Page 14 of Greek Island Fling to Forever

CHAPTER FIVE

IT HAD SEEMED almost inevitable that they should find something to bring them together again. Sun, sand and sea had done its work yesterday, and Ben had stayed longer at Arianna’s than he’d meant to, the two of them talking on the veranda until it was time to hurry down to catch the last ferry.

And today it would be their work. Ben’s questions about Arianna’s practice had finally led her to laugh, shake her head to catch the sun in her curls and tell him that he could see for himself. A visiting doctor could observe, even if the necessary paperwork to allow him to practice wasn’t in place. It had been approximately fourteen hours since Ben had seen her last, and already he’d started to miss her.

She was a mass of inconsistencies. Vulnerable and yet capable, impulsive but measured. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, yet she was capable of dreaming. Arianna’s beauty was the only thing about her that wasn’t tempered by an opposite balancing force. His fascination with her was getting to be much the same, never wavering in its intensity.

Maybe that was to be expected. It was as if they’d been fused together that day on the ferry, and then both spent twenty-five years wondering what had become of the other. That twenty-five years hadn’t been as straightforward as either of them might have hoped, but Ben had realised that the one constant thing in his life had been his wish to find Arianna again.

‘There!’ Jonas had been playing a game with Ben’s sister, Lizzie, pointing out every young woman with dark hair who entered the hotel coffee shop and trying to make Lizzie guess whether it was Arianna or not. This time the word was accompanied by a chuckle, and Ben looked up.

Arianna’s dress was a mixture of reds and pinks today, and she wore a pair of red deck shoes. She shone, as she always did, and his heart lurched in response. As it always seemed to whenever she was around.

She gave Jonas a wave, and the boy ran to her for a hug. Arianna’s awkward delight showed on her face. What kind of fractures had split her own family that she was so unused to the normal ebullience of a child? Ben set the thought aside and smiled up at her.

‘You’re early. Do you have time to join us for coffee?’

Arianna looked at her watch and sat down in the empty chair next to his. ‘Yes, I think I do.’

He left Jonas to introduce her to Lizzie, her husband, James, and their three children, and signalled to the waiter. By the time everyone had decided what they wanted, Arianna and Lizzie had already started chatting.

‘It’s a shame we didn’t get a booking for the hotel on the island.’ Lizzie turned the corners of her mouth down. ‘Ben wouldn’t hear of it, but now it’s a bit of a trek backwards and forwards for you both.’

Arianna turned her gaze onto him. ‘It would have been a lot more convenient.’

‘As things have turned out. I didn’t know whether you’d even want to see me, let alone if you’d want me staying on the island for three weeks.’

‘Perhaps we could get a swap. I think this hotel’s run by the same group as the one on the island,’ Lizzie interjected helpfully, blithely unaware that she was sitting with the daughter of the man who owned both hotels. ‘What do you reckon?’

James nodded, obviously happy to go with the flow, and suddenly all eyes were on Ben. The idea of moving to the island had occurred to him as well, but he’d far rather have spoken to Arianna about it alone first.

‘I’m...um... Perhaps it’s better to stay where we are.’

Arianna’s face fell. He’d said the wrong thing.

‘Or we could move.’

‘I think it would be better to move, if we can.’ Lizzie was committed to the plan already. ‘What do you think, Arianna?’

‘I know the manager of the hotel on the island. I’d be happy to ask if he can arrange something and you can go from there.’

The idea was agreed, but Ben decided he would find out how Arianna really felt about it later. Because she had already moved on, asking Lizzie where they’d been and what they were planning to do today, and the conversation lasted until their coffee cups were empty.

Ben looked at his watch. ‘Should we be going?’

‘Oh.’ Arianna looked at hers. ‘Yes, I think we should...’

She stifled a yawn as they walked out of the hotel and into the bright sunshine, and they walked silently towards the hotel’s marina. Suddenly she seemed tired, and Ben remembered that she’d asked him about nightmares. He wondered if the question was a little more personal to her than he’d supposed, and how much she’d slept last night.

She stopped by the neat blue and white boat that she’d pointed out yesterday in the harbour as belonging to the health centre. Something was clearly on her mind.

‘If you don’t want to stay on Ilaria...’ Her lip quivered almost imperceptibly, but Ben had now become used to watching everything about her.

‘I just didn’t want you to feel crowded.’

Right answer. She smiled again, the lines of fatigue disappearing from her face.

‘I don’t. It’ll be nice to have you and your family there. The hotel has a lovely beach, which isn’t as busy as the one here. It’s a little more orientated towards relaxing, while this one is better if you want to go sightseeing.’

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