Page 43 of All You Need is Greece

‘How is the Greek going? Are you seeing Panos later?’

‘I’m not sure.’ She throws a ball and half a dozen dogs race after it.

‘I don’t mean to pry, but I thought you two were getting along well,’ I ask, a little puzzled by her apparent sudden coolness towards Panos.

‘We are. We still do the email thing but…’ She pauses.

‘But what?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure I need to spend every minute of my free time with him. I’ll be going to back to England in a few weeks.’

‘Have you got feelings for him?’ I ask, as the penny drops.

‘Oh, Beth, I’m not sure. I think I might have.’

She picks up a stick from the ground for the dogs to chase after, after they have lost interest in the ball.

‘That night after Tania’s party, you went in ahead of us,’ she continues. ‘Panos kissed me and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.’

‘Are you completely against the idea of a holiday romance?’ I ask.

‘Yes.’ She looks at me from under her glasses. ‘I’ve never really had a proper boyfriend before, unless you count a guy from college, but that was nothing serious,’ she admits. ‘I usually have boys as friends, nothing else. I don’t want to get hurt.’

‘Oh, Hannah. I understand that but maybe you could still enjoy time together while you’re here? It seems a shame to back off so much, I can see how happy you look when you are with him.’

‘But our worlds are so different. There can never be a future for us, so that’s all there is to it,’ she says, her mind made up.

‘Does that mean you have to avoid him altogether, though? It seems such a shame.’

‘I’m not. We are still helping each other with the language. I know quite a few Greek words now, and how to say them correctly, so I am grateful for that.’

‘Well, if I might offer a little advice, I’d say it’s best to tell him you would like to just be friends, or he might be wondering if he has done something wrong.’

‘I suppose so.’ She smiles. ‘Thanks, Beth.’

Maybe I was right in thinking that the village is a place for romance. Or perhaps it’s simply that there are so few residents in the village that visitors present an opportunity for it.

When we get back Judith tells us she is just nipping out to see her friend Yolanda, and I wonder whether Artemis is still there, and what he might have said about our evening out. I still cringe when I think of it and thank my lucky stars that Artemis has a relative who runs a bed and breakfast close by.

Later, as Hannah and I stop for a drink break, and Michael goes for a walk, Doll and Lars head into the kitchen and firmly close the door behind them. Not for the first time, I wonder what is going on.

TWENTY-TWO

The next morning, I’m just clearing away my breakfast things, when my phone rings. It’s Artemis.

‘How are you feeling today?’

‘Other than exhausted, I’m fine.’

‘Good. I had a nice time with you,’ Artemis tells me.

‘Me too, I’m sorry the evening ended the way it did,’ I tell him. ‘I’m afraid I cut your partying a little short.’

‘Don’t be sorry. It was a lot of fun, although I can’t ever remember sharing a bed with an attractive woman in a platonic sense.’ I can imagine him grinning.

‘I bet you can’t. Anyway, thanks for showing me around Malia. And for finding us a place to stay. Please apologise to your cousin the next time you see her.’

‘There is no need. This is Malia, I am sure she has seen worse.’ He laughs, making me feel a bit better.

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