Page 84 of The House Swap

‘You’re worried about getting cold.’

It wasn’t a question.

‘No, I’m not.’ She glanced over the side of the boat, trying to gauge how far down the seabed was, then immediately wished she hadn’t. ‘It looks deep.’

‘It is. That’s the point. You can swim, can’t you?’

Poppy bristled. ‘Of course I can. I wouldn’t have come all the way out here if I couldn’t.’

‘Then you’ll be fine.’

He was getting on her nerves now and she just wanted to be away from him. Unfortunately, the boat was small and other than the sea, there was nowhere for her to go.

Just get in the water.

This had been the whole point of the boat trip, hadn’t it? To have a different experience. To shake herself out of the constant spiral of overthinking. And this was exactly the kind of moment she needed to push through. Because if she didn’t – if she let every small, irrational doubt take hold – then it would be another defeat, and she would really start to believe there was something wrong with her.

She stood slowly, reminding herself it was just water. Her heart was beating faster than it should and her legs were trembling, but she egged herself on.

You can do this.

As she pulled her towel out of the beach bag, Martin glanced over.

‘At last.’ He smirked. ‘I thought we were going to have a wasted trip.’

Poppy glared at him, but said nothing, turning her back to him as she removed her T-shirt and leggings. In her bikini, she felt too exposed, the light breeze brushing against her bare skin, but she was relieved upon turning back that he had already averted his eyes and was rummaging in a storage box under one of the seats.

As she crossed the deck, he pulled out a coil of rope and a life jacket.

‘Safety first,’ he told her. ‘Best to have them out just in case.’

‘Good idea,’ she told him with a tight smile, passing him as he moved to the edge of the boat.

It looked darker now.

And so deep.

‘Ladder is down at the back if you don’t want to jump. You’ll be fine.’

Poppy wasn’t sure why his reassurance made things worse.

She didn’t have a problem jumping, but it was good to know about the ladder for getting back onto the boat. She climbed onto the edge.

The sea stretched endlessly around her. Inhaling deeply, she pushed herself off the edge.

The cold shock of the water stole the breath from her lungs, and she surfaced with a gasp, brushing wet hair from her face.

‘See,’ Martin called down. ‘That wasn’t so bad.’

It was clearer than she expected, but as she began to tread water, she became aware of just how high the boat was. Suddenly, the distance between her and the deck felt enormous.

She turned slowly, looking for Martin.

He was watching her from above.

‘You all right down there?’

She nodded, managing a smile, though she wasn’t as confident as she was trying to act.