by Sandy Barker
The work was incredible, though. As James had said, it was both unique and familiar at the same time. I’m not saying it was something I would want on my walls, but I could see why others might.
Watching James work was the most intriguing part. If I hadn’t known why we were there, I don’t know how obvious it would have been that some sort of deal was being struck. James directed the conversation so that the artist, Ari, could express how he wanted his work viewed, who his audience was, and what he envisioned for his first major exhibit. Mostly, James listened, only offering a few interjections to confirm a key piece of Ari’s vision.
And before I knew it, the whole thing was over, and Ari was packing up his portfolio – he’d brought a handful of smaller pieces and some photos of the rest of the work. Then he left. And I was stuck with two crazy Europeans who seemed to share a constant private joke. I loved it.
‘Sarah,’ said Armando, smiling wickedly at me, ‘what are you doing with Jimmy, here? He is a cad, don’t you know?’
‘Hey now,’ said James. I detected a slight edge to his voice, and he looked sideways at his friend. I wasn’t sure what to address first – that Armando had called James ‘Jimmy’ – he so wasn’t a ‘Jimmy’ – that he’d asked what I was doing with James as though we were a couple – which we most certainly were not – or that the silver fox was supposedly a cad.
I went with the nickname; it was the easiest to deal with. ‘Jimmy?’ I raised my eyebrows at James.
‘Very few people in the world call me that and Armando happens to be one of them. Let’s just say he earned it.’ Another in-joke, apparently. Armando laughed a hearty belly laugh and poured himself more Metaxa. Armando held the bottle of Metaxa aloft as if to ask if I wanted a refill. I shook my head; I’d had more than enough to drink, and I wanted to keep my wits about me.
‘So, I don’t know how you two met,’ I said, trying to redirect the conversation as far away from me as possible.
‘No, no, beautiful, you do not get off that easily,’ countered Armando. ‘How do you two know each other? That’s what I want to know.’
I looked at James, floundering for an appropriate response. He had basically tried to pick me up outside a church.
James, however, was not flustered and answered with, ‘Sarah caught my eye on Santorini. I asked her to lunch, and she let me down. But, as fortune often smiles on me, it turns out she is travelling with Duncan, and we met again tonight.’ He smiled at me smugly. I frowned and his smile broadened. Why did he always have the upper hand?
‘Duncan, the skipper?’ Armando obviously knew Duncan too.
‘The very one.’
‘Wonderful! I love how these things work out.’
‘What things?’ I finally spoke.
‘You and Jimmy. He probably thought he would never see you again.’ He looked at James who nodded by way of confirmation. ‘And then, here you are on Naxos. How wonderful.’
‘I think so,’ said James.
‘And you, Sarah? Do you believe in fate, in kismet?’ Armando was putting me on the spot – again.
‘Hard to say. I suppose that will depend on what happens next.’ I’d said it as a challenge, but who was I challenging? The silver fox? Me? I didn’t know what was going to happen in the next few minutes, let alone the rest of the night. What if James did ask me back to his hotel? Would I go? Would I make love with the handsome silver fox, when the American boy was no doubt waiting up for me? Was kismet responsible for this mess? If it was, then kismet deserved a kick in the bum.
‘Well, I know what’s happening next,’ said James, as he made to leave. ‘Time to get going, I’m afraid.’
Hang on – we were leaving? I was going to be alone with him, and I wasn’t even sure yet what that would mean.
‘So soon, my old friend?’ Armando replied as he stood to say goodbye.
‘Watch who you call old,’ retorted James. It was great that they were enjoying friendly banter while I was having a mild panic attack. I stood up and hunted around the roomy couch for my handbag. I found it just as I caught James’s eye. ‘I must see Sarah back to the yacht. It’s getting late,’ he added.
Back to the yacht? Not back to his hotel? I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed. I think there was even a smidge of ‘insulted’ in the mix of emotions churning inside me. Or was that the brandy mixing with the gin?
‘Yes,’ I said thrusting my hand towards Armando, ‘we must be off. It’s getting late, and you know how old people are if they have too many late nights.’ Well, that was a tad bitchy, Sarah. Armando ignored my hand and pulled me close for a series of kisses on my cheeks. There were so many, I lost count after three.
‘Sarah,’ he gushed, ‘you are delightful. It’s wonderful to meet a woman who can handle Jimmy so deftly.’
Handle him? Is that what I’m doing? I thought I was behaving like a toddler.
James put a light hand on my shoulder and gently steered me to the door. He gave Armando a hug and two cheek kisses – Europeans! – and then we were outside in the fresh evening air, alone. My chin jutted out at an angle that would have made Reese Witherspoon proud. I tucked it in a little lest I looked too impertinent.
‘Shall we?’ he said, gesturing towards the pathway leading to the marina.
‘We shall,’ I replied. We walked in silence for a few minutes. The air was still, and it smelled intoxicatingly of bougainvillaea. I inhaled deeply, knowing I’d forevermore think of the Greek Islands whenever I smelled that sweet aroma. Thousands of stars lit up the sky and lights from homes dotted the hillside down to the marina. The island was stunning.
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ I found myself saying.
‘It is.’ He touched my hand and pulled me to a stop. ‘You are also beautiful.’
‘You make me nervous,’ I blurted out, the tranquil moment shattered. To his credit, he responded by laughing – not a mild, smarmy laugh, but a throw-your-head-back-and-laugh-out-loud kind of a laugh. I found myself laughing too – mostly at how silly I was being.
‘Why on earth,’ he said through the laughter, ‘do I make you nervous?’ He shook his head as though he couldn’t believe it.
‘Because. You’re a grown-up. You’re an adult in every way, and I feel like a ridiculous schoolgirl around you.’
‘Sarah, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you, my lovely, are all woman – there’s not a schoolgirlish thing about you.’
‘Really?’
We were walking again. ‘Really. And not only that, if I’m completely honest, you make me a little nervous too.’
‘I do?’
‘Yes. You’re so forthright. There’s no pretence with you – you say exactly what’s on your mind.’
‘Not always.’
‘Maybe not, but enough. It’s refreshing. Look, I meet a lot of people – women –’ I frowned at that ‘– but I rarely meet a beautiful woman who keeps me on my toes like you do.’ I felt myself start to relax; I liked hearing nice things about me.
‘When I first saw you on Santorini, you really did take my breath away. I asked you to lunch, because I thought we would have an interesting conversation – and if not, it was just lunch. And then you didn’t show up, which made me more intrigued about you. You cannot know how pleased I was to see you in the restaurant tonight. I thought our one meeting was all there would ever be – and then, there you were.’
‘There I was.’ I was transfixed by his words.
‘Exactly, and over the course of dinner, and drinks and more drinks, I discovered you are witty – mostly at your own expense. You’re interested in others, you have an adventurous spirit, and most surprisingly, you don’t let me get away with much.’
‘Oh.’
‘Is that all you have to say?’
‘That’s a lot to take in. I don’t think of myself like that.’
‘I understand. I don’t mean to overwhelm you. I mean, despite everything I’ve said, we only just met and I am probably m
aking a lot of assumptions.’
‘About?’
‘You. Us. What could happen.’
‘Oh.’
‘‘Oh’ again? Suddenly you’re not so articulate. I think I’m making you nervous again.’
‘No. I just – I don’t know what to say. I—’
‘What?’
‘Well, you’re taking me back – to the boat – and I thought—’
‘You thought I would ask you back to my hotel.’
‘Yes.’
‘And would you have come?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Ah.’
‘But I think I wanted you to ask me.’
‘I wanted to, but there are a couple of things stopping me – maybe more than a couple.’
‘Oh? Sorry, I mean, what things?’
‘Well, for a start, I leave early in the morning for Athens and, presumably, you’ll be heading to the next island.’
‘I didn’t realise you were leaving so soon.’
‘Back to Athens, and then straight to London, I’m afraid.’
‘So, “early” means?’
‘My plane leaves at six.’
‘Right – that is ridiculously early.’
‘Exactly, and believe me, the first time I make love to you, I don’t want there to be any reason to rush.’ My stomach did a somersault, followed by a backflip. It did not stick the landing.
‘I see. The first time? So …’ We stopped walking and stood, facing each other.
‘That’s my next point. If something happens between us, I don’t want it to be a one-night thing. Those are horrid. And, frankly, I gave them up in my thirties.’
I nodded as though it made perfect sense – even though I’d been willing to have a one-night thing with James up until a few minutes before.
‘And there’s one last thing.’
Oh god! He was going to tell me he was married – or dying – or both!
‘The young man on the yacht …’
‘Josh?’ I said, a little too loudly.
‘Josh, yes. I got the sense something is going on between you, and I don’t want to be that man.’
‘What man?’
‘I don’t want to insert myself somewhere I’m not welcome.’ Did he really just say that? I thought. I couldn’t let it slide.
‘Did you hear what you just said?’
‘Yes – actually, I did – as soon as I said it, and it was quite awful, and if you could forget I said it, that would be excellent.’
‘Totally forgotten.’
‘Good. Now back to Josh …’ But what about Josh? What could I say?
‘Josh and I only met a few days ago …’ Sarah, no matter how tipsy you are, you absolutely must not pretend that nothing is happening with Josh. That isn’t fair to him – or James – or you. Sometimes the voice in my head can be so damned reasonable.
‘… but we’ve become really close in a short time.’ That was good – and true. ‘Somehow, despite living on opposite sides of the world, and that I didn’t even know him a week ago, I feel like he’s going to be important to me.’
‘Oh.’
‘Now you’re saying “Oh”.’
‘Yes.’
‘But the thing is, I don’t know what will happen with him. He doesn’t want a relationship. He has been adamant about that – in fact, before he discovered you and I had already met, he wanted to pick your brain about the incredible bachelor life you lead.’
‘It’s probably not like he thinks it is.’
‘I’m sure that parts of it are,’ I said, smiling.
‘Just not the “bachelor” part. Unlike your friend, I do want to be in a relationship.’
‘And therein lies my dilemma.’
‘I see that now. Look, we don’t need to decide the rest of our lives tonight. How about I get in contact with you when I get back to London? Let’s keep in touch, then see how it all pans out?’
‘You’re letting me off the hook.’ I started walking again. We were close to the marina.
‘Perhaps. Do you remember you said that to me on Santorini when I asked you to lunch, “perhaps”?’
‘I do remember. I was trying to be way cooler than I felt. You kind of took my breath away too, you know.’
‘So, I can contact you?’
‘Of course.’ I rummaged around in my handbag for a notepad and pen, wrote out my email address and mobile phone number – neatly, so he would be able to read them – and tore out the page. ‘Here. Oh, and I forgot to say that I’m heading to London at the end of this trip – my sister lives there, and I’m staying with her for a week.’
He returned my smile, obvious delight in his eyes. ‘That, lovely Sarah, is wonderful news.’
‘I think so, too.’
We arrived at the end of the pier, and I stopped and turned to him. ‘This is me,’ I said.
He took both of my hands in his and lifted them to his lips, kissing them in turn. ‘I still cannot believe you were at dinner tonight. It was a lovely surprise.’
‘And after I recovered from the shock, it was a lovely surprise for me too. Thank you for taking me to Armando’s – I had fun with you crazy Europeans.’ He laughed.
And then he stopped laughing and looked at me with those ridiculously sexy eyes. ‘I’m going to kiss you now.’
‘You’d better,’ I replied as I slid my hands around his neck and stood on my tiptoes. The kiss was incredible – slow, sexy, strong. He really knew what he was doing. But, then again, so did Josh. Josh was a great kisser – which was wonderful, but not something I wanted to be thinking about while kissing the silver fox. I pushed the unwelcome thought away and sunk back into the kiss I was in.
We pulled apart, and I think I may have purred a little.
‘Goodnight, beautiful. I hope to see you in London.’
‘Goodnight,’ I said dreamily as I turned and walked back to the boat.
Chapter Eleven
I wasn’t wearing my watch, so when I arrived back at the boat I had no idea what time it was – late, I guessed. I crossed the gangplank cautiously. I didn’t want to fall between the boat and the dock for two reasons – I wanted to avoid drowning, and I didn’t want to wake the family. I made it across without doing either, stepping onto the deck of the boat as lightly as I could.
‘Hey,’ came a soft voice from the top deck of the boat. Josh was silhouetted against the moonlight.
‘Hey,’ I replied just as softly. Had he been waiting up for me? I remembered thinking earlier in the night that he might, but still, it surprised me.
‘Fun night?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’ I didn’t know what else to say. Had he seen me at the end of the pier with James? Oh god! Did he see the kiss?
A moment went by in silence – a big, fat moment. ‘Goodnight,’ I said, for want of anything better to say. I was still basking in the euphoria of kissing James.
I wasn’t ready to deal with my feelings for Josh. I ducked below deck and heard a quiet, ‘Goodnight,’ in return.
I tiptoed across the dining nook, knowing that every tiny sound was amplified on the small boat. I didn’t want to disturb anyone, especially not Hannah. I slowly turned the knob to our cabin and saw that she was asleep on the bottom bunk – my bunk. She seemed completely out of it, which I was glad for, but I was going to have to break out some pretty impressive manoeuvres to get over her and into the top bunk without waking her up.
I slipped into the small bathroom and washed up as quickly and quietly as I could. Moonlight pooled in through the ceiling hatch, and I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I looked – what? Happy, I looked happy. I eased the bathroom door open and stood beside the bunks for a moment, trying to work out my course.
I figured if I put my foot on the edge of the lower bunk and swung up and over Hannah, who was now lying spread-eagle across it, I might make it without disturbing her. I cursed the last glass of brandy and how tipsy I was, but holding on to the edge of the top bunk
for leverage, I executed my plan flawlessly. I looked down at Hannah; she hadn’t even stirred. Either I was uber stealthy, or she was uber out of it.
I lay back on the bunk and thought back over my night with James. No one was going to believe this story when I told them; it sounded made up.
*
The next morning, the sun was a less than welcome sight. My eyes hurt when I tried to open them, and my head hurt when I tried to lift it off the tiny pillow.
‘Good morning, sunshine,’ crowed a cheery Hannah, as she stepped out from our bathroom. She was standing in the half-a-square-metre area, which made up our floor space, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I frowned – that hurt too. ‘Fun night?’ she asked, her voice dripping in insinuation.
‘Not that fun,’ I replied, a little tersely. Great – speaking hurt too. How much had I had to drink?
‘Well, you must have come in late. I was totally out of it – and that only happens for me in the middle of the night.’ She wiggled her eyebrows again. Damn her and her wretched eyebrows.
‘I did come in late – yes, but nothing happened – not really.’
‘You mean you didn’t sleep with the billionaire?’ She sounded disappointed.
‘He’s not a billionaire – he’s just a millionaire many times over.’ Did I really just say that? Is this who I am now, a person who casually mentions multi-millionaires?
‘Well, whatever he is. You didn’t sleep with him?’ Yep, she was disappointed.
‘No. I didn’t. We were at his friend’s place most of the night, and then he walked me home. And that’s it.’ She looked crestfallen. ‘Hannah, why do you care?’
‘Because. I do. If my friend can find a rich, handsome older guy who’s into her, then maybe I can.’ Seriously, she was making this about her? Fine. If that was the case, then I could at least give her some hope.
‘He did kiss me,’ I said, simply.
Her eyes got wide. ‘He did? How was it?’
‘It was great. He’s super sexy. He’s interesting—’
‘And interested, by the sounds of it.’
‘He is. Yes.’
‘AND? God, girl, getting any kind of information out of you is like interrogating a secret agent!’ She had a point, but I was only holding back because I wasn’t sure what was going on – or what was going to happen – or what I wanted.