Page 65 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

Nina glowered at her. Eirini grinned and turned back towards the café. ‘Oh look,’ she said. ‘And here he is. George! Come and meet Nina’s friend.’

Nina swallowed as George walked over, smiling. ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘I’ve been meaning to message you.’

Nina’s heart was beating a little fast. She’d been worried things would be awkward when she saw him again, but as she looked up at him, basking in his easy smile, she found she was just glad he was there.

‘This is my friend, Heather,’ she said. ‘Heather, this is George.’

‘Jones,’ Heather blurted.

Nina stared at her in confusion. How could she know George’s surname?

Heather was looking unusually flustered, and she leapt to her feet, knocking against the table so that coffee spilled out of her cup, holding out her hand for George to shake. ‘George Jones. I know you – I mean, I – I follow you on Instagram.’ She was shaking his hand so hard that Nina feared she’d dislocate his shoulder. ‘You do great work, it must be so satisfying, you know, knowing you’re doing so much good. I mean, achieving so much. It’s really – it’s great.’

‘Oh, thanks,’ George said, as though this was all perfectly normal. He gently extracted his hand from Heather’s grip, subtly flexing his fingers as though they’d been squeezed to within an inch of life. ‘What do you do?’

‘Oh nothing so glamorous; I’m a teacher.’

‘Must be very satisfying too,’ George said. ‘Great work, shaping young minds and all that. That’s a really important job.’

Heather shrugged, her cheeks turning a little pink. ‘I love it.’

‘Sounds like those kids are lucky to have you. Well, I’d better be going.’ He smiled at them both. ‘Yia-Yia has plans for me this afternoon. Lovely to meet you, Heather. And Nina, I’ll message you. Maybe we can fit in that climb soon?’

And with that he was gone, leaving them both staring after him, until Heather kicked Nina on the shin and leaned over the table.

‘So you going to tell me what’s going on with you and the famous George Jones, or what?’ she asked.

Yiannis arrived with their food, spanakopita for Nina, stuffed peppers for Heather and a Greek salad to share. They smiled and thanked him, the conversation on hold for a moment. Nina was bursting with questions, and from the meaningful looks Heather kept giving her, she guessed she was too.

As soon as Yiannis walked away, they both spoke over each other.

‘What do you mean, famous?’

‘So spill, what’s happened with you two?’

Nina pointed her fork at her friend. ‘You first.’

Heather cut into her pepper and took a bite. ‘Well, it’s – that’s George Jones.’ She covered her mouth as she chewed, closing her eyes. ‘Oh my god, this is delicious.’

‘I’m none the wiser.’

Heather opened her eyes. ‘You don’t know him? Seriously? You know – George Jones.’

‘You keep saying that but I don’t know what you’re on about.’

‘The influencer,’ Heather said, through a mouthful of food, and quickly shovelling another forkful into her mouth. ‘Wow, this is amazing.’

‘He – what?’

‘He’s like a conservationist.’

‘I know.’

‘Well there you go then.’

Nina did not feel that she’d gone anywhere. ‘What? He’s a conservationist influencer?’

Heather, hunched over her food and barely looking up from her plate, nodded. ‘Look him up.’