Chapter 14
“Y OU’RE PRONOUNCING it wrong.” He was on his way back to the field, stray baseball in his hand, when he spotted her sitting under the tree, knees up with an open book balanced on them.
The girl was startled into looking up from her Greek language manual. As always, her loveliness struck him. She was not beautiful, but then beauty was skin deep and vastly overrated. He had been surrounded by beauty his whole life, and those people had a tendency to be excessively shallow individuals.
But this girl...
He had always liked how pretty she was, the kind of pretty that came from within. She was quiet but vibrant, a combination that told him she would be a very interesting person to know – if she allowed him to get to know her.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, not looking at him as she shyly tucked her hair behind her ears.
Knowing he would not come by this kind of chance again, he discreetly threw the baseball away from behind. If his teammates came to get him, he’d tell them that he hadn’t found it yet. He took a seat next to her on the grass, which caused her eyes to dart towards him in surprise.
He didn’t blame her. They had never talked even though they were in the same grade. He had always noticed her every time they’d pass each other in the hallway. She tended to have a busy or distracted look on her face, though, which had caused him to hesitate making small talk with her.
With other girls he was confident and assured of their interest in him. But with her... Well, let it be said that he considered it a gift of fate their hitter had ended up batting the ball in this direction.
Pretending he didn’t notice how skittish she seemed in his presence, he leaned close towards her, enough for the sides of their heads to almost touch. Pointing to the word she had mispronounced, he told her gently, “Here’s how you say it.”
Her head cocked to the side as she listened to him, an attentive look on her face.
Liking the feeling of having her look at him, he continued reading the other lines in perfect Greek.
She had a shy smile on her lips when he finished. “Th-thank you.”
The blush was natural, and so was the stammer. He had always been enchanted by her simplicity, and now he was even more so.
“Why are you studying Greek?”
“Because I...like reading about the myths.”
He raised a brow. That was an uncommon answer. “There are English translations.”
“There’s something different about them when you read it in their original language,” she told him seriously.
He did his best not to smile. Like any Greek, he was raised to respect the myths even if they were just myths. It was refreshing to find someone outside Greece who seemed to feel the same. “What are your favorites?”
Interestingly, she blushed.
He was even more intrigued. He told her with a grin, “Now I’m even more determined to know what your favorite myths are.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “I’m going to guess you probably like those with love stories?”
She gave him a small nod.
“Umm...Cupid and Psyche?”
She nodded, quickly, as if she was hoping he wouldn’t catch her doing so.
He grinned. “You girls always do.”
She made a face, as if his words had so irritated her that she forgot about being shy with him. “There’s nothing wrong about happy-ever-after love stories.”
He was even more amused, and he decided to tease her, drawling, “I don’t know about that. They can be cheesy, don’t you think? Also, it follows a formula. Boy meets girl, girl likes boy—-”
“It’s the little things that happen between boy meets girl and girl likes boy that make these stories special.” Her eyes were glowing now. “And each story has a unique couple, and that makes it special, too.” A dreamy look settled on her face. “You gotta be more imaginative. Like Cupid and Psyche – did they go on dates? Surely they had? But how’s that gonna happen if he’s invisible? Do they walk hand in hand? And what if a guy happened to see Psyche and try to hit on her? Cupid would be jealous, but since he’s invisible he can’t blame the other guy—-”
She stopped, as if only realizing how much she had said.
He told her honestly, “Don’t worry, I didn’t find any of it boring. Your imagination’s unbelievable though.”
“Only with love stories,” she confessed.
“Ah. Maybe you want to be an author someday and write romance novels?”
“No.” A mysterious smile played on her lips. “I don’t want to write the stories.”
The smile was as secretive as Mona Lisa’s, and it was only months later that he would come to know the truth behind it. By then of course it was too late. Everyone knew the truth, too, but it had been terribly twisted, the beauty of it marred by malice.
Mairi Tanner hadn’t wanted to write the stories she loved reading so much. She had wanted to live them instead. In her mind, Greek gods were Greek billionaires in life, and she – an ordinary girl – played the role of a mortal woman. Unfortunately, the others called her by a different name. In their minds, the role she played was that of a gold digger.
****
S TAVROS WAS PULLED out of his thoughts by the ringing of his phone.
The detective he had set on Mairi’s trail said, “She’s come home, sir.”
“And Leventis?”
“Still in his office.”
“Keep me informed of his movement.”
It was time.
He was done waiting.
****
M AIRI HAD JUST FINISHED setting up the aquarium on the carpeted floor next to Damen’s luxurious recliner seat when her phone rang, almost causing her to jump.
Damen!
Did he remember now? Would he apologize?
But when she looked at her phone’s screen, an unidentified number flashed on it. Since she had caller ID installed, it only meant that it was a private number, purchased by someone who took his – her – privacy very seriously.
She answered the call hesitantly. “Hello?”
“Hello, Mairi.”
She gasped, instantly recognizing the voice. “Stavros?”