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‘Then allow me to take you out on my boat.’
‘No, you really don’t have to do that.’
Christos grinned, a gesture that caused his cute dimples to reappear. ‘That’s settled, then. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at six p.m. Bring your camera.Yassou, Suzie.’
And with a quick final glance over his shoulder, Christos continued on his “daily jog” towards the stone archway that led to the main road, his curls bouncing high in the air as he turned left and disappeared from sight. Suzie shook her head and sighed, then headed back into the gallery, desperately in need of the coffee Katerina had promised, although grateful her new friend hadn’t been around to witness the sign-hanging debacle.
She wondered what kind of boat Christos owned.
She didn’t want to be presumptuous but judging from the slightly dishevelled state of his attire, she didn’t think it would be a sleek ninety-foot yacht with smart upholstered seats and a fully stocked cocktail bar – not that that was her kind of thing. Shepreferredfrayed, ruffled, tousled, and crumpled to fake finery and contrived elegance any day.
She only hoped that the vessel was seaworthy.
Maybe Katerina could lend her a life jacket.
Chapter Seven
‘Hi, Suzie, thanks for doing the sign; it looks fantastic. What do you think of your coffee?’
Suzie took a tentative sip from the cup – emblazoned with the blue and white logo ofTaverna Giorgos– that Katerina had handed to her and almost swooned. Rich, dark, smooth with maybe just a smidgeon more sugar than she was used to. Nevertheless, it was delicious.
‘Wow! This has to be one of the best coffees I’ve ever tasted!’
‘Told you.’ Katerina smiled, swallowing another mouthful of her own coffee as though it was the elixir of life. ‘Greek coffee is the best in the world! I wasn’t sure how sweet you liked your coffee, so I went with aglykosfor you; neither too bitter nor too sweet, just right, eh?’
‘It’s perfect,efharistó.’
‘Parakaló. Oh, look, our first customers of the day! Why don’t you take the guy in the pink polo shirt, and I’ll take the couple with the sunburnt shoulders?’
***
After that, the rest of the morning and the whole of the afternoon were filled with a continual stream of people, some spending a few minutes having a mooch around, others staying longer, discussing inspiration and technique with Katerina, and asking for her advice on how to best display her larger pieces when they got them home.
Several smaller items were purchased by customers who had arrived that morning on one of the many cruise ships that visited the island, and Suzie took her time wrapping each one in tissue paper, then encircling it with corrugated cardboard before she slotted the ceramic bowl, jug, vase, or dish into one of the gallery’s signature “Santorini blue” boxes and tied it securely with a white ribbon.
Suzie was both relieved and delighted to see that Katerina had no qualms about allowing her to handle a steady stream of potential purchasers, as well as leaving her to hold the fort whilst she slipped out, once again, to make yet another coffee run – her fourth of the day! It seemed Katerina was very much attached to her caffeine fix; either that or there was something – or more likely,someone– at the taverna who had piqued her interest. She’d talked about Giorgos a couple of times… Perhaps it was him?
She had decided not to mention her encounter with Christos that morning – especially his invitation to join him on board his boat for a trip around the caldera – for fear of inviting a discussion about relationships, either past, present,orfuture. She suspected Christos wouldn’t show up the following day anyway, and she didn’t think she could cope with the embarrassment.
By the time seven o’clock arrived, her feet were aching, and she was grateful that Beckie had insisted on lending her her well-worn-in deck shoes. She had no idea how Katerina managed to spend the whole day trotting around the gallery in her skyscraper stilettos, not to mention making her frequent trips along the uneven cobbled alleyways to fetch their coffees. If Suzie had been responsible for that assignment wearing a pair of five-inch heels, she would almost certainly have sustained a sprained ankle by now.
‘What a day!’ Katerina exclaimed as she turned the sign on the door. ‘Thank you for your help, Suzie. I think we sold more stock today than we did during the whole of last week. You must have brought a sprinkle of magic sales dust with you from Devon.’
‘Oh, I don’t think I—’
‘Hey, credit where credit’s due! Okay, are you hungry?’
Suzie nodded. ‘Starving!’
‘Shall we head to the taverna? I can’t wait to introduce you to Giorgos and Heidi.’
While Suzie ran her fingers through her short hair and straightened her tee-shirt, Katerina reapplied her makeup, twisted a curling iron through her glossy waves, and added a generous spritz of perfume, reaffirming Suzie’s earlier suspicion that there was someone at the taverna who’d caught Katerina’s eye.
‘Ready?’
‘Ready.’
Suzie smiled, trying to ignore the twist of anxiety that had started to meander through her chest at the prospect of eating out at a restaurant, filled with strangers, for the first time in over a year.
