that we won’t even need to leave the house,’ Elle said.
The thing was huge, no doubt about it. But, still. Ciara didn’t want to be cooped up in the thing for over a week. ‘Why don’t we hire a car and see more of the island?’
‘I’m not doing anything until I get this tee-shirt off and catch some sun,’ Elle protested.
Gem scowled at her. ‘I’ll come with you, Ciara. Just as soon as I’ve unpacked.’
The driver pulled into a triple garage where she saw that the Land Rover wasn’t the only thing they had here. Quad bikes and a Porsche filled the other spots and she wondered if they were Zack’s, since the way Elle spoke of her granddad made her think he was a bit old to be zooming about on them. No way were they Elle’s – she wouldn’t want to risk messing up her hair.
More staff appeared from the house, all speaking Greek with one another and Ciara didn’t even try to guess what they were saying. Unsurprisingly, Elle knew and dished out some orders fluently, then their cases were taken into the house.
‘Why don’t we leave exploring until tomorrow?’ Elle asked, instead of demanding like she usually did. She was getting good at the tactful stuff. ‘There’s a restaurant not far from here and they put on really good shows at night.’
Ciara barely heard. She’d switched her phone on the second they got off the plane and ever since had checked it every two seconds. It had been almost two days since she left Zack the voicemail and she hadn’t heard from him since.
Still nothing. She tried to tell herself that didn’t matter. She was in a beautiful place with lots of exotic flowers, strong sunlight, a pretty beach and the potential for some serious fun.
She wasn’t going to let it matter. This was about enjoying time with her friends, not pining over someone who obviously didn’t want her.
‘Sounds fun to me. You in, Ciara?’ Gem asked.
‘Yes. Fun.’ When they both looked at her funny, she tried to remember what they were asking her. Right, restaurant with a show. ‘Really, it sounds good. I’m starving.’
They laughed and headed for the house.
‘I’ll ask them to make us a light lunch and we can go later. I had massages and pedicures booked for after the flight.’
By the time she’d unpacked, there was no missed call flashing on her phone and even during lunch when Gem told Elle they were going for a bike ride round the town with their Geeks Gone Greek tee-shirts and there had been loud refusals, there was still no missed calls or messages on her phone.
She’d tried to be discreet, but during a languorous foot and temple massage with them, Elle caught Ciara’s mobile screen lighting up and sighed.
Elle said, ‘He’s not going to come, not after what I said to him in Paris. Believe it or not, he’s even more stubborn than me.’
Ciara nodded, trying to keep her expression blank and obviously failing because Elle took her hand and squeezed.
‘You’re miserable, aren’t you?’ Elle asked.
‘Don’t be daft,’ she protested but it sounded weak.
Gem peeled the cucumber slices from her eyes and pinned her with a ‘mmhmm’ look.
‘Really,’ Ciara said, glaring at them both. She handed Elle her phone. ‘You keep hold of that and I’ll stop obsessing. Promise.’
Elle gaped at her like she’d just handed her a kidney. ‘You’re giving me your phone?’
‘If my da calls I’ll speak to him but no one else ever does and it will stop me checking it every two seconds.’
Thankfully, she’d been wise enough to delete the sexting. And sensible enough to delete Zack’s number, just in case.
Gem frowned. ‘Ciara, it’s your phone.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Exactly. It’s not my arm or my leg, just a piece of plastic that wasn’t affordable till I was sixteen. People did used to live without them, you know.’
‘Cavemen,’ Elle grumbled. ‘Jesus maybe. But this is the 21st century!’
For all their smarts, when it came to history they were clueless. ‘Believe it or not, even last century people got by without mobiles. And TV.’
Her friends shuddered. Drama queens.
Elle shook off the horror first then dived straight into Ciara’s phone, nosing like a pro.
‘There’s nothing incriminating there, you know,’ Ciara said.
‘Good, I don’t want to have to bleach my eyes before dinner. God your 4G is slow.’ Elle had zero patience with technology and soon switched it to standby.
Ciara didn’t want the gaping horror back on their faces, so didn’t mention her phone barely had 3G. Instead she lay back and enjoyed the temple massage. The women Elle hired to give them the works over the next ten days definitely knew what they were doing. But she’d get bored of this soon. Lying around and being pampered was nice, just not for her.
And the down side of all this relaxing was she had too much time to think about things she shouldn’t. Zack, the fact there was nothing waiting for her back home work wise – unlike her friends she lacked ambition and had spent her summers in England instead of hunting for internships, and on top of all that, she’d put on so much weight munching down on croissants in Paris that most of her trousers were tighter than her skin.
She groaned, but it had nothing to do with the fingers at her temples moving in relaxing circles – she wasn’t relaxed at all.
‘Enough with the sex noises, Ciara. It’s disturbing,’ Elle said and Gem laughed.
‘Ha. Ha. Actually, I was thinking about how fat my arse has gotten since Paris.’ At least in LA and Miami she’d had Zack to help her work out.
‘You can always order a salad you know,’ Gem said.
‘And miss the chance to try proper Greek food? I don’t think so.’ Ciara sighed. ‘But maybe I should do a few laps in the pool before we go.’
She sat up and thanked the masseuse, determined to go for a swim. After all, her friends still had pedicures to go and if she knew Elle, manicures too.
‘You’re insane. I’d rather starve than work myself into a sweat,’ Elle griped, then reset the cucumber back over her eyes.
‘To each her own,’ Ciara said, then got off the massage table. Elle really hadn’t been kidding when she said Greece would be about pampering and relaxation before they hit the next crazy stop on their destination.
***
The bedroom door swung open just as Ciara was wriggling into her favourite pair of white linen trousers.
Elle barged in, looking more like a glamour puss than she ever could. ‘You’re never allowed to moan about the length of time I take to get
