Page 108 of Never Too Late to Date

‘You weren’t meant to hear that.’

‘You don’t say.’

Suzie willed herself not to go red. She needed to dig herself out of this one, pronto.

‘Gianni has said that he’s happy to go on a couple of fishing trips with you before you leave.’

Christian gave the man opposite him a thumbs-up.

‘That would be great. I’d love that. I’ll get your number from your mother, and we can arrange it.’

‘Sure.’

Panos moved under the large, faded umbrella too, bringing up the rear, and slapped Christian on the back.

‘This guy knows a lot about farming. We’ve had quite a chat about organic methods, amongst other things. He’s going to come back soon and see the whole production.’

Suzie could see that Panos was already under the Christian spell. Just how long was the man planning to stay on the island? She’d hoped it was just a few days more at most.

Lydia had silently joined the party.

‘Any more coffee for anyone? And I’ve just taken a batch of biscuits out of the oven.’

Christian put up his hand.

‘I’d love one more, and the biscuits sound fabulous. But I don’t want to put you to any trouble. I’m in if there are any other takers?’

Christian’s eyes met hers, and she mouthed the word ‘creep’ out of everyone else’s eyeline, although Lydia was beaming with joy. Did the woman ever take a break from the stove?

Panos and Giannis gave an enthusiastic ‘yes’ as well.

Seated again, with warm biscuits and hot coffee, Christian looked at each of them in turn.

‘Thank you, all of you, for being so welcoming. I know this is a difficult situation. But I hope, somehow, some good can come out of this, and we can find a way forward. Giannis has kindly agreed to come out deep-sea fishing with me, which is one of my passions, and I’d like to get to know him better without treading on anyone’s toes.’

Panos nodded several times, and Lydia covered his hand with hers.

Suzie felt the weight of Giannis’s gaze across the table.

‘I have explained to Mama that I will never be able to call you father, Christian, and I hope you can accept that. I only have one baba.’

Panos beamed with pride, but Suzie could see the hurt in Christian’s eyes, although he recovered quickly and managed a nod.

‘Fair enough.’

‘But I think there is a way that you can become a little more involved with our family…’

Everyone at the table leant forward to hear what Giannis was about to say.

‘I wasn’t going to tell you all today; I was going to wait another couple of weeks, but as we’re all here, it seems appropriate. Kat is pregnant…’

Before he could get any further, Panos had enveloped him in a bear hug, and Suzie rushed round to the other side of the table to hug her son too.

‘That’s wonderful, Gianni mou. How far along is she?’

‘We’ve passed the three-month stage, and she’s feeling well.’

Lydia came in for a hug of her own, and Christian settled for a handshake.