‘Ex-husband.’
‘Signómi.’
‘Regularly five skips. But once he got seven and thought he was God.’
‘Epta. Seven. OK.’
‘OK,’ Faye said, positioning herself side-on to the water.
‘Wait,’ Kostas said. ‘Not like that.’
‘What?’
He moved behind her and took hold of her arms. ‘Turn a little to the side, and you want to bring this arm back.’ He adjusted her stance and then he put his hand over hers. ‘Cup the stone with your fingers, like this. Then with your thumb on the rock, not around it.’ He swallowed. Why were her hands so small? And so soft. Why were these facts doing something to him? He let go and took a step back. ‘OK, now skim it.’
She took a second, shifted her bare feet a little and then she swung her arm back and let it fire fast. He counted in his head. One. Two. Three. The pebble dashed across the surface of the clear water until finally it submitted to the deep.
‘Whoa! That was great!’ he exclaimed.
‘You sound so surprised. Didn’t you believe in me?’
He smiled. ‘I would not dare to underestimate anything about you. It is probably a clause in the hotel manual.’
‘It wasn’t the best I’ve ever done but it was good. So, now it’s your turn,’ Faye said.
‘Oh, I do not know if I should.’
‘What? Why?’
‘It is not good for a Greek man’s pride to be a loser, you know? When Balkan bravado fails.’
‘Well, we do not have to tell anyone,’ Faye answered. ‘And everyone else here is enjoying relaxation and swimming and paying no attention to us.’
‘I am not certain.’
‘So, a Greek man gives up? When the going gets tough?’ she asked. ‘I think that is worse than feeling like you have lost something. In fact, if you don’t try, you’ve already lost in my opinion.’
He was always going to skim but, for some reason, he didn’t want to do his best. He didn’t want to show off. He wanted to give her the victory. What the fuck was wrong with him? It was this island! It was already eating away at him like it had eaten away at his family…
‘OK,’ he said, taking a breath. He paused, flat rock in his hand, and then he launched it hard, snapping back his wrist.
The pebble rode the still surface of the sea at pace, bounce after bounce after bounce, until, finally, it disappeared from sight. He lost count after fifteen skips. It was a victory. Necessary in this moment. Did it feel good? No.
He smiled at Faye. ‘I guess the going got tough, but I got tougher.’
She smiled back. ‘A beautiful lesson for life.’
Her tone was dripping with sarcasm and it was no more than he deserved.
She moved out of the water and slipped her sandals back on her feet. ‘Just so you know, I didn’t not kill my ex-husband because I didn’t want to. I decided it would be a lot of paperwork – because I wouldn’t have got caught – and I had this very, very small teensy tiny ambition to escape to a Greek island and start a new life. So…’ She tapped his arm with her hand. ‘Really… I win.’
And, with those words imparted, she walked back up the beach.
14
CAVO BARBARO, AVLAKI BEACH
Dimitria let out a guttural moan worthy of an OnlyFans subscriber. Except her ecstatic sounds were about the food at this beautifultavernarather than pleasure of another kind. However, Faye’s boss’s noises were drawing a few looks from other customers, particularly the ones with children who were bored with climbing the plane tree and had been forced to sit still.
