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but she had never imagined it could be quite so lovely.
Shading her eyes against the low-slanting sunlight, she realised the villa sat on a promontory with the ocean to three sides. The water far below the cliffs was graded in colour from a white lace frill at the shoreline to palest blue at the midline, and then on to deepest Prussian blue where the ocean floor dropped away.
The gardens surrounding the villa were equally stunning. They combined formal and informal planting with great success, and were ablaze with colour. Beyond the stone patio she could see an infinity pool. She had hoped for a pool, and was longing for a swim, but there was already someone swimming there…
Meeting up with Tino when they were both half naked was a bad idea—but hadn’t the taxi driver mentioned steps leading to the beach, and even a funicular running down the face of the cliff? There had to be a way she could get to the sea without walking past the pool…
Unzipping her overnight case, Lisa plucked out the bikini she had packed in the hope of snatching a few moments in the Greek sunshine. Fortunately, she had remembered to bring her flip-flops too, as well as a wrap.
The stone steps were steep and worn away in some places, and Lisa was glad of the wooden handrail fixed to the rock. When she reached the halfway point she paused to look around and catch her breath. She gazed longingly at the tracks marking the path the funicular would take. If she could have taken that route she would have been down on the shore by now, but the cabin had been too close to the swimming pool for her to risk it, and the mechanism would have alerted Tino immediately had she been foolish enough to try.
The beach formed a tempting silvery crescent, and the sea had turned to turquoise, and seemed completely flat. Fingers of cloud stretched across the brightening horizon, and the air was sweetly scented. Best of all, there was no sign of Tino, so she could relax and the new day was hers for the taking…
Jumping down onto the beach, Lisa kicked off her flip-flops and dug her toes into the damp sand. It felt wonderful against her warm skin. Tugging off her wrap, she tossed it away and ran eagerly towards the sea.
A much older woman followed Lisa’s plunge into the sea with interest. The moment Lisa turned for shore she dipped down to collect the discarded wrap, and then walked down the sand to meet her.
Shaking her long chestnut hair out behind her like a banner, Lisa turned her face to the sun as she ploughed happily through the shallows. She never had time for a holiday, or even for a good swim. Feeling the sunshine on her face, and the tingle of the cool Aegean on her skin, was almost worth braving Tino’s lair for—
‘Yia Sou.’
Having thought she was alone, Lisa nearly jumped out of her skin at the friendly greeting. She recovered quickly, smiling her thanks as the elderly Greek woman handed over her wrap. ‘Kalimera.’
‘It is going to be a beautiful day,’ the older woman observed, gazing up into the sky.
For you, perhaps, Lisa thought, remembering her meeting later that morning with Tino. ‘Yes, it is,’ she agreed politely.
‘My name is Stella. I live over there in that small cottage…’ The woman pointed to a quaint whitewashed building with bright blue shutters and front door, set back a little from the beach. ‘I watched you swimming. You are good.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Won’t you join me for breakfast?’ Stella gazed down at the basket of freshly baked bread swinging from her arm.
Lisa’s stomach rumbled on cue, and they both laughed.
‘That’s very kind of you.’ Lisa was thankful to have found someone so friendly. Anything was preferable to eating breakfast alone on her balcony, where she knew she would only brood on the outcome of her meeting with Tino.
‘We will both join you, Ya-ya.’
‘Tino!’ Lisa stood back as the two embraced.
Stella was clearly overjoyed to see him, but Lisa resented the fact that her own face was burning. Why was it Tino always made her feel as if she had done something wrong? It was his behaviour that was outrageous. He was wearing a sun-bleached blue vest and frayed cut-off shorts, and might as well have been naked for all the toned, bronzed flesh on show. His feet were bare, and there was a dusting of sand on his limbs as if he had found time for a swim in the sea as well as his morning workout in the pool…while she was wearing a scanty bikini beneath a filmy wrap—not her battle clothes of choice.
‘Good morning, Lisa. I trust you slept well?’
‘I did, thank you.’ Lisa glanced at Stella, hoping she hadn’t picked up the undercurrents between them.
‘I have plenty of food for all of us. Come,’ Stella insisted, beckoning them towards her cottage.
There was a tug of amusement at one corner of Tino’s mouth, Lisa noticed as she hurried after Stella, and however she tried to mistime her stride he managed to keep in step with her. ‘I suppose you just happened by?’ Her tone was frosty.
‘Actually, I came to see Stella.’
Lisa’s curiosity flared. ‘Do you know her well?’
‘We’ve known each other for a number of years.’
‘I see.’
