The champagne has gone to my head a little, and I feel myself begin to relax more. The food was delicious, the company engaging, and I really don’t want the night to end.
‘Shall we take these outside?’ asks Dimitri and I nod.
We finish up with a Metaxa that we enjoy outside on his balcony. The sea has blackened, distant lights coming from the bars at just before midnight.
‘I’ve had a lovely evening.’
‘So have I. You mean a lot to me, Claudia. I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time.’
I let his words sink in, realising I feel the same way about him.
‘It’s a pity I live so far away, isn’t it?’
‘But you have your second home here now. Tell me all about the city you live in back home.’
I tell him about Merseyside and the surrounding areas and how sometimes we travel into Chester by train.
‘I think you would like it there. It’s a pretty city, with some Roman ruins and great restaurants. Oh, and it has a racecourse.’
‘Horse racing?’
‘Yes, it makes for a great day out.’
‘Then we must do that sometime.’ He smiles. ‘I would also quite like to watch Liverpool play football. In fact.’ He swirls his brandy around in his glass. ‘How would you feel about me visiting you over the winter?’
‘You would come to England?’ I ask in surprise.
‘Why not? I don’t have as much work over the winter, and I can take a flight from Athens.’
‘And you would do that?’
‘Would you like me to do that?’ he asks searchingly.
‘I would love that. I’m not sure how you would cope with a winter in the North of England though.’
I have a vision of us snuggled up on the couch then, beneath a cosy blanket, watching a Christmas movie and sipping mulled wine.
‘I am sure I would not even notice the weather, if I was with you.’
‘Oh, believe me you would.’ I laugh at his cheesy line.
We go inside and sink back into the sofa, and Dimitri plays some music from a sound system. It’s slow mood music perfect for the evening.
I’m aware of his closeness, every nerve in my body tingling. He has just told me he hasn’t felt this way about someone in a long time, and however much I try to deny it, I know I feel the same.
I take a final sip of brandy, and he takes the glass from my hand, and edges closer.
And when he finally takes me in his arms and kisses me, there are no interruptions, and I don’t run away.
It’s just perfect.
THIRTY-THREE
I almost don’t want Dimitri to take me to the airport as I hate goodbyes and it is especially hard this time.
I’m packing the last things into my case, when Phoebe calls in to tell me that Eliza will be allowed home in a couple of days, on the premise that she will be looked after.
‘I have a key. I have been to tidy her home, and I will make casserole for her return. And then I buy her a pet camel.’
