Page 34 of Hot Greek Summer

‘This way?’ Angelo said, gesticulating towards the stairs, clearly keen to get settled.

‘Can I get you some water?’ Winnie said, her hand on the full iced jug on the desk.

‘To the room, please.’ His small, curt smile brooked no argument and came nowhere close to touching his eyes. ‘I’d appreciate it if you could arrange to have my luggage sent up within half an hour,’ he said, picking up his briefcase and pausing briefly to kiss Corinna on each cheek. ‘I’ll call you later.’

All four women watched as he strode away and up the staircase.

Corinna wondered if it would have killed her brother to have been slightly more friendly.

Winnie felt deflated, as if their efforts to be hospitable had gone unnoticed.

Frankie thought despondently of the fridge full of carefully chosen food and hoped he’d come around to the idea of breakfast after he’d had a couple of days to unwind.

And Stella thought how hot his backside was as he climbed the stairs, but also that she didn’t care one bit for how offhand he’d been with both his sister and her friends just now. She had the measure of Angelo Vitalis after a lifetime around board tables with people just like him. She’d grant him a free pass on account of having just travelled with a no doubt painful injury, but he was going to be in for a shock if he thought he’d get away with being unappreciative for long around here.

‘It’s odd having someone else but us here, isn’t it?’ Winnie had kind of got used to the relaxed vibe they’d created at Villa Valentina over the last couple of weeks and she missed it already. They sat around the kitchen table, speaking in hushed voices over lunch even though there wasn’t a chance that Angelo could hear them up in his suite.

‘I don’t like him very much yet,’ Frankie said, feeling disloyal to Corinna. ‘How can he not eat breakfast?’

‘He might warm up a bit once he’s settled into the more relaxed pace of life here,’ Stella said, even though privately she had her doubts. They’d lugged his cases up the stairs after Corinna had left, and when she’d tapped his door he’d called out that they could leave his cases in the hallway along with a jug of water and he’d prefer not to be disturbed until morning. So far, not so good.

‘Maybe a G&T would loosen him up,’ Winnie said, even though she was nowhere near brave enough to ask him if he’d like one.

‘God, don’t let him see the cellar,’ Stella said. ‘He doesn’t seem the kind of man to approve of home-brew.’

Frankie picked a plum from the fruit bowl and polished it on her dress. ‘We really need to make time to do our first bottling. I’ve already started to gather ingredients to dry so our stocks don’t run out.’

‘Well, not today, that’s for sure,’ Stella said. ‘The last thing we need him to do is find us brewing potions in the cellar like the Witches of Eastwick. Let’s get an idea of how he’s going to spend his time for a couple of days first.’

‘Is that sign out front the one Jesse made?’ Frankie asked, changing the subject.

Winnie nodded. ‘We should try to get it hung. Which of us is best with a hammer?’

‘Don’t look at me,’ Frankie said, biting the plum. ‘Gav was the DIY king. If it needed fixing, he’s your man.’

‘Yeah, well, he’s a long way from here, Frank,’ Stella said.

Frankie nodded. Her old life seemed more distant than ever, and she felt disloyal for the second time that day because there wasn’t much about her life back in England that she missed. Since Marcia passed and the boys left home, she’d grown lonelier than she’d known how to handle. Life on Skelidos had changed all that in a blink.

‘Maybe Jesse would hang it for us,’ Winnie said. ‘I’ll ask him later.’

‘Later when?’ Stella asked, curious.

‘Later when I go over,’ Winnie said, slowly, stalling for time because she didn’t want to make a big deal of it. ‘I’ve not visited The Fonz yet today. I’ll just nip by and take him a carrot.’ She suddenly began to find the pattern on the marble floor tiles terribly interesting. ‘And have a picnic with Jesse.’

‘A picnic?’ Stella said loudly.

‘With Jesse?’ Frankie added, and they both stared at her, waiting for more.

‘I don’t know,’ Winnie said, under pressure. ‘It’ll probably just be bread, cheese and water while we watch the donkeys eat carrots. That’s all. No biggie.’

‘I’m locking the doors if you’re not home by ten,’ Stella said.

‘Want to take the smoked salmon quiche out the fridge?’ Frankie said. ‘Mr Big upstairs is clearly not going to eat it.’

‘Mr Big,’ Stella said, nodding slowly. ‘I thought more Don Draper, but Mr Big works too.’

‘I’ll take the quiche,’ Winnie said. ‘But I seriously doubt you’ll need to lock me out. I’m going over at seven and will probably be home within the hour.’

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