Page 110 of The Island Villa

The invitation hovered in the air between them.

The alternative was to go back to her mother’s villa, take a shower and go to bed with a book. That would undoubtedly be the safe choice and a few days ago she would have made that choice without thought. But now?

She took a breath. “That sounds blissful.” Not the swimming part, although that sounded good, nor the drink, although that would be welcome after the hours she’d spent at the hospital, but the spending time with him.

They drove the rest of the way in silence and she wondered if he was as aware of her as she was of him. Heat washed over her. Her heart thudded against her ribs. Anticipation hovered in the air, thick and sweet.

Finally, the road narrowed and they drove down the bumpy track that led to his house. Tiny lights illuminated the driveway and the gardens and the moon sent a shimmer of silver across the ocean. She stepped out of the car and breathed in scents of wild thyme and oregano.

“I could fall in love with this place.” Maybe she already had.

“That’s how I felt the first time I saw it.” He closed the car door. “Go and sit on the terrace. Dip your feet in the pool. I’ll bring us something to drink.” He headed into the house and she followed the path to the terrace.

The air pulsed with heat and the pool gleamed invitingly in the darkness, an illuminated splash of bright turquoise, the surface so still it could have been made of glass.

She felt a sudden yearning to jump right in and wished she’d brought a swimsuit, but who packed a swimsuit for a hospital visit?

She slipped off her shoes and felt the warmth press against the soles of her feet.

Her mind was spinning.

Dear Unsettled, for every gain, there is a loss. What you’ve gained by controlling your life, you’ve lost in opportunities for discovery and adventure. Once in a while, it’s good to be spontaneous and follow your instincts. Let life happen. Sometimes the best things that happen in life are the things we don’t plan.

Follow your instincts? Let life happen?

Was that really the advice she was giving herself? She was the sort of person who never got a parking ticket, who ate food before its expiration date, who never left home without carrying an umbrella and wearing a high-factor sunscreen.

She gazed at the pool for a long lingering moment and then out across the sea, velvet dark in the moonlight. The lights from a yacht twinkled in the bay and the sky was scattered with stars. She imagined living somewhere like this and in that brief moment she had a vision of what her life could be like. Slower. Less pressured. The things that took on such importance at home in London didn’t seem to matter here. Priorities shifted.

She heard footsteps and then Stefanos appeared beside her.

“I never get tired of that view.” He handed her a glass of wine and she took it, her fingers brushing against his. “I approve of the way you dress for a hospital visit, by the way.”

She laughed and glanced down at herself. “I have never felt more self-conscious. It’s not as if I was sure about the dress to begin with. It’s not my usual style. A friend picked it out for me. I think she’s trying to encourage me to find my wild side.”

“And is it working?” He put his glass down on the table without drinking, his gaze fixed on her face. Something in his eyes made it impossible to look away and she lost the ability to concentrate sufficiently to figure out the answer to his question.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I have a wild side. Or maybe everyone has more than one version of themselves.” She felt a rush of heat and took a mouthful of ice-cold wine, trying desperately to find some of her usual calm.

“And which version are you tonight? I guess there’s an easy way to find out.” He took her wine glass from her. “Fancy a swim?”

Her heart was pounding. “Now?”

“Why not? I’m encouraging you to be spontaneous.”

Wasn’t that the exact advice “Dr. Swift” had just given her?

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.” She couldn’t quite figure out how to let go of the person she’d become. How to make that shift from cautious to spontaneous.

“If it makes it easier, I’ll go first.” He stripped off his shirt and his shorts and she had a glimpse of bronzed flesh and hard muscle before he plunged into the water.

She stepped back, but not quickly enough and she was showered in droplets. She looked at the pool, and at Stefanos who cut through the water with strong rhythmic strokes. At the end of the pool, he caught the side and looked at her, beckoning her to join him.

She saw the droplets of water clinging to his broad shoulders and the smile that touched his lips and she finally she figured out why she was still holding back.

It wasn’t that she was afraid to be spontaneous. It was because she knew instinctively that this was a man who could snap her heart in two. He had the power to hurt her in a way Mark never had.

But she also knew that if she didn’t join him now, she’d always regret it, and how much worse would it be to spend her life living with regret?

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