by Joanne Walsh
“I must speak with them soon though. I don’t want them to find out through the local grapevine. Although I reckon it will be a lot easier if they know the building is being bought by you—”
“And that you’ll continue on with the business,” Dimitri added. He cleared his throat. “Does this mean you are accepting my offer?”
“Um, not sure.” She reached for one of her curls and started winding it reflectively around a finger. “There’s one thing that’s making me uncomfortable.”
Following the movement, Dimitri wondered what her hair would look like spread out in a magnificently flaming swirl across his pillow as she lay beneath him. “What’s that?” he replied, forcing the vision teasing his lower body to disappear.
“I’m uneasy about not offering you any sort of financial return.”
“Okay. If it will make you feel better, I can charge you a nominal rent.”
“What do you mean by nominal?”
“A small monthly payment.”
She hesitated. “Alright. Can you give me a couple of days to think everything over?”
“Of course. I’ll wait to hear from you.” They sat back as she took another bite of her meal before running her tongue across her lips, making him want to do the same with his own. For a brief moment, he thought about the other last-hope incentive he’d considered overnight to keep her here: asking her to marry him. The one he’d dismissed as craziness. She’d long ago made it plain she had no real feelings for him. It was his problem that he still cared. He had to steel himself to stop reacting to her. If she accepted his proposition—and he was pretty certain she would—it would be strictly business, and that would have to be good enough if it meant he knew she was taken care of, and it kept her from leaving his world.
Chapter Eight
“Ali?”
Sally stood in the hallway of her friend’s house. The front door was open, so she’d let herself and McTavish in. When there was no answer, she called out again, “Anyone at home?” Then she spied a small, black feline face peering at her from the kitchen doorway. “Hey, Hades, where’s your owner?”
The cat took one look at McTavish straining on his leash and scuttled off to the safety of the kitchen. Sally decided to follow as that had to be as good a place as any to start the search. She had called ahead to make sure Alison was available; she must be somewhere close by.
“Hello?”
This time Alison yelled back, “I’m out here! Come on through.”
She made her way through the French doors to the vine-covered patio where Alison and her husband Pavlos often sat on summer evenings.
Alison looked comfortable on a cushioned two-seater, with her other cats, Nyx and Persephone, curled up on either side of her. Chilled Retsina, water and two glasses were waiting on the table in front of her. “Sit yourself down.” She gestured to the chair opposite. “Pav’s gone down to Stelios’s Taverna to meet his pals so we can have a private chat. A drink for you?” She leaned forward and picked up the bottle.
“That’d be great. Can I let McTavish off his leash?”
“Go ahead. He can have a good old sniff around the garden.” Settling down, Alison lifted her filled glass. “How are you getting on, love?”
“Much better than when we last spoke.” Sally hunched forward. “Things are really looking up. I’ve agreed with Frankie and Hannah to rent out Dionysou Street, and I’m going to do part-time work for them as well. Plus, Dimitri Bekatoros has appointed me a financial advisor to sort through all the mortgage, loan and credit stuff and get better repayment schedules. So, now I have to find myself somewhere else to live—”
“The room here is still available if you want it.”
“That’s why I’m here. I’d like to take it.”
“You don’t mind sharing a bathroom with my nephew?”
“As long as he doesn’t mind sharing with me. And McTavish, when he’s been on one of his beach walks and rolled around in something mysterious from the deep.”
“Ben’s a trainee vet, he won’t care.” Alison beamed broadly. “Oh, I’m so pleased. It’ll be great having you around. What about the shop? Are you going to put the building up for sale?”
“Not sure.” She pressed her lips together in a slight grimace. “There’s a potential change of plan. I’m wanting to relaunch it as a locally supplied, sustainable grocery store.”
“What a great idea! Just what we need around here to make the most of all the great food we produce. Pav will be over the moon when he hears. But how are you going to fund something like that? The place is a wreck right now.”
“That’s the thing.” She paused. “I’ve got myself a backer—Dimitri. He’s offered to buy the property, be my landlord, as long as I invest the sale money back into the store. I would stay on as manager, pay a small rental. He’s happy to let me run it as I please and take the profits.”
“Well, that sounds like the most amazing offer to be grabbed with both hands.”
“I want to. I think I’ve come to terms with not being the owner anymore. But the thing is,” she let out another long sigh, “it means working more closely with Dimitri, doesn’t it?”
“Ah.” Alison’s eyes narrowed. “His offer hasn’t put things right between you two?”
“When he came by after the flood, I found it hard to accept the help he was offering to deal with my debts.” She swallowed. “Ali, you know what happened that first summer. I’m not sure I can ever quite forgive him for the way he discarded me. Or how he never realized what his supposed best friend Manos was up to.”
“But why would he have known anything about Manos? Your late husband well and truly pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, Sal, including yours. Although nobody’s blaming you for what happened,” she added. “What Manos did…was on Manos.”
“I guess.”
“So, tell me about Dimitri. If he’s offered you all this help, and is willing to put up what I imagine is a fair amount of money to rescue the store… Look, excuse me for being blunt, but for goodness’ sake, isn’t it time to forgive him and put the past behind you?”
“But how?” she whispered. “The way he cheated on me and didn’t try to get me back from Manos—”
“Oh, lovey, I don’t mean to upset you.” Her friend’s shrewd brown gaze met her green ones. “But you’re turning down an offer that anyone else would give their eye teeth for because you can’t accept that he doesn’t feel the way you feel about him.” When Sally shuddered at her deadly accurate summary, Alison extended a hand and gave her forearm a reassuring pat. “Alright, I’m sorry, but you asked for my advice so I’m going to give it. You’ve been through a hell of a lot, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you cannot pass up. Dimitri’s trying to make amends, and you’ve just got to find a way to move forward, let bygones be bygones.”
She inhaled. Alison was right. She was going to have to find a way to forgive him and stop wanting him too…although she couldn’t begin to tell Alison about any of that.
Giving her a knowing look, as if she guessed she was struggling, Alison took another swig of her drink and set the glass down on the table. “If you don’t accept Dimitri’s amazing offer, what’s the alternative?”
“Wait for the store to attract a buyer.”
“But that could take ages, which means you’re stuck with Manos’s debts for longer.” Ali gave her another beady look. “It’s not what you really want, is it?”
She chewed her bottom lip. “What I truly want is to reopen the store, give it this new lease on life. Ali, when I first walked back in there after the flood, I realized I could never abandon my old friend, no matter how much work it might need, and I’m really excited about the sustainable trading thing.”
“There’s your answer then, what’s going to get you past all the Dimitri stuff. Your old friend is calling out to you, begging you to give it another chance.” Alison’s tone gentled. “Sal, I don’t doubt your feelings for Dimitri, and how hard it is
getting over him. I know how it is to want something so badly, but somehow, it never comes your way.”
She nodded silently, knowing exactly what Ali was referring to. Her friend had always been honest in sharing how much she’d wanted a family, but it’d never happened for her.
“But it’s past time to let go of what happened with him. Forgive him for his youthful mistake. Let go of what happened with Manos too, if you can. Take it from me, it is possible to free yourself by taking your strength of feeling about something you might never resolve to your satisfaction and pour it into something else you’re passionate about.”
“Like you have with KATs.”
“Precisely. Abandoned kittens and puppies take a lot of loving—”
Whuff, whuff. Loud barking interrupted their conversation. Swivelling in her chair, Sally peered through the dusk, catching sight of McTavish, who’d cornered Hades at the end of the garden. The cat let out a yowl and flicked a paw at the dog’s nose. “McTavish, no!” She leapt up and ran across the lawn to break it up, grabbing hold of her pet’s collar and restraining him, while Hades took the opportunity to disappear into the vegetable patch. “You bad boy!” she admonished, but McTavish just wagged his tail, clearly satisfied with the result of the confrontation.
“Hades will come back when he’s had time to sulk.” Alison came to stand beside them.
Sally looked at McTavish, smiling wryly. “You’re not joking when you say abandoned puppies take a lot of loving. Eh, McNaughty?”
“But how about you? Has our talk helped?”
Sighing, she nodded. “It was hard to hear, but it’s given me a boot up the backside. Basically, it’s time I pull on my big-girl pants and find a way of leaving the past behind.”
Chapter Nine
Selene Koutsopolous flicked her glossy ponytail over the padded shoulder of her jacket, the chunky gold bracelet on her wrist glinting in the sunlight that had found its way in between the slats of the wooden blinds hanging at the window of her ultra-contemporary office.
Sally shifted in her seat, wishing she’d had something newer and smarter to wear other than the cotton skirt and well-washed blouse she’d plucked from her meagre wardrobe. She flashed a glance at Dimitri sitting beside her. He was looking as gorgeous as ever in jeans, a crisp white shirt and smart linen jacket. She crossed her legs, so she was angled away from him. What were those three rules she’d set herself after Alison’s pep-talk? One: quit thinking about what happened in the olive store. Two: work hard to make the shop profitable enough that she’d be able to pay Dimitri more rent. Three: stop wanting him.
Surreptitiously gathering up some of her skirt’s thin material, she scrunched it tightly between her fingers. The first and third rules she’d already broken. These days Selene might be Dimitri’s financial advisor, but once upon a time she’d been the young woman Sally had seen in a clinch with him amongst the olive barrels. It’d taken every ounce of pride and determination she possessed to come here today and face Selene again. As for Dimitri, just the brush of his hand against hers while they sat together dealing with the sale of the Mini-Mart, or the sound of his rich, gravelly voice whenever he called, could send unwelcome desire roaring through her.
Releasing the fabric, she smoothed it down. Big-girl pants. She had to pull them up and get going because, like it or not, she needed Selene’s help to sort out her money problems. She took in a deep, steadying breath.
“Okay,” Selene announced, reaching for her designer spectacles and perching them on her nose. “I’ve studied your potential income and outgoings. If you achieve the rental fee Ionian Villas has recommended for your property, your mortgage repayments will be met and your board and lodging at Mrs Angelis’s will be covered as well.” She fixed Sally with a stare over her tortoiseshell rims. “Two hundred and fifty Euros for a room is very cheap.”
Sally raised her chin. “Mrs Angelis and I agreed I will help out at the shelter in return for the reduced rate.”
Her expression unsmiling, Selene surveyed her for a couple of seconds more, as if she didn’t quite get it, then returned to the documents in front of her. “Anyway, I note you have taken up part-time employment. However, if we deduct the repayments you are currently making on your loan and credit card, your total monthly earnings will fall short by fifty Euros. Therefore, I have approached your creditors.”
Sally licked her lips nervously.
“The finance company has granted the loan be paid back over a longer term and at the current interest rate, not the high rate that was in force at the time your late husband took it out. As for your credit card, the bank has agreed to cancel it and isolate the amount owed into a loan account, into which you will pay a set sum every month. After you have made these lowered repayments, you will have four hundred and fifty Euros to spare.”
Closing her eyes, Sally exhaled with relief.
“Sally, are you comfortable with what Selene has negotiated?”
The sound of Dimitri’s voice had her lids flying open. “Oh, um, yes. It all works for me.”
He and Selene stood side by side now.
“You will not have much to live on each month,” Selene pointed out, removing her glasses.
“It’s fine.” Sally squared her shoulders. “I got used to existing on very little even before my husband died. And, in time, I’ll be able to start drawing a salary from the store. Thank you, Selene,” she added, “I’m very grateful for what you’ve done.”
“You’re welcome,” Selene purred.
Her pouting lips were glossed, Sally realized, the same ruby red as the imprint on Dimitri’s cheek the other night when he, Frankie and Hannah had come by.
“Obviously, I am used to bigger portfolios.” Smirking, Selene turned to him. “But anything to help out my old friend and favourite client.”
Sally’s heart shrivelled. Dimitri and Selene were indeed old, very close friends and apparently quite oblivious to the hurt they’d inflicted. Well, Dimitri was. As far as she knew, Selene had no idea she’d been spotted at Skalos that day. Wishing she could run from here to as far away as possible she rose abruptly from her seat. “I need to get back to Agia Kalamaros because I’m working this afternoon.”
After flicking her a brief, questioning glance, Dimitri added, “Okay. I have some business at Skalos I must deal with too.” He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out his car keys. “Selene, I’ll pick you up at 6.30 this evening as we agreed.”
Selene nodded. “This little party of Nik and Frankie’s—” She reached to pick up an invitation card propped up nearby on her desk. “‘A celebration in honour of Sergei Alkaev, composer of Greece’s entry in the Euro Song Fest. National costume optional,’” she read out. “Hmm, I’m going as optional. What about you, Dimi? You would look very nice in a toga.” She smirked again.
He threw back his head and laughed. “Togas are not traditional Greek dress, you know that.”
Hovering in the doorway, Sally’s throat tightened. When was the last time she and Dimitri had such an easy, fun conversation? Not since… She checked herself. It was no business of hers that Dimitri and Selene were flirting with one another, or that they would be going to the party together. She’d just make sure that, while she was there, she steered well clear.
She waited while Dimitri and Selene exchanged air-kisses, then he followed her out and they headed to where his Mercedes coupe was parked in the office lot. As she got in, she couldn’t help noticing how the vehicle’s interior smelled of leather and a faint whiff of his aftershave, the scent deepening as he settled into the driver’s seat. Or how his jeans hugged his thighs when he did. He pressed the car’s ignition button and they roared away. After a couple of minutes, she threw him a glance from the corner of her eye. His profile was set in concentration as they took the bends tight and fast on the steep, winding road that led out of Paragolis and across the mountain pass, his hands caressing the car’s steering wheel through half-turns like a sexy action-movie hero’s, making
her wonder what it would be like to have them on her. She gritted her teeth. For goodness’ sake, stop this. Now! she admonished herself.
“Are you going to the party tonight?”
His question jolted her back to reality. “Yes, I’m catching a ride with Alison and Pav.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing you there. Sally, you seem a little quiet, and in a hurry to get back to the village. Tell me, are you really pleased with Selene’s work?”
She felt her cheeks heating. Maybe she had been a bit too terse when she’d said she needed to go, but no way did she want him to realize she’d found it hard to watch his little love-in with Selene. “She’s taken a real weight off my shoulders,” she acknowledged truthfully. “Okay, I’ve still got the debts, but they’re manageable now, and I can focus on moving on with my life. You never know, one day, I might be making enough to pay them off entirely.”
“Selene is very smart and professional.”
She threw him a sideways look. “You’ve known her a long time, haven’t you?”
“Since high school.”
“And you’ve remained close all this time?”
“I guess we have.” He smiled. “We dated for a while to begin with, but we were very young, and it didn’t last. We agreed to stay friends, though, and of course, she’s been financial advisor to me and my brothers ever since. I’m finding her input invaluable as Skalos acquires new business and expands.”
Sally felt a chill run down her spine, not quite believing he was referring to what had brought about the end of her and him with such carelessness. It was crystal clear that he’d never really cared about her, and now she was glad she hadn’t hung about in Selene’s office.
“I see you’ve taken your wedding ring off,” he suddenly commented, throwing a glance at her hand before fixing his gaze back on the road.
“Yes, well, new start and all that,” she dismissed, wondering why she felt utterly naked now without it while she sat beside this man.
