One Last Greek Summer

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘Aim high, right?’ Alex said, smiling.

  ‘Like the parasailing,’ Beth said, reaching for his hands as a shaft of sunlight flooded their table.

  ‘What were you going to say?’ Alex asked her, gently squeezing her hands in his.

  ‘I was going to say,’ she began. ‘Let’s make a date.’ She took a breath, the thrill of making this a temporary parting not something permanent, driving her on.

  ‘A date?’ he queried.

  She looked at her watch, reminding herself what day it was.

  ‘It’s the 30th of July,’ Beth told him. ‘Let’s meet up… on this day… next summer.’

  ‘Where?’ Alex asked, eyes bright. ‘Here? In Corfu?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Beth answered. ‘Wherever we want to… the world is out there, waiting for us and neither of us know what the next twelve months is going to bring. We could be doing anything… I don’t know…’ She took a breath. ‘I think I’m saying… whatever we’re doing, wherever we are, let’s save the 30th of July for us. Let’s meet somewhere in the world… with dance music and sand under our feet.’

  ‘And sleeping in cabanas?’ Alex asked, his eyebrow quirking upwards.

  ‘We didn’t actually do that much sleeping,’ Beth reminded him.

  ‘The 30th of July,’ he repeated. ‘Not much sleeping. It sounds perfect to me.’

  ‘Is that a date?’ Beth asked, holding onto his hands hopefully.

  ‘No. Not a date,’ he said. ‘It is a promise.’

  It was exactly what she had longed to hear and as the sun continued to shine down over this perfect little corner of Corfu, Beth knew this reconnection with her past was definitely going to be part of her brand new future.

  Epilogue

  San Antonio, Ibiza

  Next summer – 29th July

  ‘You do have sun cream on, Heidi, don’t you?’

  ‘Who are you? My mother? Yes, I have sun cream on. Do you have sun cream on, Beth?’

  She had sun cream on. And insect repellent. And a hat. Beth wasn’t sure about the hat. She had never been a hat person and she still wasn’t sure that, at thirty-two, she was a hat person now either. The only reason she had the hat on was to hide. And that sounded crazy too. What was she hiding from? Why was she so nervous? Nervous enough to wear a hat she didn’t even like. It was probably the fact this was the biggest, maddest, out-there thing since she had goat-karted in Corfu last year. But it was time to step it up from local art galleries and craft fairs. It was time to aim higher.

  Beth put her fingers to one of her favourite pieces on the stall she was standing behind. It was a pair of sea glass earrings, almost perfect circles of amber with just enough ruggedness to show it was natural, only slightly enhanced by a simple silver post to go into the ears.

  Maybe it was actually Ibiza that was making her panic. Never in a million years did she imagine she would be on this beach, selling her jewellery as part of a summer festival of arts and crafts. She was here on the beach for three days, Heidi as her helper, and then for the next three weeks, she had a pop-up shop during the day next to a buzzing café and a stall in the evenings. She was hoping the Spanish island would give her inspiration for a new Mediterranean collection she was planning to work on over the winter. It was always good to try and keep the sunshine going through the darker, bleaker months when London got rainy.

  ‘Lose the hat,’ Heidi ordered. ‘I’m guessing someone at the art gallery told you all artists look good in headwear, but it’s not true. It makes most people look poncey and it’s doing nothing for you.’ She sniffed. ‘Plus, customers want to actually see the face of the artist they’re buying from, not just one of their eyebrows.’

  Her best friend was still the best at telling her how it was. But, despite that fact, Heidi had done some changing in twelve months. Beth’s best friend was the most relaxed she had ever known her, and it had nothing to do with healthy eating or Pilates sessions, it was completely down to love. She and Elektra were going strong and Heidi spent more time on EasyJet flights back and forth to Corfu than some of their pilots did. They had also met up in Athens, London and recently had enjoyed a random weekend in Scotland thanks to a grateful Mountbatten Global client. Kalm Life was also set to become bigger than anyone could have envisaged. A few weeks after their return to the UK from Corfu last summer, Beth had suggested that Heidi might like to mention the kumquat products to her client, James Graves. He was still looking for that new, ethical start-up business to get behind at its very initial conception and Beth had felt sure the entrepreneur wouldn’t want to miss out on this. And she had been right. He was more than keen to meet Elektra, talk to her about the products and see where his sales and investment expertise could be utilised in creating a global brand. With a proper premises in Corfu and staff to help with production it was all becoming very real very quickly.

  ‘And smile,’ Heidi ordered, putting a smile on her own face. ‘You’re never going to sell anything unless you smile.’

  ‘I am smiling,’ Beth assured, forcing her mouth wider.

  ‘Fake smiling,’ Heidi retorted. ‘Like Tilly when she pretends to be straight.’

  ‘She is straight!’ Beth insisted.

  ‘Deluded!’

  Beth moved a couple of items, pushing a small bracelet of beads a little further forward. She didn’t just deal in beach glass now. She had started to use other sand treasures in her work – pebbles, stones, wood, even bits of washed-up random that caught her eye – and she was finally making a little bit of money. Enough to cover the bills of her little two-bedroom apartment overlooking a park. She had sold her too-big house Charles had bought for her mum, used some of the proceeds to buy the flat and the rest to rent space in an artist’s studio half an hour from her new home. But the cash pot was now running on fumes and it was time for her business to make enough to keep her. Ibiza really did have to pay for itself. She sighed, the smile losing traction on her lips.

  ‘Was that a sigh?’ Heidi asked, slugging from her bottle of water.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Because aren’t we both living the dream, right now? Three weeks in Ibiza.’ Heidi breathed in the warm air. ‘I know we’re sort-of working but working under the sun, eating paella and sardines, drinking sangria and cerveza… And Elektra will be here next week.’

  Beth watched as her friend’s eyes went to mush at the thought of her girlfriend. It was beautiful. But she did feel a little bit envious. It was the 29th July today. Tomorrow would be the 30th. A year ago, she and Lex had made a promise. To be together wherever they were in the world. Except it hadn’t quite gone to plan. Despite their constant texting and phone calls they weren’t going to be together on the 30th. She was here and Alex was performing at a Club Monarch in Thessaloniki. Both had had to break their promise. But it was fine, they had agreed it was fine.

  They had remained in touch, but they hadn’t seen each other in person since Beth’s flight out of Corfu. It was, again, a decision they had made together. They needed to be focused, undistracted from making their careers the best that they could be. Except Beth had found the last twelve months ridiculously hard. When she had had a success with a piece at the studio or gained an exhibition night at an upmarket gallery, the first person she thought of was Alex. She wanted to share every moment with him, and she had, but at the back of her mind, just telling him on the phone or sending him a message felt like holding back. Still, it was what it was. And they still had that special connection just on a somewhat faraway level…

  ‘What time is it?’ Heidi asked. ‘Is it lunchtime yet? I could murder a jug of sangria – lots of fruit in that so brilliantly healthy – and maybe some churros.’

  ‘Churros are definitely not healthy,’ Beth told her.

  ‘What time is it then?’ Heidi repeated.

  Beth checked her watch. ‘It’s almost one o’clock so it is lunchtime. Do you want to go and get something?’

  ‘No,’ Heidi said. ‘Shit, where is it?�
�� She rifled through her rattan basket bag, hair clips and dried fruit being mingled around. ‘Here it is.’ She held out a fluorescent yellow flier, the type Beth had seen all over Ibiza advertising cheap drink offers in bars or the latest party nights.

  ‘What is it?’ Beth asked, looking to Heidi and not the piece of paper.

  ‘You are going out to lunch,’ Heidi told her. ‘Read the invitation.’

  Beth dropped her eyes then and looked at the writing.

  Bread, olives, melitzanosalata and sweet white wine. 1.00pm. San Antonio Beach Restaurant, Ibiza. I know I am a day early, but I hope you can make it. Lex x

  Beth was shaking, completely shellshocked, but she was moving out from behind her stall as quickly as her jelly legs would allow. She knocked into the table and Heidi made a grab for the merchandise.

  ‘It’s left!’ Heidi called. ‘Go left! And take that fucking hat off!’

  Beth about-turned, threw the hat towards Heidi, then began to run.

  *

  Alex blew out a breath, picnic hamper in one hand, a small cloth bag in his other. He had never been more nervous, and that said a lot about this scenario. He still remembered the dreadful feeling invading his stomach before that life-changing set at The Vault but since then he had taken on a whole lot more of scary and conquered it all. He was currently dividing his time between the Greek mainland, the occasional trip to Spain and Corfu. He was one of the top names performing at Club Monarch now and already, for this season, he was starting to get offered spots at prime festivals midway up the billing.

  ‘Alex,’ the dark-haired man at his side said. ‘Straighten the collar of your shirt and try not to sweat. It is not that hot.’

  He turned to the man and indicated his hands were full. The man stepped up and began taking ownership of the collar-straightening.

  ‘You look like you are waiting for an interview with the police,’ the man continued. ‘You are looking forward to this moment, yes?’

  Alex nodded. ‘Yes, Papa. More than anything.’

  Spiros doffed him on the shoulder then took a step back. ‘Then show on your face what you feel in your heart.’

  What he felt in his heart he had been feeling over and over, growing in strength a thousand-fold for the past twelve months. He might have been living his best life – much more than he could have ever imagined – but his messages and phone calls to Beth had been the brightest moments. She was the first person he called after a show. She was the first person he told about new offers from club promoters. She was the only person he told when things didn’t go quite so well. She made him feel better when he needed it. And she had always been able to do that. This long-distance relationship had to change.

  And then he saw her. Beth was running along the promenade, natural waves bouncing round her face, a light peach-coloured dress skimming her body. She didn’t look any different. She was so beautiful. Inside and out.

  Alex watched her slow down, look up to the name of the restaurant and then she turned away from the establishment and her eyes went to the sand. He stood still, drinking her in, his stomach fizzing with anticipation.

  *

  He was here. He was really here in Ibiza. Beth looked at Alex, trying to smile, but tears were spilling from her eyes. It was almost too much. Here was the love of her life, clad in those blue jeans, a white cotton shirt over his torso, mirrored sunglasses covering his eyes, dark hair rippling in the breeze. He was holding a picnic basket and her mind went to that Corfu date just over a year ago. She should rearrange her hair. She should pull down her dress or do something to make herself look less hot and bothered, but all she could think about was connecting with him. She rushed down from the promenade, onto the beach and ran towards him, kicking up sand as she hurried to meet him.

  As she barrelled in to him, Alex dropped the picnic hamper and caught her up in the tightest of embraces as she sobbed into his shoulder.

  ‘Lex,’ she breathed, like she had been holding his name on her lips for the longest of times. ‘I… can’t believe this.’

  He didn’t answer her, but then she felt his shoulder shake and she knew he was crying too, both of them so overcome by the fact they were back together again.

  ‘Beth,’ he finally breathed, holding her away from him and looking at her.

  She kissed him then, her mouth unable to wait a second longer. Lips riding over his, the passion unrelenting, her body flooded with nothing short of the deepest love. How could she have held this feeling at arms-length for the past year?

  ‘You said you were in Greece,’ Beth said when they finally parted.

  ‘I know,’ he breathed.

  ‘You said you wouldn’t be able to meet me on the 30th.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Alex answered, a smile on his lips. ‘But today is the 29th.’

  ‘You are only here for one day?’ Beth asked, disappointment in her tone. She shouldn’t feel disappointed. He was here now. She had got to feel him again.

  He shook his head. ‘I have to perform in Greece tomorrow night… but I am coming back on the 1st of August,’ he told her. ‘I could have waited, I guess, but I did not want to wait. I couldn’t wait. And I wanted to surprise you.’ He held her hand. ‘Beth, I’ve been given the summer in Ibiza. I am going to be playing at a club called Collide until the end of September.’

  Her hands went to her mouth, more tears starting to spill. Ibiza had been his pinnacle, always, and he was going to be DJing there for the entire summer. And she was here for the next three weeks too…

  ‘Lex, I’m—’ she began.

  ‘Don’t say anything,’ he interrupted. He held out the small fabric bag to her. ‘Beth,’ he began, ‘I do not know how you feel now, after a year of not seeing each other, but I know, without any doubts what I still feel for you.’

  She swallowed, looking at the hessian she was holding, but listening to his words.

  ‘The very last thing I want to do is make you feel trapped or to feel that you are compromising on the business you have built up. But… open the bag,’ he urged.

  Beth pulled the cords round the edge of the bag and tipped its contents into her palm. She exhaled in surprise and delight as dozens of pieces of beach glass fell into her hand like the most precious and expensive jewels. There were greens and reds and flashes of bright white and purple, like a multicoloured light show of gems.

  ‘Lex, they’re beautiful,’ she exclaimed.

  ‘I love you, Beth. And I want to marry you one day,’ Alex told her with certainty. ‘I want you to wear a ring made of sea glass, and in the future, I want to make the baby we never had eleven years ago and maybe some brothers and sisters.’ He pushed his sunglasses up onto his head and took hold of her free hand, looking into her eyes. ‘But, the most important thing for me to know is, what do you want, Beth? Because, if I have made a mistake, if this is not how you feel too, I do not know what I will do but I will… probably be the DJ who lives alone with cats.’

  ‘No, goats,’ Beth told him. ‘And a few years before the first baby because I have a new collection of work I think could really take off… and no promise of brothers and sisters until we have settled in with the first one. Plus, any more than one and Heidi probably won’t be able to cope with the babysitting.’

  ‘Are the goats a deal-breaker?’ Alex asked her, smiling. ‘Because you know my mother has all her licences for official goat-karting trips now?’

  Beth squeezed his hand. ‘What is a deal-breaker is this distance,’ she said. ‘How are we going to cope with the distance?’

  Alex looked to the basket at his feet. ‘I do have food in here,’ he told her. ‘But I also have a world map and ideas of how we can see more of each other.’

  Beth turned her smile to sultry then. ‘If they had a cabana on this beach, we could see more of each other right now. A lot more.’

  ‘Keep that thought for later,’ Alex told her, holding her hand. ‘Right now, I would really like you to meet my dad.’ Alex whistled then. ‘P
ateras!’

  Beth watched as a tall, dark-haired man waved a hand from a chair on the edge of the sand. He was the image of Alex, just an older version, a few more lines, a little grey in his dark hair, all the handsome…

  ‘Lex! Your dad is with you! In Ibiza!’

  He nodded. ‘I told him I wanted him to meet the woman I love. The woman I have always loved.’

  Beth put her arms round him and he kissed her again, sealing the promise of forever, whatever it took to get them there. The memory of one last Greek summer was now going to be the beginning of their always.

  A Letter to the Reader

  Dear lovely reader,

  *passes tissues* Do you need to wipe the tears away? Well, I hope you LOVED One Last Greek Summer and it made you cry only happy tears!

  I also hope you really enjoyed getting to know Beth, Alex, Heidi, Elektra and all the other supporting characters in the book… including the goats! Did you also like the descriptions of the Greek island of Corfu and the delicious Greek gastronomy? I was always hungry writing this one!

  I am very lucky to have a little Greek house by the sea in Corfu, which is one of the reasons I love to set my summer reads there. And, like Beth, I love nothing better than some fresh bread and all manner of Greek dips – taramasalata (cod roe dip), tzatziki (yoghurt, garlic, cucumber and mint dip), tirokafteri (feta cheese dip), melitznosalata (aubergine dip).

  I do love to hear from readers, so contact me, let me know who your favourite character in One Last Greek Summer was. Was it sexy Lex? Or hilarious Heidi? And how did you feel about Charles? Was he a bit of a villain or could you understand why he behaved like he did? How about Margalo? Was she just protecting her son or holding him back because she was selfish or afraid of a life alone?

  If you did enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review. Reviews do mean so much (I read every single review) and they help other readers find books they might like to read on their holidays (or on their sofas… or on the train… or in their gardens… with ice cream!).