Page 55 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

She nodded. ‘And a starfish, and loads of fish.’

‘It’s great place to snorkel.’ He panted a little as he spoke, treading water next to her. ‘The water’s so clear, and there’s so much sea life here. It’s still pretty undisturbed. You know, there’s a place where you can jump from the cliff into the sea, near where we’re going to climb. Want to try it? We could climb then swim?’

He grinned, and Nina nodded enthusiastically, already imagining the thrill of soaring through the air and into the crystal waters below.

Maria appeared, yanking off her mask and spitting water, her hair plastered to her head. She smiled widely. ‘So beautiful, all this fishes! I’ve missed this, so glad to be back at last.’

‘It’s amazing,’ Nina agreed. ‘Thank you for letting me join you.’

‘Of course.’ Maria nodded. ‘But I want to warm up on the beach now, you two stay in for a bit.’

George nodded, and they watched as she swam back to shore, her arms slicing through the water in an effortless front crawl.

‘Does she always get back out so quickly?’ Nina asked as they watched her walk up the beach, shaking out her wet hair.

‘No,’ George said, bobbing next to her. ‘But maybe she’s tired – first time back in the water since she hurt her foot.’

Maria hadn’t seemed tired as she’d powered through the water to the beach. But George knew her better than Nina did.

‘Hey, come here,’ he said, his smile bright. ‘I want to show you something.’

He touched her arm and then reattached his snorkel, diving down. She followed, swallowed by the soundless world of the sea, swimming after him, past fishes and seaweed, until he turned to her and pointed. And there, gliding below them, was a turtle.

They floated together, watching as the majestic creature slowly swam just above the seabed, turning its head occasionally. At one point it looked up, appearing to look at Nina and George as it went on its way. Nina held her breath, hardly daring to move for fear that she would scare this beautiful animal away. But it swam on, unperturbed.

Nina and George surfaced. She pulled out her snorkel. ‘Oh, wow. How did you know it was there?’

‘Well, I am a turtle-whisperer,’ he said, winking behind his mask. ‘Honestly? I saw it earlier. They’re pretty slow, I knew it wouldn’t have gone far.’

They swam to the shore together, Nina matching George’s strong strokes. When the water became too shallow they walked, pulling off their masks, and when Nina stumbled as a wave caught her knees, George reached out to take her hand and steady her. They walked that way to the beach, and Nina deliberately did not let herself wonder why she didn’t let go, once she’d found her footing.

She pulled off her mask and shook out her hair as they walked to where Maria lay on a beach towel, apparently dozing in the sun. George touched her hand briefly.

‘I heard you saying that you’re trying to persuade Theo not to go ahead with the hotel. I’m so glad.’

Nina turned to him as they spread out their towels next to Maria and sat down. There was a slight mark on his face where the mask had been, and his eyes were startling bright blue against his tan. A sprinkle of sand clung to his lower lip, and she fought the urge to brush it away.

She sighed. ‘I did try, but . . . he’s such a stubborn old sod.’ She shook her head. They spoke quietly so as not to disturb Maria, although Nina was sure she’d seen her half-open an eye as they approached. ‘I want to persuade him that we can run it, but I don’t know if he’ll change his mind. But it doesn’t matter; he spoke to the buyers and they have this eco-consultant, so everything’s going to be fine. No harm done to the wildlife.’

George frowned. He stared out to sea, squinting slightly against the sun, and bit his lip. Nina could feel his disappointment keenly, and she couldn’t understand it; whatever happened, even if they sold to the hotel chain, the turtles were safe. ‘Still, I don’t trust these people,’ he said. ‘These developers are notorious for not being entirely honest.’

Beside them, Maria gave a few gentle and not altogether convincing snores. They both glanced at her, frowning.

‘Well – I think it’s all above board, he spoke to them about the turtles and he said it’s going to be fine, so . . . I will try to get him to agree to us doing it instead. It’s just, he really seems to be set on this plan, because he seems to think it’s the right thing for me. And what with time running out, I don’t know if –’

‘Time running out?’

‘Yes, he said there’s a meeting set up in a few weeks to finalise it all, but he seems to think it’s basically a done deal. He’s seen the plans. You were right about the bar and everything, but they said they can do it without . . .’

George frowned and shook his head. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak Maria lurched to a sitting position, her hair sticking up on one side, scowling.

‘What’s all this? I knew that Theo was doing this all wrong, I knew it, I will give him a piece of my mind.’

She was on her feet, pulling her wrap on, struggling as it snagged on her sandy skin. She pulled her sunhat on and glared down at them.

George rolled his eyes. ‘I thought you were asleep, Yia-Yia. How could you possibly know what we were talking about?’

Maria snorted. ‘Pfft. I was asleep but then I woke up and heard you. No mystery.’ She crossed her arms grumpily and kicked the sand a little with her now-recovered foot.