Page 41 of Playing the Field
Which, of course, sounds good to me. ‘I’m definitely up for a couple of mini breaks in the UK now I’m not doing my big European trip any more. And it’s so beautiful here I’d happily do another visit.’
‘It’s not quite the national parks of Croatia, but it is pretty special,’ he agrees. ‘Remind me where else you were due to go on your trip?’
‘Italy for sure, and Montenegro was on the list. Some of the Greek islands, too– the smaller ones that aren’t so touristy. I’d still like to get to all of them one day, but maybe just not all on the same holiday.’ It makes me think about Greg for the first time in weeks. Wherever he is, I hope he’s as happy as I am. ‘What about you, what’s on your bucket list?’
‘Oh you know, a villa in Tahiti, an African safari, a dive boat to the Galapagos.’
I laugh. ‘No harm in dreaming big.’
‘It’s never hurt me before. I’ll start ticking them off once the football dries up, provided I can find someone who wants to do it all with me.’
‘I think I might be free.’
‘I’ll put the business class flights on standby,’ he says, grinning.
I feign disappointment. ‘No private jet?’
He claps his hand to his head. ‘Oh, so youarejust like the other girls. And there I was thinking you were different.’
‘I’m not averse to lounging around on a sundeck in one of those villas over the sea. It just might take me until you retire before I can afford it, assuming you’ve got at least another ten years in the Premier League and I’m not still working at Crawford for free.’
‘More than ten I hope,’ he says, laughing. ‘And by then I’m sure Crawford will be paying you back for all the effort you’ve put in. There’s so much love for it already, and your players are all so proud to be part of the story.’
‘With the possible exception of Craig,’ I point out, ‘who seems to think he should be playing for the big bucks and fighting off lucrative advertising deals.’
‘It sounds like he hasn’t let go of his past,’ Ben observes. ‘It would be sad if he let what happened at Arsenal stop him from enjoying this experience. Maybe I should tell him it’s bloody weird some of the stuff you get asked to promote anyway– he might start thinking of Crawford as a blessing.’
‘What was your weirdest?’ I ask.
‘It has to be the anti-ageing hair-loss shampoo, given that I’m only twenty-two.’ He points at his mop of curls. ‘I don’t think anyone is going to believe using that led to this. I’ve turned down a few burger and pizza promotions too. I don’t want to encourage people to eat rubbish. And speaking of eating, shall we order? That chicken dish that just went past smelt amazing.’
I look back down at my menu. ‘That’s what I had my eye on, too. That, or the lamb sounds really tasty.’
‘That was my first choice, till I smelt the chicken.’
In the end we decide to share both, and they are equally delicious. Generous, too, so at the point where I can’t eat another bite, I suggest getting a takeaway box for what I haven’t finished.
‘Just slide it over,’ Ben says.
I laugh and push my plate towards him. ‘There goes my breakfast.’
His eyebrows rise– until he realises I’m just messing.
‘Never joke about food,’ he warns. ‘I can’t guarantee your safety.’
I smile coquettishly. ‘Might you kidnap me and take me back to your lair to have your wicked way with me?’
His fork stops midway to his mouth. ‘And definitely never joke about that. We might not even make it as far as my lair if you put ideas like that in my head. There are plenty of secluded spots between here and home.’
I lean in and whisper, ‘I think we should find one of them.’
He doesn’t need asking twice. Ten minutes later we’ve paid up and we’re on our way.
We’re still gigging about what we got up to when we walk back through his front door just as dusk is setting in. There was a walking trail entrance just a short drive from the vineyard, his hand locked with mine as we followed the path into the woods. After a quick check for ramblers and dog walkers who might be making the most of the evening sun, we made out in a clearing, leaning up against a tree, the sounds of birds all around us, our hair fluttering gently in the breeze.
On the way back to the car I could still feel the imprint of tree bark in my back as we brushed bits of foliage off our clothes. We stopped off to pick up ice cream and felt like everyone in the supermarket must be able to tell what we’d been doing.
‘I think we might have found our new thing,’ Ben says, when we’re curled up on his sofa sharing a Häagen-Dazs. ‘Although I’m still a fan of jumping into water in our underwear too.’
