‘Great,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much.’
Matt looked at his watch. ‘Norm’ll be here in about an hour.’ Okay, so there was no way they’d make a flight off Paros this evening in time to get their flights out of Athens. Lucky it looked like her flights could be changed with only a small extra payment. She’d have to find a hotel on Paros.
‘I’m thinking an afternoon cocktail and a game of cards,’ Felix said. ‘Quick, before the bars get over-run by angry stranded tourists.’
‘Unbelievable.’ Alfredo rolled his eyes, smiling. ‘He’sobsessedwith contract whist at the moment.’
Matt looked at Lily and Lily looked at Matt.
‘I might actually take the opportunity to do a bit more work,’ Matt said. ‘Got a lot on.’
Felix narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you saying you don’t like playing whist?’
Matt laughed. ‘I love whist, just genuinely quite busy with work. Doing some stuff for Carole and after visiting a couple of properties here on the island this afternoon I’ve had a few ideas that I’d like to act on.’
‘What about you join us at the same café, we treat you to a huge drink as a very small thank you for saving our bacon with the boat, and you sit in a corner and do your work while we play God’s own card game at a different table. And then you can join us when you get bored with your boring work,’ Felix said. ‘And in the meantime I promise we won’t speak to you.’
Matt glanced quickly at Lily, hesitated and then said, ‘Sounds like a plan. Although no thanks due.’
‘I’m not surprised you love this game,’ Lily told Felix after their third round of whist. ‘You’re amazing. It’s like you’re a mind reader.’
‘I actually am,’ he said. ‘Iknowwhat you’re going to play. Iknowhow the cards are going to go.’
Lily laughed and took another sip of her mojito. Felix and Alfredo were such good company and the game was genuinely so addictive that she was almost managing not to be conscious the entire time of Matt in the corner with his long legs stretched to the side of his table, the pen he was holding looking tiny in his large, square-fingered hand, his capable fore-arms, dusted with just the right amount of dark hair, resting on the table…
And, woah.
‘Lily?’ Felix had worked his face in front of hers. ‘You’re not concentrating, my darling. You need to focus. Still recovering from last night?’
‘Yes, exactly, still recovering. I’m very tired. Struggling to stay awake. Exactly.’ Not because of Matt at all.
Halfway through their next round, which Lily was sure she was actually going to win, Matt stood up and said, ‘Norm just called. He’s setting off in a minute, so if we begin to make our way down to the harbour we should get there at about the right time. The crossing’s pretty quick, isn’t it? Ten minutes?’
‘Do we have time to finish this round very quickly?’ Lily asked.
‘I reckon we do.’ Alfredo placed the ace of hearts very deliberately in the middle of the table and Lily and Felix both gasped.
‘No way. I wasconvincedI was going to win that one.’ Lily put her king of hearts down on top of the ace and stuck her tongue out at Alfredo when he laughed.
‘See?’ Felix sucked the last drops out of his cocktail glass with his straw. ‘It’s addictive, isn’t it? If we get stranded on Paros at least we’ll have cards to keep us happy.’
The walk down to the harbour was similar torture-wise to sitting a few feet away from Matt in the café. Lily walked with Felix, and Matt and Alfredo walked behind them, and Lilyreallywondered, the whole way, whether Matt was watching her.
They were at the harbour in time to see Norm arrive in a medium-sized, very swanky-looking, sparkling white yacht. As he pulled in, he adjusted the cap he was wearing to a very jaunty angle and shouted, ‘Ahoy there, me hearties.’
‘He been on the booze, do you think?’ Felix said.
‘Think he might just be enjoying his afternoon out,’ Matt said.
‘Let’s put all the luggage down here,’ Norm said, when they were all on board, and led them down the steps in the middle of the deck into what could only be described as a very James Bond-esque black and chocolate-brown suede, leather and marble interior.
‘Wow.’ Lily looked round, almost expecting to see some scantily clad female spies emerging from behind the banquettes.
‘It’s my man cave,’ said Norm, beaming. He pressed a button and a box full of cigars on the table sprang open. ‘It’s my equivalent of a garden shed. Everyone needs a little escape from their wife. No offence, Lily, not that youarea wife. Yet.’
‘Wow again.’ Lily didn’t have any other words.
‘Smoke?’ Norm asked them all, pointing at the cigars. ‘What, none of you? What’s wrong with your generation? All namby-pamby, worrying about your lungs.’ He broke into a massive coughing fit and bent double for a few moments, and then said, ‘Right, let’s get going. You’re not going to be able to get on a flight this evening so I’ll take you a scenic route. Gives us a break from Carole as well.’
