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I smirk at him, but then I gaze around, realising I’ve barely paid any attention to the landscape we’ve been passing through, so focused have I been on the river. It’s beautiful, with tall trees lining either side of this stretch. It’s hard to believe yesterday morning I was still in London, surrounded by buildings and vehicles and so, so, so many people. Now I’m out in the wilds, and apart from Ally, there’s no one else about. It’s just the two of us.

I glance back to see him grinning at me boyishly.

“Beautiful, eh?”

In an instant, I’m transported to my childhood, to doing this very activity with this very man, only he was a kid back then—a boy who would grow into the strong, handsome man beside me.

“Lovely,” I agree. My view—which now includes Ally—is most definitely lovely.

We allow the current to carry us along, paddling only occasionally to correct our course. Soon, the trees give way to pretty stone buildings: we’ve reached Bannock. This morning, I explored the town on foot, but seeing it from the river gives me a different perspective. If anything, it’s even prettier from down here on the water.

As we approach the bridge, Ally calls up to a young woman who’s crossing it. She beams at us then crouches out of sight and reappears with a toddler held up high. The little boy waves excitedly from his mother’s arms, calling out Ally’s name. Ally waves back, as do I, until we drift under the bridge.

“He was cute. How do you know them?”

Ally gives me a quizzical look. “I know everyone in this town, most by name, a few only by sight. That was wee Hector and his maw, Caitlin.”

He knows everyone in the town? The very idea blows my mind. I don’t even know everyone in my block of flats—or rather, Harry’s block of flats.

We float on down the river, leaving both the bridge and Bannock behind us. My heart rate, which was racing during the rapids, has slowed. I’m relaxed.

“Is the worst of it over?” I ask.

“The worst of it? What a strange question. The best bits are still to come.”

We share a smile. I find I’m up for braving more rapids.

“In that case, bring it on!”

Ally grins, and we paddle onwards. Soon, the river grows wilder again, but I’m more prepared this time, and I figure if I’ve navigated one set of rapids, I can navigate another. I decide to be more vocal about how freeing I’m finding this experience, and so each time a spray of icy water hits me, I allow a whoop of delight to escape my lips.

Ally chuckles after my first few outbursts, then he joins in, both of us yelling at the top of our lungs with each big splash. We may be breaking the peace of the countryside, but it feels good, almost like each yell is an opportunity to off-load frustration and pain.

I’m buoyant, like I’m on top of the world, and then—

“We’re approaching the waterfall!” Ally shouts.

“The waterfall?” I shriek. “You didn’t say anything about a—”

“Get down, get down!”

I drop to the floor of the raft, grabbing a hold of the perimeter line. Time slows, giving dread a chance to form in the pit of my stomach, then the front of the raft is going out into nothingness. I let out a strangled scream, and then we’re going down, down, the front of the raft tipping forwards, the river rushing towards us . . .

We crash down with an almighty splash, water spraying up all around us and utterly drenching me. But the raft is still upright, and we’re both still in it, Ally’s long body beside mine, and . . . that was bloody amazing! A surge of excitement washes over me, and I let out the loudest whoop yet, not saying any words, just voicing my exhilaration.

Ally turns to me, a huge grin on his radiant face, his hair wet and plastered to his forehead, his eyes—which I had once thought so serious—sparkling with energy. What happened to the grumpy Scotsman who begrudgingly welcomed me to his hotel last night? This man is so alive. Hell, I feel so alive right now.

“You never mentioned a bloody waterfall!” I laugh, too elated to have got through the experience unscathed to really be annoyed with him.

“Oh aye, we didn’t go this far down the river when we were kids, so you wouldn’t have done the waterfall last time. Well, you’ve done it now.”

I shake my head. “Yeah, I’ve done it now, although I still can’t believe it. That was crazy! Crazy but amazing.”

Our eyes meet, and maybe it’s all the blood that’s pumping through me—maybe it’s the adrenaline, the excitement—but this guy? He is smoking hot. I mean, sure, I’d already noticed he has an amazing body, and yeah, I’d noticed he looks good when he smiles, but he’s more than just good-looking. He’s gorgeous.

And Ally, he’s staring back at me, and . . . what is he thinking? I can’t read his gaze, can’t figure out what’s going on in there, but I think maybe . . . I think maybe his thoughts aren’t a million miles from mine. If he were to try closing the distance between us—if he were to try kissing me—I wouldn’t stop him. I think I’d be okay with it—no, I’d be more than okay with it.

But after holding my gaze for a long time, Ally turns away. “All right, that’s all the scary stuff over. Our endpoint is a little further downstream. Jamie should be waiting for us there.”