‘And even the danger-’ She stopped and drew in a breath of pure satisfaction.

‘You too? Yes, it’s true. There’s pleasure in going to the edge-perhaps closer than you should-’

‘The moment when you feel you might just have gone too far,’ she murmured, ‘but you get away with it.’

‘There’s nothing like it,’ he agreed appreciatively. ‘And then you’re a winner, ruler of the world. And next time-’

He stopped and their eyes met.

‘Should you be talking to me like this?’ she asked humorously. ‘You-teacher. Me-pupil. Surely you should be preaching safety, not leading me astray with the delights of danger?’

‘You’re already “astray” or you wouldn’t have known what I meant so quickly,’ he said. ‘But you’re right. I shouldn’t talk like that, and I wouldn’t to anyone else. I rely on you not to repeat it.’

‘I promise,’ she said and they chinked glasses.

‘Especially him!’ Renzo added as Henry’s bellow reached them from inside. It was clear that he was heading towards them.

‘Is that the time?’ Mandy asked hastily, rising. ‘I think I’ll get an early night.’

She was annoyed with Henry, who’d ruined a moment she was enjoying. The discovery that Renzo had hidden depths had opened a new path that might have been fun to explore. Best of all had been the understanding that had flashed between them. He was the last man with whom she would have expected this, which only made it more intriguing.

But she remembered that they would only be together for a few days. Then he would return to his country and she to hers, and that would be that.

Next day the weather was good and they travelled fast. With every step the air became clearer and brighter, and the peaks seemed tantalizingly closer.

‘It’s like we could get to the top today,’ Mandy breathed when they were halfway up.

‘That nearness is an illusion,’ Renzo said. ‘You’ve been in the mountains before, you should know all about the illusions.’