Five people, three secrets, one planned proposal. What could possibly go wrong?
A holiday in a luxury villa on Corfu sounds like the answer to all their prayers but it will change their lives forever. A week in paradise might not be long enough…
First date nerves don’t get any easier, no matter how old you are:
At exactly 8 pm that night she stood fidgeting and patting her hair, waiting by the front door, butterflies flittering around in her stomach making her feel sure she was not going to be able to eat a single thing at dinner. She was looking at her phone for the hundredth time to check when she felt, rather than heard, a resounding noise and a huge, growling motorbike came thundering down the drive and skidded to a stop in front of her. She looked aghast at the machine and then up into the laughing face of Pericles.
‘You should see your face!’ he howled, slapping his thigh ‘I guess you are not used to motorbikes.’
‘I most certainly am not! You cannot seriously expect me to get on the back of that thing’ she snapped, her shock at his arrival making her forget her nerves. Although she had to admit the old Triumph Bonneville seemed to suit his personality somehow: old but strong with an edge of something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Pericles kicked the stand into place easily, swung his leg over the bike and walked over to her. Taking her hands in his he looked deep into her eyes and said ‘If you are that uncomfortable with the idea then I will go and bring my car. But Kate, you and I have spent too long I think being careful, not trying anything new and so not having any fun. I believe tonight is the time for us to both let loose a little, don’t you?’
As she gazed into his velvet brown eyes, a bubble of something welled up inside her; the nervous butterflies had been replaced with excitement.
‘Give me a minute’ she said and ran back into the villa. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing a different outfit. This time she had on Capri pants, much more suited for a pillion ride. He smiled at her obvious consent and, having climbed back on to his bike, held out his hand to help her jump on behind him. He reached behind him to take her hands yet again, this time pulling them around his waist.
‘Hold on tight’ he said over his shoulder ‘I wouldn’t want to lose you now.’ And she clasped his waist as a shiver ran through her, excitement and nerves battling for dominance.
Clutching on to him for dear life as he made his way back up the drive and along the bumpy track to the main road, she was surprised when he did pick up speed to find herself laughing with exhilaration as they sped up the road, flying around the bends with ease.
The ride that night was a revelation to Kate. With the warm air blowing through her hair, the vibration of the uneven roads reverberating through her and everything passing by in a blur, she felt liberated. For the first time in her life, she felt completely free and unfettered and it was a wonderful sensation.
When he eventually slowed down and turned off the main road onto an incredibly steep drive leading down to a beach, gravity pulling her even closer to his warmth, she was almost disappointed that the journey was over. She looked up at the restaurant they had pulled in next to, which looked dark, apart from a dim light near the back, and decidedly closed. The tiered veranda at the front of the building was large enough to accommodate a host of tables but they were all bare, giving off a lonely, abandoned air.
‘Are you sure we’re in the right place?’ she asked him, looking around uncertainly. Smiling with an impish look on his face he took her by the hand and led her down some wooden steps onto the sandy beach below and there, a little before the shoreline, was a table set for two, surrounded by flickering candles casting a romantic glow over the scene.
‘Oh my’ she whispered as she took it all in. ‘I feel just like Shirley Valentine.’
Her many years working in the tourist industry on this sunny isle and her love of all things literary inspired her first novel Corfu Capers which recently hit the #1 spot in Parenting and Family humour much to her delight.
She loves to cook, dance and drink wine, usually at the same time, and is currently working on book number two, due to be released later this year.
She also loves to travel, absolutely anywhere, and is looking forward to jumping on a plane!
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