Sofia hugged her friend tight.
‘Will you be OK on your own?’
Charlotte smiled into the sun.
‘I’m going to have to learn how to be on my own, but I think– no, I know– I’m going to be OK. I’ve spent thirty years with the same man, and now I’m going to explore being me again. You, on the other hand, have spent thirty years on your own, and now it’s your time to explore real love. It could be your last chance. Go. And that’s an order!’
The whistle sounded to warn any visitors to get off the boat before it departed, and Sofia dragged her case down the steps and off the ferry onto the dockside.
Adonis stood waiting quietly a few feet away. The look of joy on his face when he saw her was something she’d treasure forever.
Sofia dropped her case and ran into his arms. The crowd waiting on the dock and the passengers on the boat erupted in cheers.
Her lips met his, as he hugged her so tight she could barely breathe. But she pulled out of his embrace to look him in the eye. She needed to say it.
‘I love you too, Adonimou. I’ve loved you almost from the moment I met you. I love you more than I’ve loved any other man in my life, ever. I was too scared to admit it until I saw you standing there, fighting so hard to give us a chance, a future together.’
Adonis went to speak, but she put her finger to his lips.
‘We both know it’s not going to be easy, but as long as we face everything together, anything is possible.’
She leaned into him and whispered in his ear.
‘What I can promise you is my love for the rest of our lives.’
Adonis’s soft lips on hers stopped any more talking.
Sofia let the demons fly out of her heart and up into the bluest of blue skies.
For the first time in her life, she really was going to stay.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Sofia took her seat at the table reserved for three and made sure the bottles of alcohol she’d requested were chilling in their buckets of ice.
The stunning view outside the restaurant’s wall of windows was of London decked out in all its finery to celebrate the upcoming festive season. The lights and baubles on the trees and shop fronts below twinkled in the pin-sharp winter sun.
Not surprisingly, she’d arrived first, but then she’d only had to walk down a flight of stairs after her successful meeting on the top floor, rather than travel down from the north by train, like Maddie, or drive from Surrey, like Charlotte.
She’d just agreed a deal to franchise a range of exclusive shoes and bags for the hotel, one of many deals she’d struck over the past few months, travelling all over Greece from big cities to tiny islands. Today’s negotiation in her former hometown was the last piece of the jigsaw for the new season collection.
The food she’d ordered to celebrate with her friends was waiting under covered platters on the table. The chef had been abit taken aback at first, given the restaurant’s reputation for fine dining, but Sofia had insisted. And she’d paid them handsomely for the privilege.
Maddie and Charlotte arrived together, in a flurry of kisses and cold cheeks. The group hug was long and full of feeling, which threatened to spill over into tears before they’d even spoken.
‘Sit, sit!’
Sofia indicated that the other two should take the seats in the window, the ones with the best view.
‘It’s so lovely to see you both. We’ve got so much to catch up on.’
They’d spoken on the phone numerous times, but it was the first occasion Sofia had managed to meet up with her friends in person since they’d waved goodbye to each other in Greece.
‘Wow. Look at that.’
Maddie pointed out St Paul’s Cathedral in the distance and turned back to Sofia with a frown.
