Page 8 of Greek Island Fling to Forever

‘London has a lot going for it. But, to be honest, the moving around was partly an attempt to stay one step ahead of my father. It didn’t work very well; he’s got business interests all over Europe and it doesn’t much matter where he’s based as long as he’s within reach of an airfield. When I went to Athens he decided to buy a house there, and when I came back to London he suddenly felt the need to return and throw a few big parties.’

‘Parties?’ Humour glinted in his eyes. ‘Not the usual kind of parties that newly qualified doctors go to, I imagine.’

Arianna leaned towards him. It felt so natural to confide in Ben, and she wasn’t sure whether it was because she owed her life to him or because he seemed to make everyone he came in contact with feel at ease.

‘Nice parties. Where I could meet eligible young men who would take me away from a life of doctoring and turn me into a society lady.’

He nodded. ‘I’m assuming that they didn’t work so well.’

They almost had. Not quite as her father had intended, though...

Lawrence had been the antithesis of her father. He was fearless and unconventional, living for today with no thought of tomorrow. It had been refreshing at first, and he’d swept Arianna off her feet, asking her to marry him before they’d really had a chance to get to know each other. Arianna had said yes far too soon.

And then she’d realised. Lawrence’s idea of the way they should live was really more a matter of how he wanted to live. His plans involved travel and spending her trust fund, and took no account of Arianna’s career, because why would she want to work when she didn’t have to? Even then she’d known that her work was the only stabilising fa

ctor in her life, the only reason she could find for having survived the sinking ferry when Xander hadn’t.

That was all in the past now. Arianna had made her decision and her broken heart had mended, leaving her determined not to repeat her mistake. There was no going back, not on any of it.

‘No. They didn’t work.’

‘He throws parties here?’ Ben looked over his shoulder, smiling, as if he half expected to see a party heading their way.

‘My father doesn’t come to Ilaria...’

‘Too many memories?’ Something soft crept into his tone.

‘Yes.’ Arianna wondered how it would have been if it had been the other way around, and Xander had lived. If he’d become a doctor and come to Ilaria. Maybe her father would have come then, and maybe Xander’s achievements would have meant something to her father.

‘But you have your own memories, surely.’

‘I love the way of life here, in the islands. I’m needed, and that’s what I always wanted to be. But I chose Ilaria in particular because I thought that trying to drive my memories away wasn’t the best way of dealing with them.’

‘The best way isn’t always the easiest.’

Arianna steeled herself against the tenderness she saw in his face. She was quite sure that if she gave into it, it would involve tears, and now wasn’t the time for them. Nightmares and tears were for the darker recesses of the night.

‘So...how long are you here for? Will I have an opportunity to meet your son?’

‘We’re here for three weeks, staying in a hotel on the mainland. Jonas is with my sister today; she’s here too, with her family. I’ve told him all about you, though, and he’d like to meet you. I’ll bring him with me the next time I come.’

‘When can you come next?’ Arianna pressed her lips together. Maybe she should have waited for just a few moments and made the question sound a little less a matter of life and death.

‘I’m on holiday. I don’t have any plans.’ His melting gaze hinted at just one plan. ‘Apart from coming to find you...’

He was here for her. No one had ever just been there for her.

The chemistry that had been flying between them fizzed and bubbled with gratification, like a test tube reaction that threatened to get out of hand and cause an explosion. Arianna’s heart began to beat faster, reacting before rational thought could stop it, and she reminded herself again that acknowledging the way that Ben made her feel would be a mistake.

‘I worked last weekend, so I have the day off tomorrow. Would you like to bring Jonas over to my house? We can have lunch and he can play on the beach.’

‘You have your own beach?’ He raised an eyebrow.

‘It’s...just a small one. He might like it though; it’s secluded and safe for him to run around and play.’

‘He’d like that. I would too, thank you. If it’s not too much trouble...’

‘No trouble. You could catch the morning ferry and I’ll meet you at the terminus.’ There was so much more that she wanted to say to Ben. Arianna wasn’t sure what that was yet, but she knew she needed more time with him. A lot more time.

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