Page 55 of Greek Island Fling to Forever

‘That sounds wonderful. You’ll be stuck with me too.’ He reached forward to touch her, and then realised his hands were covered in grime and his T-shirt had grass stains all over it. Wondering if he could break away for long enough to clean himself up a bit, so that he could feel the softness of her skin beneath his fingertips, was the most delicious of conflicts.

She saw his hesitation and smiled. ‘I don’t care how dirty you are, Ben. I really need a hug.’

He pulled her close and she melted into his arms. This was for real. It wouldn’t break apart as easily as their previous embraces, and they both knew it. Ben kissed her tenderly, feeling the hunger in her kiss and letting it flow through him like a healing salve.

‘Where’s Jonas?’

‘Play date. Back at six.’

‘Oh. Good. I mean...not good, but...’ Arianna kissed him again.

‘I know what you mean. He’ll be pleased to see you. Right now I’m very pleased to see you.’

She giggled, drawing back so that she could tug his T-shirt over his head. ‘I’m very pleased to see you too.’ Her fingers moved to the waistband of his jeans and Ben grinned, catching her hand.

‘Not so fast.’ He took her bag from her shoulder, putting it down on the sofa. ‘I hope you’ve come prepared.’

‘I’m prepared for anything, Ben. Everything.’

She ran her fingers across his chest and Ben felt each muscle quiver under her touch. This was a strength he hadn’t known he had. He and Arianna, together. He slipped her jacket from her shoulders and then pulled her T-shirt over her head. Her skin was just as delicious as he remembered it.

‘Everything is going to take a very long time, Arianna.’

‘A lifetime?’

He kissed her. Any moment now he was going to carry her upstairs, strip her of her clothes, taking a suitable amount of time to admire the fancy underwear that he reckoned she had on, and then maybe they’d take a shower together, before they made the sweetest love that he could imagine. But for now it was enough just to kiss her, feeling all the warmth of knowing that she loved him just as much as he loved her, and that they’d always be there to save each other.

‘I’m not sure that one lifetime is going to be long enough.’

EPILOGUE

Two years later

THE CHRISTENING PARTY for Arianna and Ben’s twin baby girls was in full swing. People had spilled out onto the beach, and a good number of them wouldn’t be going home until the sun had set and then risen again.

Arianna nudged Ben. ‘Are you seeing what I’m seeing?’

She pointed across to where the obligatory photographs were being taken, in the shade and relative quiet of the veranda. The two grandmothers had already posed, laughing and chatting together and insisting on swapping babies for even more photographs. Now her mother was cradling both babies and her father stood beside her, one hand resting on Jonas’s shoulder and the other arm around his ex-wife, who was wearing a gorgeous red dress.

‘Yeah. Your mother and father are looking pretty cosy these days. You think we need to put them under surveillance?’

Arianna smiled. ‘Maybe. Perhaps Jonas can be our inside man and report back to us.’

Jonas would be staying with his beloved Pappous Ioannis and Yia-Yia Alexandra for two weeks at their villa in the mountains, along with Ben’s parents. He was looking forward to being the centre of attention of four fond grandparents and it would give Arianna and Ben some time to spend together. After the hustle and bustle of preparing for two new babies, that would be welcome.

It hadn’t always been easy, and never straightforward. Where to live, what was best for Jonas and where both Arianna and Ben could work effectively had been their first hurdle. Jonas’s love of island life, and the English school on the mainland, where he could learn Greek and transition smoothly onto a Greek high school had been one deciding factor. The fact that there was a lot more left to do on the islands of Ilaria and Kantos, another. And their families got on so well that there was no question of Ben missing his parents or Jonas his grandparents, because they always had at least two invitations to stay for a while from Arianna’s extended family. There was talk of them buying a place on Kantos when Ben’s father retired, so that he and Arianna’s father could spend their summers fishing together. Arianna’s mother had confided in Ben that it was about time he slowed down a bit, and loosened his grip on his business empire.

They’d had their challenges. Ben had been required to study hard to get his Greek to a point where he could practise medicine on the islands. Arianna had experienced severe morning sickness at the start of her pregnancy, and as it had progressed the workload of the practice had fallen squarely on Ben’s shoulders. Ben had clashed with Arianna’s father over his plans for the large house on the island he was planning to build for them, insisting that the proceeds of the sale of his house in London made him perfectly capable of providing for his own family. Arianna had stubbornly refused to live anywhere else but her own house, and they’d come to a compromise that made everyone happy. The L-shaped extension to Arianna’s house was in the style of the rest of the house, and nestled amongst lemon and orange trees that Ben had planted. Arianna’s father had gifted the shaded open-air swimming pool on the other side of the property for their wedding day.

Ben had taken over responsibility for the new health centre that was being built on Kantos, which would work in the same way as the one on Ilaria, servicing both the hotel and the village. Now, his morning commute was a walk down the beach to the boat moored at the small jetty they’d constructed, so that he could take Jonas to school before he went onto work.

‘How did we ever get to be this lucky?’ Arianna looked around at the group of friends and family, and the idyllic setting of their home.

‘I guess...we didn’t rely on luck. Whatever happened, we would have made things work.’ Ben put his arm around her shoulders.

‘So what do you put it down to, then?’

He thought for a moment. ‘A lot of talking. Some arguing.’

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