Page 112 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Mmmm, sounds gorgeous. I’ll bring Dolly along too. She seems a bit mizz without Bruce.’

‘Yes, do go and fetch her, poor little thing.’

‘Will do. And can I ask you one favour?’

‘Of course.’

‘Can you keep my part in this a secret for the time being, please? Until everything has gone through.’

Seamus’s smile made him look years younger.

‘Whatever you want.’

Any questions about what exactly her role would be, and where she’d live, would have to be put on hold. She couldn’t keep bunking down in the volunteer quarters once she was a co-owner.

It hit her as they stepped out into the late June sunshine. As long as the deal went through smoothly, the glittering sea in the distance and the azure sky above would be hers to wonder at whenever she wanted. She no longer had to leave the sanctuary in a few weeks, the island she’d come to love, or indeed Greece itself.

‘I’ll just get Dolly and see you down there.’

Arm in arm, her new business partners waved their goodbyes.

When she arrived at the café, Maeve and Seamus were deep in conversation, their heads bent together. They both shut up when she took a seat, and Dolly dived under the table and flopped down. For one horrible moment she thought they’d changed their minds.

‘Vicky…’ Seamus began.

Her heart sank. Maeve pulled at his sleeve.

‘Oh, hurry up, or the poor girl will think there’s a problem.’

It was nice to be referred to as a girl, but this poor girl was certainly on edge.

‘We’ve been thinking about your living arrangements…’

‘Me too.’

‘For goodness’s sake, Seamus, spit it out. What he’s trying to say is that we want to offer you the little cottage up past the outbuildings as part of the deal.’

Vicky pictured the one-storey whitewashed building in her mind. It was quite big enough for her and Dolly. It looked more than a little like Alex’s place.

‘That would be amazing. Thank you.’

‘It needs some work, mind. It’s been used for storage all these years. You’d basically have to gut the inside and start from scratch.’

‘That’s fine. I did that with my flat. Being on my own, I’ve got quite good at DIY, and I love the idea of putting my own stamp on something.’

She’d certainly be adding a lot more colour than she’d seen in Alex’s place. Some deep Greek blues, and splashes of lemon yellow and hot pink, would suit her. Not that it was a design competition between the two of them. However, his solid wooden furniture and floor tiles were very appealing. She’d have to ask him where he’d got it from, when or, more accurately, if they got over last night.

She cursed herself for even thinking about last night, as the blood rushed to her face. Hopefully Maeve and Seamus would write it off as a hot flush.

‘And I can easily rent out my flat in Liverpool and use the money to fund the renovations.’

Seamus patted her arm.

‘That’s grand. We’ll pitch in as well whenever we can.’

A carafe of rosé arrived at the table, and he poured a big measure into each of their glasses.

‘I hope you don’t mind, but we ordered for the three of us. As you know, things can take a little time and Maeve’s starving.’