Page 17 of The Greek Café

‘Well, you could block her if you are finding it a nuisance, I suppose.’

‘I think I will. I didn’t want to be unkind at first, but maybe it’s time to do just that.’

‘And you are absolutely sure she knows where she stands?’

We take our food and sit together at our regular corner table.

‘I am. We went out for six months, we broke up, it’s as simple as that. I don’t know why she took the break-up so badly.’

‘Because six months is quite a long time, so maybe she thought there was a future?’ I suggest.

‘Maybe. But I am not ready to settle down and do the whole domestic thing.’ He shrugs. His comment irritates me, as I think of my ex.

‘Well, maybe you ought to have been a bit more upfront about that,’ I say firmly. ‘Nobody wants to invest time in a relationship that is going nowhere.’

He has the decency to at least look a little embarrassed. ‘I hear you, but there won’t be a next time, at least for a while,’ he tells me. ‘I am going to take a vow of celibacy. That way I can’t give someone the wrong impression.’

An attractive young woman with waist-length dark hair enters the breakfast room; her bikini-clad body can be seen through her long, crocheted dress, and Kai can’t help staring at her.

‘Yeah, right,’ I say with a knowing look.

Just as well I don’t fancy him. Charming as he is, I could never fully trust a guy with such a wandering eye.

‘Hopefully. Anyway, enough about me. Are you ready for your Abba evening?’ He grins.

‘Just about.’

After the morning aerobics session, with a young woman wearing the tiniest bikini and throwing Kai flirty looks throughout, it’s time for a quick break before I take my position at the adult pool.

After grabbing a drink, I spot Summer sitting in the gorgeous sunshine, her face turned up to the sky and sipping a coffee. Above is a cloudless blue sky and the strong rays of the sun beating down.

‘Catching a few rays on your break?’ I take a seat beside her.

‘Hi, Erin, yes, it’s so gorgeous, isn’t it? I could sit here all afternoon. I’m working the pool bar for an hour shortly though,’ she tells me. ‘And I am so looking forward to the Abba night after the kiddies disco,’ she says with enthusiasm.

‘Glad someone is.’ I try to ignore the fluttering of nerves in my chest.

‘Oops, I forgot, sorry, it’s not your thing, is it?’

‘Nope. But I am trying to learn how not to hide away, face my fears and all that,’ I tell her, as I take a sip of my freshly squeezed orange juice.

‘Ah good for you.’ Summer places her hand over mine. ‘And sometimes the things we worry about are never quite as bad as they seem, are they,’ she says positively.

‘That’s true.’

‘So what’s the deal with Kai?’ she asks. ‘I heard him in the lobby, chatting on the phone last night. It sounded pretty heated.’

I tell her all about his ex, who he says is stalking him.

‘I think she is still smitten, but Kai says it was never anything serious.’

‘Maybe he should have told her that,’ says Summer.

‘That’s exactly what I said.’

‘Honestly, I don’t know. Some men think women are mind readers.’ She shakes her head.

‘I know, which is precisely why I am happily single,’ I say.