Page 66 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

Nina did. And there he was, George Jones, conservationist and wildlife expert, with a hundred thousand followers on Instagram. She scrolled through photo after photo of animals, endangered species from insects to elephants and pretty much everything in between. George, smiling next to a giant tortoise, George smiling holding a snake, George talking earnestly to camera as he walked around animal sanctuaries. The most recent picture was of an injured turtle at the local rescue centre.

Nina’s mind was reeling. ‘But – this is . . . I had no idea.’

‘Oh, yeah, he’s great. I saw him once, he came to do a talk at the university and I got a ticket, don’t you remember?’ Nina looked blank. ‘Well, you were probably busy with work. He was talking about the environment and endangered species; he was brilliant, very knowledgeable. Very charismatic. So, your turn.’ She pointed her fork at Nina, before refilling it and stuffing the contents into her mouth. ‘Spill,’ she said, around the food.

‘I – there isn’t much to say. I didn’t even like him at first, you know, because of the protests, and he was pretty rude actually so –’

‘Oh no, he couldn’t have been, must’ve been a misunderstanding.’

‘No, he was. But I think it was just because he was so fired up, and I thought he was just being a pain, quite honestly, but it’s okay now because Baba and I checked and the hotel have this sustainability policy so it’ll be fine. George says we can’t trust them, but I think he’s just –’

Heather was shaking her head. ‘You should double-check, you know. He’s probably right. He’s George Jones.’

‘I wish you’d stop saying that,’ Nina grumbled.

‘You like him now though.’ Heather was smirking. ‘You blushed like a tomato when he came over.’

Nina snorted. ‘You can talk, you nearly shook his hand off.’ Heather shrugged. ‘But yes, I suppose – he was just really kind when Baba had the panic attack, you know, he was – he listens. He – he understands stuff. You know?’ She frowned. ‘I don’t know, maybe you’re right about the hotel; I mean, I thought it was all above board, but the website was all in Greek, so I might have . . .’ She trailed off, doubt seeding in her mind. ‘I could ask Eirini to translate or something.’

Heather was nodding and trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk. ‘You should. So you and George have been hanging out?’

‘Well only because it turns out he likes climbing too. He’s really good at it actually, and he took me snorkelling and we saw the turtles and then . . .’

Heather stared, fork suspended in the air on its journey to her mouth. ‘Yes?’

‘Well, the other morning we had this moment; I thought we were going to kiss, but –’

‘Yes!’ Heather dropped her fork and clapped her hands together. ‘I knew it. I’m going to be George Jones’s sister-in-law!’

‘I – what?’ Nina laughed. ‘We’re not sisters.’

Heather shrugged. ‘As good as. Theo would adopt me like a shot if I asked him to.’

‘And it was nothing, I don’t even like him that way.’

Heather choked on her last mouthful of food. ‘Oh, come on. I’ve known you forever, remember? I can tell when you want to get fruity with someone.’

Nina laughed. ‘Get fruity? Are you twelve?’

Heather gave her a baleful look. ‘I work with little kids. Tell me more about my future brother-in-law.’

Nina sighed. ‘It’s not – I don’t know. We were swimming the other morning and there was this weird thing, I thought something was going to happen, but –’

‘Sounds romantic.’

Nina thought about the sunrise and the turtles and the gently lilting waves, of George so close to her, the intensity of his gaze. ‘Well, nothing happened, he just left.’

Heather frowned. ‘What, he just walked off?’

‘He said he couldn’t do this, and then he just left.’

Heather shook her head. ‘Someone broke his heart. I bet that’s it.’

‘Maybe it’s just as well. I mean, I’ve had enough of relationships for now, and he’s too much like Sam for me, isn’t he? That type that’s really focused on work and never has time for you. I’d always be the afterthought, like before.’

Heather gaped. ‘Are you mad?’ She waved her phone at Nina. ‘He’s a conservationist, he cares about the world, not his frumping bank balance. A hundred thousand followers. Books, talks, a YouTube channel.’ She snorted. ‘No, he is not like Sam.’

Chapter Thirty