She picked up her knife and fork and started to eat her first course.
‘No toast?’
She paused, looking up. ‘What?’
Nikos picked up his wine glass. ‘To Ari’s holiday.’
It was impossible to disagree. Reluctantly she picked up her wine glass, and took a small sip in acknowledgement.
‘One thing I’ll say for you freely, Ann—you make an effort for him.’
‘It would be hard not to,’ she answered quietly. It was bizarre to hear a compliment, however mild, come out of Nikos.
‘Yes,’ he agreed. He paused. ‘I hope the menu is to your liking?’
‘Oh, yes, it’s fine. Thank you. It’s delicious.’
‘Better than in the park,’ he commented wryly.
‘Well, I suppose they are catering for children, so fast food is the order of the day. The ice-creams were good, though.’
‘Ari certainly thought so. Though he got most of it on his face!’
She smiled. ‘I think a lot reached his tummy too.’
‘It didn’t stop him putting away a good tea, all the same.’
‘No—having fun must make you extra hungry.’
‘And sleepy. He was out like a light.’
‘Recharging his batteries. Ready for tomorrow.’
It was so strange—exchanging pleasantries like this, even stilted ones. But what was the alternative? Ripping apart the frail veneer that kept them civil like this? Dragging everything vicious and ugly that lay between them back out into the open? No, better—easier—to do what she was doing now. What she had done all day since they’d left Sospiris. Behave as though the enmity between them did not exist.
‘What’s the schedule for tomorrow?’ she ventured. ‘By the way, I should point out to you that Ari has spotted there’s a swimming pool in the hotel!’
A smile tugged at Nikos’s mouth. Ann tried not to think how it made her stomach tug too.
‘Are you volunteering me?’ he asked, eyebrows raising with quizzical humour.
‘No, I don’t mind taking him in the least. I want to make the most of him while I—’ She broke off. She had been refusing to let herself think that these were the last few days she would have with Ari, not knowing when she might see him again—or even if. No! She mustn’t think like that. Ari’s grandmother had promised, as Ann had taken leave of her that morning, that she would not lose touch. But would Nikos let that happen? Anxiety gnawed at her.
She looked down, continuing with her eating. Nikos made no reply, just watched her mechanically lifting her fork to her mouth and back.
She was back to being different again. It was because of Ari, he knew. That was obvious. When the boy was there she slipped into the ‘different’ Ann that she had started to be during Tina’s wedding. A frown creased his brow as memory teased at him. She’d made some remark to Tina’s mother—something that had struck him at the time. He reached for his wine and took a draught.
‘You said you lost your mother when you were young?’
The words came out balder than he’d intended. Her head snapped up. She looked taken aback, and momentarily blank.
‘You said it to Tina’s mother,’ he prompted.
Ann frowned. ‘What of it?’ Why on earth had he suddenly said that? Out of nowhere.
‘You said you were taken into care?’
Ann stiffened. ‘Yes. Why do you ask?’