Author's note: Thank you very much for the private messages, the reviews and the suggestions.

...

"One simply does not wear stilettos in Santorini." Maura Isles.

Chapter Three – The Sunset

Four hours. They had arrived four hours ago and they hadn't left the hotel yet.

Jane had insisted: she wanted to have a nap, go for a swim in the private infinity pool of the hotel then sunbathe on one of the chaise-longue while sipping on one of these strawberry cocktails she had seen at the bar when they had headed to the small restaurant of Atlantida Villas for lunch.

At first Maura had obliged without complaining. She was Jane's guest, after all. It was basic politeness.

But after thirty minutes on her chaise-longue, her temper had won over her will to the point she was now obsessing over the fact that they were missing out every single thing that the island had to offer them. They could have gone to Akrotiri to visit the Minoan Bronze Age settlement of an ancient town or they could have taken the stairs that led to the beautiful harbor of Ammoudi to enjoy a peaceful afternoon by the sea.

But no.

Instead, Jane was all about cocktails and closing her eyes in spite of having a full view over the Caldera.

"Would you like to visit Nea Kameni, tomorrow? The volcano? We can actually see the crater. A shuttle could pick us up at 7.30am to take us to the harbor. From there, a three-master waits for us. It is a full day excursion: hiking and diving into warm springs. There is no better view over Oia and Thira than from Nea Kameni..."

Jane opened an incredulous eye. Her lack of enthusiasm let Maura understand that her suggestion hadn't managed to stir up an ounce of excitement but at least she had got a reaction from her friend which was a victory in itself.

"7.30am?" Jane sat up and pretended to check on her friend. "Is the sun too strong for you, Maura? We're on vacation. The only place where we should be at 7.30am is our bed!"

Of course. Maura held back a laugh and raised a hand instead to apologize.

Jane wasn't an early bird but the Greek temperatures were such that people tended to wake up in the first hours of the morning to go about their business and they rested in the afternoon when the sun was too strong to stay outside. They were in June, after all: the summer as she and Maura knew it had already hit Santorini.

"Alright."

Maura stood up and proceeded to put her clothes back on. The thin fabric of her dress had warmed up in the sun. It slid along her skin like a hot kiss.

"Where are you going to? To the volcano?"

If Maura hadn't been wearing her large Chanel sunglasses then Jane would have seen a mischievous flame burn in her friend's hazel eyes. She still noticed the smirk that slightly curled up her lips, though. Maura shook her head, her laugh rising loudly in the peaceful afternoon.

"No... But I am going to prepare a surprise for you, for this evening. You are sure that you want to stay at the hotel, this afternoon?" Jane nodded. "Fine. I will be back on time. Be ready for 6pm."

Jane's silence echoed her confusion but as she watched how Maura walked away then something very familiar caught her attention; something that was missing.

"Hey! You're aware you're about to go out with flat shoes on, right?"

The question, which tone was closer to a remark than to a question in itself, caused Maura to stop and turn around to shake her head at her friend. A hand on her hip, she took her sunglasses off and offered Jane her best attempt to look annoyed. It failed, it always did. She couldn't really be angry with Jane.

"Rule number one: one simply does not wear stilettos in Santorini. Have you seen the streets? They are all made of stairs, a multitude of cobblestone steps. Wearing high heels here is the best way to sprain your ankle, Jane. Oh and since you are mentioning it... These aren't vulgar flat shoes but Roman sandals."

...

The moment she stepped outside the hotel, Jane swore to herself that she was about to give a brand new definition to the word 'crowded'.

It was 6.15pm and hundreds of tourists had invaded the narrow streets of Oia. The lack of air was awful and everyone shuffled along instead of properly walking. Her first thought went for the locals. How on Earth did they manage to face such nightmare for five months in a row? She would never complain about the Bostonian traffic ever again after that.

"Where are we going to?"

If Jane suffered from the situation, Maura completely seemed in her element. She had visited Santorini a dozen of times already, the place had no secret for her. She knew the small, parallel streets that tourists didn't dare to take. She knew the restaurants, the cafes that were worth it. So she lightly trotted among the crowd, happy like a little girl.

Yet the moment they reached the main square by a huge church, she changed her pace and grabbed Jane's hand before dragging her towards what looked like a dead-end alley. She laughed. Lightly, happily.

"I told you that it was a surprise. Don't you trust me?"

The dead-end alley turned out to be an even smaller street. Empty. Glad to have left the crowd of tourists behind them, Jane took a deep breath and was about to reply when something brushed her ankle. She let a furtive scream come out.

A tabby cat had showed up out of the blue and was now staring at her as if she had lost her mind. But it is only when it jumped on a low wall that she noticed it wasn't alone. Five other cats were peacefully sleeping in the sun. None of them had moved an inch in spite of her loud and extreme reaction. Maura approached them.

"Greece is famous for its abandoned cats... They all live on the streets. People feed them, they won't do you any harm. They are used to having people around, even more in Oia."

"If you say so... But why preparing me a surprise? We're not on a honeymoon, you don't have to play the wife's surprise card."

Jane choked on her nervous laugh. Why had she said that? The jet lag. It must have been the jet lag. Maura thankfully didn't seem to care much and resumed her walking at a more reasonable pace.

The village was a real labyrinth, a tangle of streets and high walls that protected the houses from visitors' curiosity.

Flowers and ivy sometimes joined above the passers-by's head creating thus a vegetal roof that naturally prevented the sun from piercing through. After an endless and quiet wandering, they finally arrived in front of a very small door. Maura knocked on it.

A man in his early forties - green eyes and olive skin - opened the door. Maura instantly threw herself in his arms which took Jane aback. Her friend never gave into such effusion, she didn't like it. Or at least not in Boston. It seemed like the whole Greece vibe brought to the light a very different side of Maura.

"Jane... Let me introduce you to a very good friend of mine: Kostos. Kostos, this is Jane... You know, the friend I talked to you about."

Way too many questions rose in Jane's head within the next minute, bumping into each other in a deafening silence that made her feel dizzy.

When had Maura talked about her to him? And why? What had she said? And who was this Kostos, exactly? She politely shook his hand nonetheless then forced a smile in spite of the very unpleasant sensation that got stirred up in her lower stomach as she witnessed the knowing look he and Maura exchanged.

Without waiting any longer by the door, they walked in and took a long corridor. Maura's joyful voice resounded loudly and sharply contrasted with Jane's sudden silence. She didn't want to take part in the conversation. Anyway, she didn't have the feeling that she had been invited to do so.

Kostos finally opened a door on their right. Jane hadn't even seen it. The sun that pierced through it blinded them right away while the frenzy of the terrace broke the religious silence of the corridor they had walked through.

A restaurant. They had just reached a restaurant that overlooked the Caldera and the crowd of tourists that had decided to gather on the streets below to observe the sunset from the cliffs.

Kostos led them to the best table that had been booked for them then excused himself before leaving. At least he hadn't decided to impose himself. Good point.

Jane looked at him go away. She was dying to know details about how he and Maura had met but something told her that she should remain quiet. It was none of her business. Her friend had probably met him during one of her previous trips to the archipelago.

End of the story.

"So..." Barely able to hold back the grin that lit up her hazel eyes, Maura motioned the scenic view. "Do you enjoy your surprise? This is the best spot in Oia to observe the sunset and since it is your very first Greek sunset, I wanted it to be memorable enough."

Of course, the gesture touched Jane. Maura had used her contacts to make sure that she would live a very unique experience in the best way ever and the truth was she knew how lucky she was. Tourists on the streets below cast furtive glances at the terrace with envy. The restaurant was crowded but at least they had a seat and didn't have to stand on their tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the Aegan sea unlike people below.

"Very much so..."

A young waitress brought them a bottle of wine. Maura asked her a few things in Greek. They laughed much to Jane's confusion and only once the employee had left did Maura focus back on her friend.

"This wine is labeled Vinsanto which means it is predominantly made from the Assyrtiko grape - around 51% - while the rest is made up of Athiri and Aidani." She grabbed her glass and raised it. "It is a white wine, dry but rather sweet... Stin iyia mas*!"

Their glasses knocked together just as a musician started playing a folkloric song somewhere below on the street. Jane immediately turned her head to look at the artist but got caught by the breathtaking view of the Caldera instead.

She had seen many sunsets in her life but none that embraced peaceful waters of such intense colors. It looked magic, a monochrome of orange shades that seemed to slide on the few sailing boats as the sun brushed the edge of the sea.

"Efkharisto*..."

Her whisper surprised Maura who raised an incredulous eyebrow as an amused smile lit up her graceful features.

"Since when do you speak Greek?"

Jane put down her glass of wine and picked an olive. This trip to the Cyclades was the best unexpected thing that had happened in her life so far.

"I might have checked your conversational book between two cocktails this afternoon. What can I say? A girl needs to know how to order her drinks."

...

Stin iyia mas: Cheers

Efkharisto: Thank you