Page 71 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

Theo cleared his throat and stood up. ‘Well, thank you for bringing her home,’ he said, holding out a hand to George and looking pointedly at the door.

‘No, it’s fine.’ George stood, shaking Theo’s hand. ‘I need to get back to Yia-Yia anyway.’

Nina looked up at him. ‘You really don’t have to go, you could stay for –’

He smiled, gently stroking her cheek. ‘It’s okay,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll message you. Look after yourself, okay?’

She nodded, watching as he left, wanting to call him back. The accident had left her feeling raw and exposed; she had no resources left for pretence or bluster.

George was kind and clever, passionate and handsome, and geeky in a way that she found disarming. She felt both excited and safe when she was with him. He had been focused on her when she’d needed him to be, hadn’t he? Perhaps she’d been wrong to think he would ignore her the way Sam had.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Eirini frowned as she read the information on her phone, shaking her head, and Nina’s stomach sank. They sat in the café courtyard with Heather, sipping portokolada. Nina fingered the bruise on her shoulder and winced.

‘Is it not looking good?’

Eirini pulled a face and shrugged. ‘It’s – a lot of jargon, you know what these businesses are like.’

Nina leaned forward in her seat. ‘But it – it says they have a sustainability policy, right? They – Baba spoke to them and they said they have someone who advises them and they can do it without harming the local . . .’

Eirini was looking sceptical. ‘Yes, sustainability policy and they talk about energy saving but . . . nothing about local environment. And this hotel chain, I know it, there’s been –’ She tapped on her phone. ‘Yes, see, they don’t have a good record, they do this – build big complexes and the effects on the area are . . .’ She shook her head. ‘Not good.’

Nina’s skin chilled over, despite the heat of the day, and she thought of George, of his warning that they couldn’t trust the hotel chain. He was right. Of course he was right. She and Heather exchanged a worried look.

‘But Theo spoke to them,’ she said. ‘So maybe this time they’re . . .’

She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the sentence. Her friends were looking at her with an expression that was dubious to say the least, and she knew in her heart that building a hotel complex in Metalios wasn’t the right thing to do. Theo, in his innocence and eagerness, had been too happy to accept their explanations and excuses. He’d been duped.

Heather stretched out her legs and leaned back in her chair. ‘I think you should just stay,’ she said. ‘Do it yourselves. You know that’s what you want.’

Nina thought of life in Metalios, of the little village square and all the friends she’d made, of the beach and the room she’d decorated. Of the turtles, and of George.

‘Right,’ she said, looking from Heather to Eirini. ‘We need a plan then, don’t we?’

Over the next hour, they worked out a plan; Nina and Heather hurried to buy food to go back to the house with, and Eirini was tasked with speaking to as many people in Metalios as she could.

‘Definitely the right decision. You seem more yourself here,’ Heather said as they wandered through the market, picking out food. ‘You’re just – back to your old self.’

‘From before I lost the job?’

Heather picked up a plump, ripe peach and breathed in its scent. ‘No, before that. I mean, from when we were kids.’

Nina stopped as she was choosing olives. Heather had known her since primary school, and had been there through the worst and best parts of her life. She’d never said anything like this before. ‘What do you mean?’

Heather put the peach in her basket and began inspecting apples. ‘You know, you were always a bit of a tearaway when you were a kid.’ She grinned.

‘I was not!’ But Nina was already remembering some of her childhood escapades.

Heather snorted. ‘Oh, come on. Remember when you ran out of class and climbed to the top of the apparatus and wouldn’t come down? And when you made a den in the woods and hid and no one could find you for hours?’

‘Well, that was just . . .’

‘It was awesome. Why do you think I was friends with you?’ Heather grinned, and Nina found herself smiling too as she remembered the carefree mischief of those days. ‘You turned into kind of a serious grown-up. I’m glad you’ve started climbing and doing DIY and swimming with dolphins or whatever.’

‘Turtles.’

Heather shrugged. ‘Same difference.’