Page 44 of Take a Chance on Greece

Now I joined in with his laughter. ‘And didn’t you mind? You must have realised what she was up to at the time.’

Alexis kissed the top of my head. ‘I was rather pleased. I am a bit of a hopeless romantic myself.’

‘You should have said something sooner. Then that would have spared me the drama of some of those Andreas meetings.’

‘You were very certain that Awesome Andreas was the one for you. I did not want to stand in your way when you were so determined that this was the right thing to do. After all, I have read many books in which the anti-heroes come to bad ends. I hoped that one day you would notice me. But I’ll admit that it was hard to see you going on dates with other men, when I so wanted to be in their shoes.’

‘You’re your own worst enemy,’ I teased him. Then my voice grew serious. ‘And of course, you’re not the anti-hero. You should always be the hero of your own story.’ It felt like the conversation had got very deep, very quickly. ‘But I’m glad that we found our way to each other in the end. Goodness, what a day of drama. From near drowning to asking you out. I feel quite exhausted.’

Alexis laughed again. ‘You were safe with Captain Andreas. It is an old boat with its own character but it is definitely sea-worthy and goes through all the proper checks. My br… relative works in the yachting industry and knows all the inside gossip. Captain Andreas is one of the best. He may look like he’s running a party boat, but he is very careful to make sure that his guests are properly looked after, and that health and safety rules are followed.’

‘There you go again, making other people the heroes in your story.’ I squeezed his waist.

‘I will try harder to be the hero in the future.’

He traced his finger down the side of my neck and along my collarbone, sending a delicious fluttering sensation across my skin. I pulled myself even closer to him so there wasn’t a millimetre of space between us as we sat side by side. I could feel his breath tickling the top of my head and every receptor in my skin tingled at his proximity.

‘What time is Eleni’s dinner tomorrow?’ he asked softly. It took a while for me to process his question.

‘Eight-thirty-ish, I think?’

‘I should warn you that a dinner party with Eleni and her husband Stephano always involves dancing and goes on late. Much as I am enjoying sitting here with you, perhaps we should get an early night as we’ll need plenty of energy tomorrow evening.’ He hesitated, suddenly realising what he had said. ‘When I say we should get an early night, I mean in our separate accommodation, of course. I am a gentleman.’

‘You would be no less a gentleman by spending the night with me,’ I said, reaching up and cupping the side of his face. There was nothing I wanted more than for Alexis and I to get to know each other at a deeper level, preferably in a more private setting.

‘Lydia, first there is something I should…’ Alexis started to respond, but he was interrupted by a group of loud tourists who chose that precise moment to stumble past the bench and start wolf-whistling at us.

Alexis stood up, automatically putting himself between them and me. By the time they had staggered on their way, the moment of intimacy had passed.

‘Let me walk you home,’ he said. ‘It is getting late.’

And although we took our time returning to the Helios Hotel, our hands linked with each other’s the whole way, when we arrived at reception, he gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek and took his leave.

‘Until tomorrow,’ he promised, then strode off into the darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ispent the next day in a daze, still not quite believing what had happened. Part of me was desperate to sing the news about the development in my relationship with Alexis from the rooftops, or at the very least tell Amira and Kat. While they’d probably be surprised at this twist in my journey, I knew they’d be thrilled for me. But the other superstitious part made me decide to hug the knowledge to myself for a little while at least. I didn’t want to jinx something so new and so precious. The insecure voice at the back of my head still questioned whether I was good enough for such a lovely man. So, I kept my head down, worked hard through my shift, and thanked my lucky stars that Yiota and Angelo had taken a rare day off to visit friends in Argostoli on the other side of the island. Yiota with her perceptive powers would have been bound to spot the change in me straight away, and I wasn’t sure I wanted Alexis’s sister to know about our date before we’d even had it.

Although I had promised myself when I travelled back to Kefalonia that I would savour every single moment of my stay, I couldn’t help wishing the day away, so eager was I for it to be evening so that Alexis and I could be together. I finished stowing the cleaning materials back in the cupboard, and was just getting my phone out to text Alexis and check I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing, when he messaged me first, arranging to come and pick me up at the hotel so we could walk to Eleni’s apartment together. It was a thoughtful thing for him to do, and I felt reassured once again that everything was going to be wonderful. Alexis would never be the type to ghost me.

This time, I didn’t spend ages riffling through my wardrobe and agonising over what outfit to choose for the date. It wasn’t because I didn’t care – quite the opposite – but because I knew that Alexis would make me feel beautiful in whatever I was wearing. I twisted my hair up in a simple bun, and then picked out a loose-flowing sundress. The pre-date nerves were nowhere to be seen, and I was full of excited anticipation, confident that tonight was only the start of something wonderful.

As I was getting ready, I caught a glimpse of the fateful tattoo in the mirror. The swirly writing still looked strange on my skin, but I was finally growing used to it being there, and had even developed a certain affection for it. I could appreciate the beauty in the design – Amira was right when she said the artist knew what they were doing – and I was grateful for the adventure it had led me on. Perhaps I would never remember why I had chosen those particular words to be inked, but I was glad I had chosen them, as they had brought me to Alexis, albeit in a roundabout way. Maybe at some point in the future I would get it covered up, but there was no rush.

Just before eight o’clock, I headed downstairs to meet Alexis, early in my eagerness to see him again. But it turned out he must’ve felt the same way because he was already there waiting for me, intelligent eyes sparkling behind his glasses, a heart-melting smile on his lips. I’d half-feared it might feel strange, knowing that we were embarking on this evening as something more than friends, but the second I saw him, I knew that everything would be fine.

My pulse started racing as he leaned towards me, his hand resting on my waist. I reached up and held his shoulders, every sense in my body eager for his kiss. And then his lips landed on my cheek, lingering there for just a second longer than would be customary between mere friends.

‘Lydia,matia mou, I am so glad to see you,’ he said softly. I didn’t have to know the exact translation to work out that it was a term of endearment, and the tenderness in his voice nearly compensated for the disappointment that our first proper kiss was still yet to happen.

We walked hand in hand along the quiet back street to town, the air thick with the sweet scent of jasmine. We’d walked this way together before, but it felt so much better to be doing ittogethertogether, palms clasped, hips brushing against each other as we strolled along, savouring every step of the walk, and spinning the journey out into twice its normal length. Although I was looking forward to joining in the festivities at Eleni’s home, I wished that for this first date we were able to enjoy it alone. But there would be time for that later.

Sami was getting ready for another busy evening. Waiters were putting extra chairs out at the tables in the tavernas along the sea front, and bar staff were polishing glasses, preparing for the influx of guests refreshed from lazy afternoons by the pool, ready for a fun evening of conversation and laughter. We stopped at the florist’s to buy Eleni a bunch of flowers to thank her for her hospitality. Alexis picked out a large white daisy from the bunch and tenderly tucked it into my hair.

‘A sunny flower for a sunny person,’ he said, tipping my face up towards his, and setting me off blushing.

We turned away from the main shopping precinct into a quiet residential street with a low apartment block at one end. The front of the building was a faded honey colour, though it was difficult to see it behind the riot of bougainvillea. On the top floor, a blue chair balanced on a rickety balcony, clearly a favourite spot for someone to sit and watch the world go by. High above our heads, washing lines zigzagged across the street.

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