‘I don’t think it quite works like that, but carry on.’
‘I don’t know what I’d do without you both. So, thank you, my lovelies.’
Maddie held on to the others for a few seconds more until Sofia wriggled out of the group embrace as yet another message buzzed on her phone.
‘Got to go. Car’s waiting. Let’s do something fun tomorrow. A morning at the pool now we’ve got one. Or check out some of the beaches?’
She was through the door before they’d even had a chance to reply.
Charlotte chuckled.
‘She’s keen, isn’t she? Never seen her like this before. I don’t feel at all sleepy after my night boogying. Fancy another herbal tea?’
‘Yeah, let’s go crazy. Thanks.’
Maddie looked out to sea at the lights of the little boats far in the distance. Several of them were almost definitely fishing boats. She didn’t know if Thanassis came this far afield onhis travels, but he’d certainly be proud of what she’d done tonight. Confessed everything to her friends and set about doing something about it. Whether it would work or not was another matter, but at least she’d tried.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After the revelations of the previous night, everyone was happy to just top up their tans and laze around the pool until lunchtime.
Sofia had eventually appeared when breakfast was almost over, and the phrasebright eyed and bushy tailedcould have been written to describe her, thought Maddie. They only had a few days left on the island; a few days left of their holiday full stop. How Sofia would cope without Adonis on tap didn’t bear thinking about.
But Sofia wasn’t the only one who would struggle when their time in the sun was over. They all had things to face when they got back. Maddie wasn’t going to let the thought of going home to an empty house spoil their time together if she could help it, plus she’d promised herself she wouldn’t check her phone every five minutes to see if there’d been a reply from Dan. At least she had the promise of a new cat. It wasn’t the same as being reconciled with half her family, but she had to hang on to something, otherwise she’d go crazy.
They were all sunbathing in brand new bikinis with tasselled edges in their signature colours of red, blue and green, Sofia’s last gift. Maddie’s swimsuits had been consigned to the back of the suitcase long ago. It now seemed perfectly natural to wear a bikini all day long, even round a hotel pool where it wasn’t just Greeks on holiday.
Being a lot more comfortable in her own body was just one of the ways the trip had helped her. And she had Thanassis to thank for some of that ease. Their night on the beach wasn’t something she’d be repeating in a hurry, however wonderful it had been. But he’d shown her that it was possible to live without one eye permanently on the past. The present had good things to offer too.
The never-ending cycle of grief for Tony’s absence wasn’t quite as daunting anymore, and the warmth of the Greek people, the culture, the food and, of course, the sun had all contributed their share. If only she could sort things out at home. Maybe if she rested her eyes it would help…
What felt like moments later, she was well and truly woken up by Sofia leaping up off her sunlounger and racing round the pool shouting ‘Yes, she said yes!’ several times.
‘We’re talking about Grace, I presume?’
‘Of course. Who else would we be talking about? She’s just texted from the beach. The wedding’s on, with yours truly as the one and only bridesmaid!’
‘You will go the ball, Cinderella.’
Sofia wrapped her arms around herself and did a twirl, which had Charlotte grinning.
‘Ah, how lovely. Give her our congratulations.’
‘Will do.’
Maddie leant over to take the biscuits served with coffee that Sofia had rejected. She was starting to get peckish. Lunch couldn’t be far away.
‘Don’t eat them!’
‘Why on earth not?’
Sofia’s eyes sparkled.
‘Because we’ve all been invited to a late lunch at Adonis’s brother’s house in the hills. It’s so hard for him to get away from the hotel in the evenings, his busiest time, so it’s been arranged for four o’clock. His sister’s going to be there too, so I’ll meet both his siblings, their partners, and his nieces and nephews for the first time. Luckily, the scary mother won’t be there, so I’m getting the easy ones first.’
Maddie popped a biscuit into her mouth and disposed of it in a second, followed by another.
‘Sounds lovely. I’m starving.’
