Page 77 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

Her heart stuttered for a moment when, as she was happily searching for quirky handles for the wooden chests of drawers she’d earmarked for the bedrooms, she found little iron ones shaped like turtles.

All her broken dreams came flooding back as she remembered George joking about turtle-themed décor when she’d confessed to him her dream of running the guesthouse. She hadn’t thought, then, that she’d be living her dream with Theo in Metalios while George was back home with his wife.

She hovered over the image of the turtle handles, finding herself adding them to her basket, her heart breaking a little. But the turtles were the reason she and Theo had decided to stay; they deserved a place in the guesthouse.

Nina sighed, staring glumly out of the window at the sun-baked patio. How could she be so miserable living in paradise? Theo was out with Yiannis, ‘sourcing food’, which was apparently another name for having a long lunch at a good restaurant in the nearby town. Nina had been avoiding all her favourite spots, for fear of running into Maria. She’d heard on the grapevine that George had gone back home, so at least there would be no awkward encounters with him.

Still, she couldn’t hide away forever. And she was sorely in need of some good food and a delicious cool drink, as well as some good company. If Yiannis was out, there was a good chance Eirini and Alex were running the café. If she bumped into Maria, she would give her a piece of her mind.

Stepping out into the courtyard, her mind full of ideas for trailing plants, blue ceramic flowerpots and mosaic artwork on the walls, she shook her head free of the constant noise and breathed in the herb-scented air. Over the little white-painted brick wall, the view of the sea far below was mesmerising, the blue-green waters and slab of pale sand.

Nina stopped to admire it, resting her hands on the rough wall, the bracelet clinking against stone. She still couldn’t believe that this was her home now. This was her life, the one she had chosen, and a small spark of anticipation ignited in her belly. George or no George, she was here, Theo was here, and they were making a life in the beautiful Kefalonian village of Metalios. The future looked good.

Feeling lighter than she had for a while, she walked to the café. Eirini was there, in her apron, chatting to some customers as she leaned against their table, one hand on her hip and another balancing a couple of dirty plates. She waved when she saw Nina, dumped the plates on another table, and started untying her apron. Milo, who had been lying under the table, immediately trotted out and began nibbling on a crust of bread on one of the plates.

‘I haven’t seen you for so long!’ she said, kissing Nina’s cheek and walking with her to the table in the corner.

‘Aren’t you working?’ Nina asked, laughing, as Eirini sat with her.

‘Coffee break,’ she said with a grin. She waved at Alex and he nodded, smiling, arriving a short while later with two coffees, Nina’s in a larger cup for her milk.

Eirini took a sip, her gaze resting on Nina. ‘How’ve you been?’ she asked gently. She picked at some sugar grains on the table, sweeping them into a pile and brushing them onto the ground. ‘I heard about George.’

Nina shrugged, pouring the warm milk into her coffee. ‘Did you know he’s married?’

Eirini shook her head vigorously. ‘Of course not! I wouldn’t have encouraged you if I had any idea . . . He used to come with a woman, a few years ago, but he was on his own this time and he’d been here so long, I assumed he must be single.’

‘So did I,’ Nina said dryly.

Eirini reached out and clasped her hand. ‘I am sorry.’

Nina sighed. ‘I’m okay. It’s just – it’s just kind of humiliating, you know? I feel like an idiot. And we kissed and I – I feel so bad, but I honestly didn’t know. I’d never do that to another woman if I knew.’ She remembered all too well the pain of discovering Sam was cheating; she’d never knowingly inflict that on someone else and couldn’t bear the thought of being the person he’d cheated on his wife with.

Eirini leaned forward in her seat. ‘Of course you wouldn’t. Why should you feel bad? He is the one pretending and not telling the truth! No. You did nothing wrong. And we’re all very happy to have you as a new neighbour.’ She grinned. ‘You and Theo. Although if he keeps playing hooky with Yiannis so that Alex and I are left to run the place, I might be not so pleased!’

Nina laughed. ‘Yes, I can see you’re run off your feet. You must be exhausted!’

Eirini grinned. ‘Exactly, so I think it’s time we had a lunch break, no? Let’s order.’

She waved at Alex, who walked over. Nina didn’t mention that Eirini’s coffee break seemed to be running straight into her lunch break.

‘Did you give the necklace back to your friend?’ she asked.

Eirini nodded. ‘She was very happy to have it back. It had been a gift, so . . .’ She shrugged. ‘Did you hear about Vassilis?’

‘No, what’s he done now?’ Nina turned the bangle on her wrist, leaning forward in her seat.

Eirini cocked her head, a glint in her eye. ‘It’s more what’s been done to him – this family he worked for, they’ve told everyone that he stole from them, they’ve left reviews of the business, you know, and it’s Vassilis’s father that owns it, and he was –’ She mimicked an explosion with her hands. ‘Boom.’

Nina couldn’t help feeling a stab of satisfaction. ‘So what happened?’

Eirini leaned forward, lowering her voice in a conspiratorial manner. ‘They have kicked him out.’

‘What?’

‘Yes.’ Eirini nodded, looking gleeful. ‘He is out of the business and out of the flat, you know his baba owned it, so he had to move away. Gone!’

Nina sat back, a smile tugging at her lips, a small feeling of peace settling over her. She had bigger, more recent problems than Vassilis, but still, the knowledge that he’d paid in some way for what he did to her and Theo pleased her enormously.