winged stallion, son of Poseidon, lord of the seas?”
I smiled. So he knew his Greek mythology and wanted me to know it .
“I believe that originally the hotel was a large house with stables,” I explained. “It’s situated on a promontory, in fact it looks a bit like a big spoon jutting out from the land into the sea. It’s very craggy and very rocky around there, and built high, with the hotel sort of balancing over a natural cliff formation on the rocks with the sea practically circling all around it at the back.”
“Sounds quite formidable. Like something out of a movie.”
I agreed. “Well, certainly it’s rather isolated and a bit desolate.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a fun place to go for a family trip,” he observed, easily overtaking a girl in a Smart car that had been trying to outrun him.
I gazed at the back of his head.
“There’s a small strip of beach in front of the place,” I said, musing reflectively. “Great place to sunbathe nude as there are few people around. On the whole it’s a good place to live if you’re the reclusive type, or maybe into ornithology as there are loads of birds about, but you’re right, I don’t suppose it’s so popular for families. But maybe that’s what some people like.”
He looked at me in his mirror and said cheerfully, “Sounds just like my sort of place.”
“Well, you must come out and visit sometime…” I glanced ahead into his cab, and saw his ID swinging on a chain from above the windscreen. “…Mr Ferrari.”
Ferrari ? My mother would love that . Well, initially, anyway.
He said, “Thanks. I will. But, please, call me Ari.”
“Ari it is. Great name, incidentally.”
“Thanks. I respond to it well, too. And it’s all down to my Jewish Italian parents. And you?”
“Protestant and English.”
He grinned. “I meant, what’s your name?”
“Oh.” I felt foolish. “Bailey. Bailey Cathcart.”
“OK. Miss Bailey Cathcart… I presume it’s a Miss since I see no evidence of a wedding band?”
I nodded, again rather impressed, this time by his powers of observation, but he just inclined his head formally.
“So, now we’ve introduced ourselves and have become good friends,” Ari went on, “maybe you’ll allow me to buy you a coffee and an iced bun at the airport, if you’ve time before your flight, that is.”
“Sure. That’d be nice,” I replied. “The plane doesn’t leave until after six.” I tilted my head and this time deliberately caught his eye again in the mirror. “As long as you let me pay for the coffee and cake, Ari. It’s the least I can do in the circumstances. And I can manage to afford coffee and cake.”
He flashed me a wide grin. “It’s a deal,” he said, and floored the accelerator.
Chapter 6
Freddie opened the door to my somewhat hesitant knock and, for a moment, he simply stood there in the doorway, gazing across at me. I couldn’t tell from his expression what he was thinking and I tried not to read anything too significant into it. But I suspected he wasn’t completely unaffected by to my appearance.
“Hello, Freddie,” I said quietly.
“Well, well,” he said finally. “Just look at you.”
I could feel my heart beating in my chest cavity, but I wasn’t sure if it was from nervousness or sexual tension. However, I still managed to keep the face impassive.
“Well, if you’ve finished looking me over, may I please come in?”
“Oh, sure. Sorry.” He made a big show of bowing me into the flat, and closed the door behind me. “Like the hair,” he said as I sashayed past him. “And the perfume.”
“It’s called ‘ Trashed’ ,” I said coolly.
And the guy actually believed me, because he just nodded, and said, “New one on me.”
“And you’d know all about women and their individual perfumes wouldn’t you?” I responded tartly as I made my way down the familiar long hallway towards what had once been his and my bedroom at the
I smiled. So he knew his Greek mythology and wanted me to know it .
“I believe that originally the hotel was a large house with stables,” I explained. “It’s situated on a promontory, in fact it looks a bit like a big spoon jutting out from the land into the sea. It’s very craggy and very rocky around there, and built high, with the hotel sort of balancing over a natural cliff formation on the rocks with the sea practically circling all around it at the back.”
“Sounds quite formidable. Like something out of a movie.”
I agreed. “Well, certainly it’s rather isolated and a bit desolate.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a fun place to go for a family trip,” he observed, easily overtaking a girl in a Smart car that had been trying to outrun him.
I gazed at the back of his head.
“There’s a small strip of beach in front of the place,” I said, musing reflectively. “Great place to sunbathe nude as there are few people around. On the whole it’s a good place to live if you’re the reclusive type, or maybe into ornithology as there are loads of birds about, but you’re right, I don’t suppose it’s so popular for families. But maybe that’s what some people like.”
He looked at me in his mirror and said cheerfully, “Sounds just like my sort of place.”
“Well, you must come out and visit sometime…” I glanced ahead into his cab, and saw his ID swinging on a chain from above the windscreen. “…Mr Ferrari.”
Ferrari ? My mother would love that . Well, initially, anyway.
He said, “Thanks. I will. But, please, call me Ari.”
“Ari it is. Great name, incidentally.”
“Thanks. I respond to it well, too. And it’s all down to my Jewish Italian parents. And you?”
“Protestant and English.”
He grinned. “I meant, what’s your name?”
“Oh.” I felt foolish. “Bailey. Bailey Cathcart.”
“OK. Miss Bailey Cathcart… I presume it’s a Miss since I see no evidence of a wedding band?”
I nodded, again rather impressed, this time by his powers of observation, but he just inclined his head formally.
“So, now we’ve introduced ourselves and have become good friends,” Ari went on, “maybe you’ll allow me to buy you a coffee and an iced bun at the airport, if you’ve time before your flight, that is.”
“Sure. That’d be nice,” I replied. “The plane doesn’t leave until after six.” I tilted my head and this time deliberately caught his eye again in the mirror. “As long as you let me pay for the coffee and cake, Ari. It’s the least I can do in the circumstances. And I can manage to afford coffee and cake.”
He flashed me a wide grin. “It’s a deal,” he said, and floored the accelerator.
Chapter 6
Freddie opened the door to my somewhat hesitant knock and, for a moment, he simply stood there in the doorway, gazing across at me. I couldn’t tell from his expression what he was thinking and I tried not to read anything too significant into it. But I suspected he wasn’t completely unaffected by to my appearance.
“Hello, Freddie,” I said quietly.
“Well, well,” he said finally. “Just look at you.”
I could feel my heart beating in my chest cavity, but I wasn’t sure if it was from nervousness or sexual tension. However, I still managed to keep the face impassive.
“Well, if you’ve finished looking me over, may I please come in?”
“Oh, sure. Sorry.” He made a big show of bowing me into the flat, and closed the door behind me. “Like the hair,” he said as I sashayed past him. “And the perfume.”
“It’s called ‘ Trashed’ ,” I said coolly.
And the guy actually believed me, because he just nodded, and said, “New one on me.”
“And you’d know all about women and their individual perfumes wouldn’t you?” I responded tartly as I made my way down the familiar long hallway towards what had once been his and my bedroom at the
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