Chapter 15
I pottered around for the next hour or so, not being able to settle into anything in particular, too restless and pensive to concentrate on any task that needed brain power.
Eventually I picked up my Kindle which was beside my bed and delved into the latest book I was reading.
My guilty pleasure was romance. Not even Jo and Emma knew that I devoured it as much as I did.
Early conversations when we’d met – and they had similarities in studying more literary and classic fiction when they’d been at school – indicated that we had very different tastes.
I had very nearly owned up when they made me watch Bridget Jones but wasn’t quite brave enough and at that time didn’t have the energy for a debate.
I didn’t even think it was something Demetri had been aware of either.
I’d been so busy when he’d been around that I’d hardly picked up a book at all unless it was a self-development or business book.
I also didn’t want him to think lesser of me for reading what some considered to be not as worthy as works of literary fiction.
For years, reading romance had been my salvation; pure escapism in a world that was so far away from my own life.
A world where the female protagonists became my best friends and the male heroes whisked me away into a world of romance and grand gestures.
My main characters didn’t have dead parents, or a boyfriend and brother that had abandoned them.
They were people who were worthy of love.
Something that I hadn’t felt for a very long time until Dr Hottie walked into my life.
Since these traumatic events had happened to me, I hadn’t believed that I was someone who was worthy of love.
Romance books were something that I could wholeheartedly throw myself into and escape for a short while, wishing that I wasn’t Michelle; someone that people didn’t stick around for.
Demetri leaving had just reinforced this and since he’d gone, I had thrown myself back into this genre.
Some people, particularly the snobby literary press, belittled these romance books, saying that they had no substance. How wrong these critics were.
These books had characters who were just like me, who were going through real-life issues.
They overcame adversity and didn’t need a prince on a white horse to come along and rescue them.
They rescued themselves and if that prince came along then that was just a big bonus.
And if they got some fabulous sex along the way, that was great too.
To be honest, before I’d met Demetri, these books were the nearest I’d got to sex for a very long time, so I wasn’t going to knock it.
And at least reading on my Kindle meant that people couldn’t see what I was reading and couldn’t comment on it.
I knew that as readers we should be able to read anything we wanted, but I still felt more comfortable not giving people anything to comment on.
People had an opinion on everything these days and weren’t shy at passing it on even if they hadn’t been invited to share it.
Makis’s voice jolted me back to the present.
‘Mama is steady and reacting well to medication right now, so Demetri says he feels like I don’t have to rush straight home.
’ The only bit of that sentence I really heard was ‘Demetri says’.
How I wished I’d not been so stubborn and told him we could stay in touch.
I missed him. Missed having someone around who cared about me.
Even though I resisted it at first, once I’d opened my heart, he’d well and truly bulldozed his way in. I missed everything about him.
I asked Makis to repeat what he’d said, which he did.
‘I’ve also made some calls but I can’t find a hotel with a vacancy within thirty miles.
I don’t have a car, so I’d have to get the train to wherever I could find.
Maybe you could help me work out where to travel to next?
I’ve been to London before but never been to anywhere else in the United Kingdom so it’s all quite new to me.
Where is the nearest big city with a train station?
’ He glanced at his watch, which I noticed was an expensive Tag Heuer.
‘I should probably start to make some plans before the day runs away with me.’
A random thought flashed through my brain.
Was it ridiculous to offer this man – who I didn’t really know – a roof over his head for as long as he needed it?
It seemed daft not to, if he couldn’t find anywhere to stay – not when I had a perfectly good spare room.
And to be honest, it would be good to have some company again.
Demetri and I hadn’t been together for long but I had grown to love us spending time together.
I’d loved being part of a couple; something special.
Having someone who cared about me was new and pretty wonderful.
I didn’t give the next words that left my mouth much thought and offered before I could talk myself out of it.
‘Stay here.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Stay here. I have room. You can’t find anywhere else. It makes sense.’
It would be nice for me to show Makis around. Get to know Demetri through his eyes. Maybe it would help me understand more about why he felt that his life had to be in Greece. Yes, the more I thought about it, it made more sense. Maybe it would help me to process what was going on in my life.
‘Are you sure, Michelle? It’s very kind of you, but then again Demetri did just say that you were… now, what were the words he used? “One hell of a woman.” He was clearly right. You are.’
My cheeks felt like they were colouring up. I wasn’t normally one for blushing and I wasn’t sure whether it was what Demetri had said about me or the way that Makis had relayed it. I tried to ignore the intense heat that was rising up my neck and into my cheeks.
‘I’m sure.’ I nodded, wishing that the redness would die down. This was Demetri’s brother and my brain was just becoming confused because they looked so alike and he was saying lots of nice things to me.
‘Then in that case, I’d love to. This is going to be so much fun. We should celebrate with some wine. I’m sure I have a nice little bottle of red in my holdall. Let me go and check.’
‘I’ll go and get the glasses.’
It wasn’t until much later that night that I thought a bottle of red wine might be an odd thing to lug around in a holdall.
Maybe it was for emergencies or special occasions only, although I’d recently started to wonder whether things should be saved for best. We really ought to enjoy them and let them bring us joy in every day.
Makis was easy to talk to. His command of the English language was mainly excellent, but he spoke with more of an accent than his brother.
He talked eloquently of his job, where he said that he helps small businesses to invest well and expand.
When he gave some suggestions as to how I could expand my own company, I got a little flutter in my tummy.
It felt like a breath of fresh air that someone else could get excited about my business.
He was really the only person so far who had shown any real interest. Free business advice was definitely something that I would snap up.
Not something that you get offered every day.
‘Thank you, Makis. I’m truly grateful and appreciate all your suggestions.’
‘That is no problem. After all, if I can’t help my brother’s girlfriend then it doesn’t say a lot, does it?’ He picked up his glass and began to sip his wine.
I corrected him, my words spoken softly with a sigh. ‘Ex-girlfriend.’
‘And as I said earlier, my brother is a fool.’ He held my gaze and I was the first to look away.
He broke the silence.
‘More wine?’
‘I shouldn’t but, hell! Why not?’
He poured the rest of the bottle and I went into the kitchen to grab another bottle from the wine rack.
And when Jo and Emma came and found us two hours later, we were still on the patio, two bottles of red and two share bags of cheese and onion crisps down.
I felt lighter than I had over the last few weeks, like I hadn’t laughed with a man for a while – but that may have been because I was slightly on the tiddly side.