‘Don’t bother covering for her. I know exactly what she’s like. The woman has never understood my lifestyle, expecting me to settle down still, at the ripe old age of eighty-three.’ Thisisn’tthe right time to bring up the note I found. Gran’ll think we’re all conspiring against her.
‘Umm, OK.’ I think back to the call and the issues Gran’s been entangled in previously. ‘Are there any mafioso in Santorini?’
‘Mafioso, no why?’ There’s a hint of challenge in her eyes, like she’s ready for round two with them. Gran didn’t take kindly to Mom’s interfering into the whole slot-machine stunt very well. She insisted that if they did cut off her pinkies, her new moniker would’ve been something like Floretta Four Fingers, garnering her lot of street cred, because she’d lived to tell the tale where so many have not.
‘Just checking.’
‘All you have to do is keep Georgios sweet and I’ll handle the rest.’
‘That’sall,’ I say with a smile. I don’t dare tell her about the threat of Yannis selling. Gran doesn’t need any more on her plate right now. Just how much pressure can one woman handle, even if that woman is my formidable gran? All I have to do is keep Georgios sweet – but so far he hasn’t responded to my text from the previous day after I did a first-date runner. Have I already ruined our fake relationship?
I dilly-dally with the idea of texting him again, but it feels like that would be heading into Stage Four Clinger territory. No, isn’t it best to remain aloof? Let him chase me and all that? But what if it’s over before it’s even begun?
Golly, there’s no rule book for this kind of thing. Who knew fake-dating would be as angst-ridden as real dating?
We get an influx of customers. I peek outside and see a tour bus where a seemingly never-ending stream of tourists are alighting. This is a very good sign! I dash behind the counter and help Gran serve. We chat to our newest customers who tell us they’re from Guangzhou in China and are doing day trips around the Greek islands.
They’re happy and bubbly – the perfect kind of customer. That is, until they ask to take photos with me. Why me? ‘You’re so pretty!’
‘Umm, OK.’ I’m not much of a compliment-taking/photo person, but they seem so friendly and genuinely excited about the idea, that I agree.
Houdini takes this moment to leap into the air and photo bomb. The customer screeches with laughter when she views the screen and holds it out for me to see.
Houdini looks like he’s base jumping. His jowls have rippled outwards with the momentum of his leap, his eyes are crazy wide but it’s the devilish grin on his face that is hilarious. I go to pat him for taking such a funny photo but of course,poof, he’s disappeared. I’m sure he was once a circus dog, or something.
The tourists continue to take pictures around the bookshop and with the canines, who all put on a show, except for Lily who dashes outside to Gran’s villa to hide.
I’m helping a young couple find walking guides for greater Greece when Roxy comes in with Houdini in her arms. ‘You will never guess where he was.’
‘Where?’
‘The roof of your villa!”
I reel back. ‘But … how? How did he get up there and how on earth did he find his footing?’ The roof is a dome shape. I can’t see how he’d find any traction without tumbling off.
Roxy shakes her head, her eyes wild as if she can’t believe it either. ‘Scared the life out of me. I called him down and he leapt into my arms and we both fell to the grass. He’s got daredevil blood in him!’
‘He does!’ Houdini seems to like living life on the edge like some kind of stunt dog.
The queue of book buyers grows as we chat. ‘I’ll help,’ Roxy says, putting down Houdini with a stern warning that he’s to keep his paws firmly planted on the earth.
Chapter 12
A few days later, Gran and I are stacking the shelves at Muses with more second-hand books for the Rent-A-Dog initiative when Georgios arrives. ‘Good morning,’ he says.
Oh God, he’s quite disarming in the sunlight. ‘Hi.’ I focus all my attention on lining the books up symmetrically. Anything to not stare directly at him. I’m not sure how I feel about the radio silence between us. And now he’s here in the flesh.
‘You look beautiful today, Evie.’
I admit I might have acted rashly by running, but I’m a little rusty with romance and I’d been caught up in the plot, the moment, the headiness of a man in my orbit. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
‘Umm.’ I narrow my eyes. I won’t mention the fact he didn’t reply to my text and left me worrying for days on end. I’m better than that. ‘Why didn’t you reply to my text?’Damn it.
He’s probably judging me for kissing on the first date. I know I would.
‘Sorry, I went swimming with my phone.’
‘What – you couldn’t find a friend to go with?’
