Maddie feigned a cough.
‘Er… Hello?’
Sofia broke away from the man, eyes shining.
‘Oh hi. This is Adonis, and Adonis, these are my friends Maddie and Charlotte.’
‘Hello.’ He put out a hand and shook theirs in turn. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
As good-looking as any of the men Maddie had seen her friend with, this one was definitely a man, rather than a boy.
She managed to give Sofia a thumbs up as he loaded their bags into the car with ease.
At the hotel, the luxury level of which Maddie had never experienced in her life, if the trip through the marbled reception and gilded lift were anything to go by, she and Charlotte were shown into a twin-bedded room with views out to sea and its own balcony.
Adonis’s quiet authority as he’d moved through the hotel was impressive, thought Maddie. His popularity with the staff was obvious by the way everyone smiled and greeted him. All except for one young woman on reception who gave their party a distinctly frosty look when she thought no one was looking. It seemed to be directed at Sofia, and Maddie hoped it didn’t mean trouble for her friend. Maybe the woman was just having a bad day.
The room they’d been shown into wasn’t like any twin room Maddie had ever seen, each bed was the size of a large double,and the pastel linens on the bed and the delicate carved glass light fittings screamed expensive but tasteful.
‘I hope you will be happy here.’ Adonis had brought up their bags personally, although there seemed to be numerous lackeys around who could have done it. His English was excellent, and Maddie found his slight hint of a Greek accent on certain words cute. She could see the attraction of this one, no problem.
‘Please settle in and order anything you like from room service on me. I must get back to work now, but I will see you very soon I hope.’
‘Thank you,’ Maddie and Charlotte spoke almost at the same time.
Adonis raised his hand.
‘It’s nothing.’
Sofia had been standing quietly by the door, and before he left the room, he pulled her in for a thorough kiss, which had Maddie and Charlotte not knowing where to look.
Sofia bumped down on the nearest bed.
‘So… what do you think?’
Maddie bumped down next to her.
‘Obviously, he’s gorgeous, and unusually he seems lovely with it. What’s not to like? I can see why you were desperately keen to get here.’
Maddie raised her eyebrows while Sofia looked down at her hands.
‘It’s just a casual thing, honestly.’
If she kept saying it over and over again, maybe it would make it true, like a spell. Was it because she had no job to go back to, that it felt a bit different this time? She was standing on the edge of a cliff, and she mustn’t let herself step over.
Charlotte stared out of the French doors at the sea below.
‘He does seem really nice, Sof.’
‘Thanks.’
Maddie looked down at the bed she was sat on and across at the neighbouring one.
‘One…two. Where are you going to sleep?’
‘Funny. Adonis has a room at the top of the hotel, as well as a flat in town.’
Charlotte joined them on the bed.
