Chapter Seventeen
She’d found the house quiet when she got back, though she had a feeling that Theo was awake in his room; she could sense his alertness in the silence behind the door he’d left slightly ajar.
Nina didn’t care. She crawled into her bed and immediately fell into a deep and troubled sleep, in which her mum stood at the mountain top, smiling and pointing into the distance, too far away for Nina to hear the words she spoke.
Then in her dream, Nina walked around the house in Kefalonia, running her hand along the walls she’d painted white and admiring the furniture she had chosen for each room.
She was searching for someone, but no one was to be found.
When she woke, her head aching as though she was hungover – deeply unfair without the fun of drinking beforehand to cause it – the sun was high in the sky through her unshuttered windows and the room was hot and stuffy. She was hungry, thirsty and in need of a shower.
Going in search of coffee, she was glad to see no sign of Theo but mortified to find Vassilis in the kitchen, giving his lazy smile and raising an eyebrow at the sight of her bedhead and the crumpled Rolling Stones t-shirt she’d slept in.
‘Hey, sleepy head,’ he said.
‘Bad night,’ she mumbled, thankful that there was coffee already in the pot and breathing in its rich, nutty aroma as she poured some into a mug.
‘Oh?’
‘I lost – well, actually my dad lost – my bracelet, you know the one I always wear? The one that was mum’s.’
‘Oh.’ He breathed out the word, his lips forming a perfect circle. ‘I didn’t know it was your mama’s.’
‘I spent the night looking for it but it’s just – gone.’
To her horror she began to cry, big ugly sobs that wedged themselves into her chest like a fist, and Vassilis stepped over to her, taking her in his strong arms and holding her as she tried not to get snot on his t-shirt that smelled of washing powder.
‘Hey,’ he said when the worst of the tears had stormed through her.
‘It’s okay. Maybe we go out somewhere nice, yes?
Bring your mind away from this?’ He ducked his head and lifted her chin gently so that her watery gaze met his.
She nodded, although she wasn’t really in the mood to be going out. But maybe the distraction would help.
It didn’t.
She’d half-heartedly showered and dressed, trying not to cry as she automatically looked for her bracelet to put on.
She pulled a brush through her hair and swiped on the minimum of makeup.
Even though she’d slept till the afternoon, she was tired, lacking the energy or enthusiasm to get dressed up, to get excited about fancy restaurants or exclusive clubs.
What she really wanted was to put on an old t-shirt and snuggle up on the sofa with some comfort TV and comfort food.
She had an unexpected and unwelcome stab of longing for Sam, for those nights when she’d lounged makeup free on the sofa, curled into him as she watched a rubbish film, him with one eye on his laptop or phone, the other on the TV.
With a sickening lurch, she wondered now how often he was actually messaging Mags when he claimed he was messaging a colleague.
How often he was seeing her when he told Nina he was at the gym or working late.
She’d really thought she and Sam were happy; she’d thought they had a great life.
She’d thought that she and Mags were friends.
Everything she’d thought she could rely on was gone, even her career. Her faith in her judgement. She’d been fooled by her boyfriend, and her friend.
She sighed, and met her gaze in the mirror.
Her dark eyes were dull, her dark hair limp.
No. She deserved better than Sam. She deserved someone who was invested in their relationship, who made an effort.
Someone faithful, at the very least. And as for Mags’s friendship, that was a joke, too.
That’s what Heather would tell her, had told her, on numerous occasions.
In fact, she realised it was Heather’s company she really craved right now. The warm, down-to-earth wisdom of her friend was irreplaceable. Luckily, she wouldn’t have long to wait for that; Heather was due to arrive in the next few weeks.
As she put the finishing touches to her hair, she tried to drag her thoughts away from missing her friend. Tried to be grateful that there was a handsome man waiting downstairs to take her out.
On the stairs she met Theo, coming up as she was walking down. They both stopped.
‘Oh –’ A pained expression crossed her dad’s face and he reached out a hand to her, but brought it back, letting it drop to his side. Nina could feel that her expression was stony, but she didn’t have the energy to change it. ‘My Antheia, I’m so sorry, I . . .’
She could see the pain in his eyes, the slight tremble in the hand that had reached out to her. A pang of love for him shot through her; she should embrace him now, she should reassure him that she forgave him for losing the bracelet, that it was just a thing, after all.
But she couldn’t bring herself to do any of that.
The bracelet wasn’t just a thing, it was her last connection to her mum, and she was devastated by the loss of it.
She always kept it safe and she didn’t understand how Theo could have been so careless as to lose her most precious possession.
And she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet, however much his obvious pain caused her stomach to twist.
‘I’m going out with Vassilis,’ she said, brushing past him and leaving him standing on the stairs with his head bowed. She tried not to hear the despair in his sigh.
Vassilis was leaning against the wall outside the house, and the sight of him still made her heart flip; the dark eyes that creased as he smiled at her, the sexy stubble lining his jaw, with just the beginnings of a hint of silver. He heaved himself away from the wall and stepped towards her.
‘You look nice,’ he said, apparently oblivious to her puffy face and minimal makeup.
‘Thanks.’
‘So. Argostoli, yes?’
Nina sighed. ‘I don’t know, what about just a quiet drink round here? I’m feeling a bit . . .’
‘If this is what you want then of course we will do it,’ he said. ‘But I had something nice planned. Something special. Take your thoughts off this sadness.’ He smiled, looking so hopeful that Nina didn’t have the heart to disappoint him.
‘Okay. No that’s – Argostoli will be lovely,’ she said, thinking longingly of the sofa.
She was rewarded with the sight of Vassilis’s handsome face wreathed in smiles. ‘Okay, this is good – let me spoil you.’
Nina found herself ushered into the waiting taxi, watching a little wistfully as the quiet streets of Metalios slipped by.
Vassilis placed his hand on her thigh, so that she could feel the warmth of his touch through the thin material of her dress.
He talked about his day, about the work he and Theo had done on the house, and asked Nina if she had any more plans for it.
She found her thoughts wandering to what George had said on the beach.
‘Do you know anything about who my dad’s planning to sell the hotel to?’ she asked.
He laughed and shrugged. ‘I know nothing, I am just the hired help, eh? Building, plastering, painting, that’s all me, but plans – no.’
‘It’s just, I heard that it’s not going to be a small hotel, it’s going to be a complex, with an outside bar and a pool or whatever, lots of artificial lighting. It’s bad for the turtles. You know, the babies, when they hatch and they’re trying to get to the sea.’
She looked at him, hoping for some reassurance that George was mistaken, that Theo was selling to someone who would simply turn the house as it was into a small guest house.
Vassilis frowned. ‘I don’t know anything about this, these turtles –’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t know about this with the lights. But a lively bar in Metalios is a good thing, I think. It will liven it all up. Now it is just families and old people there. Nothing happens.’
Nina found herself thinking of Eirini, Alex and the children, sweet Yiannis, their grandad, who ran the café and insisted on giving food away to her and Theo.
And Maria, the sparky old woman who liked paddleboarding and cooking, who loved her pet goat and took the time to teach Nina how to cook.
These were the people Vassilis was talking about, people who made up the heart of Metalios, and she was struggling to see that as a bad thing.
Once again, she pictured the turtles swimming around the fishing boats, their heads rising from the sea.
Was George right? That irritating, obnoxious man who had lit up at the sight of them, who had helped her search for the bracelet when he knew it was pointless, who thought she only cared about makeup and jewellery and money. Had she got it all wrong?
Vassilis took her to the lighthouse, a beautiful white, rounded building, standing on crystal clear waters that lapped onto a beach of soft white stones.
Her head throbbed. She should’ve taken a tablet before they left.
But the place was stunning, and deserted, as the low sun was reflected on the sea, casting an ember glow that set the water alight.
Nina felt her mind clear a little, the knots in her stomach beginning to relax as she took her shoes off and paddled in the warm waters. Vassilis watched, smiling.
‘You make any view more beautiful,’ he said.
She turned to smile at him over her shoulder. The water was so clear and inviting, and she wanted to wash all her worries away. ‘Shall we swim?’
He looked at her as though she was mad. ‘You don’t have a costume.’
‘I have underwear.’ Personally, she didn’t think even that was necessary. She gazed longingly at the turquoise water.
He shook his head, smiling. ‘Maybe another time. We’re going for a very nice meal, we need to look good. Come on.’
He turned and walked away. Reluctantly, with one last glance at the sea, Nina followed.