‘Maybe… But I don’t think we’ll manage it before you go. He’s not around much.’
‘He seems to be around you a lot.’
Grace hoped her frown was fierce enough to shut Sofia up.
Her friend threw up her hands.
‘OK! I’ve got the message. Shame that woman in the shop was such a cow. The clothes were amazing. I’d have bought everything I tried on.’
Grace was just relieved they were off the subject of Will.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Grace had managed to avoid Will for almost three whole days, despite the numerous messages he’d sent, asking her to come over and visit Karen. He’d also supplied her with plenty of videos of the cat and she was pleased to see that his animal husbandry skills seemed sufficient to at least keep Karen alive. His hands appeared in most of the videos, stroking Karen, picking her up or teasing her with a toy, but she blanked those bits out, expanding the moving pictures so that she could only see the cat. Thinking about his hands and what they could do wouldn’t help her at all.
His frantic texts after their night at the beach had finally forced her to send a short reply letting him know she was OK but very busy. He knew where she lived, and she didn’t want him turning up on her doorstep. A bit of distance would do them both good.
Work and entertaining Sofia had genuinely kept Grace at full stretch, plus they’d had their promised night out with Angeliki, which included plenty of drink and laughter. Sofia had clearly made the most of her time in the four-poster with Adonis and was planning a rematch in September. Not that Grace would be around then to hear about it first-hand. But she’d made Sofia promise not to let on to Angeliki, or anyone, about what had happened with Will, and, as far as she could tell, her friend had kept her word.
Sofia had flown out this afternoon, and Grace was now ready to face Will at last and try and put their relationship firmly back in the friend zone. His holiday would be over soon, and he’d be working at the villa during the day, so Karen would need someone to pop in and keep an eye on her. Grace planned to offer her services. Will being out at work was greatly preferable to Will being there all the time, and she was genuinely keen to spend some time with the cat before she left.
The fact that she only had just over a fortnight more on the island wasn’t something she could even think about.
Will’s house came into view as she dropped down from the headland onto the familiar path to the cove. She hadn’t ventured this way since the fateful night; she’d taken Sofia to a beach much nearer town. Sea grasses crunched underfoot on the sand path, filling her nostrils with the all too familiar salt tang. The smell of Will. It was vital that she kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, no looking down at the beach. She could do this.
There he was, larger than life, waving from the terrace. She tried out a jaunty ‘we’re just friends, nothing to see here’ wave back.
‘Grace!’
‘Hi.’
He was holding Karen in his arms, looking like some sort of adoption ad where they were deliberately trying to move away from the image of middle-aged women and cats and going instead for shots of a hunky guy cradling a tiny, vulnerable kitten. It wasn’t going to work on her. She couldn’t let it.
Grace focused on Karen, so she didn’t have to look at him.
‘She’s grown again, in less than a week.’
‘Yes, she has. Even I can see it.’
Will indicated the sun lounger by his side.
‘Coffee?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘While I make it, can you hold Karen? I’m still a bit wary of letting her run around outside on her own.’
Grace nodded. It was like they were talking about a toddler they were looking after, maybe a grandchild. She had a sudden vision of them watching a little boy with dark unruly hair running around the terrace and blinked hard to get rid of it. She settled herself on the chair and waited for Will to put the kitten in her lap. Their fingers touched as he transferred his little bundle of fur to her, but she still didn’t look up.
Karen stared at her with solemn green eyes, and Grace tentatively stroked the top of her head and down her back all the way to her tail. The cat was silent for a few moments, but Grace’s heart leapt when she heard the telltale purr.
‘Yes, sweetheart, you haven’t forgotten me, have you? Sorry I haven’t seen you for a few days, but I’ve had a lot on, and I haven’t been able to come over here, much as I wanted to. But I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’
When she looked up, Will was stood with two cups of coffee in his hands, a plate of biscuits balanced on top of one of them, and a big grin on his face. How had he snuck up on her like that? Did he have some sort of special shoes from his army days that made no noise?
‘Are you going to make it up to me, too? I’ve got a few ideas on how.’
Grace pretended she hadn’t heard him speak and reached for one of the coffees that Will seemed reluctant to hand over. He pulled it out of her reach.
