The Greek Villa: A beautiful and utterly addictive summer holiday rom com

Chapter 12

We walk in the bright sun, the sound of the sea in the background, passing people enjoying their day. A couple on a quad bike zip past and crowds of what appear to be locals at this time of year make their way across zebra crossings to the beach opposite. The sight of the spring sunshine glistening on the water immediately lifts my spirits.

A few minutes later, we take a turn across a small patch of wasteland opposite a church, where the road curves upwards. I feel inexplicably nervous as I pass the neat houses, almost holding my breath, wondering what I will find inside as I clutch the front door key tightly in my hand.

‘Ta dah,’ I say, when I stop outside the house, its front garden sprouting some sort of green weed with white flowers and, despite the sunshine, the walls look decidedly dull. There’s a crack snaking down from the bedroom window to the floor. Was it there the last time?

‘Is this it then?’ Evie looks decidedly underwhelmed.

‘It is,’ I say proudly. ‘I can hardly wait to get inside.’

I open the creaky gate and she follows me into the garden, along the neat path. I could have sworn the path to the front door was overgrown with weeds last time. I imagine the locals clapping their hands with joy knowing the dilapidated old villa has been bought; I’m sure they are fed up with looking at such an eyesore. An old lady across the road appears with a broom in her hand, sweeping the non-existent debris in the road and watching us. I lift my hand and wave and she waves back, smiling, before continuing her sweeping.

‘I like that,’ says Evie, eyeing the stone staircase to the balcony off the bedroom. ‘It’s quite romantic. Remember Richard Gere in Pretty Woman scaling steps to his love?’

‘That was a fire escape in Downtown LA. I’m not expecting someone to come along on a white charger and do the same thing here.’ I laugh. ‘I think my new neighbour across the road would have her binoculars out if that happened.’

I tentatively push the key into the door and find myself in a front room with a stone floor. There’s an old blue-and-white larder style cupboard that looks quite retro, which I am surprised isn’t in the kitchen. I open it, and the drawer is jammed with something that, at first glance, I think is some paper, but when I look closer I see that it is an old recipe book, its pages yellowed with age. Maybe I can ask Phoebe to translate some recipes.

‘Hey, look at this.’ I show Evie the book, and she wrinkles her nose at the dusty paper. ‘Maybe I could make us something out of this book, when the kitchen is up and running.’

The walls are in dire need of painting, but first impressions aren’t as bad as I expected, apart from a few broken floor tiles that can be replaced. I push the window open and the wooden window frame crumbles like dust in my fingers, and a feeling of concern creeps over me. Will I uncover more problems as I explore further? Maybe I have behaved impulsively and Josh was right to exercise caution after all.

If first impressions in the lounge were okay, the kitchen is a different story. At least I think it’s a kitchen, as it’s a tiny space and there isn’t a single cupboard in sight. It’s now clear why the blue larder cupboard was standing at the end of the lounge, beyond the kitchen door. A sorry sink stands in a corner of the room, overlooking the wild rear garden.

Up the creaking stairs, we discover a bathroom suite in an interesting shade of blue with some contrasting brown wall tiles. The pine beamed ceilings feel oppressive, but once painted white they should be just fine. But it’s the damp spot on a bedroom floor that has me worried. I glance up at the ceiling where there is also a damp pattern spreading outwards. That needs sorting before the autumn sets in for sure.

‘So, what do you think then?’ We’re standing outside, just as Phoebe appears from next door.

‘Kalispera. So, you buy the house?’ She smiles as I introduce her to my friend.

‘I did,’ I tell her, praying I have done the right thing. I console myself with the fact that I have enough money to pay for a roof and maybe a ceiling. That must be the biggest spend I will face, surely?

She nips inside her home and returns suddenly with a crucifix. ‘To keep the house safe,’ she says, placing it on a window ledge. ‘But, of course, I will also check everything is okay, after you leave.’ She smiles.

‘Thank you, that is very kind.’

‘Do you have the builder?’ She nods towards the house, and I tell her about asking Thea’s nephew.

‘Nai, he is a good boy.’ She smiles approvingly. ‘I also know people if you need.’ She speaks her words carefully, trying hard to master the English language, which is generally good with just one or two grammatical errors.

Two old gents wearing flat caps stroll slowly by then and wish us a kalispera. Phoebe says something to them in Greek, and they smile and wish me good luck as they move on.

‘Is it just old people on this street?’ asks Evie, glancing around.

‘Maybe not,’ I say, looking over her shoulder at a bloke who has just walked out of a house opposite with a gorgeous chocolate-brown Labrador. She turns to see the good-looking bloke dressed in a tight black T-shirt and denim shorts, who appears to be striding towards us.

‘Kalispera,’ he says, placing the sunglasses he is wearing on the top of his head.

‘Kalispera,’ I reply, painting on my brightest smile while unconsciously standing straighter.

‘You are the new owner?’ he asks, glancing up at the currently not so attractive villa.

‘I am.’

The delightful dog jumps up at me then, and I give it a friendly stroke.

He nods slowly. ‘And the work, you will do some of it yourself?’ he asks doubtfully.

‘Well, some of it, obviously. But this is just a viewing trip. I’m hoping Thea at the bakery will help me recommend some builders. She mentioned her nephew being a builder.’

‘He is indeed.’

‘Oh, do you know him?’

‘I do. I am the nephew.’ He smiles a gorgeous smile. ‘My name is Dimitri, I am pleased to meet you. Both.’

‘Pleased to meet you too. This is my friend Evie.’

‘Oh, and this is Prudence.’ He introduces the delightful brown dog.

‘Ah, she’s adorable,’ I comment as she wags her tail wildly. ‘I love her name.’

‘She is actually my aunt’s dog, named after a deceased relative we were all fond of.’

He takes in the state of the house then.

‘Surely you are not staying here?’ he asks in surprise.

‘No, of course not, we are in some apartments around the corner. So, what do you think? Can you help? Do you have a lot of work on at the moment?’ I bombard him with questions, keen to get things started as soon as possible.

‘If I say I am not busy, you will say I am bad builder. If I am too busy, you will worry it may take some time. I am not sure what to tell you.’ He smiles, a most delicious smile.

‘Maybe just tell me the truth. Can you do the work or not?’

‘Of course. I usually work with my friend Yiannis, he is a little older but very experienced. Sometimes I call in some local labourers if it is a big job, or one that needs doing quickly.’

He eyes the exterior wall and I ask him about the crack.

‘Just plaster, I am sure. The outside you will want painting anyway, I assume?’

He reaches out and touches the line in the wall, and as his T-shirt rises I see a smooth, tanned stomach and have to avert my eyes.

‘Oh yes, I want a white, smooth stomach.’

‘Stomach?’ He raises an eyebrow.

‘What? I mean finish. Stomach? Maybe it’s because my stomach has just given a little rumble, haha,’ I babble, praying I am not blushing. ‘You know, a smooth finish on the walls, white and smooth.’ Oh my goodness I’m blushing, I know it.

Dimitri grins and gives me a knowing look.

‘Of course,’ he says, glancing at his watch. ‘I must go to work now, but maybe later I can have a proper look around?’

We arrange to meet him back here at six o’clock this evening.

He climbs into a van, and I hear some Greek music from his radio as he has the windows down. He raises a hand and waves as he sets off around the corner.

‘Oh my goodness, that’s Thea’s nephew?’ says Evie. ‘He’s gorgeous and he’s your new neighbour too. That’s handy, having a builder over the road.’

‘As long as his work is good, that’s all I am interested in,’ I tell her, and I mean it, despite admiring his obvious good looks. I’ve worked hard in my job to become a supervisor and have made a lovely apartment back home and I would like to do the same here. I like my life, I enjoy my hobbies, that include walking and cooking, I have a couple of good friends at home and work and my folks are close by, so this place needs to add to all that, not take away. Besides, Dimitri probably has a wife or girlfriend lurking somewhere. Just like my last boyfriend did.

‘Anyway, come on. Business talk later, but now as promised let’s hit the beach.’

It’s early May and the perfect weather for spending the afternoon on the sand, listening to gentle music pumping from the bar.

Watching the rolling waves, I think of how I have bought a house here and for a minute feel simultaneously adventurous and foolhardy. Have I been reckless? Come late October cheap flights won’t come to the island, as Evie has pointed out.

One year, in late October just before the flights stopped, I spent the most beautiful week here walking in the foothills. The stunning scenery with its gently changing foliage was a sight to behold, a blanket of orange and mauve moss mingling with evergreen trees. I passed villages and outlines of castles and ancient buildings on the top of the hills and watched birds circling above. It was so wonderful and not something I would have considered in the summer months, in the sweltering heat.

I’d hooked up with a local walking group on that visit, who walked for miles during the cooler months in the spring and autumn, discovering footpaths off the beaten track, and drinking home-made ouzo in gardens offered by locals, who proudly showed off their allotments. One time, the walk leader had to return with her car to accept the abundant bags of courgettes, corn and tomatoes gifted to us from the bumper autumn harvest.

Lying on sunbeds beside each other, Evie receives a photo on her phone of the girls on horses at some local stables with their grandmother. She sends one back of the two of us, raising a beer, the sea in the background.

‘I hope Nick is enjoying his golfing trip. Where is it he’s going?’ I ask.

‘Scotland. St Andrews. He’s been wanting to play that course for a while now, so when someone in work suggested a golfing weekend, he jumped at the chance.’

‘Never fancied taking golf up yourself?’ I ask as I sip my cold beer.

‘I did try it once, literally once, but couldn’t even hit the ball. When I finally did it disappeared off into a pond. No, I’ll stick to the gym if I fancy a bit of exercise.’

Finishing the beer, and with the warm effects of the sun and the early start this morning, I can feel my eyes becoming heavy. Maybe a small siesta is in order before meeting Dimitri at the villa, and then out somewhere nice for dinner.

When I wake, what I imagine to be a short while later, Evie is nowhere to be seen. As I look around I see her walking towards me from the bar with a couple of bottles of water. Glancing at my watch, I am shocked to discover I have been asleep for over an hour.

‘Did you have a sleep?’ I ask, sitting up and stretching my arms out.

‘Nope. I read for a bit, but then I did sleep for a while on the plane. I went for a swim, actually. I had forgotten how much I enjoy swimming. I thought I would get us some water instead of more beer, if you want to stay awake later. I’ll save myself for a cocktail with dinner.’

‘That sounds like a sensible idea,’ I say, sitting up and gratefully taking a glug of the bottled water.

‘What type of restaurant do you fancy tonight? There’s that fish one we went to last time, although I did spot a new one opposite the pirate bar, if you fancy it?’

‘I don’t mind. Yeah, let’s try somewhere new, give them a bit of support, hey?’

‘Let’s do that.’ We tap our bottles of water together.

We hang around for another hour, making the most of every minute of the warm sunshine on the relatively empty beach as the summer season hasn’t quite started up yet, before we return to our apartment. As we walk along the busy road we meet Thea carrying a straw basket presumably on her way to the shops.

‘Kalispera. I see you have been enjoying the beach?’ she says brightly.

‘Yes, it’s lovely. Oh, and I met Dimitri earlier. I didn’t realise he lived on the same street as the house I am buying… Have bought.’ I still need to get used to the idea that I own it.

‘Ah, so you met him. Although he does not live in that house. He is looking after my sister’s dog this week as she is away on holiday. Has he agreed to do the work?’

‘Fingers crossed. I’m meeting him outside the house later.’

‘He will do a good job and he has plenty of builder friends,’ she reassures me. ‘Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day,’ she says, placing her hand warmly on my arm as she departs.

‘Oh, and I have some honeyed orange cake left,’ she shouts over her shoulder. ‘I know how much you like it. Shall I save you some?’

‘You are a bad influence,’ I tell her jokingly.

The thought of Dimitri not actually living across the road gives me a twinge of disappointment and I give myself a talking-to. I have only met this man once. And know absolutely nothing about him.