Not much you aren’t. Sofia was up and out of her chair.
‘I just think you need to look at why it bothers you this time round. You’re very jumpy, and you’ve just admitted that you get annoyed if Adonis can’t talk to you when you want to talk. You’re used to calling the shots, and it’s not quite working out with this one. Maybe you like him more than you’re letting on.’
Sofia had truly had her fill of talking about Adonis. His promised phone call was already late.
‘Shall we go into town later for a meal by the port? I don’t think we’re going to see Maddie again for quite a while.’
Charlotte accepted defeat gracefully.
‘Fine. Meet you down here in an hour.’
The moment she got into her room, her phone buzzed with a message.
Sorry. Can’t talk. Major problem. The flowers for the wedding weren’t good, so I’m hosting a special dinner tonight for the family at the hotel to apologise. Ax
What did she care about some unknown bride’s flowers? Sofia fired off a text of her own.
Sofia from the other day here. Do you fancy a drink in town later?
At last! Sounds great. Come to the Corfu Hotel bar any time after nine. Konstantinos x.
She’d give her friends jumpy and restless. And Adonis could swivel on it.
Chapter Eighteen
There wasn’t really an alternative to grabbing Thanassis round the waist and hanging on for dear life as he manoeuvred his motorbike round the many bends in the roads on the other side of the island.
It was a position Maddie was more than familiar with after being married to bike fanatic Tony for so many years. She appreciated Thanassis’s efforts to take them as far away from her hotel and his home as possible to a place where, hopefully, they wouldn’t be recognised. It was just weird being so close to him, feeling the muscles in his back move under her body and inhaling his smell. It was a mix of aftershave and exertion, not sweat exactly, just the smell of a man, a smell she’d not encountered this close up for a long time.
It combined with other, less familiar, scents along the roadside, such as wild garlic, curry plant and now the tang of sea salt, to produce a heady mix. As the bike began its descent, the first glimpse of the sea made her want to scream into the still air. It took her right back to when she was a little girl and theonce-a-year trips she took with her mother to stay in a bed-and-breakfast in Blackpool owned by her Aunt Maisie.
They’d go on the bus and whoever saw the sea first would shout the word ‘bananas!’. She had no idea why it was bananas; it was just one of those silly family traditions that she shared with her mum. There had only ever been the two of them, her dad had never been in the picture, and although money was always tight, they’d had a lot of fun together.
Leaving her beloved north to spend her secondary school years on the outskirts of London had been a wrench, but her mum couldn’t turn down the offer of a better-paid job with free accommodation. And she’d never have met Tony, or indeed Sofia and Charlotte, so it had worked out for the best.
The woman who’d given her life had been gone three years now, but her laughter still echoed down the years.
Maddie turned her head to whisper the word bananas and blew a kiss at the sky. Pushing ninety, her mum had been worn out by illness and happy to go when the time came, so different from Tony, who had everything to live for. But there was no point dwelling on it. Today, she’d promised herself she’d embrace the present, not the past.
Thanassis brought the bike to a stop a few minutes later, in front of a tiny golden bay, where a shimmering turquoise sea lapped at the edges of the sand, and cliffs on either side protected the beach from the worst of the elements. The road had narrowed to a track which no car could make it down, and they were alone. She barely knew the man, but strangely she didn’t feel remotely nervous.
They set up camp on the sand, on a waterproof blanket Thanassis had apparently stowed in his pannier, along with several bottles of beer, and bread, meat and grilled vegetables wrapped in paper.
They hadn’t discussed food, but as ever, Maddie found she could eat. She chinked bottles with the cook and unwrapped her booty. Straightaway Maddie fashioned herself a sandwich, which she held up for Thanassis’s approval.
‘I’ve made a real doorstopper.’
‘Doorstopper?’
‘It means chunky.’
Maddie started demonstrating with her hands but had a sudden attack of shyness when she realised he was looking at the shapes she was making in confusion.
‘Never mind.’
‘It ischoirinó, pork, with slices of peppers from the garden, roasted in olive oil. And of course, home-made bread.’
Maddie took a big bite.
