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She realised that Katerina, Heidi, and Miranda were staring at her, waiting for her answer, but when she opened her mouth to speak, her courage failed her. Even people whom she had thought were friends had been horrified when they’d found out what had happened, whether from seeing it on the local news or reading about it on social media, and apart from Amber and her mum, not one of them had stuck around to support her through what had been the worst experience of her life – even her fiancé, Adam, had turned his back on her.
How could she expect people she had known for a few days to react any differently?
She cast around for something to say, and from the far reaches of her brain she managed to drag up a dream she had harboured since her early teens, one she had shared with her father, but which he’d never had the opportunity to do anything about before his untimely passing.
‘Actually, I’ve always wanted to write a book.’[ED1]
‘What kind of book?’ asked Heidi, scooting to the edge of her seat. ‘A memoir?’
‘Good God, no!’
The vehemence of her response may have been surprising to the other women, but it was no surprise to Suzie. While the story of her life was probably worthy of a Hollywood movie, she had no wish to put herself through the soul-crushing experience of putting the details down on paper and having readers rake over the ashes of her experiences in the name of entertainment. Others had done that much better than she could, unfortunately.
‘Suzie? Are you okay?’
‘Sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘No, not a memoir; a detective novel, a kind of modern day Agatha Christie.’
‘LikeDeath on the Nile?’ Heidi laughed. ‘You could call itSkulduggery in Santorini!’
‘OrA Corpse in the Caldera,’ Katerina suggested.
‘OrTrickery at the Taverna,’ added Miranda.
Suzie smiled at their enthusiasm. ‘Yes, maybe.’
‘Well, I have lots of dreams I want to fulfil before I even think about settling down,’ Heidi declared, the mood in the bookshop lifting at last. ‘As well as my literary cocktails business, and my knitted artwork enterprise, I’m hoping my most recent idea is going to be the best one I’ve had so far. Serenity Organic Santorini Skincare – or SOS Skincare for short – is in its early stages of development, but I’m loving the research, as well as sourcing the ingredients, and creating my own fragrances to add to my facemasks. All I need now is someone who’s willing to help me road-test them, so, if you’rereallyfeeling adventurous, Miranda, how about I come round one night after the bookshop closes and give you a complete makeover, not just the facemasks, but hair, nails, makeup, the works?’
Miranda beamed. ‘I’d love that.’
‘Great. Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?’
The look of horror that flashed across Miranda’s face made Suzie giggle.
‘Erm, no, actually, I…’
‘Oh, I don’t mean a permanent tattoo. No, I mean ahennatattoo. Something to remind you that life is simply a series of events. Some are fun, some are exciting, and some are sad or terrifying, but they are all just part of the journey that we’re on, and in order to get the most from the time we’ve been given, we need to grab our courage and experience everything that’s on offer. Don’t you agree?’
‘I do, and I’d love to give you something in return.’
‘Really?’
‘When the twins were at high school, I worked part-time for a small marketing agency, so I could help you design the labels for your new business, if you like. I’m sure you know that a strong brand isthemost important part of any successful enterprise.’
‘Oh, Miranda, that would be amazing, thank you so much.’
‘And I can help, too,’ said Katerina, her eyes alive with excitement. ‘Stefanos’ brother Darius works for a printing company in Fira – they print theSantorini Gazette– and I could ask him to run off a couple of sheets of labels for you. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing something a little more creative for a change.’
‘Oh, you guys are awesome.’
The women came together in a group embrace, and over Miranda’s shoulder Suzie saw Heidi give Katerina a surreptitious thumbs up. Her heart ballooned with affection when she realised that the two friends had been planning the suggested beauty makeover for a while.
***
When she finally slid into bed that night, she was exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure. While she had formed several close friendships with her fellow beach hut owners in Blossomwood Bay, she hadn’t been brave enough to take them up on their offers to socialise with them beyond the occasional coffee, and more recently Rachel’s yoga session, which meant that she had felt like she was lingering on the fringes of their friendship group. She knew that was her choice, and that it was out of necessity, but that hadn’t stopped her from feeling lonely and insignificant.
However, in Santorini, she felt like she was an integral part of the community, just like she had when she had been at school in Norwich, or at university in Nottingham, before she had headed to London and her life had taken a more dramatic turn. She sent up a missive of gratitude to the director of her fate for writing a brand-new chapter for her – this time in the sun-filled beach read genre instead of the horror genre.
Chapter Twelve
