Satisfied, she strode over to her father’s boat. Fortunately, he’d opted for a table inside the taverna rather than on the terrace; she could see him through the window, a bottle of retsina and a glass in front of him. Hopefully he would be too engrossed in his conversation with Níko to see what she was up to. As always, the speedboat’s keys were in the ignition. No one would dare steal her father’s boat from here, they all knew who he was. A fisherman on one of the adjoining boats eyed her curiously; he would know who she was too, so she waved and blew the old man a kiss, which elicited a gummy smile from his toothless mouth.
She sped away from the harbour, revving the engine, watching the speed gauge rise as she bounced through the water. Why go slow when you can go fast, she thought. It wasn’t long before Fengari Bay came into view. A smile of satisfaction played around her lips when she spotted Christian’s boat moored outside the boathouse.
As she neared the jetty, she cut the engine, letting the incoming tide guide her gently to its mooring. Instead of going inside as soon as she’d finished securing the boat to the docking post, she paused to take off her dress. They were on a beach, weren’t they, why shouldn’t she stroll into the boathouse in a bikini and invite him to come for a swim? Her gold Lycra bikini consisted of a plunge top paired with high-cut bottoms – Ariana loved the way it made her look and feel; whenever she was on the beach men just couldn’t take their eyes off her. Christian wouldn’t know what hit him. He would lose all interest in that stupid English girl after this.
She sashayed slowly through the boathouse doors and leaned one arm against the doorframe, striking a pose that showed off her figure to best advantage, then waited for Christian to notice her. His head was sticking out from the bottom of one of the boats under construction. He looked up, and when he saw it was her, he slid out from underneath the boat.
She looked down at him, giving him her most alluring smile. ‘Hello, Christian,’ she purred. ‘I’ve come to tempt you away for a swim.’
Christian deftly flipped himself up off the floor trolley and narrowed his eyes. ‘Does your father know you are here?’
‘What does it matter if he does or not? I’m eighteen years old and I can do what I like.’
He spotted Demetrios’s boat moored up outside. Ariana didn’t have the necessary licence to drive the boat, so there was no way her father would have given her permission to borrow it. ‘Where is he?’
‘I saw him go into Níko’s. He won’t be coming back here, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘Was that redhead still with him?’
‘Who cares? Let’s go for a swim Christian. I’m ready to dive in.’ She pushed her shoulders back, emphasizing her breasts.
He turned away, throwing his tools down and reaching for a towel to wipe his oily hands. ‘Not now, Ari, I’m too busy. Go and find one of your friends in Ithos.’
‘I’m not interested in any of them. That’s why I’ve come to see you.’ She pouted. ‘Come on, Christian, the day is nearly over. You need to have some fun.’ She closed the distance between them, swinging her hips as if she were on the catwalk.
‘Ari …’
‘What?’ she asked innocently as she wrapped her arms around his chest, running her fingers though his blond hair, her body meeting his, the warmth rising up in her as her breasts brushed against him.
‘Ariana, stop this.’ He pulled his head away from her hands and took a few steps back. ‘You mustn’t do this.’
Ariana giggled. ‘Don’t be shy, Christian, I’m all grown-up now … and I’ve learned a thing or two.’ She reached behind her and flipped the catch on the back of her bikini top.
The straps came loose and she slowly dropped the top, revealing the perfectly tanned rise of her breasts.
‘Enough, Ari!’ Christian pushed the towel he was holding at her. ‘Cover yourself up – you’re making a fool of yourself. I’m not interested, why can’t you just accept that?’
The laughter died on her lips and she held the towel to herself, covering her naked breasts. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Exactly what I said.’ His voice was gentler now. ‘Look, Ari, you are a beautiful girl and one day someone will love you and make you happy, but it isn’t going to be me.’
‘Why not? What’s wrong with me?’ she demanded.
‘There is nothing wrong with you,’ he said kindly. ‘But I’ve known you since you were a baby. You’re like a little sister to me.’
‘I’m not a child! Let’s make love, then you’ll see.’ She pressed herself against him urgently.
‘Ariana, I don’t want to make love to you and I never will. I don’t want to hurt your feelings but it’s true.’
‘It’s that fucking English whore, isn’t it?’
‘Grace?’
‘She’s behind all this. I saw you with the little bitch the other day.’
‘Ari, calm down.’
‘Don’t tell me to calm down!’ Ariana dropped the towel and fumblingly put her bikini top back on. ‘You wanted me before she was here.’
‘No,’ Christian said. ‘That’s not true. I’ve never led you on.’
There were tears mingling with her fury now, his words drawing out an anger that was born of humiliation.
‘How could you do this to me?’ Her voice was ragged, almost pleading now. ‘All I’ve ever wanted is you …’ Her mascara mingled with her tears and ran down her face, leaving black streaks on her cheeks. She turned and ran out of the boathouse.
Christian ran after her, shouting, ‘Ariana, don’t be stupid, let me take you back to Ithos!’
But Ariana had flicked the rope off the docking post and jumped into the speedboat. She thew the throttle, desperate to get away from Christian and the words that had broken her heart.
Chapter 31
It had been an exhausting day at the taverna, a large party of English day-trippers had come for lunch and stayed long into the evening, eating and drinking. By the time they left, the locals had started to arrive for dinner, Greeks preferring to eat later in the evening. It was now past midnight and, apart from a few stragglers outside on the terrace lingering over their nightcaps, the place was empty.
Even at this hour, the work was never done. Grace was busy wiping tables down and tidying away the condiments when Níko tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Grace, why don’t you knock off? It has been a long day and you are on an early shift tomorrow.’
‘Are you sure?’ She wiped her hand across her weary eyes. ‘I’m happy to finish up here.’
‘I want you to get your beauty sleep, otherwise you will be yawning over the breakfast orders,’ he tutted. ‘Run along now, goodnight.’
She popped a kiss on his cheek. ‘You’re so sweet, Níko. Thank you.’
Grace didn’t bother bringing a handbag with her to the taverna, since her room was upstairs and her belongings were quite safe in there. All she carried with her was the key in her pocket. Calling kalinikta to Níko, she left through the front entrance that looked out onto the square.
It was almost empty tonight, though she could hear the cries of the fishermen as they set off on their nocturnal fishing expedition. She turned into the side street, and walked into the small courtyard behind the taverna, going up the stone steps to the door that led to the landing. There was a noise behind her, and she jumped. ‘Who’s there?’ she called, seeing someone following her up the stairs.
There was only a dim light coming from a bulb above the entrance and at first she didn’t recognize the dishevelled figure. Grace was shocked when she realized it was Ariana. Her make-up was smeared and her eyes were glazed over, as if she’d been drinking.
‘Ariana? Are you OK? What are you doing here?’
‘You bitch!’ Ariana lunged at her, but before she could reach Grace, she tripped on one of the stairs, fell forward and landing at her feet with a groan.
Grace bent down. ‘Have you hurt yourself?’
Ariana moaned again. ‘I don’
t know … I feel sick.’
‘You’d better come inside.’ Grace helped Ariana up. She had to keep hold of her because the girl was wobbling on her heels and struggling to stay upright. When she put the key in the door and flicked on the light, Ariana lurched forward and threw herself on to the bed. Putting her hand across her face, she groaned again and Grace quickly poured her a glass of water from the bottle by the side of the bed.
‘Ugh, it’s warm, haven’t you got anything cold?’ she mumbled.
‘This is a lovely room, but it doesn’t stretch to a fridge. I think what you need is a cup of tea.’
On the chest of drawers, there was a tray with a kettle and some sachets of tea and coffee in a small basket. ‘Where have you been to get in this state?’ Grace asked the prone figure.
‘Mind your own business,’ Ariana slurred belligerently.
‘My mum always says that the best cure for drunkenness is lots of sweet tea,’ Grace said. ‘Ideally it should be Yorkshire Tea, but the mini-market doesn’t sell that, so Lipton’s will have to do.’ She emptied a sachet of sugar and a splash of long-life milk into the mug. ‘There’s no proper milk, I’m afraid.’
She came and sat next to Ariana on the bed. ‘Sit up and drink the tea. Honestly, you’ll feel much better in a few minutes, I promise.’
Ariana glowered at her. ‘How do you know what will make me feel better?’
‘Maybe I don’t,’ Grace conceded the point. ‘But this can’t make you feel any worse.’
Ariana sipped at the sweet liquid and grimaced. ‘It’s horrible.’
‘Keep drinking. So where have you been?’
Ariana sipped miserably at the tea. ‘With Georgiou and some of his friends. We had a beach party on the other side of the island.’
‘What were you drinking?’
Ariana looked at Grace like she was stupid. ‘It wasn’t just alcohol, you idiot.’
‘Oh, I see. That wasn’t very sensible.’
‘You don’t see anything at all, Miss Goody-two-shoes,’ she sniffed. ‘This is all your fault.’
‘What has this got to do with me?’
‘Christian …’ Ariana started to cry. Big hot tears splashed down into her tea. ‘He … he …’ she hiccupped, ‘he doesn’t want me.’
Grace took the tea off her and put it on the side. She reached for a packet of tissues and handed Ariana one.
‘He wants you, not me,’ Ariana sobbed, dabbed at her eyes and blowing her nose noisily.’
‘Did he say that?’
‘No … but I saw you get off the boat, you’d been together.’ Ariana pouted, sticking her bottom lip out.
‘We had a day at the beach, that’s all. We’re friends, nothing else.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘I’m not … well, not really.’
Ariana’s tears started again.
‘Look, we kissed, that’s all. It was hardly anything. Just a nice day out.’ She shrugged, but Ariana didn’t look convinced. ‘Besides, even if I did like him and he liked me, it couldn’t go anywhere, I’ll be going back to England soon.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. I love Ithos, but I can’t stay here forever … You see, I came here looking for something, but I didn’t find it and, well, there isn’t anything here for me now.’
‘What were you looking for?’ Ariana asked. ‘Not that I care.’
‘I’m adopted. Which has never bothered me in the slightest – I love my parents, they’ve given me the best life anyone could have been given. And I’ve always known I was adopted, so it didn’t come as a big shock or anything. For a long time, I wasn’t interested in knowing who my birth parents were, but then I found out that once an adopted person turns eighteen they have the right to apply for information.’ She paused. ‘When I look at myself, I know I’m not a typical English Rose and it has always intrigued me, like a piece of the puzzle that’s missing. So, last year, when I turned eighteen, I contacted the adoption agency.’
‘What happened?’ Ariana looked as though the effects of whatever she had taken earlier were wearing off, and there was a flicker of interest that she couldn’t hide.
‘They forwarded an envelope …’ Grace recalled her parents handing over the envelope from the agency and then leaving the room so she could open it in private. ‘We’ll be downstairs if you need us. And if you don’t want to open it, that’s OK too.’ They had hugged each other tightly and Grace remembered feeling so lucky that these people had taken her as their own.
Her emotions had been in turmoil as she sat with the letter on her lap. The envelope could have contained the information that her mother didn’t want to be contacted, or that she was dead. It took a while for Grace to find the courage to open it. Inside was a letter from her birth mother:
Dear Grace,
Happy eighteenth birthday to you. On the dawn of your adulthood, I wanted you to know that you were born in love. I have never forgotten those precious few days we spent together, and not a single day passes when I don’t think of you and say a prayer for you. The mother and father you were placed with would never have made you feel like you were a guilty secret.
I hope that your life is full of kindness, laughter and opportunity, and that the years to come bring you joy and love. Live a happy and fulfilling life, Grace – you deserve it. I will never, ever forget you, and if one day you want to find me, I’ll be waiting.
Xxx
Grace remembered sitting there, barely able to catch her breath, her mind fizzing with the thought that her birth mother had loved her and not wanted to give her away. She shook the envelope and was surprised when something else fell out. It was a postcard. It had been ripped in two and put back together, a bit of yellowed Sellotape holding the two pieces together. On the front was a picture of a place called Ithos, somewhere that Grace had never heard of. There was a picture of the harbour with all the little fishing boats, and you could just make out Níko’s taverna and the central square. She read the words on the back:
My dear Beauty
Always have hope. We have our dreams. Remember our souls will always burn brighter.
Don’t wait for me.
Who was the postcard from? It wasn’t in the same handwriting as her birth mother’s. In fact, it was very distinctively different. Once she had found out that Ithos was in Greece, she’d started to wonder if that was why she had olive skin and hair that was almost black. The letter and the postcard had thrown up more questions than answers and she’d found it too much to take in. She felt glad that her birth mother had loved her, but she couldn’t find any real feelings to connect her to the woman who hadn’t felt able to keep her. She wasn’t sure she felt brave or curious enough to start the process of finding her.
The postcard, however, had exerted a mysterious influence over her. She couldn’t seem to stop herself taking it out of its hiding place and reading it again and again.
‘I still wasn’t sure I was ready to meet my birth mother, but every time I looked at the picture on the postcard, I felt somehow drawn to the place. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that I was connected to Ithos in some way. But since I arrived …’
Ariana peered at the postcard, squinting. ‘Why didn’t they sign it?’
‘I don’t know, it’s almost like a goodbye.’
‘Maybe the person who wrote it was interrupted?’ Ariana looked at the postcard again. ‘There’s something about the writing … and the name …’ She winced and clutched at her head. ‘If I didn’t have such a bad headache, my brain might work properly. I can’t think straight.’ She handed the postcard back to Grace. ‘Thanks for the life story.’ She feigned a yawn.
Grace laughed. ‘I don’t know what I expected to find here. I mean, that postcard must have been written almost twenty years ago, because that’s when my birth mother wrote the letter. Maybe she came here and had a holiday romance.’
Ariana let out a huff. ‘Look, this is all very interesting, but I need t
o go.’
‘Why don’t you wait here a little longer, until your head feels better.’
‘I don’t want to, that’s why.’ Ariana swung her legs off the bed and stood up. She seemed much steadier on her feet now.
‘Why don’t we pop down to the tavern? Níko is still there, he can drop you home.’
‘Níko?’ Ariana pulled a face and stuck out her tongue. ‘He’s my father’s spy. No, I can get home myself.’
‘How?’
‘I’ll take one of the taxis that waits on the square.’
Grace stood and made to follow her, but Ariana put her hand out to stop her. ‘Look, English girl, maybe you aren’t trying to move in on Christian.’ Her face, despite her smudged make-up and bloodshot eyes, retained some pride. ‘But tonight, don’t try to be my friend, OK?’
Grace sighed. She didn’t like the idea of Ariana trying to make her way home on her own, but she couldn’t force the girl to accept her help. Ithos was a safe place, and the taxi drivers would surely know who she was.
She watched Ariana teeter down the stairs on her high heels and walk slowly but deliberately out of the courtyard. ‘Be careful, OK?’ she called after her.
Ariana raised a hand, whether it was intended as a goodbye or a dismissive gesture, Grace couldn’t tell. She closed the door and lay on the bed, picking up the card where Ariana had left it. She looked at it again, weathered and worn, now yellow with age.
Don’t wait for me …
I’m still waiting Grace thought, still no nearer to knowing how Ithos was tied up with her birth. There was only one way she was going to find out, but was she ready to take that step?
Chapter 32
Demetrios had risen earlier than usual and taken a run up into the hills above Ithos. The air up there felt clearer, more invigorating, and he usually had the place to himself running just after dawn, apart from the odd hill farmer tending to his goats. He found running alone helped him to think things over, and there had been so much to think about these last few days.
Shauna was more beautiful that even his rose-tinted spectacles remembered her to be. Her skin, golden and shimmering, a smattering of freckles over that perfect nose and eyes as green as the shamrocks in her home country. And her body … she had matured, her curves had filled out deliciously. He ran harder, reaching for the summit – just another half a kilometre but it was all at a gradient that made his calves ache. He reached the top and stopped dead, breathing raggedly, his chest rising and falling as he waited for his breathing to even out.
Under a Greek Moon Page 24
