Eyeing him cautiously, she imagined he might be a bit resentful about the fact she’d kind of led him on last night, only to give him the cold shoulder. To her surprise, however, he bent over and kissed her on the mouth.
‘Now come on, get up! Breakfast’s ready.’
‘I can’t,’ she said with a groan. ‘This bed’s too comfortable.’
She rolled over, burying her face in the pillow, and he smacked her playfully on the bare bottom.
‘Don’t!’ She laughed.
‘I’ll do it again unless you get a move on. The others are downstairs already. You’re the last one up.’
Edie’s heart sank slightly as she followed him down the stairs, through the hallway and into the kitchen. She’d managed to forget about Mac and Jessica overnight, but sensing their presence in the garden now brought everything back.
‘What sort of mood is Mac in?’ she whispered to Ralph, when he stopped for a moment to fetch a bottle of water from the fridge.
‘Fine. Shh! He’s right by the back door.’
‘Morning!’ Edie pinned a wide smile on her face before she stepped onto the patio.
Mac and Hannah were side by side at the table and Jessica sat opposite, nursing a mug of coffee. They all looked up when they heard Edie and smiled back.
‘How did you sleep?’ Hannah asked.
‘Like a log. You?’
‘Same. The bed’s so comfy and it was amazing waking up to that view.’
The table was laid and the food looked very tempting: there was a basket of crusty bread rolls, an assortment of jams and honey, thick Greek yoghurt, fruit, orange juice, a jug of frothy hot milk and a large, almost full cafetière.
No one had eaten yet; they must have been waiting for Edie.
‘Yum!’ she said, sitting down beside Jessica. ‘Who did all this?’
‘Your husband.’ Mac’s eyes were wide open. ‘We came down and it was all ready.’
‘Do you get this sort of treatment every morning?’ asked Hannah, pushing the cafetière in Edie’s direction; she knew how much her friend liked coffee.
‘I wish.’ Edie filled her mug to about the two-thirds mark and topped it up with hot milk. ‘To be fair, he does bring me a cup of tea in bed most mornings. Iamlucky.’
Jessica remained silent while they ate, with an open novel face down on the table beside her. Edie noticed how precisely she prepared her bread roll, making sure there was a thin covering of butter and honey all over, and how neatly she ate, dabbing her mouth with a napkin after almost every bite.
‘Are you enjoying this?’ Edie asked, picking up the book and examining its title and cover. ‘I’ve heard it’s very good.’
‘Yes, very much.’ Jessica cleared her throat, as if she didn’t wish to pursue the conversation, and took a sip of orange juice.
There was no mistaking the message, so Edie quickly replaced the book and asked Hannah to pass her the basket of bread rolls. Perhaps Jessica preferred complete quiet at breakfast time, she thought. Maybe she normally read while eating. She must be accustomed to being alone, after all.
When they’d finished, Ralph and Mac offered to clear away while the women headed into the village. It was almost 10.30a.m. and, as Ralph pointed out, if they left it much later, they mightn’t want to go at all as it would be too hot.
‘You don’t need to buy any more clothes,’ he joked to Edie when she said goodbye. ‘You don’t wear half of them as it is.’
‘I told you, I’m not looking for clothes.’
‘Hm. I bet you come back with something.’
The women were a colourful-looking trio as they left the villa behind and headed down the mountain towards the village. Edie was wearing a pink shirt, blue shorts, sneakers and a baseball cap, wedged tightly over her curly hair.
Hannah was in a straw hat, sandals and the white dress she’d worn last night, while Jessica had sports gear on: black trainers, running shorts and an orange vest top. A longish plait hung over one shoulder.
