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

Chapter 30

I unpack a few bits and piece and place them in my new home. A few books on the bookshelf, purchased at Manchester Airport, a silver frame containing a family photo, and a paperweight that Evie bought me. I fling the French doors open upstairs and stand on my balcony, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. Not to mention trying hard to shake Dimitri from my mind.

I place some toiletries in the bathroom, before flopping down on the bed and trying it for size. It’s perfectly comfortable.

An hour later, Thea from the bakery taps on my front door, and asks me if I fancy going for a drink at the village bar.

‘Gosh, I’d like nothing more, thanks, Thea.’

‘Although, you know, I do not have late nights. I open the bakery very early in the morning, and stay open later than usual in the summer, with the resort being busy,’ she explains.

‘Of course. Please come in,’ I offer.

I show her around the villa, and she confesses her nephew has shown her some of the progress since my last visit.

‘He talked about you a lot,’ she reveals as I grab my handbag from newly erected black metal coat hooks in the hall – something I managed to put up myself.

‘He did?’

‘Yes. It was Claudia this, Claudia that.’ She looks at me knowingly.

‘I’ve probably talked a lot about him too, back home, but usually about the work he has been doing.’ Which is true, of course. There is no need to tell her that I was keen to drop his name into the conversation at any opportunity.

‘Look. This will match perfectly.’ I pick up the photo she gifted me from the hall table and place it against the white wall. Some bright flowers in a vase on the hall table will set it all off nicely, I think.

‘I see what you mean. Maybe some flowers on the table,’ she says, reading my mind, and I laugh and tell her I had just had the exact same thoughts.

We walk to the bar, order our drinks and take a seat outside in the early evening sunshine. It’s pretty quiet at this hour, some people still down at the beach now that the summer is here, the bars becoming livelier as the sun goes down. Maybe tomorrow evening, I will take a stroll down to the beach myself, maybe even persuade Phoebe to take a walk with me.

‘I met Dimitri’s aunt when I was here last, who I have only just remembered is your sister.’

‘Yes. It is nice having family nearby. I guess we are all pretty close. You are bound to see Dimitri around.’ She smiles.

‘Does he live nearby too?’

It occurs to me then that I have never seen Dimitri’s apartment. In fact, I’m not sure exactly where it is.

‘Only a ten-minute walk away, at the far end of the beach. I can’t see him ever leaving Roda, he loves it here.’

‘I can understand why.’

‘Have you seen my nephew today?’ she asks.

‘Yes, I saw him on the main street when I first arrived. He was getting out of his car with a woman.’

I don’t know why I tell her this. I could have just mentioned him being at the house earlier and the unveiling of the balcony. Yet I do.

She frowns a little, before twirling the stem of her wine glass in her hand.

‘That was probably Athena.’

Athena?

‘He used to date her,’ she tells me. ‘But he tells me he feels nothing for her now. She has been back here to visit her grandmother who is ill, I believe. Perhaps they were just having a catch-up.’

I recall Dimitri saying he had just been out dropping a friend off somewhere. Even so, the wine seems to lose its taste as I take a large gulp.

To break the slightly awkward silence growing between us, I ask Thea about her business, which she tells me is doing well. ‘Especially during summer season when the apartments are all rented out. Many people call in for their bread in the morning. I have to work half the night baking, but of course I am grateful to save some money for the winter months. The locals keep the shop ticking over, especially when the planes stop coming in October.’

I recall Dimitri telling me this.

‘Do people still fly over from Athens?’

‘Yes, thankfully, for people like yourself who have holiday homes.’ She smiles. ‘But, of course, it does get cooler here in the winter, with some rain even, but maybe not as cold as in the UK.’

‘Definitely not as cold as there,’ I confirm.

After another drink and a long chat, it’s almost nine and Thea tells me she ought to get off and have an early night, before a very early morning.

‘Of course. And it’s been really lovely chatting to you. It feels so good to have friends here in the village.’

‘I’m happy to have you as a friend too. See you soon, enjoy the first evening in your new house.’

‘Thank you, and thanks once more for your thoughtful gift. Goodnight, Thea.’

Back at the house, I take a glass of water out onto the balcony, and watch the sunset. There’s the distant strains of a song playing at some bar on the main street, drowning out the faint sound of the crashing sea I can normally hear, but I don’t mind. It makes me feel connected to the people here when I hear noise and activity all around.

I also can’t help wondering how Dimitri is spending his evening. I recall him shaking my hand in a very businesslike manner, and wishing me well before he departed. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I do know one thing.

I can hardly wait until our paths cross again.

I stretch out the next morning, having had the best sleep ever. The sun is rising, and I fling open the French doors and make a coffee to take outside. I breathe in deeply, still hardly able to believe this place is actually mine. It’s Saturday today too, so I don’t have any work to do.

After some breakfast and a video call to my parents, showing them the finished villa, I head to a car hire place next door to rent one for the weekend.

Back home, I study the map and decide to take a drive to PaleokastritsaBeach, the place we viewed from the summit of the Byzantine castle. I’ll have some lunch there, and spend a couple of hours on the small beach nearby, enjoying the sunshine.

I nip next door and ask Phoebe if she would like to join me, but she tells me she is seeing a friend from church in a few hours’ time, but thanks me anyway. She agrees to a walk on Roda Beach in the evening. ‘And maybe a small ouzo,’ she says with a wink.

‘I look forward to it.’

I pack a beach bag, then set the satnav in the car before driving off. It’s such a glorious sunny day, I open the car window and enjoy the feeling of the wind in my long hair, rather than switching on the air con.

It’s a lovely drive, passing tourist spots and residential areas in turn, as the landscape changes from villas with lush plants in the gardens to mountain villages with tiny churches and olive groves. I spot chickens on land adjoining houses, surrounded by mesh fences.

I pull up at a roadside truck stop in the middle of nowhere and buy some fresh peaches and a slice of watermelon, along with a bottle of the island’s kumquat liqueur. I can’t say I have ever really tried it, so will sample some later poured over ice.

The owner of the wooden stall thanks me, and drops a small bunch of grapes into a brown paper bag, free of charge. I take a photo of the scenery below from this viewing point and a photo of the old Greek man, standing proudly beside his stall.

As I continue driving, my mind keeps flicking back to the sight of Dimitri with his beautiful ex. Thea told me they were no more than friends. Dimitri told me they could hardly even be called that, but had manged to remain civil to each other. Even so, they looked close when I saw them.

As I approach the beach at Paleo, as it’s known by, I can see that it’s very busy. Large tourist coaches inch their way down a tiny road lined with tourist shops and ice-cream kiosks as they make their way to a car park. If anything is going to distract me from thinking of Dimitri, it’s the sight of the blue water. I give up hope of ever finding a place to park when, miraculously, someone pulls out of a space in a parking area near the beach. I deftly park, and cross the road to a restaurant that overlooks the water.

It’s bustling with diners, and I consider grabbing a takeaway gyros from a kiosk and taking it to the beach, when a waiter appears and guides me to a table where a young couple are settling their bill. It seems the Greek gods are smiling on me today as I’m so lucky to have this table, that is directly overlooking the small, crowded beach.

Beyond the sand, people are floating in the blue-green water on pedaloes, or swimming. I glance up at a paraglider in the sky as a boat guides them safely into the shore. In the distance, at the top of some mountains, I can make out the outline of the castle, and can almost hear the crickets as I recall climbing the steps to the summit.

Sitting here, dining on the most delicious sea bass and a Greek salad, just watching the world go by, I can’t help but feel blessed. I hope that next time I come over, I will be accompanied by my parents and enjoying a meal together at a seafront taverna.

Settling down onto a sunbed, which thankfully there are still a few left of as most people seem to be in the restaurants, I pay the sunbed guy and stretch myself out, slipping my sundress over my head. If anything is going to clear my mind, it’s lying here in this glorious sunshine listening to the gentle sound of the waves caressing the golden sand. I’m almost dozing off, when I hear my phone ringing in my bag.

‘Hello?’ The signal isn’t too great here, but I can just about make out Dimitri’s voice.

‘Hi, did enjoy your first fright in the mouse?’ Crackle, crackle goes the phone line.

‘What?’

‘The house. How was your first night?’

‘Oh, the house!’ I’m laughing now. I’m still missing words, but we should just about manage to have a conversation.

‘I had the best sleep.’

‘The vest what?’

‘The best sleep.’

‘Oh good. Where are you now?’

‘I’m on a beach, watching some boats.’

‘You are watching some goats,’ he says and I roar with laughter.

‘This is useless. I will text you.’

‘Test me?’

‘Hang up, Dimitri. The signal is awful.’ I realise I am almost shouting as a man on an adjacent bed gives me a funny look.

I tap out a text telling him where I am, and then inviting him for dinner tomorrow evening at the house. I will make him the casserole from the old cookery book I found in the drawer.

There’s no immediate reply, and I wonder whether or not I have done the right thing.

Fifteen minutes later, having glanced at my phone at least half a dozen times to see that he still hasn’t replied, I feel so stupid. Although I wonder why he was calling me in the first place. Especially now that his work at the villa is finished.

An hour later, I gather up my things and decide to head back to Roda. I am a little preoccupied as I make the journey back to the village, but when I pass the wooden stall on the roadside, the owner lifts his hand and waves.

Driving on, I giggle to myself when I think of Dimitri asking if I was watching goats. Where on earth did he think I was? Sitting in the hills somewhere?

I’m looking forward to changing and going for an evening walk with Phoebe later, stopping for a little drink and watching the sunset on the beach. I’m sure Dimitri never received my text with such a poor signal, so decide to put it out of my mind.

I’m thinking about all of these things as I pull into my road, and the first thing I can see is an ambulance. Oh no, is that why Dimitri was calling? And here was I inviting him over for dinner!

I hold my breath as I park up behind the ambulance and head over to where a small crowd have gathered. I see Phoebe near the ground and I catch my breath, but as I draw closer I can see she is crouching down next to someone. Eliza is spread out on the floor, being assisted by a paramedic, who is placing an oxygen mask over her face.

‘Oh my goodness, what’s happened?’ I ask Thea.

‘Eliza collapsed in the middle of the road. It is her heart I think, they had to resuscitate her.’ She clutches her chest.

The sight of Phoebe clutching her old friend’s hand and repeating her name almost brings a lump to my throat.

The ambulance people address the small crowd in Greek, asking if anyone would like to go with her to the hospital. Phoebe stands and enters the ambulance with her then, still holding on to her hand.