Free The Holiday by Erica James

really be Dolly-Babe? That is a new one on me.’
    ‘No, I’m afraid that’s what I’ve christened her. Her real name is even more unlikely. It’s Liberty-Raquel.’
    Theo laughed. ‘You mentioned that she and her husband are staying near us in Ayios Nikólaos? Did she tell you the name of their villa?’
    ‘Yeah, Villa Mimosa. Mean anything to you?’
    Theo laughed again. He pressed his foot on the accelerator and shot past a taxi, a dark blue Mercedes that was already moving at warp speed. Mark shuddered. He had forgotten, as he always did when they were apart for any length of time, how fast Theo drove. And how very Greek he really was.

Chapter Seven
    At Laura’s suggestion, she and Izzy were walking into Kassiópi for lunch. Max had stayed behind, claiming that Greg Rusedski needed his support for his big match that afternoon. ‘You go without me,’ he had said, ‘you’ll have much more fun on your own. You could bring me back a newspaper if there’s anything decent left to read.’
    The dusty little track they were following ran steeply through a large olive grove. At the foot of the trees, and wound around their trunks, were bundles of black netting which, as Laura had just explained, would be stretched out later in the year when it was time to harvest the olives. Though they were in the shade of the trees, the scorching heat of the midday sun forced them to walk at a comfortably unhurried pace. Also, the island was known for its tortoises, which roamed at will, and Laura was hoping they would catch sight of one in the clumps of parched grass. ‘I nearly trod on one last year,’ she said. ‘It was so small it must have been a baby.’
    Izzy pulled a face and took extra care where she put her feet.
    The path soon levelled and they strolled along a wider, much clearer stretch of ground, where the air was fragrant with the smell of wild garlic and thyme. Laura pointed towards a tumbledown shed. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘there’s Zac.’
    Zac was a large, scrawny dog of no discernible breed, with a ragged coat the colour of caramel. A short length of rope tied him to a wooden post and at their approach he jumped up, pushed his nose through the chain-link fence and wagged his tail, which was decorated with an assortment of dried leaves and twigs. To Izzy’s surprise, Laura pulled a bone-shaped biscuit out of her bag and slipped it through the fence. Zac’s tail went into overdrive and he devoured the biscuit in seconds. His nose came back through the fence and he wagged his tail hopefully. Then he barked loudly.
    The noise summoned an elderly woman from a small stone building that, until now, Izzy hadn’t noticed. She looked as ancient and gnarled as the surrounding olive trees and Izzy would have loved the opportunity to sketch her. The flesh beneath her jaw hung in two wobbling hanks at either side of her throat, her hair, iron-grey and wiry, was held down by a severe black headscarf, and the shabby dress she was wearing, which was partially covered by a floral overall, was also black; dark wrinkled tights and a pair of laced canvas shoes protruded beneath. In her large bony hands she held a broom. She gave Zac a sharp poke with it, instantly silencing him. She looked very fierce but when she turned to the cause of the commotion she gave Laura and Izzy a smile that was friendly and hospitable. Her parted lips displayed a gummy mouth, with a single badly stained tooth.
    ‘How do you know the dog’s name?’ Izzy asked, after Laura had exchanged a few faltering words of Greek with the woman and they were on their way again.
    ‘From Theo, of course. He knows everyone round here. You mustn’t think he restricts his charm to pretty girls. The old women get the same treatment. He’s very fair with his attentions.’
    They walked on in silence, until Izzy ventured. ‘He is rather nice, though, isn’t he, in spite of all that charm?’ She had been dying to bring up Theo in their conversation that