Dimitris smiled, showing brilliant white teeth, and went behind the bar.
Sofia turned to Charlotte.
‘OK, a quick lesson.Parakalóis please andefcharistóis thank you. And you might as well take inkaliméra,good morning,kalispéra, good afternoon or evening, andkalinýchta,goodnight.’
Charlotte repeated the words while they waited for their coffees.
‘Oh yes, I’m going to use these later. Teach me some more.’
‘Hey, you’re pushing me to my limits already. I only know a few words and phrases that Grace taught me.’
‘Ah yes, will we get to catch up with Grace again when we arrive at our final island,her island, the one that’s only a short plane hop to Athens? I haven’t seen her for years.’
‘It’s not “her island”,but yes, you certainly will, Grace and her partner, Will. See what I did there?’
‘You talk about her a lot.’
Sofia stroked Charlotte’s leg.
‘Ah, how cute, you’re not jealous are you? I’ve known you and Maddie a whole six years longer than Grace. You get first dibs.’
Charlotte let out the breath she’d been holding. Doug’s cheating had affected her in ways she’d not expected. Obviously, she was beyond furious with him, but the past month had made her question everything and everyone she thought she knew. Her world had been tilted on its axis, and she wasn’t sure if it could be righted again. She’d needed that reassurance that she still held top spot in Sofia’s list of friends, albeit shared with Maddie.
‘Good.’
Charlotte put her finger to her chin and pulled a face. It was time to lighten things up.
‘And is there any other reason why we’re all being dragged back to that particular island? I seem to remember a guy you mentioned meeting there last year, “a real Greek god”, you said. Apollo, was it? No, not Apollo, Adonis. That’s it! Adonis. You said he was amazing in bed. And you’ve been back there since, I know you have, from your Insta pics.’
Sofia grabbed the coffees that Dimitris had put on the counter and nodded her thanks. She handed one to Charlotte.
‘You’re right.’
‘I knew it!’
‘About the stools. I’m not keen on the stools. Let’s move to that table over there underneath the umbrella.’
She wasn’t keen on the topic of conversation either. The men in her life weren’t meant to be anything other than transient. She’d already broken her own rules by spending time with Adonis over the last twelve months; a couple of weekends on the island and one in Athens. She’d persuaded herself that she was missing Grace and had to see her, but she needed to shut down this idea that Adonis was something special, to herself as much as the others. He was just one guy in a long line. They had fun, but she couldn’t let it become anything more. Before losing her job, the possibility of spending any more time with him hadn’t been on the table, and that’s the way it had to stay.
Seated at a sea-themed mosaic-topped table, Charlotte took a large gulp of her coffee.
‘OK, I’ve got the message on Adonis. We’ll park that for a while. But before sleepyhead gets here, would you like to explain why she thinks this hotel’s some sort of cut-price break? One step up from Butlin’s?’
Sofia’s face was that of a naughty child.
‘I knew you’d clocked it. I was planning to tell you as soon as I got you on your own, honest. I was so keen for us all to be here together, that I might have discounted the price a bit.’
‘A lot…’
‘OK, a lot. But I didn’t want to embarrass her into saying she couldn’t afford it. She obviously needs a holiday more than any of us.’
‘It’s a bit sneaky, but I agree with you on this one. She looks completely knackered. Obviously, I won’t mention it.’
Charlotte finished her coffee in record time and checked her phone again.
‘She’s fifteen minutes late already. Do you think one of us ought to go up there?’
Sofia leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs.
