallery. You’ll find ice and glasses there.’
‘Great, I’ll be as quick as I can.’
And she was gone, bag over her shoulder, humming as she navigated the narrow ladder. Damir concentrated on the distant horizon, processing the conversation. He had invited a reasonable number of women out for a day—or an evening—sail over the last couple of years. They’d all arrived dressed in expensive teeny bikinis and luxurious wraps, expecting him to provide champagne and delicious, dainty food as a matter of course. Not one had baked before the trip, or had thought to pick up something to bring.
The unwritten assumption was that as the host, and a host who was known to be wealthy, he would treat them to the entire trip. And that was fine, he shared those expectations, knew what was required, and it had never been an issue. He just hadn’t realised how good it would feel to have someone think about treating him as well.
* * *
Lily peered up eagerly as the boat finally rounded the curve of the coastline and the imposing walls finally came into sight.
‘Oh! Oh, Damir!’ She wasn’t sure she could open her eyes any wider as she drank in the view, taking off her sunglasses so as not to miss a detail, even though the sun already reflected brightly off the water, the light bouncing dazzlingly off the old walls. ‘It’s magnificent. I’ve seen pictures, of course, and heard stories, many stories, but nothing could have prepared me for this. I can’t believe you’re lucky enough to live here.’
Neither could she believe that Josip had never returned here. If Dubrovnik had been her home city, nothing would keep her away, certainly not for years and years on end. If there was anything the last few months had taught her it was how important moving forward was, learning from the past and not being haunted by it. Maybe that was a lesson she should try and pass on to her stepfather as well.
This time Lily didn’t offer to help as Damir deftly steered the boat into the already crowded old harbour, securing a mooring spot with a satisfied grin. She could barely contain her impatience as he securely fastened the boat before lightly jumping onto the wooden walkway and helping her out.
‘This is why I told you to be ready so early,’ he said, leading her towards the arched entrance into the fabled old city. ‘As you can see, it’s already pretty busy, but in less than an hour the cruise ship passengers will arrive and this street will be jostling room only. If you want to walk the walls, and I assume you do, then getting here as early as possible is essential.’
‘I absolutely do want to walk the walls. In fact, I don’t want to leave any tourist trap untouched. You are allowed to be my tour guide, but you can’t be a local, dismissive of anything that’s popular. I want to do all the tacky touristy bits. I’m going to consider it research, because otherwise I’ll feel like a fool when I’m talking to the guests and they know more about Dubrovnik than I do.’
‘Your wish is my command.’ He smiled at her, sweet and slow, and Lily was conscious of her heart squeezing as he did so.
Don’t get carried away, she told herself. Apart from helping her onto and off the boat, Damir had made no move to touch her, hadn’t flirted with her, all morning, just as the texts they had exchanged to set this day up had been merely friendly, not flirtatious. It was almost as if the kiss just a few nights ago had never been.
But there was an acute consciousness between them, an awareness of each other’s every move, a carefulness in their conversation that showed the kiss was very much on both of their minds. Whether that meant a repetition or not she didn’t know. Part of her hoped so, wanted to allow the attraction to run its course, but she was also scared by the fierceness of her reaction to him. If Damir hadn’t stopped, would they have ended up making love on the ground? Up against a tree? She couldn’t say, hand on heart, that it was an impossibility.
Neither could she honestly say that she hadn’t spent more than one idle moment wondering just what that lovemaking might have felt like…
She wrenched her mind back to the present as Damir guided her through the marble streets, Lily slowing to marvel at enticing alleyways running off on every side. Some were dead ends, others led to picturesque squares or to long, steep stone steps. But every time she slowed, Damir hustled her on, giving her no time to stop, stare, take pictures or set foot in any of the shops or restaurants. Instead, Damir marched her on until they’d secured tickets and ascended the stairs that led them to the top of the famous city walls.
Lily knew that in the heat of midday, once the city was full of day trippers, cruise ship passengers and tourists pouring in from the hotels from all around Dubrovnik, it could be shuffling room only on the walls. Early as it was, there were still plenty of people walking along the wide turreted walkways, looking down on the one side into courtyards, windows and alleyways and on the other across the blue, blue sea. But there was plenty of room for everyone, and now Lily could stop as much she wanted, and take as many photos she wished, playfully pulling Damir in for a couple of selfies despite his protestations.
It was a surprisingly long way round, with some unexpectedly steep climbs as the sun grew hotter and hotter and the walls busier and busier. Lily wished she could take a slower walk round in the cool of an early spring or autumnal day, one when the tourists were few and the sun less intense. But despite the heat and hubbub, it was still one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of her life and when they finally descended, Lily’s head was spinning with the history and the tales Damir had told her, her eyes and heart full of all she’d seen.
It seemed impossible that the old town itself could compare with its own defensive walls, but a place where the roads were literally made of marble, and every house was hundreds of years old, couldn’t help but intrigue her and she explored every alley, stopping only for an ice cream and some much-needed water.
‘Okay,’ Damir said after a while. ‘We’ve been walking for hours and I for one am ready for a beer. Luckily I know the perfect place.’
‘A beer?’ Lily wasn’t much of a beer drinker, happy with the odd glass of wine now and then. Her mother’s struggles with alcohol and drugs had left Lily cautious about overindulging and daytime drinking really wasn’t her thing.
‘Or a soft drink of your choice, but the place I’m taking you to deserves to be toasted with a real libation.’
Intrigued, Lily accompanied Damir through yet another bewildering route of alleyways, small open squares and stairs. She should have brought breadcrumbs with her to scatter or a ball of thread as left to herself she would never find her way out again, but Damir was sure and certain of his route.
Finally they came to a small archway. A chalkboard by the archway simply said ‘Bar’ with an arrow pointing through. Damir indicated that Lily should go first and, intrigued, she walked through, eyes widening in awe as she took in the scene before her.
The bar was perched on rocks that seemed to tumble down to the sea far below, tables positioned by railings that were all that stood between the bar’s patrons and the rocks below. The rocks formed a kind of natural terrace, the bar on the top and tables on several levels beneath, each joined by a flat stone staircase. The fourth level was the largest and had no tables. On it a small group of young men congregated, talking noisily, all wearing just their swimming shorts.
As Lily watched one of them stepped up to the very edge and with no fanfare executed a perfect dive far down into the sea below. She gasped as she watched him go, his bronzed body momentarily gleaming in the sunlight before it fell. ‘Fancy a swim?’ Damir said with a grin.
‘You must be kidding, there’s no way I’m jumping off there.’ Lily eyed the steep drop and shivered.
‘That’s one way into the water, but alternatively you could just climb down there.’ And Damir pointed to a narrow ladder leading from the diving rock to a cluster of rocks just above sea level. A few groups were sunbathing on towels spread out over the hard surface, oth
ers had climbed into the water and were swimming out. This was no shallow, safe cove or cordoned-off area with land on both sides, these swimmers headed straight into the depths of the Adriatic, sharing the water with boats and kayaks. It looked exhilarating.
‘You have your costume?’ Damir asked, and she nodded.
‘Yes, you told me to make sure I wore it.’ Lily followed Damir carefully climbing down the steep ladder until she reached the rocks below. Unselfconsciously, Damir shed his clothes, standing there in just his trunks. Lily’s gaze wandered appreciatively over his wide torso, narrow waist and strong legs, lust shooting through her with unexpected possessiveness.
‘Come on,’ he said with a boyish grin. ‘What are you waiting for?’
Nobody was paying them any attention as Lily slipped off her long dress and her sandals. In her bag she had a pair of sea shoes, having been warned about the dangers of sea urchins on Croatia’s rocky coast. She noticed that no local seem to wear them and Damir raised an eyebrow as she slightly defiantly slipped them on but she was glad of their protection as they walked over the rough rock until they reached one of the ubiquitous ladders that led into the Adriatic depths. Lily didn’t allow herself time to stop and think about the cold. As soon as she was deep enough in she let go, straight into the bracing water, swimming fast until her limbs warmed up.
She didn’t know how long they spent out there but she could have stayed there for ever, turning into a water nymph who lived in these turquoise waters. Bobbing in the water, she looked up at the walls rising far above her and felt a kinship with all the hundreds of generations of people who must’ve swum in this very spot.
They swam for at least half an hour, reluctantly returning to dry off on the rocks like a pair of mer-people, letting the sun dry them until they could put their clothes back over their swimsuits. Then, glowing with the warmth and the exercise, they clambered back up the ladder to the bar, where Damir procured a table right on the rocky outcrop, presenting Lily with a beer that she decided she did want after all. ‘This place is amazing,’ she said as she took an appreciative gulp of the bitter, amber liquid.
‘It’s a Dubrovnik institution,’ Damir told her. ‘It’s one of those places that is in all the guidebooks, that everybody who has been here tells their friends is a must-visit and yet it always feels unspoilt, like you’re the first person to have discovered it. Even at the height of the season, when it’s at peak busyness, it feels as if there’s space for everyone who needs to be here.’
‘You come here a lot then?’ Of course, she remembered, Damir didn’t live on Lokvar but somewhere here in Dubrovnik.
‘I haven’t been here in over seven years.’ His sunglasses hid his expression, but his voice was carefully emotionless.
‘Oh?’ Lily tried to match his lack of emotion, not wanting to show how curious she was.
‘It’s a favourite spot of my ex-wife’s. We used to come here a lot. After she left, I found new places to go, ones without so many memories.’
And yet he had brought her here. Lily didn’t know how to interpret that, but her stomach tumbled as she tried not to show her surprise—or how flattered she was.
‘I’m sorry that your marriage didn’t work out.’ Seven years ago? He could only have been in his mid-twenties when they’d divorced.
He shrugged. ‘It happens. In the end we wanted different things.’
‘Such as?’
‘Kata wanted a normal life. A family, a husband who was home for dinner with weekends off. She resented how much time I spent working. Meanwhile my father wanted to expand the business, needed me to step up, evenings, weekends, whatever it took. After he died the pressure intensified. We just stopped communicating and she left. She’s remarried now, has a child.’ He paused. ‘I think she’s happy.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly, covering his hand with hers. ‘For your father, your marriage, all of it.’
‘We got together when we were at school, maybe we were too young when we married. Too busy living in the present to prepare for the future. How about you?’ He turned his hand to clasp hers, his fingers folding around her palm, and Lily suddenly found it hard to concentrate, all of her being focussed on the sensations pulsing through her hand, zipping through her entire body.
‘Me?’ She managed to somehow answer his question. ‘No, I’ve never been married. I’ve never even lived with a partner. Career first, my love life a very poor second.’
‘It’s hard to balance the two.’
‘It is. Date someone with the same ethos and you run the risk of never seeing them, date someone with different priorities and they soon get bored with your limited availability. I was with this one guy, a lawyer in my firm, for a couple of years but when we broke up last year it didn’t make any real difference to my life. I missed the convenience of him rather than Seb himself, and I’m sure he felt the same way.’
Lily looked straight ahead out at the almost overwhelming brightness of the sea and sighed. ‘I look at my mum and Josip and they are so easy with each other, they really are two halves of the same whole, cheesy as that sounds. I’ve never felt like that about anybody. But then I haven’t wanted to either, not while I was working towards being partner. It would be too distracting, having to factor in someone else’s life and needs.’
Although that’s not how her mum and Josip seemed. They just supported each other through all life’s ups and downs, including her mother’s decision to finally get a university degree and a career in her thirties. Sometimes Lily envied them, but she had no idea how to let someone get that close. How to be that vulnerable. The only person who she’d allowed in was Izzy—and now she was more alone than ever.
‘That’s it.’ Damir nodded. ‘You get it, to build something like a career or a business you have to be single-minded. And finding someone who understands, who isn’t resentful of that is hard.’
‘So you’ve been single since you divorced?’ That didn’t fit with Ana’s playboy assessment, or with the easy charm he displayed with her.
‘Single? No. But I’m not looking for anything serious and I am very clear about that. I don’t want to break any hearts or raise any expectations. But if I like someone and they like me, and we want to spend some time together then great.’ His hand tightened on hers and Lily’s breath quickened. ‘For instance, I like you, Lily, and I think you like me. I would very much enjoy getting to know you better while you’re in Croatia.’
‘Get to know me better? Is that code for a few trips out like this or for a no-strings, one-summer-only kind of deal?’ She managed to sound nonchalant, as though she was always being propositioned by gorgeous, sun-bronzed men in idyllic locations, although her throat was thick, her ears buzzing and her pulse pounded.
‘No code, simply getting to know each other better and seeing where it leads. If it leads nowhere, fine, otherwise we part when one of us has had enough or at the end of the summer with no hard feelings and some good memories. What do you think?’
What did she think? Lily was already overwhelmed by her physical reaction to Damir. She might not have put a lot of effort into her love life before, but she had also never had a fling. She was more of a few polite dates, gradually working up to formal couple status kind of girl. Was she emotionally able to cope with the kind of short-term relationship Damir was offering?
But she was supposed to be living spontaneously and trying new things, to be less sensible and have more fun. And she suspected she would have a lot of fun if she said yes.
She picked up her beer, willing her hand to steady, not to show any sign of nerves, and held her bottle up to his. ‘I think we should drink to getting to know each other better. To the summer.’
‘To the summer,’ he echoed, his dark eyes opaque. ‘I am very much looking forward to seeing how this turns out.’
‘Me too.’ And to her surprise Lily meant it. She wasn’t going to
plan or organise and schedule. She was going to wait and see and enjoy every moment of this unexpected summer romance.
CHAPTER SIX
‘ARE YOU SURE you don’t mind, Lily? You haven’t had a day off for a week, and now you’re cancelling your plans.’ Ana looked worriedly at Lily, who gave the older woman a determined smile.
‘Of course I don’t mind. I can meet Damir any time.’
‘But you have restaurant reservations—I heard there’s a waiting list to get in there.’
‘Well, Damir only suggested it a couple of days ago, so either he has a standing reservation or he can pull some strings. Either way, if I don’t go it’s not the end of the world. I’d be more than happy to go back to the seafood burger takeaway in the old town we visited last week. I’ve never eaten anything more delicious and I can do that any time.’
‘But you’ve worked so hard. You deserve a break.’
‘I’m fine, honestly. Ivona is no use to anyone until that swelling goes down. She’s in a lot of pain. As are you, so go and lie down and stop worrying about me.’
Lily shooed Ana up the stairs, not allowing her smile to slip until the older woman was out of sight and then she leaned against the wall and let out a deep sigh. She would never have confessed it to Ana, but truthfully she was more than a little disappointed to cancel her much-anticipated afternoon and evening off. Damir been called away to a meeting in Zagreb earlier in the week, which meant she hadn’t seen him since he’d sailed her back to Lokvar after their day out in Dubrovnik, receiving just a few texts in the week since.
What was the point of throwing a lifetime of caution to the wind and agreeing to a summer fling if you were both too busy to do any actual flinging?
Today was supposed to change all that. She had the afternoon and evening off and Damir, who was due to arrive back from Zagreb this morning, had offered to pick her up in the early afternoon and show her more of the coastline from his boat, before finishing the day off with a meal at an exclusive restaurant in Dubrovnik. The kind of restaurant Lily needed to dress up for. A real date restaurant.
Harlequin Romance December 2020 Box Set Page 39
