Page 74 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

And George was a part of that dream. She had imagined them walking this beach, swimming in these waters, snorkelling with Maria. What would become of them now? What would become of Metalios when Theo sold the house to the hotel chain?

She dropped her face to her hands and wept. She couldn’t bear to think about it.

Heather placed an arm round her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. ‘I’m sorry, mate. I know you had your heart set on it. I don’t like to speak ill of people but your dad’s being a right winkle. Pardon my French.’

Despite her distress, Nina snorted a laugh that turned into peals as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

Heather looked confused. ‘What?’

‘A right winkle?’ She hiccupped as the laughter settled.

Heather grinned and shrugged.

Nina sighed, wiping her eyes. ‘You’re such a weirdo,’ she said fondly.

Heather nudged her shoulder. ‘You too, miss mountain climbing, snorkelling, Doors fan.’

‘Lucky we found each other then.’ She laid her head on Heather’s shoulder.

‘I suppose so.’

They sat that way for a while as the sky began to lighten and the sun peeped up from the horizon. Nina fought the closing of her eyelids.

‘Oh,’ Heather murmured, grasping Nina’s hand. ‘Look.’

Nina sat up to see what Heather was pointing out; it was a turtle, slipping through the water, its little head bobbing above the waves. She smiled, feeling the same enchantment she always did, and a stab of terrible sorrow at what might happen to these creatures when the hotel was built.

‘Theo told me about them,’ Heather said softly.

‘Baba did?’

Heather nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from the water, where several turtles now swam as the fishing boats made their way out to sea. ‘Yeah, he said his uncle used to bring him here and they’d watch them. He used to swim with them sometimes, didn’t he tell you?’

Nina stared. Theo had never spoken to her about the turtles, other than to dismiss her fears about what might happen to them. ‘Right,’ she said, standing up and brushing the sand from her legs. ‘Let’s go.’

She held out a hand and hauled Heather to her feet. ‘Where are we going?’ Heather asked.

Nina was already marching ahead. ‘To get Baba.’

Chapter Thirty-Three

He was sitting, downcast, on the bed in the room she’d done up when they arrived, and he clearly hadn’t slept. He looked up and sighed when they walked in.

‘All I want in this life is what’s best for you, my Antheia. I promised your mama. And I will do it, even if you don’t want me to. But . . .’ He looked around the room and then at her, his expression miserable. ‘I don’t want to hurt this place. I don’t want to hurt you. Am I making this big mistake?’

Nina knelt at his feet. ‘Come with us, Baba,’ she said softly.

‘What?’

‘Please. I want to show you something.’

For a moment she thought he was going to refuse. Her heart began to race; this was her last attempt to stop the hotel complex, and if it didn’t work then all hope was lost. She’d failed, and Metalios would be changed forever, changed for the worse, because Theo was trying to do right by her. Nina waited, Heather chewing a nail as she stood in the doorway, watching.

He heaved himself up, following without questioning where they were going or why. Nina’s heart leapt. Please let this work. This had to work.

They walked to the beach in silence, each too distracted by their own thoughts to even comment on the beauty of their surroundings as the sky flushed pink with the sunrise.

Theo walked with them to the water’s edge, and they stood either side of him, each taking his hand. The white boats bobbed on the gentle waves, and turtles glided around them, a little head breaking the surface of the water here, a flipper reaching out there.