One Greek Summer Wedding

Chapter 36

Cara gasped the second she saw the view from their apartment. It was exactly like every Instagram post she’d ever been served of dream Greek destinations. From the whitewashed sugar-cube buildings tumbling in stages down from the heights of this mound of volcanic rock, to the vast expanse of sea stretching out like it was azure glass. It was breath-taking, it was luxury, it was indulgent beauty looking out at a landscape forged by time.

‘That was Tony,’ Margot said, strutting across the terrace dressed in nothing but one of the white waffle dressing gowns that had been rolled up like pillows with pink orchids on top of them. ‘You know, from Secret Intelligence.’ Margot had whispered the last two words almost as quietly as she had been whispering about the Maxi-Go incident.

‘Does he know where Raj is staying?’

‘He does,’ Margot said, picking a large, fleshy piece of watermelon from their complimentary fruit tray.

‘Well, where?’ Cara asked.

‘That doesn’t actually matter because Tony gave me something better. And I’m not talking about that gala dinner in ninety-five.’

‘Please, Margot, get to the point.’

‘Raj is a guest of honour at an exclusive event tomorrow night. And we are on the list! Honestly, it’s almost better that he’s here in Santorini, it’s so much more exclusive, bang full of the rich and famous, decadence seeping from every pore of this place. Look at the pool!’

Cara had looked at the pool. You couldn’t not look at the pool because it led straight out from the bedroom to the patio. It was another tick from the Santorini highlights shown on social media. Floating stepping stones lay across the water that was inside the cave-style room, leading onto the terrace and the rest of the infinity pool that hung over the caldera view. It was stunning.

‘Margot,’ Cara said, her thoughts racing as if they were doing a sprint finish after a marathon. ‘Don’t you think this is all rather a lot of effort? Getting on the guest list for a wedding, paying for the wedding singer to pull out, flying to another Greek island. I mean, how sure are you that Raj is going to want to invest, or has contacts who will? And, wouldn’t it have been easier to have made an appointment to see him at his… palace or wherever than follow him around Europe?’

‘Easier?’ Margot had said the word like it was going to give her herpes. ‘Oh, yes, it would definitely have been easier to ring a random number, be gate-keeped out of things, or get lumbered talking to some menial.’

‘But you know Raj,’ Cara said. ‘You went to college with him.’

‘Exactly,’ Margot agreed. ‘And we haven’t seen each other since that fateful night in Bora Bora. No, there needs to be the element of surprise. It needs to be so planned that it looks completely unplanned. Remember that time with the lizards?’

Cara shuddered. The deep-dive she had done into a client they were trying to entice had shown a fascination in lizards. She had booked them exclusive access to the reptile house after it was closed for their client to hold animals and take behind-the-scenes photos. She had also arranged a champagne buffet. They had never let on that they had found out about his obsession, just cited it as a lucky coincidence on their part. It was still one of their biggest orders to date.

‘So, we go shopping, we find ourselves some killer outfits, I saw a beautiful boutique just as we arrived, then we get to the party and your spot is at midnight,’ Margot said.

Spot. Cara didn’t like the sound of this.

‘What?’ she said as Margot dived back into the fruit bowl for some grapes.

‘The element of surprise, Cara. The shock factor. The difference between mediocrity and stellar. You are going to be singing at the event. It’s worked perfectly actually. The first performance after Eurovision. The big comeback. Mix that with the Maxi-Go and there isn’t going to be an investor alive who doesn’t want to be part of Team Jones.’

Now the Santorini heat was creeping up Cara’s back and it wasn’t pleasant. ‘What?’ Cara said again.

‘It doesn’t have to be, you know, “unflawed” shall we say but, you know, the G10 wouldn’t go amiss.’

‘No,’ Cara said, striding away from the table to the very edge of the patio and that vista.

‘Cara,’ Margot said, following. ‘You said yourself that you’re going to sing at the silly little wedding. This is much bigger and better than that! Think of who could be at this exclusive event! Connected people! People who could get you back into the music business.’

‘No,’ Cara said again. ‘I’m not doing it. I’m not singing. And I’ve never said anything about wanting to go back into the music business.’

‘OK fine, but if you want to continue to eat from my table then you should rethink that “no” and turn it into a “yes”.’

Cara’s mouth dropped open at Margot’s savageness. What was she actually saying? That Cara didn’t pull her weight in the business? That she had been living off Margot’s generosity for too long? Whichever or whatever it was she couldn’t listen to any more.

‘I’m going out,’ she said, moving across the terrace towards the stepping stones that led to the bedroom.

‘Out?’ Margot queried. ‘But we only just arrived. Cara, wait, just listen to me?—’

At this point, she didn’t have anything left to say.