Chapter 27
CAVO BARBARO, AVLAKI
Faye looked out over the moonlit water from their table closest to the beach.
She thought the darkening sky was sometimes more beautiful than the bright, cloudless blue of the day.
It was atmospheric, somehow looked like it was holding dreams or secrets amid its varying hues of inky streaks.
She was only half-listening to Dimitria’s conversation with Alexandros as she took in the delicate nuances of the cove.
Its sounds – the rush and shush of the water as it embraced the pebbles, the chirp of the crickets.
Its scents – the deep, sweet fragrance of blooming red roses in the taverna’s garden, the heavy humidity with a dash of sea salt.
There were so many memories attached to this place – Saffron trying prawns for the very first time, the day a hornet tried to share their beach towel and Matthew got stung, her drinking a bottle of retsina by the shore as she mourned the end of her marriage, her drinking a bottle of much better wine to celebrate becoming the manager at the hotel…
‘What do you think about?’
Faye jumped, Alexandros’s voice close, and she realised he was now sitting next to her and Dimitria was nowhere to be seen. How had that happened?
‘Oh, sorry, I was…’ Her gaze went to the restaurant surroundings, seeking Dimitria amid the other diners, waiters in full swing delivering and collecting plates.
‘Wishing I was not talking about selling the hotel,’ Alexandros filled in for himself.
‘No, well, it’s not an ideal scenario for me, but it’s not my decision to make.’ She took a sip of her wine. ‘Do you think it’s a serious offer? It seems a lot of money, not that I’m an expert on the price of hotels.’
‘I am an expert,’ Alexandros stated with confidence. ‘And the offer is in line with what the agency would market the hotel for, based on size, location, current real estate trends.’ His fingers toyed with the back of Faye’s chair. ‘However, I am convinced we could even get the offer higher.’
‘Really?’
Alexandros laughed then. ‘Faye, surely you know how to negotiate. When you are working out what the hotel will pay for stock, for linen, for staff even.’
‘Of course,’ she answered. ‘But in my negotiations I’m never really setting out to rip anyone off.’
‘To what?’
‘To take advantage. When I negotiate, I’m wanting to get a fair outcome for both parties.’
‘Really? You do not think you should get the best price possible? Perhaps it is a good thing Dimitria is going to sell the hotel,’ Alexandros remarked with a laugh.
His comment irked Faye. ‘I don’t think Dimitria has agreed to sell the hotel yet.’
‘But she will. It is the only thing that makes sense,’ Alexandros stated.
‘In your opinion,’ Faye added.
‘Financially.’
‘And money isn’t everything.’
As the words left her mouth her eyes went to the taverna’s entrance and there was Kostas and the man who had come to stay with him at the hotel.
She had seen him around. Her stomach began knotting itself into rigging.
She hadn’t seen Kostas since she had left the suite early this morning after their night together.
Obviously she regretted every second because it had been a terrible, terrible lapse in judgement.
Although she had also relived every pulse-pounding millisecond of it whenever she wasn’t worrying that she was soon going to have to look for another job and a place to live…
Her eyes dwelled too long and Alexandros turned around, surveying the newcomers.
‘Is that—’
‘No,’ Faye interrupted, agitated. ‘I mean, yes, it is, but you can’t react. He’s staying at the hotel and it wouldn’t be appropriate. Because he values his privacy and that’s his right and…’ She stopped talking.
Now Alexandros was looking back at her. ‘I am not a maláka, Faye.’
‘No, I know, I just—’
‘I will let Kostas Petsas eat before I ask for a selfie,’ Alexandros said.
Faye had no idea if he was serious or joking.
‘And while he eats and Dimitria does whatever she has disappeared to do, we can talk about when I’m going to take you out on a date.’
* * *
‘You are OK?’ Stathis asked Kostas. ‘You would like a different table?’
Kostas shook his head. ‘No, it is fine here.’
Faye was here. That’s what was concerning him, and he had no idea why that was even a thing to his brain or any other parts of him that seemed to react like they wanted to re-enact the previous night…
And she was with someone. A man. A man who had his fingers on the back of her chair, a few centimetres away from the bare skin of her shoulders…
‘Hey, back in the room,’ Stathis said, clicking his fingers in front of Kostas’s face. ‘Where’s that positivity from earlier? I thought the planning guy was giving off the air of being as flexible as we might need him to be.’
‘Yeah,’ Kostas answered, eyes still on Faye’s table.
‘I’m thinking there might not have to be too much money changing hands. Definitely less than the cost of a hospital wing. Maybe a few road repairs. A new community building, somewhere in that region.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Kosta, what’s going on? This taverna was your suggestion. Do you want to eat somewhere else?’
He watched the man’s hand make contact with Faye’s shoulders and now some kind of crazy force was propelling Kostas up and out of his chair. Before Stathis could say anything, he was moving across the restaurant.
He approached, hand held out to Faye’s companion. ‘Kalispéra. Kostas Petsas.’
The man stood to attention, hand coming away from Faye’s skin. ‘Yassas. Eímai Alexandros.’
OK, that was giving him nothing as to what he was doing here with Faye.
Was this a date? His brain was fighting with logic and something else he refused to acknowledge.
And his fingers were itching to touch Faye’s shoulders.
He put his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
And Faye was saying nothing, she couldn’t seem to even look at him.
‘I am a huge fan,’ Alexandros said. ‘I was saying to Faye, was I not?’
Faye nodded, picked up her glass of wine, putting it to her lips.
‘And you are here in Avlaki for business or pleasure?’ Kostas asked before his mind could question his decision-making.
Alexandros laughed. ‘Very much both, I hope.’
Kostas felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand to irritated attention. He hated this man. And he hated what this man was making him feel. Feel.
‘Faye, do you have a moment?’ Kostas asked.
She looked at him then and his stomach took a dive as he remembered how those beautiful grey eyes had stared deep into his last night.
‘No,’ Faye said. ‘I’m sorry. We are in a middle of a discussion and… Oh, here’s Dimitria now.’
He had no time to react to Faye’s refusal before the owner of the hotel arrived at the table.
‘Ah, Kosta, how are you?’
‘Good. I was just asking to speak to Faye, if you can spare her for a moment.’
Dimitria laughed. ‘Faye is not on duty right now. She can make her own decisions.’
‘And I have told Kostas that our food will be arriving soon.’
She was back to not looking at him. Not wanting to acknowledge his existence. And it was irking him. More than that. Much more than that.
‘Would you like to join us, Kosta?’ Dimitria asked him.
‘I do not think that is appropriate, Dimitria,’ Faye said.
‘Appropriate,’ Kostas said through gritted teeth.
‘Well,’ Alexandros said. ‘I think we are done with talking business so—’
‘Sorry,’ Faye said, suddenly getting up out of her seat and picking up her bag. ‘I must check in on Saffron. Would you excuse me for a second.’
She was leaving? Not without him. She left the restaurant and, bad idea or not, he immediately followed.