by Emma Nichols
Ariana gazed, mouth slightly agape, pulled Nikki into her arms and held her there for what seemed like an eternity. ‘I am so in love with you,’ she whispered. She eased out of the embrace and smiled.
‘We’ve got a match to play,’ Nikki said with a warm smile, taking Ariana’s hand and starting back towards the taverna.
Ariana squeezed the hand in hers before releasing it, adjusting to the sensations heating up her chest and exposing her deepest vulnerability, breathing deeply and enjoying the excitement that emerged. Her eyes scanned the court as they approached. ‘Right birthday girl,’ she announced, with a beaming grin aimed at her daughter. ‘You ready for a beating?’ she asked.
Soph rolled her eyes to Gianna and laughed. ‘What do you reckon?’ she asked her girlfriend.
‘No chance,’ Gianna said, her grin turning into a determined glare as she stood her ground on the volleyball court, facing Nikki on the other side of the net.
‘Game on,’ Nikki said, sticking out her tongue at Gianna, causing her concentration to falter as Ariana served the ball.
Gianna was slow, moving to receive, and the ball came up short over the net, Nikki putting it away effortlessly. ‘That’s cheating,’ Gianna complained.
Nikki shrugged. ‘Kefalas rules,’ she said, holding back the hysterics that were bubbling in her chest, picking up the ball and passing it to Ariana.
With a glint in her eye, Ariana served again, launching the ball high into the sky.
Manos chuckled, one eye on the game, turning the meat on the spit over the fire pit, the crackling of fat and the spicy aroma filling the air around him. He wandered back into the bar and sipped at his drink, before collecting the marinated fish from the kitchen.
A loud cheer went up, Ariana and Nikki skipping in each other’s arms around their side of the court, Soph bent double, her head shaking and Gianna complaining through the tears of laughter.
‘Good game,’ Nikki said, approaching the net, holding out her hand.
Soph shook it, and then her mum’s. ‘Brilliant,’ she said. ‘The best birthday ever,’ she added, throwing her arms around Gianna and kissing her firmly, before leaving the court and falling into a heap on the sand.
Nikki disappeared.
Ariana lounged on the driftwood seat, enjoying the light breeze and the aroma emanating from the fire.
Nikki returned, lugging a wrapped box and plonked it on the sand next to Soph. ‘Happy birthday,’ she said, returning to the bar to collect the drinks.
Soph sat up, and studied the box with curiosity, ripped enthusiastically at the paper and revealed its contents. ‘Wow!’ she exclaimed. ‘Proper diving gear.’
Gianna wrapped an arm around Soph’s shoulder and squeezed. ‘That’s awesome,’ she said. ‘We can go diving.’
Soph tensed.
‘Fish can’t bite through that,’ Gianna said, with a chuckle.
Soph relaxed her shoulders, opened the box and pulled out the wetsuit, and then studied the breathing apparatus with mute fascination.
Nikki sat next to Ariana and handed her glass of wine.
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Ariana said, her eyes on her daughter.
Nikki shrugged. ‘Gianna will enjoy teaching her to dive; she’s good,’ Nikki said, reassuringly.
Ariana cleared her throat. ‘Good,’ she said, settling back in the seat, sipping at the glass in her hand.
Manos wandered back from the bar, envelopes in hand. ‘This is for you,’ he said, handing the letter to Ariana. ‘And this, young lady, is for you. Happy birthday,’ he said, taking a pace to Soph and handing her the gift.
Ariana studied the envelope. Sophia’s handwriting. Tentatively, she opened the seal and pulled out the letter.
Welcome home Ariana.
I am so happy you decided to stay here. I never doubted you would do anything else of course. I am truly sorry I had to include the conditions for your inheritance, but I needed to ensure you had sufficient time to reconnect with yourself and this beautiful place. I hope it didn’t take too long! The decorating and fending for yourself rather than relying on Maria, I knew would give you that time. Laying my ashes under the roses was a little self-indulgent on my part, but I wanted you to see the beauty here, as I saw it. I am so proud of you my darling.
You need to know that I always believed in you Ariana, but I couldn’t pressurise you into coming back here. If I had, I would have been doing to you what your mother, and I’m guessing your husband, have done to you over the years. I would have been removing from you the power of choice and forcing your hand, and that would never have worked in the long term. Maybe, I should have stepped in sooner with your mother, and if you believe that is so, I can only apologise. I fear if I had interfered though, it would have been for my own gains more than yours. I want you to know that I always loved you so dearly and I missed you until the day I passed from this world. But, you are here now, and here of your own volition, and that is what matters.
Nikki is a beautiful woman, and I know you will both be happy together. She may never tell you, but I can now. She has waited all these years for you. She never stopped loving you. She has a strong heart and has been of great support to me over the years. I have loved her like a granddaughter too. I will never be able to repay her for her kindness, but you have done that for me because I know you will never leave her. Not now, not ever again. She has always been as much a part of you as is this island. You all belong together.
Your mother was wrong Ariana. In so many ways, she has been wrong, but sadly, my hands were tied, and her yearning for money was far greater than her loyalty to her real family. She married for money and money will most likely kill her in the end. I feel sorry for her, but I could never change her. Money may have cost me my daughter, but it didn’t cost me my granddaughter, and for that, I will rest in peace.
If you have not worked this out already, and I can safely assume that Teresa has never had the courage to tell you, then I should confirm that Manos is your father. I wanted you to know the truth, but your mother disagreed, and Manos was too in love with Teresa to go against her wishes, and too kind a gentleman to bring disgrace to our family. He loves you very much and always has done. I am sure you will have much to discuss over the coming years.
I am sorry to have never met Sophie, but I know she too will feel at home here. I feel it in my heart, and my heart has never let me down before. Of course, it will soon, and when it does my body will return to the earth, in the rose garden, but know that I will be watching over you all.
Your loving grandma, Sophia
With trembling hands, Ariana folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope, swallowing past the lump in her throat, her eyes wandering to the rose garden. She drew in a long breath and released it slowly.
‘Everything okay?’ Nikki asked, aware of the shift in Ariana’s demeanour.
Ariana turned, her fingers reaching, tenderly stroking the line of Nikki’s face, down to her chin, across her lips. ‘Everything is just perfect,’ she said, leaning towards her and planting a confirming kiss.
‘Wow!’ The exclamation claimed Nikki and Ariana’s attention. Soph was reading the letter in her hand, one hand over her mouth, her eyes popping from her head. ‘You can’t be serious,’ she said, her gaze shifting to her grandfather.
‘Aye,’ Manos responded, his cheeks glowing, his dimples showing even more than normal, and revealing more teeth than anyone realised he had. ‘It’s yours now,’ he said.
Soph read and re-read the letter, Gianna glancing over her shoulder at the paper in her hand. Ariana shrugged, Nikki shrugged, neither having any idea what Pops had done.
Gianna squealed, as the information registered. Soph now owned Manos’ share of the Kefalas business.
‘I can’t take this,’ Soph insisted, holding out the piece of paper, trying to get Manos to retract the offer.
‘Deal’s done,’ Manos said, casually. ‘Of course, it’s on the premise that I have a job for l
ife,’ he said, with a light-hearted shrug of his shoulders. ‘Though there’s no telling how long that might be,’ he added.
Nikki groaned and rolled her eyes. Not that little chestnut again. ‘You aren’t going anywhere for a long time, Pops,’ she said, with an admonishing smile.
Manos chuckled. ‘Time to party then,’ he said, raising his glass. ‘Happy birthday to you,’ he started to sing, much to Soph’s embarrassment.
Voices from the bar joined in the song, ending in a resounding cheer.
‘Food’s nearly ready,’ Manos said.
Soph stepped up to the fire-pit. ‘Thank you,’ she said, pulling Manos into her arms.
Manos held her tightly, allowing the tears to trickle freely onto his white stubbly face. Every day was a good day, but today was definitely the best day.
Ariana reached for Nikki’s hand and squeezed, leaned into her arm, and watched her daughter. ‘Want to go fishing?’ she whispered, releasing the arm, her eyes shifting from the silver-white sheen lingering over the rose garden to the rocks below the white house and then to The Ariana moored to the jetty.
Nikki followed Ariana’s gaze and smiled. She drew her eyes back to the woman by her side, sensing the energy shift inside her with the thought that needed to be voiced. She could feel the tension reaching her throat, the anxiety starting to churn in her stomach. Her eyes must have reflected her hesitation because Ariana was looking at her with a puzzled expression. ‘I…’ she started.
Ariana shrugged, with an encouraging and slightly quizzical smile.
Nikki could feel the weight of the words on her tongue stopping her mouth from moving. Ariana looked so gorgeous, so enticing; so perfect. She was smiling so sweetly, so earnestly. Blowing out a deep breath, she committed to speak, unaware of at what point her eyes had closed as the words flowed. She had to go through with it. ‘Will you marry me?’ she almost blurted, her eyes full of concern as she waited for Ariana’s response.
Ariana froze, faltered, and then released a deep breath.
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…’ Nikki started to babble, to backtrack, her heart racing, her eyes flitting. She’d got it wrong.
Ariana pressed a finger to Nikki’s lips to quiet her, studied her skittish eyes until they settled on hers again, and when they did the smile on her lips answered the question before the word appeared. ‘Yes,’ she said.
Nikki stood, staring, momentarily stunned, needing to adjust, the excitement inside her slowly building from a trickle into a torrent. Her eyes widened, shining brightly with the broad grin that appeared. ‘Yessssss,’ she screamed, thumping a fist into the air, drawing pairs of eyes.
Ariana laughed at the animated response, reached across and cupped Nikki’s happy face. ‘I love you,’ she said, pulling her close and drowning her in soft kisses.
‘I love you,’ Nikki responded.
‘Fishing?’ Ariana asked.
‘Double or quits?’ Nikki responded, with a tantalising grin.
‘Deal.’ Ariana chuckled.
About Emma Nichols
Emma Nichols lives in Buckinghamshire with her partner and two children. She served for 12 years in the British Army, studied Psychology, and published several non-fiction books under another name, before dipping her toes into the world of lesbian fiction.
You can contact Emma through her website and social media:
www.emmanicholsauthor.com
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Other Books by Emma Nichols
Visit getbook.at/TheVincentiSeries to discover The Vincenti Series: Finding You, Remember Us and The Hangover.
Visit getbook.at/ForbiddenBook to start reading Forbidden.
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