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Hannah raised her eyebrows at Rob.
‘Um, yeah,’ said Rob, clearing his throat. ‘It is, actually. Her name’s Hannah, and you’re on speakerphone.’
‘Hello, Hannah,’ said Rob’s mum cheerfully. ‘We’d love to see you both, and we’re only here for a few days. Is there any chance you could come back?’
Rob looked helplessly at Hannah, who shrugged and twirled her finger to indicate ‘turn around’.
‘OK, we’ll be back in a couple of hours,’ said Rob. ‘Are you staying at the hotel?’
‘Your father’s just sorting that out now. Shall I ask him to book you an extra room? Or two rooms?’
He looked at Hannah, who smiled shyly and held up a single finger. ‘One room is fine. Thanks, Mum.’
‘All right, we’ll see you later. Sounds like we have a lot to talk about.’
‘Hmm,’ said Rob, looking like he’d rather be horsewhipped. ‘See you later. Love you.’
He ended the call before his mum could offer declarations of love in return, and blew out his cheeks. ‘I’m really sorry,’ he said. ‘I totally understand if you want to drop me off at the hotel and do your own thing.’
Hannah smiled, rationalising that a few days of tennis, swimming and those lovely big Club Colina beds might be pretty nice, actually. And meeting Rob’s parents might be fun too. ‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘Let’s just take a couple of days to relax. We can play some tennis, you can hang out with your mum and dad, and then we’ll head off again. We’ve still got time.’
‘Do you mind if I drive slowly? I’m not sure I’m ready to face a lecture from Mum and Dad about getting fired.’
‘Right, but that wasn’t your fault,’ said Hannah. ‘Do you think they’ll be angry?’
Rob gave a hollow laugh. ‘Oh, they won’t be angry. They’ll be disappointed, which is SO much worse.’
‘Ugh,’ said Hannah. ‘I know how that feels. Pray you never meet my mum, she’s QUEEN of “I’m not angry, just disappointed”.’ She made quote marks in the air with her fingers, and thought about eighteen years of mother–daughter conversations.We’ve talked about this, Hannah. It’s not your turn to speak right now. Your yia-yia would be so sad to hear what people in the church are saying.
‘I’d actually really like to meet your mum one day. It seems only fair, since you’re about to meet mine.’
‘Hmm,’ said Hannah, picturing the interrogation Rob would get about his family, his career prospects and the role the Lord played in his life. ‘Is yours a fervently religious and permanently angry Greek mama who kept a massive secret from her children for the best part of two decades?’
‘Well, no,’ said Rob, pulling a face. ‘Maybe I’ll let you sort that out first.’
Hannah looked out of the window as Rob made a U-turn in a dusty lay-by, swapping the view of the mountains for rolling hills and the tiniest sliver of azure-blue sea on the horizon. Very little about this trip so far had been what she’d imagined, but she was here, with Rob, and regardless of which direction they were going in, it still felt like the right place to be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
‘Ready?’ said Rob, taking Hannah’s hand as they walked through the hotel towards the pool. They’d left their bags in the car, not sure whether they’d be staying in the main hotel or one of the fancy little annexes scattered around the grounds.
‘I’m ready,’ said Hannah, giving him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. He knew she was also thinking about later, when they’d finally be alone in their hotel room. The anticipation was delicious, but also absolute torture.
He spotted his parents before they saw him, occupying a couple of sun loungers by the pool, both tanned from their trip to Bermuda and soaking up the golden hour before the clock struck gin o’clock and they could acceptably move on to the next phase of the evening. His mother looked up as he approached and shielded her eyes with her hand, before breaking into a huge grin and leaping up to pull him into a hug.
‘Hey, Mum,’ laughed Rob, prising himself from Kate’s grip so he could hug his dad. ‘This is Hannah.’ He looked at his parents side-by-side and wondered what Hannah made of them. His dad looked handsome and well put-together in navy shorts and a white polo shirt with two-tone deck shoes, a Panama hat casually tossed on the nearby table. But his mum had gone all out in a bright green bikini that had been artfully covered up with some kind of semi-transparent, ethnic print wrap, paired with bejewelled sandals and a huge white sun hat, and finished with a selection of jangly bangles around her elegant wrists. It was a statement poolside outfit, and Rob knew that his mother’s choice of clothes was never accidental.
‘Hello, Hannah,’ said Kate with a warm smile, giving her a much gentler embrace. ‘How lovely to meet you. I’m Kate.’
‘And I’m Guy,’ said Rob’s dad, joining his wife and giving Hannah his most dazzling smile. If Hannah was taken aback by their slightly intense parent energy and display of high-end dentistry, she didn’t show it.
Rob pondered the performance for a moment, then realised that this was the first time he’d ever introduced a woman to his parents, which was ironic considering that, on this occasion, Hannah wasn’t technically his girlfriend. But his mum had clearly decided that they might be meeting ‘the one’, so they’d both made the effort to look casually glamorous. It was kind of sweet, if a little terrifying.
‘It’s lovely to meet you both,’ said Hannah. ‘Rob’s told me a lot about you.’
‘Your dad will help with your bags, Rob,’ said Kate, wafting Rob away. ‘Leave Hannah here with me so we can get to know each other a bit.’
Rob nodded, knowing he was now surplus to requirements and Hannah was about to get the Kate Baxter third degree. He wondered what Hannah would say about the nature of their relationship, and how well his mother would take the crushing news that they weren’t exactly love’s young dream. He gave Hannah an apologetic smile and turned to lead his dad back to the car park, but not before his mother called him back.
