Ben burst out laughing. “You sound like my gran. What rubbish! You’re as lithe and flexible as a much younger woman—more so, judging by some of the things I’ve seen you do in bed.”
“Shhh.” But Vanessa was beaming, her cheeks hot with pleasure.
Lydia ended the call and paced over. From the apologetic look on her face, Vanessa gauged that she hadn’t been far from the truth in her surmise.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve got to head into town for a little while. If I can make it back here before you pack up, I will. Otherwise, I’ll call you and catch up with you later.”
Vanessa pursed her lips. “Might one enquire for whose sake you are abandoning us?”
“I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t urgent…sorry.”
“Five letters, Italian city famed for leather goods, M-something-L-something-N,” said Ben laconically.
Lydia shook her head and waved perfunctorily before turning and heading back to the gate through which they’d entered the park.
“I think a nail was hit on the head,” remarked Vanessa, watching her friend disappear. “Damn him.”
“Well, it can’t be helped,” said Ben, picking up a chicken drumstick with an air of practicality and biting into it. “Dig in, come on. The sooner we finish the feast, the sooner we can start…the other feast.”
“You really think I’m up for some al fresco fun, don’t you?”
Vanessa sipped at her prosecco. The bubbles were already going to her head.
“Of course. What could be nicer than the fresh air on your naked skin?”
“Or ants in your pants?”
“Warm sunshine bathing your body.”
“Nettle stings on your arse.”
“The sensual mingling of nature and man—and woman—in erotic harmony.”
Vanessa burst out laughing.
“Wasps where no wasp should ever go.”
“Ah, come on, it’s too early for wasps.”
“Bees, then.”
“Try not to look too much like a flower and the bees will leave you alone.”
Vanessa picked up a strawberry and bit into it, sinking her teeth provocatively into its soft, pink flesh.
“Tell you what. If you can find a spot that’s totally and utterly invisible to all passers-by, even the deer, I might consider it.”
“Yeah?” Ben clapped his hands. “That dress you’re wearing—it’s nice, but all I can think about is lifting it up and getting underneath.”
“All right, well, let’s eat first. Get our strength up.”
They fell upon the cold chicken and the slices of quiche, the hard-boiled eggs and the jam tarts with a will, finishing up the prosecco between them before it had a chance to go flat.
Then they packed the hamper and shoved it under a nearby hedge for safe keeping, before Ben took Vanessa’s hand and began stalking with her through the park, hell-bent on finding a place where privacy could be maintained.
Despite the park’s size and range, unpeopled areas were surprisingly hard to locate, and the pair wandered for some time until they found a woodland thicket, some way off the main path. Vanessa had almost reconciled herself to failure, with a sense of some relief, but now her heart began to hammer double-time again.
The foliage was dense enough to make them invisible to passers-by yet, once in the thick of it, it was dry underfoot and the trees allowed enough dappled light in to carpet the floor with patterns of shadow and brightness.