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grin. “So you could say it’s in my blood.”
    He unloops the heavy moor rope as though it weighed nothing. Then he moves to the other side of the boat, and begins winding a lever.
    Adam looks so at home out on the water. I find myself gazing at him admiringly as he expertly tends to the boat.
    “Is that the anchor?” I say, peering curiously out over the boat.
    “That’s right,” says Adam. “It’s good that you’re paying attention. Because you’ll be sailing this one day.”
    I give him an uncertain smile, thinking he must be joking.
    “You’re not serious?”
    “Of course I am,” he says, moving away from the raised anchor to kiss me. “A girl of mine has to be able to sail with me. Else I’d worry about you.”
    This touches me deeply. The fact he’s thought so far ahead. That’s he’s seeing us together long term.
    Adam reaches down and pulls out a life jacket, and fits it carefully over my shoulders.
    “There we are,” he says, approvingly, adjusting the straps. “It suits you Summer,” he adds. “You look right at home of the water. Ready to go?”
    I nod, and Adam moves towards the mast. His strong arms wind up a variety of complicated looking levers, and the sail fans impressively into the wind.
    In moments, the boat is propelled forward, out into the Thames.
    I close my eyes, letting the cool breeze drift through my hair.
    “This is lovely,” I say, as the boat moves to its own gentle rhythm. “Really lovely.”
    Adam smiles, leaning against the side of the boat.
    “Isn’t it?” he says. “You can really get away from it out here. But you’re in the thick of it too.”
    He raises his arm to point.
    “See there? That’s the top of the millennium wheel. We’ll see it in a moment. When we turn this next bend.”
    Adam moves behind me, wrapping his arms around my body. I lean back, letting him envelop me.
    “Isn’t this perfect?” he murmurs into my hair. “You, me and the river.”
    “It is,” I sigh, turning slightly to touch my cheek to his. “Completely perfect. It’s like a dream”
    And dreams never last.
    “You know what would make it just that bit more perfect?” adds Adam. “Besides you being naked of course?”
    I laugh. “What?”
    “How about a glass of wine?” he asks. “I’ve got a few good bottles in the little cabin. “Or champagne?”
    “Oooo champagne would be lovely,” I admit.
    Adam kisses my ear.
    “Wait there,” he says. “I’ll be right back.”
     
    Adam vanishes through a tiny door, into the small cabin. And I turn to stare out at the water. I breathe in deep.
    London looks so peaceful from this vantage point. So much less busy and intimidating. Adam is right. I’ll feel differently about the city, now I’ve experienced it from the water.
    The wind has whipped a little higher now. There’s an ominous creak, and I turn to look at the sail.
    Is it meant to sound like that?
    The bow seems to be shaking.
    It’s just the wind , I tell myself. You just don’t understand boats, that’s all.
    Suddenly Adam appears from below deck.
    “Summer!” he shouts. “Get down!”
    In the shock, I barely take in what he means. But my eyes suddenly fix on the sail. It’s seems to be pulling strangely. I just have time to register that it’s given way, when the bow comes flying towards me.
    What the…?
    Time seems to stand still, as it comes directly at my face. I’m frozen like a rabbit in the headlights. My muscles are locked solid, in the hazy fear I hardly follow what happens next.
    Instead of smashing into my face, the impact takes me far lower down that I expect. I’m hit square in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of me, and driving me to the deck.
    “Are you ok?”
    I blink up, to see blue sky, and Adam’s body on top of my, shielding me.
    It takes me a full moment to realise, that he must have wrestled me to the deck just in time. The bow arcs ominously over us, casting a dark shadow.
    Adam glances up at the unsecured sail, and