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‘And very happy I am to be stuck too.’ Nikos smiled into the phone.
‘So go on—what are you waiting for? Off you go. Get a bottle of champagne opened!’
‘We can’t celebrate properly without you,’ Kate interjected quickly.
There was a pause before Sofia replied in a very knowing tone. ‘Oh, yes, I think you can...’
* * *
Standing nervously on the edge of the cliff, Kate looked down. A long, long way down. Sea birds swooped below her and sunlight sparkled on the vast expanse of blue water. She took in a deep breath of the tangy salty air. There was a stiff breeze up here, ruffling her hair, flapping her cream silk blouse against her chest. It was exhilarating, intoxicating... It made her feel alive.
When Nikos had suggested they should have a picnic lunch to celebrate Kate had immediately agreed. With a stab to her heart, she had known it might potentially be the last time she ever saw him. Now the court case was over she served no useful purpose in his life.
Tomorrow she was flying to London for a meeting with Rosebury’s, then back to New York. The thought of leaving Nikos, being parted from him for ever, filled her with a dread so heavy that it was simply too horrendous to contemplate. So Kate was going to live for the moment. If this was their last chance to spend some time together, she was going to grab it. Maybe the scars of their past were too deep, too painful ever to be overcome. But on a beautiful day like this, with the sun high in the sky and Nikos’s mood equally soaring, there was no way she was going to turn him down.
Although his choice of venue wasn’t for the faint-hearted...
Driving on the twisty coast road back towards the villa, which boasted a series of hairpin bends that had her hanging onto the edge of her seat, Nikos had suddenly pulled the car off the road in a spray of dust and told her that they were here. He had arranged for a picnic to be delivered to a cove at the foot of these cliffs. They just had to climb down to get there.
Neither of them was exactly dressed for rock-climbing—Nikos wearing tailored suit trousers and Kate equally formal in a smart navy skirt. But now, as Nikos stretched out his hand, promising to see her safely down to the bottom, Kate took it confidently, knowing he would do just that. Her faith in him was absolute.
Suddenly she realised he was the one man in the world she would trust with her life. But trusting him with her love...? That was a very different prospect.
Following a steep, overgrown pathway strewn with boulders, they picked their way down, Nikos a couple of steps ahead, frequently turning to stop and help Kate, his grip strong and warm as he took her hand or her arm, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he smiled at her. With the wind tossing his dark curls, Kate didn’t think she had ever seen him look more devastatingly handsome.
Near the bottom of the cliffs the rocks were wet and slippery, where a mountain stream trickled over them, so Nikos instructed her to put her arms around his neck. Sliding one hand under her thighs, he used the other to steady himself against the cliff-face. Pressed against his hot, muscled torso, her face buried into his neck, Kate breathed in his manly scent, her eyes closing with dizzy pleasure. She wished she could bottle this moment to keep for ever.
Their destination was a perfect little cove of fine white sand, encircled by cliffs that made it completely private. Miraculously, the picnic was already there, waiting for them. A white awning had been erected to give them some shade, with cotton rugs spread underneath and a neat row of cool boxes lined up in readiness.
Laughing at Kate’s naïve question about how his staff had managed to get all this stuff down the cliff, Nikos explained that it had come by boat. Shielding his eyes against the sun, he pointed out the direction of his villa and the launch boat, quietly anchored a few metres from the shore, that had been left for their return. He had clearly thought of everything.
Even, Kate discovered, a neatly packed bag especially for her, containing sunscreen, a wide-brimmed straw hat and a pretty white bikini that fitted perfectly when Kate nervously slipped it on. When she expressed her surprise, Nikos matter-of-factly informed her that Agní had chosen it.
With the contents of the cool boxes spread out on the rugs before them, they ate lunch at a leisurely pace, sharing morsels of the delicious food between them, savouring it with quiet groans of appreciation.
