Chapter 28
When she finished painting, they went for a swim in the sea. She clung to him laughing when a sea turtle tickled her feet. He felt drunk with joy in her presence. Whoever would have believed that the heartless tycoon, Angelos Mavromatis, was capable of feeling joy? Certainly not he.
- One Week with the Greek
CALLIE
T he next afternoon, I tried to convince Olivia to skip the tour of the winery.
I wanted to get some work done, but I was afraid to leave Nikos alone with my friends.
He might kidnap them and hold them hostage until I left the island.
At least, that’s what I told myself, but after last night, I wasn’t sure in my convictions about him.
I was still clinging to residual outrage, but he was slowly working away at my defenses.
I could only hope that this wasn’t some ploy to seduce me and then walk away laughing.
I said as much to Olivia when she’d given me an “I told you so” look over her tea. “You don’t know him, Liv. He’s capable of anything.”
“He’s certainly capable of burning the house down with all the heat in his eyes when he looks at you.
Jake really likes him and he’s an excellent judge of character.
” She spooned her teabag out of her cup casting me a sheepish glance.
“And I like him, even knowing what he did. He’s genuinely trying to make up for it. ”
I shook my head. “He’d still do anything in his power to stop the resort from happening. How is that remorse?”
“It’s not so simple, and you know it. From what he said last night when it was just the two of us in the kitchen, protecting the island is a mission he inherited from his grandfather.
And when you think about it, you do kind of represent the Goliath to his David in this story—the corporate colonizer. ” She nibbled at her toast.
“Oh, give me a break with your moralizing. I know how this looks, but I’m trying to do something about it from the inside.
Besides, so many locals would like more tourism.
It would even be good for his business. Think of all the potential accidents, alcohol poisonings, and other medical emergencies that would keep him busy.
” I threw my hands up in disgust. “Why doesn’t he just admit it’s a losing battle and give up already?
He could work with me instead of trying to sabotage me. ”
It was no use arguing about it with her so I changed the topic to the only thing that would get her off my back. “So, when’s your next ultrasound?”
“Oh! I can’t believe I forgot to show you these.
” She pulled out her phone to show me a series of 3-D images of a little face with a tiny nose and plump little lips.
“He has a dimple on his right cheek! I told Jake that he looks just like him, but he says I’m only saying that because I want it to be true. ”
I studied the photo. Amazed and a little teary at the idea of my best friend becoming a mother.
I’d never really felt called to motherhood.
I wasn’t averse to it, but for the moment, it wasn’t for me.
But as long as I’d known Liv she’d been talking about the family she wanted to have one day.
She and Jake both had complicated childhoods, and I loved this for them.
“To be honest, it’s hard to tell who he looks like, but one thing is for sure—he’s going to be stinkin’ adorable and I’m going to spoil him when I come visit. I’ll be the coolest aunt ever.”
“That’s what Levi said.”
“He’s going to be the coolest aunt ever?” I laughed. And then I remembered that I’d forgotten to tell her about my strange ferry encounter with Diana Russo.
“Speaking of Levi, the weirdest thing happened.” I filled her in on our conversation.
“Diana . . . wait a second! Did she have red hair?” When I nodded, she covered her mouth.
“She’s Josh’s little sister. I met her one summer.
She told me back then that she wanted to be an archaeologist.” Josh was Levi’s best friend who’d passed away in a training accident years ago. He never spoke about it.
“Oh shit. Should we tell him?” I asked.
She frowned. “I don’t know, Cal. He still gets so upset whenever I bring it up. Like he wants to forget.”
“Well, I slipped her his number, so maybe she’ll get in touch.”
“Yeah, I don’t know.” She checked her watch. “We’re late!”
We headed out to the dock where Jake and Nikos were waiting.
As usual, Nikos looked too damn good in those slouchy pants I loved.
His collar was open to reveal a tantalizing triangle of golden skin and the hollow at the base of his throat that I wanted to lick.
I caught Olivia studying the tattoos on his arms as he helped her into the boat, and she winked at me.
When he held out his hand for me, I pretended to ignore the jolt of electricity that ran through me at the first contact with his skin.
“Thank you for taking us, Nikos.” Liv smiled up at him.
“My pleasure,” he said. “Are you comfortable? I’ve got some extra cushions.”
“No, this is great,” Liv assured him and then started asking a million questions about the history of the island and Greek mythology. I listened in silence not willing to admit how much I was enjoying his translation of his grandfather’s book.
Stamatis’s vineyard was on the southwestern end of the island, past the cove we’d explored the other day. There wasn’t much of a beach, just a rocky inlet with a narrow concrete walkway that led to another set of steep stone stairs.
“This reminds me of La Ruche,” said Olivia to Nikos. “Part of the vines at the domaine grow on the slope of a mountain like this.”
“It’s more of a hill, really,” Jake corrected her, and she rolled her eyes.
“We’ve had this debate before,” she explained. “Technically, it’s not high enough to be a mountain, but you tell that to your legs when you hike up it. ‘Hill’ just doesn’t do it justice.”
“Are you going to be okay going up?” Nikos pointed to a stone building at the top of the hill.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll stop if I need to rest.” The view of the turquoise water from the winding vineyards was breathtaking.
True to form, Olivia kept stopping to marvel at every new wildflower and butterfly that we crossed on our way up the hill where Stamatis and his sons were waiting for us.
When we finally made it to the top, Stamatis grabbed me in a bear hug.
“He says it’s about time you came to see him. He’s been waiting for weeks,” Nikos translated.
“I would have come earlier if I hadn’t nearly broken my ankle.”
Stamatis was only too happy to show us around his vineyards, which had been in his family for generations.
He explained his winemaking process: the grapes were crushed in a stone winepress, then juice was buried in clay vessels, called amphouras, to age.
I’m no wine expert, so I was a little lost when talk turned to wild yeast and fermentation, but when I learned the wine was made from indigenous varieties of grapes that the ancient Greeks had been cultivating for thousands of years, I once again got this feeling of being enmeshed in history and myth.
I had already tried Stamatis’s sparkling white wine, which was crisp and danced on the tongue. But I had no idea that he managed to make so many varieties on so few acres and with only two varietals: a dark, full-bodied red, a sparking red, a rosé, and a dry and semi-sweet white.
Jake and Olivia, like true professionals, didn’t swallow their wine, just swirled it in their mouths before spitting it out, but I was here for the full experience. By the end of the tasting, my head was buzzing pleasantly and my limbs felt soft and malleable.
Nikos didn’t drink anything. “I know the wine well. And I’m driving, so I’ll let you enjoy it,” he’d assured us.
After the tasting, Jake and Olivia went inside to place an order while I sat on the bench, enjoying my last glass and watching the sun lower over the horizon, turning the rocky hills a soft peach color.
The wine was having its effect because when Nikos sat down next to me, I scooted nearer.
His dark eyes widened in surprise, and a small smile played on his lips.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying the wine,” he said.
“Surely, another one of your devious plans. Ply me with sweet wine at sunset so I’d let you kiss me again?” I asked—or slurred, rather.
“Oh, that’s on the table? A kiss?” His warm gaze moved to my mouth.
“I wouldn’t mind a taste of that wine.” He leaned closer, and his hand cupped my face, tracing my jaw as his lips brushed over mine.
His lips were warm and firm, and when his tongue touched mine I moaned, ran my hands over the soft hair at the nape of his neck.
I leaned into him longing to feel his strong arms around me.
Every kiss we’d shared up until that point had been hungry, angry, full of frustrated passion and lust. This one was like the wine—sweet, heady.
“ Se thelo , asteri mou ,” he whispered in my ear when he finally pulled away.
A sound from the terrace made me stiffen. “Please tell me it wasn’t Liv.”
He glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “Whoever it was went away.”
I straightened and adjusted the strap of my sundress, which had fallen down my arm. “Can I ask you to forget that happened?”
He shook his head. “Impossible. You’re unforgettable.”
The voices behind us grew louder and reluctantly he moved away as Stamatis approached. The older man said something to him and he excused himself. “Looks like I need to translate some more. You’ll be all right if I leave you here? You won’t go falling down any more rocks?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said quietly, trying to sound unbothered. My body was still strumming like a plucked guitar string, vibrating to the sound of his voice. Damn him for being so . . . so . . . irresistible.
After he’d walked off in the direction of the vines, I wandered back to the old wood table and poured myself another glass of the sparkly stuff. “You can come out now, Liv. I know it was you.”
Olivia tiptoed out from behind the stone shed. “I didn’t want to interrupt. You looked so cozy.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed as I took a sip, staring at Nikos’s back as he threw back his head and laughed at something Jake said.
“I wonder when he’ll realize he has some of your lipstick on the corner of his mouth,” Liv said as she sidled up to me.
I hid my head in my hands. “Oh God, what am I doing?”
“Maybe you should just stop fighting it. Have a good time, enjoy each other’s company. Who knows what could happen?” She nudged me with her knee.
“No.” I tried to sound emphatic, but I already doubted my resolve.
“But, Cal,” Liv whispered earnestly, “what if he’s your guy?”
I thought of the moments we’d shared together—and not just the sexy ones—the day on the boat, in the water the waves holding us up, his warm eyes on mine. I could so easily let myself fall. But that was the problem. I wasn’t sure I could count on him to catch me.
“Even if he is, I’m only going to be here a year or two. He’s never leaving. Would the universe be so cruel as to give me my very own person and then make it impossible for us to be together?” Stupid question, Cal. Of course it would.
“I think you should give it a shot. You deserve to be with someone who knows how amazing you are.” She wrapped an arm around me and squeezed. Tears inexplicably stung my eyes.
“Oh, I don’t want you to leave tomorrow.” I pouted. “Can’t you just move out here? If you’re such a fan of Nikos, why don’t you let him deliver your baby?”
“I don’t think I want to know him that intimately.” She laughed. “I would stay longer but I have meetings in London. I’ll come back.”
I looked down at her stomach. “No, you should take it easy. I’m just being a baby. It’s been so nice having friends here.”
“I think you already have friends here.”
I rolled my eyes at her and took another sip of wine, my eyes drawn back as always to Nikos where he stood silhouetted against the lowering sun.