A Whirlwind Engagement

might give some thought to what it's like for me stuck here all day. Everyone thinks we're about to split up.'

'What?'

'Of course they do! They see you with Aisling, never with me. We never do anything together.'

Bella was appalled at how close she was to tears. She had been trying so hard not to mind when Josh went off with Aisling every day. Nor had Aisling's growing impatience with Bryn been lost on her.

Any day now, Aisling was going to realise what she had lost when she left Josh for Bryn. With Josh so clearly still available and keen to get back together, she wouldn't hesitate to say something to him, and then what was going to happen to her! Bella wondered. She would have to try and be happy for Josh but she wasn't sure that she would be able to bear it.

She was in a crowd all day, and at night she lay stiffly next to Josh, yearning to be able to touch him. She was never alone and she had never felt lonelier. Josh was scrupulously polite but it was clear how he felt. Once she had rolled over and brushed against him by mistake, and he had flinched.

'Sorry,' she had muttered, horribly embarrassed, and huddled back to her own side of the bed.

What was it Josh had said about the week turning out to be even harder than he had expected? Now Bella knew exactly what he meant. She didn't know whether she longed for the week to be over, or dreaded it as the last chance she might have to be this close to Josh.

He was looking apologetic now. 'The diving course finishes tomorrow,' he said. 'Maybe we could do something together on Friday?'

Some of the others had hired jeeps and found secluded beaches or great little fish restaurants. 'OK,' said Bella, trying desperately not to sound too eager, but unable to stop her heart quickening in anticipation of some time alone with him. At least she could make the most of it before Aisling realised just what a mistake she had made in letting him go.

'Aisling says there's a boat trip out to some of the uninhabited outer islands then,' Josh said. 'There'll be a chance to go snorkelling, too. We could go on that together if you like.'

Sick disappointment twisted in Bella's stomach. It sounded as if he couldn't bear the thought of a day without Aisling. She was furious with herself for that brief moment of excitement, but if she objected, she would sound like a spoilt, sulky child.

'Sure,' she said dully.

In spite of her disappointment, her spirits rose on Friday morning. Josh had breakfast with her and there was no sign of Aisling. Maybe she had changed her mind, thought Bella hopefully. Meanwhile, the day stretched ahead of them, a whole day with Josh. They might not be alone, but at least he would be there. The way Bella felt at that moment, it would be enough.

And it was a beautiful day. The sky was a deep, cloudless blue, the sea still and translucent, and the early morning sun behind the palm trees threw ragged shadows on the white sand. It was a picture of paradise, thought Bella. Impossible to feel depressed in a place like this on a day like this.

To hell with Aisling, she decided defiantly. I'm going to enjoy today whether she's there or not.

Unfortunately, Aisling was there. When the rest of them arrived, she was waiting down by the jetty with Bryn, who had obviously been persuaded to take a day off from killing fish and looked as if he was regretting it already.

There were eleven of them altogether, including Cassandra. Having spent the week organising trips for everyone else, she felt she was entitled to go on one herself, she explained.

'Now, is everyone here?'

She began counting heads, while Josh frowned at the boat tied up by the jetty. 'Are we going in that?' he interrupted her.

'What's wrong with it?'

'It's very open and very low-and it's going to get even lower when we all get in it,' he pointed out.

Bryn strolled over to join in the discussion. 'What's the problem?'

'I'm just a bit concerned about the lack of protection,' said Josh, not looking as if he welcomed Bryn's input at all.

'Good God, man, there's a perfectly adequate sunshade!'

'I wasn't thinking of the sun,' Josh said evenly. 'I'm thinking about what would happen if we ran into rough seas.'

'What rough seas?' Bryn was openly dismissive. 'The sea's like a millpond.'

Josh's slate-coloured eyes narrowed as he looked at the horizon where you could just make out a faint smudge. 'I've got a bad feeling about the weather,' he admitted.

Bryn followed his glance. 'Just a heat haze,' he pronounced. 'Come on, let's go.'

'Just a minute,' said Josh quietly, but something in his tone stopped Bryn in his tracks. 'Who's in charge of this boat?' he asked Cassandra, who was beginning to look flustered.

'It's Ron's boat. He's terribly reliable and he's done lots of trips for us before, but he can't come himself today so he's sent Elvis instead,' she said, and pointed at the boy sitting patiently at the tiller. 'He's only thirteen, but he's been helping his father on this boat since he could walk.'

'I'm sure Elvis knows what he's doing,' said Josh dryly. 'I'd just feel better if there was any sign of a life-jacket on board.'

'Oh, stop being such an old woman!' said Bryn. 'We're not going to need life-jackets on a day like today.'

'Yes, do stop fussing, Josh,' said Aisling. 'If we hang around looking for life-jackets it'll be too late to go at all.'

There was an immediate uproar from the others, and Josh found himself overruled as they piled into the boat, which promptly sank perilously low in the water. Josh didn't like it at all, but Bella, who had been chatting and hadn't heard any of the discussion, was already in. Short of dragging her out bodily, there wasn't much he could do about it, and he certainly wasn't letting her go off in a boat like this without him.

Reluctantly, Josh untied the rope for Elvis and got in as well with a last glance at the horizon. Maybe he was wrong about the weather.

For most of the day, it seemed that he was. The tarpaulin rigged over the boat gave some shade, but it was still very hot and the sea was oily and still as they puttered out to the furthermost islands. The mood was cheerful, as if everyone realised that they would be going home to winter in a couple of days and were determined to make the most of it. Only Josh kept a watchful eye on the horizon, but the smudge didn't move.

They anchored at last on a tiny exposed atoll where the coral wall fell away into deep, clear, turquoise water. Leaning over the edge of the boat, they oohed and aahed at the iridescent fish that darted in and out of the coral.

'See?' said Bryn with a sneer. 'If we'd listened to Josh, we'd still be looking for life-jackets and we wouldn't have seen this.'

Bella stood up abruptly. 'Where are the masks and flippers?' she asked, changing the subject before anyone else could jump on the jeering bandwagon Bryn was clearly intent on setting rolling. 'I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to go snorkelling before lunch.'

Josh wished that he could shake the uncanny sense of impending disaster. He was torn between watching that ominous smudge on the horizon and following Bella into the limpid water. Surely she'd be safe here? But tides could be treacherous, and sharks weren't unknown…

Suddenly afraid to let her out of his sight, Josh put on a mask and snorkel and tipped neatly into the water after the others. She had only been snorkelling once before and he caught up with her easily and shadowed her unobtrusively as she drifted happily along the reef, unaware of his presence until he touched her arm and pointed.

Bella looked to see a huge turtle swimming gracefully past, so unlike lumbering progress on land. Rapt, she watched it go then lifted her head out of the water to remove her snorkel as Josh surfaced beside her.

'Wasn't it beautiful! Oh, that's one of the best things I've ever seen!' She was so thrilled that Josh's unease began to recede. Bella was happy, he told himself. Everything was fine.

Not wanting to crowd her, he made his way back to the boat after a while, and sat and talked to Elvis until the others started to trickle back. Bella was one of the last. Josh saw her head pop up out of the water by the ladder