Chapter Thirty-Three
He was sitting, downcast, on the bed in the room she’d done up when they arrived, and he clearly hadn’t slept. He looked up and sighed when they walked in.
‘All I want in this life is what’s best for you, my Antheia.
I promised your mama. And I will do it, even if you don’t want me to.
But . . .’ He looked around the room and then at her, his expression miserable.
‘I don’t want to hurt this place. I don’t want to hurt you. Am I making this big mistake?’
Nina knelt at his feet. ‘Come with us, Baba,’ she said softly.
‘What?’
‘Please. I want to show you something.’
For a moment she thought he was going to refuse.
Her heart began to race; this was her last attempt to stop the hotel complex, and if it didn’t work then all hope was lost. She’d failed, and Metalios would be changed forever, changed for the worse, because Theo was trying to do right by her.
Nina waited, Heather chewing a nail as she stood in the doorway, watching.
He heaved himself up, following without questioning where they were going or why. Nina’s heart leapt. Please let this work. This had to work.
They walked to the beach in silence, each too distracted by their own thoughts to even comment on the beauty of their surroundings as the sky flushed pink with the sunrise.
Theo walked with them to the water’s edge, and they stood either side of him, each taking his hand. The white boats bobbed on the gentle waves, and turtles glided around them, a little head breaking the surface of the water here, a flipper reaching out there.
They said nothing, just watched together, until at last Theo dropped Nina’s hand. She turned to look at him and saw that he was wiping away the tears that streamed down his face.
‘I am caught, Antheia, what am I meant to do? This – this is special, I know this of course, the place where I was happiest as a boy. I don’t want to hurt it.
’ His voice wavered and he stopped, swallowing.
Wiped more tears. ‘But I am your baba, I promised your mama I would always do best for you, no matter what, and this is best for you. It’s my job. I’m your baba.’
Nina hugged him, and he rested his head on her shoulder. She felt his tears dampen her top.
‘I know you mean well, Baba, I really do. But this isn’t what I want.
I want us to stay. We can work together, let’s be happy here together, now, let’s work together and show people this beautiful place without damaging it.
’ She smiled, a surge of hope rising in her. ‘It’ll be fun! I know we can do it.’
He shook his head, but she could see a flicker of doubt in his eyes. ‘But it’s risky. If I sell, you will be secure, no issues. If we do this, not so much of a guarantee.’
‘I know. But we’ll be together. We’ll be doing the right thing. And it’s not like Mum shied away from taking a risk, is it?’
He laughed. ‘This is true.’
‘And honestly,’ Heather said. ‘Just look.’ She waved a hand towards the sea, turquoise now under a glorious blue sky.
‘I mean, Manchester has its perks, but you’d get to be here.
’ She grinned. ‘You’d be mad not to jump at the chance, wouldn’t you?
Live here and work with this one?’ She put an arm around Nina’s shoulder and squeezed.
‘Christ, I’d do it like a shot. And, you know.
You don’t want to look back and regret missing this chance. ’ She looked at him levelly. ‘Right?’
They waited. Nina found herself holding her breath.
Theo looked out to sea, looked back at them, his eyes taking in their hopeful expressions.
He laughed again, a little shakily, wiped his eyes again. Blew out a breath, placed his hands on his hips, gazed out to sea. Nodded.
‘All right.’
‘Yes?’ Nina asked, hardly daring to believe. ‘You’ll do it? Cancel the meeting and we’ll do this together?’
He nodded, grinning. ‘Okay, okay, okay. We do this crazy plan together.’
Nina and Heather screamed, leaping into the air, clasping each other and Theo in a hug as they jumped up and down.
‘Thank you, Baba, thank you, thank you,’ Nina gasped. She was shaking now, but from excitement not fear. ‘I won’t let you down, it’ll be great, I promise!’
He laughed. ‘I know this, my Antheia. You could never let me down.’ His voice shook a little, his lips trembled as he smiled, and Nina understood the crashing of his emotions because she was feeling them too – excitement, relief, the pure joy of knowing they would be doing this together.
A little trepidation. But she was brave, wasn’t she?
She was an adventurer, like her mum. This was the beginning of a whole new life. And she couldn’t wait.
She gave Theo and then Heather one last squeeze, and then clasped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh my god. I have to tell him.’
She raced up the beach, sand sliding and kicking up under her feet, her heart drumming with excitement. Behind her she heard Theo ask, ‘Where is she going?’
‘The handsome conservationist,’ Heather said.
It was early, but she knew neither George nor Maria were late risers. All the way there, she imagined his face, the pure joy of knowing that the turtles were safe, that Metalios would be protected. That she was staying.
She knew, now, that George was the one. He was the only one she wanted to share this news with, the only one that mattered.
She imagined their life here, him doing his conservation work, her running the guesthouse with Theo.
Walks on the beach, meals at the café. Climbing, snorkelling, cliff diving.
Paddleboarding with Maria, meals with Theo and their friends from the village.
They would do it together. They would make time for each other, just as he’d made time for her when she’d lost the bracelet and to search for Theo.
They would make time for their life together.
It would be heaven.
She rapped on the door but, in her excitement, didn’t wait for someone to open it. Maria never locked it and Nina could hear voices coming from the kitchen, so she barged through and ran into the room.
The sight that greeted her brought her up short, her breath catching in her chest so that she felt like she’d swallowed a stone.
George was there, but the other voice she’d heard wasn’t Maria’s. He stood with a blonde woman, gazing earnestly into her eyes, and they held hands as they stood facing each other.
The woman turned to frown at Nina’s intrusion, her delicate face a picture of confusion. ‘Who are you?’ she asked.
Nina grabbed the wall to stop herself from falling as the floor seemed to shift beneath her feet. She looked from George, who stared back with an expression of muted horror, to the woman. ‘Who are you?’ she blurted.
‘Susan,’ she said. ‘George’s wife.’