they wanted a little more space and a soak in a bathtub like grown-ups they would transfer to Calli’s hotel room. The days followed one another effortlessly and the two lovers basked in each other’s proximity. Maya and his other friends often joined them for a swim in the bay and each evening they all had dinner together in Kyria Erini’s taverna.
Paolo suggested that the two of them hire a couple of bicycles and volunteered to show Calli some remote parts of the island that she could simply enjoy at leisure now that David had approved her article. When they weren’t soaking up the sun on some hidden cove and swimming with dolphins, he involved Calli in his allocated jobs around the island – picking grapes, watering vegetable gardens – and continued teaching her yoga.
‘You’re getting pretty good, tesoro,’ he praised her. ‘Do you see how the natural balance returns when you practise often?’ It was true; Calli was indeed enjoying her daily lessons on the beach and could see that she was improving, but she couldn’t in all honesty say which factor was restoring her equilibrium. Was it the yoga or the sex that was making her face glow and left her feeling like singing most of the time? Whichever it was, the effect was spectacular. She hadn’t felt so alive, so carefree and joyous in years.
‘So, tesoro,’ Paolo had said one day as they sat under the shade of an olive tree, taking a break from watering a plot planted with cucumbers, courgettes and succulent tomatoes, ‘when you go back home will you come and visit us in Verona? It is beautiful, it is the city of passion, the city of Romeo and Giulietta, and I know Anna will love you . . .’ he continued cheerfully. ‘Then later me and Anna can come visit you in your London too, no?’
‘Er . . . yes . . .’ Calli started to reply. ‘I’m sure I would love her too . . .’ her voice trailed off as she reached down by her side for her bottle of water, aware that a surprising hesitancy stopped her from saying more. As she drank, buying a little time before continuing, she knew that her reluctance had not been because she didn’t want to meet Paolo’s daughter, but because England at that moment felt further away than the moon and she had absolutely no desire to think about London or make any plans for the future.
Sensing her hesitation, Paolo too reached for his bottle of water, took a sip, then sprang to his feet and with a smile took Calli’s hand and pulled her up.
‘OK! Let’s go,’ he said cheerfully, putting an end to the awkwardness of the moment. ‘We must carry on with the watering, there’s still much to do.’ They spent the afternoon in good humour working on the land and neither of them mentioned the subject again. However, over the next few days they both considered their reaction to what had been said that morning. Paolo found that he was as surprised by his suggestion as Calli had been by her reaction. As a rule, he was not a man given to making too many plans and certainly not, where his daughter was concerned, with other people. There had been very few women with whom he had been romantically involved that he considered fit to introduce to his family. Calli, he mused, had apparently touched him in a way he did not expect, but Paolo was an intuitive man and understood that what he felt was not necessarily reciprocated. He hadn’t spent decades studying eastern philosophies and self-awareness not to detect another person’s feelings.
For her part, given her initial enthusiasm about Paolo, Calli was equally perplexed at what it was that held her back from venturing further into his life. Meeting his daughter didn’t feel right. She considered it to be a big commitment, a step too far, and she was not ready for it. She loved spending time with Paolo – he was good company, she found him kind, good-natured and intriguing and enjoyed making love with him – but she had come to realize that her feelings went no further than that. If there was one thing she had learned recently, it was to listen to her inner voice. She had spent too many years going along with what she thought she needed, what she willed herself to want, confusing sexual attraction with love, too eager to