The Secrets Between Us Read Online Free PDF Page B

flesh and nipped at my sunburn. I eased my thumb along the length of my bikini strap. We gazed down at the stage and beyond, through a partly fallen back-wall, to the bright haze wrapped like a shawl around Etna’s shoulders, and closer, to the little villages tumbling down the slopes of other mountains, the windowsof their buildings illuminated by the sun. Everything was apricot, sand-pink and gold.
    May put her sunglasses on top of her head to keep her hair out of her eyes and took some more photographs.
    ‘People won’t believe this back home,’ she said. ‘They simply won’t believe it.’
    We watched a group of children down on the stage many feet below us. They were wearing plastic gladiator helmets and carrying swords. A couple of young adults in blue T-shirts were organizing the children in an excitable and noisy fashion, with the help of a megaphone. I shaded my eyes with my hand. One of the children, a skinny, fair-haired boy with sticking-out ears who was hanging back, reminded me of Jamie. I squinted but I couldn’t be sure. I looked around, but there was no sign of Alexander. I told myself not to be ridiculous. If he’d been planning to come to Taormina, he’d have mentioned it.
    ‘I’m too hot,’ May said. She stretched out her legs. ‘I need a drink.’
    ‘I don’t think there is anywhere here.’
    ‘I’ll walk down into the town. They’ll let me back in again if I keep my ticket, won’t they?’
    I supposed they would.
    ‘Are you coming?’
    I shook my head. ‘Do you mind if I stay? It’s so lovely.’
    ‘Will you be all right?’
    ‘May …’
    ‘OK, sorry. I can’t help being a big sister.’
    ‘And I’m very glad you’re mine, but stop worrying.’
    May gave me the guidebook. ‘I’ll meet you back here in an hour,’ she said. ‘Shall I bring you a Coke?’
    ‘Yes, please.’
    I watched her make her way back down to the bottom of the amphitheatre. There were few tourists around because of the time of day. After a while, the sun burning my armsand legs, I stood up and went the other way, climbing to the very top of the enormous bowl carved out of the hillside. My feet were dusty and my heart beat with the exertion. I wandered into the wooded area beyond, seeking shade.
    It was deserted.
    The area was rimmed by railings, marking the edge of the park. I stepped forward carefully, one foot at a time. I didn’t want to get too close in case the drop on the other side was sheer, but when I reached the metal barrier I was reassured. The ground did not fall away steeply but sloped downwards, and was interrupted by sprawling cacti with huge, plate-shaped leaves and red flowers, and scrubby trees. I leaned on the fence and when I looked over, way, way below was an idyllic little island surrounded by sea so clear and perfectly blue it made my heart ache. I stared out and was lost in the day.
    It was pleasant to be alone. I drifted like a feather on the breeze, my mind full of blues and whites, and when he came, it was as if he had come from nowhere. I didn’t hear his footsteps but suddenly he was beside me; I jumped and dropped the guidebook. It spun as it fell on the other side of the fence and landed spread-eagled amongst the pebbles and dirt a little further down the hill.
    ‘Sorry,’ said Alexander. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’
    ‘It was my fault,’ I said.
    ‘I could climb over and fetch it back.’
    ‘No!’ I cried, then said more quietly: ‘No, really, it’s all right.’
    He took off his sunglasses. He looked exhausted. He said: ‘I saw you come up here. I was pretty sure it was you.’
    ‘It was.’
    ‘I just …’ he said, and then he swallowed and turned his head away.
    I waited a moment, but Alexander didn’t collect his thoughts. He seemed to be lost somewhere.
    ‘Is that Jamie on the stage with the other children?’ I asked.
    Alexander nodded and checked his watch. ‘He tagged on to the group. He’s fed up being with me all the time. He wanted