‘You …! That driver almost killed me!’ Now it makes sense why he drove like a bat out of hell. Golly.
‘Oh don’t be so dramatic, darling. You’re alive aren’t you?’
‘I guess.’
‘We figured we needed to up the stakes, so we made up the lie about me not having paid the rent, thus giving me the excuse you’d need to fake-date him to keep them sweet. Yannis would use the excuse that Georgios had to keep a close eye on us, and make sure the business was viable or he’d have to sell the property. If we both invented money troubles, we knew we could convince you to go along with our plan.’
‘Are you saying you don’t have money troubles? What about Konstantine?’
‘Konstantine did take a chunk of money, darling. Silly me trusting a man with my bank account; I should know better, but I have other accounts. These are the things you come to learn after being married so many times.’
‘So the rent – it was paid?’
‘Yes, I pride myself on being a fabulous tenant. The rent has always been paid ahead of time. And Yannis owns half the island – he’s doing just fine for money too.’
‘All those bills with overdue stamps?’
‘Fake.’
‘The trades?’
‘Paid in full.’
It explains why she had money to get her cement path done, all the stock that continued to arrive. ‘Lucy? Did you pay her too?’
‘Of course. She held out for quite a bit too, the minx. Signed an NDA so legally she couldn’t talk about her appearance fee.’
‘You crafty little—’
‘But were we wrong?’ Yannis pipes up. ‘You’re in love, no?’
How can we be mad at these two conniving grandparents, when their hearts were in the right place? The amount of effort they’ve put in to make such a scheme happen makes my head spin. ‘I’d say – umm.’ I can’t just go declaring my love in front of everyone, can I?
‘I’m in love with Evie,’ Georgios says with a wide smile, pulling me into his arms. ‘And without you two meddling we probably wouldn’t have got every far. You’re right, that there’s no way I’d have agreed to a blind date. Not after the disasters they’ve set me up with before. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is – thanks?’
‘Yeah, thanks. But can we agree this is the last scheme?’ I dread to think what they might resort to if they suddenly see marriage or babies in our future.
Georgios plonks a kiss on the top of my head and our grandparents cheer. We turn when we hear the click of the gate latch.
‘What is going on? Why do none of you answer your phone? We’ve got trouble. Big trouble. Billy the Knuckle is on his way here!’
It’s my mom and Posy – they’re here in Santorini.
Chapter 36
Georgios mouths,Billy the Knuckle?
I shrug, clueless how to mime the whole sorry Billy the Knuckle history in a few gestures and lost in the shock of Mom and Posy’s sudden appearance. It was bound to happen but I thought they’d at least warn us they were on their way. The Fun Police usually arrive all guns blazing, sirens shrieking, lights flashing, that kind of thing. Unless they wanted the element of surprise? That makes more sense.
‘When it rains it pours,’ Gran says with a groan. But I know she’s secretly happy to see Mom and Posy. She probably knew they were coming. Gran’s not averse to hiring a PI either, when it suits.
Mom’s face is a picture of concern. ‘Did you hear what I said? Billy. The Knuckle. The mafia hood. Coming here. Probably to kill you.’
‘Kill who?’ Roxy gasps and pushes past Mom, alarm on her face. ‘I heard all the commotion from inside the bookshop! What have I missed? You guys have made island life so exciting! Never a dull moment! Who are they?’ She jerks a thumb to Mom and Posy.
‘The Fun Police,’ Gran says.
‘The Fun …? OK.’ Roxy knows by now to watch and listen when it comes to Gran and whatever gnarly situation she’s got herself into this time.
