Chapter 7
ALICIA
I checked my watch for what felt like the hundredth time. It was nineteen minutes past nine and I’d agreed to meet Adonis for breakfast at eight forty-five.
Although I hadn’t gone to his room last night (go, me!), he’d persuaded me to come for a drink at the hotel’s bar, where we’d stayed chatting until just before midnight. He was telling me all about his extensive travelling. He’d visited so many places.
Adonis even said he saw himself returning to London, which was another big green flag. It meant that if things worked out between us, we wouldn’t have to do the whole long-distance stuff.
Okay, I knew I was getting ahead of myself. Day two had barely started and I was already thinking about the future, but there was nothing wrong with feeling optimistic.
If I was being honest though, I wasn’t a fan of lateness.
Sometimes shit happened so it was fine to be held up for a few minutes when something was out of our control.
But being over half an hour late without even a courtesy message?
That wasn’t ideal. And it wasn’t like he’d got caught in traffic or a train had been cancelled.
His room was literally seconds away from here.
And given the number of times I’d been ghosted and more recently stood up, I found it triggering having to sit here on my Jack Jones, not knowing whether my match was going to turn up or not.
After checking the time again, I pulled out my phone and fired off a text asking if he was still coming to breakfast.
Adonis had suggested we exchange numbers last night, just in case I changed my mind about ‘joining him’ in his room.
I didn’t.
Sammie would be so proud.
My phone buzzed a few minutes later.
Adonis
Good morning, beautiful Alicia.
Reading those words instantly made me beam. It was embarrassing how being called ‘beautiful’ made me smile.
Adonis
I am still in bed.
See you at the briefing.
Wishing you a wonderful breakfast.
On the one hand I was a bit cheesed off that he hadn’t apologised for not coming to breakfast, but his messages were so sweet. And he was probably tired. It was no big deal. The briefing was at ten, so I’d see him soon enough.
Until then, I’d just enjoy the views.
This was a world away from the way I usually had breakfast in London. Instead of eating toast at my desk with a mug of cold tea whilst glaring out at the cloudy skyline, I was in stunning Santorini.
Here I was sitting on a sun-soaked terrace of a luxury five-star hotel, with the rays heating my skin. There wasn’t a single cloud in the bright-blue sky and the sea, which had a large cruise ship right in the centre, stretched as far as the eye could see.
Yep. I was living the dream.
I took a bite of a Greek cheese pie a waitress had recommended for breakfast called tiropita, which was delicious, then scanned the terrace.
I spotted Noah laughing with his match. Just like he was last night. At least she’d turned up. Now she was gazing at him like he’d just started walking on water.
Looked like everything was going brilliantly. He’d texted last night whilst I was at the bar asking how it was going, so I’d sent a quick reply saying I was with Adonis so I’d catch up with him later and I hoped he liked his date.
It felt ridiculous even saying that because, hello? It was obvious that he did. She was beyond stunning and every time I looked over they were both grinning like a couple of lovesick teenagers.
I was happy for him.
And I wasn’t surprised she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Once again Noah looked incredible. Today he was wearing a plain white T-shirt and, as he sipped his coffee, the curl of his biceps was a sight to behold.
Those were the kinds of muscles I liked.
The ones that didn’t look like he’d split his top if he coughed too hard.
I shouldn’t even be thinking about this. Firstly, because it was shallow and tantamount to body-shaming super-muscular men, which was not okay and secondly because best friends didn’t scrutinise each other’s physiques.
Despite knowing this, I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze away.
Noah turned his head and his eyes met mine.
Busted.
I hoped he hadn’t felt me staring at him.
He smiled and a flutter erupted in my stomach. I must still be hungry. He waved, then looked at the empty chair at my table.
Embarrassment washed over me.
Noah said something to his match then got up and strode across the terrace towards me.
My breath caught in my throat.
‘Hey.’ He frowned, pulling out the empty chair opposite me and sitting down. ‘You okay?’
‘Yeah!’ My voice shot up several octaves. ‘How’s your match? She’s so pretty.’
‘Yeah. She’s really nice,’ he said. Clearly he was playing down how much he liked her so he didn’t make me feel bad. ‘Where’s your match?’
‘He’s still in bed. We had a late night,’ I said. Leaving the bar at midnight wasn’t really a reason to still be in bed after nine, but I wasn’t Adonis’s mother so if he was too tired to get up that was his choice.
‘Oh, right,’ Noah said. ‘I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.’
‘Yeah, yeah!’ I said. ‘All good! I’m looking forward to finding out where we’ll be going today.’
‘Me too,’ Noah said, his gaze dropping to the table before moving back over to his match. Two minutes away from her and he was already getting withdrawal symptoms. ‘Anyway, I should go…’ Noah pushed his chair back, then got to his feet.
‘Course! Don’t worry about me. I haven’t been stood up. Adonis is really lovely.’
‘Adonis?’ His brows shot up. ‘He’s actually called that?’
‘Yep! His name’s kind of fitting, right? His parents must’ve known he’d grown up to look like a Greek god!’ I smiled. ‘What’s your date’s name?’
‘Kayleigh,’ he said. ‘She’s a lingerie model from London.’
‘Oh wow.’ I swallowed hard. I didn’t even know why I was so surprised. She’d make a Victoria Secret’s model look like the girl next door. ‘Wow. You lucked out there. That’s every guy’s wet dream, right?’
‘I can’t complain,’ he said diplomatically. ‘If you need anything, I’ll be over there.’ He pointed to his table.
‘I’m fine! Go! Don’t keep your sexy supermodel waiting!’ I grinned, ignoring the sinking feeling in my gut as Noah walked away.
Right. Time to grab some more food. Then I’d get ready for the briefing where I’d see my gorgeous Adonis again.
Noah wasn’t the only one who’d lucked out. I was lucky too. Today was going to be a great day with my match. I could just feel it.