Chapter 11
Emilia and Andreas had been roaming the streets for a good fifteen minutes hoping to find the puppy’s mother. Already, the cooling effects of the water and the coffee she’d downed earlier had been lost, and she was ready to drink a whole thermos of water, if only she could get one. She also suspected it wouldn’t be enough.
Luckily, she was wearing Andreas’s Panama hat, which he’d handed to her earlier when he noticed her fanning her face. He’d also taken the puppy off her hands to relieve her, the gentleman that he was. Sadly, their roaming in the hammering heat had proven futile.
And now, Andreas had led her to his car, a big black Jeep that was parked on the side of the road. His handsome face was flushed, bringing out the irresistible hue of his blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. As soon as they neared his vehicle, he held the puppy against his chest with one hand, and used the other to wipe his brow.
‘Phew! Perhaps having ouzo and then roaming aimlessly in the heat was not such a good idea.’
‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you come with me.’
He straightened and looked at her, his face deadpan. ‘No way, Emilia. I couldn’t just leave you in the lurch. That’s not what a real man does, leaving a damsel in distress and driving away.’
That made her feel even more fond of him. A real man, indeed. ‘Thanks for your help. I guess I’m back to square one.’
‘What do you mean by “I”, Emilia? It’s “we”, remember?’
‘But it’s not fair to load the puppy on you, Andreas! You didn’t come here today to have an ouzo and pick up a pet, did you?’
Andreas flicked his wrist at her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be happy to have it. As I said, I have my own house here. And a large garden for the doggie to play in when it’s older.’ He fanned his face for a few moments, gave a soft sigh and added, ‘You certainly can’t keep it! What could you possibly do? Sneak it into the hotel? I don’t think so…’
Emilia eyed him silently for a little while, then tilted her head to reply, ‘Are you sure? Your son won’t mind?’
‘Nakis loves dogs more than I do. He’s twenty-four now, mind you, a kid no more, but when he was growing up, there was always at least one dog in the house. They came and went, non-stop. He was miserable when there were none. Actually, he’s been a little low lately. He misses Germany, you see… And I understand it, I mean, Germany is the only country he’s ever known. We hardly visited Greece when he was a kid. But I trust his Greek genes will kick in to win him over in the end. For the time being, the puppy will cheer him up, I know. The timing is perfect.’
‘If this is how you see it, then fine, I guess… I just didn’t want to take advantage of your kindness...’
‘No, of course, you’re not! Actually, it is I who’s taking full advantage here. Not just by taking the doggie, but also because this is giving me an excuse to ask to see you again…’ He lowered his voice a few notches toward the end of his phrase, the husky effect ever so charming.
Emilia felt both flattered and elated to realize he was flirting. She’d got hints of this earlier, but this time there was no mistaking it. Instead of commenting on what he’d said, she looked away, fanning herself. He is actually flirting with me? Wow… How long has it been? I can’t even remember. For years, I’ve been taking care of my family, then working freelance on my own and hiding in that apartment… from men, from life… Gosh, the years just whizzed past me…
‘Emilia?’ she heard and came to with a start.
He put a tender hand on her upper arm. It felt wonderful. ‘Are you too hot? Shall we go back to the café for more water?’
He looked concerned and she waved both hands before her face to reassure him. ‘Yes, it’s hot, as one would expect. But don’t worry about me. There’s a kiosk down the road. I’ll go get a water bottle from there, no worries.’
‘What nonsense is this? You’re not going anywhere. I mean, not on your own.’ He tapped the roof of his car. ‘I’m giving you a ride to your hotel. No objections.’
‘Oh! All right, thanks…’ she said, surprised that she trusted him to get into his car. She’d never done this before, getting into the car of a perfect stranger, but he had that effect on her. An effect that compelled her to trust him.
Looking pleased, he opened the door for her. When she sat, he placed the puppy on her lap. ‘You can mind it, yeah? But only for a while. It’s mine now. You agreed!’
She chuckled and nodded. ‘Yes, yes, I did.’
‘Good!’ he said, chortling, and hurried around the front, then sat in the driver’s seat. He turned to her, tapped his nose and said, ‘And you won’t fool me by being evasive, Emilia! Don’t you think I didn’t notice you said nothing to my mention earlier about seeing you again!’
She laughed with abandon. His flirting, coupled with his humour, was irresistible to her. Already, she knew, she was going to see him again if she could help it.
###
Emilia directed Andreas to the hotel, and he parked right outside, despite her protests to leave her at the port, where it was easier for him to make a U-turn and head inland to Plaka.
As soon as he pulled the handbrake, he turned to her, his face eager. ‘Can I ask you something before you go, Emilia? I get the hint you don’t want to talk about yourself much, and I respect that, but can you just tell me if you’re free? I mean, I’d look like a right imbecile if I asked you out on a date and you were, say, married or engaged. Or, if you had a boyfriend.’ He turned toward the hotel building to point at it with his chin. ‘You haven’t left a man in there to have his beauty sleep while you go out saving strays, have you?’
Emilia chortled. ‘Beauty sleep?’
‘Oh, you’d be surprised how many metrosexual idiots I see prancing about on the island. Their beauty bags are larger than those of their women!’
Emilia did her best to contain her amusement and knew she was doing a bad job of it. She tilted her head coyly and said, ‘Do I look like someone who would date a metrosexual idiot ?’
Andreas leaned forward, ever so slightly. ‘You’re still evading my questions. Do I have a reason to worry? Tell me at least that, Emilia.’
‘Worry about what?’
‘That, perhaps, I…’ He puckered his lips and looked away. The faint stubble on his cheeks and chin was dead sexy, especially as it was salt-and-pepper. He licked his lips and stretched them out into a dashing grin, upgrading the sexy view to one of sheer helplessness.
‘I can’t imagine what reason I could give you to worry, Andreas,’ she urged.
To her surprise, he sobered then. ‘It’s just that… I really enjoyed your company today, Emilia. You’re a godsend. Nakis is expecting his girlfriend from Germany to arrive here in a few days. They have plans to go off together and have fun, and I’ve been wondering what I could do on my own. If you like, I could take you out sometime?’
She raised her shoulders. ‘But… what if I’m married?’ she teased.
His face lit up with concern. ‘Are you?’
‘No!’ She giggled. ‘Sorry, that was naughty of me. I assure you I’m single and totally free to see you again. And I’d love to go out with you…’ It occurred to her then that she knew nothing about his own marital status. Perhaps, he was divorced or separated? Widowed even. Yet, something stopped her from asking.
Being oblivious to her thoughts, his face lit up like a mall on Christmas Eve. ‘ Wunderbar !’ he joked. ‘But I’m still not sure if you’re into men that are anything-but-real-men or not. For what it’s worth, I am one hundred per cent male, down to the last cell. I’ll tell you that now. No cucumber face mask and all that jazz in my bathroom cabinet.’
Emilia chortled, kissed the puppy’s head and handed it to him. ‘Good to know. Here! Hold it till I get out.’ The puppy had fallen asleep during the car ride and had stayed that way, despite their lively conversation. Only when she picked it up it started to stir.
Andreas took the puppy in his hands, their fingertips touching, the effect electrifying. Their eyes met, and the moments stretched out, time freezing for a few moments. Who broke their gaze first? She didn’t know. Perhaps, the car horn she’d just heard, somewhere far away, had caused them both to break away at the same time.
Right then, she realised she was still wearing his hat. Taking it off, she handed it back to him and thanked him.
He took it, placing it on the passenger seat when she got out of the car. For a few seconds, he kept his hand on it as it lay where she’d sat, his fingertips clutching the brim as he looked up at her.
She was bent over now, holding the car door open. ‘It was such a pleasure to do this with you, Andreas! And thank you so much for taking the doggie off my hands. I’d have taken it to Athens, but you’re right, it would have been tough to keep it a secret in the hotel here.’
‘It’s my pleasure. And you’re welcome to visit me and see it again any time. Just say. You could meet Nakis and his girl. She’s German, but other than that, she’s a good girl!’
He laughed and she did too. In Greece, when she was growing up, the odd reference to the ‘bad Germans’ was a remnant from the war, typically made by the elderly. Nowadays, this paradigm had spread across the whole populace because of the excruciating financial crisis of the 2010s, and the ruthless German politicians and bureaucrats associated with it. Still, she knew he’d said that as a harmless jest.
‘Thank you for making me laugh. I needed that today.’
‘Oh? Why today?’
‘Well…’ She looked away for a bit, then said, ‘Actually, I’m going to a funeral later today. I lost an aunt. That’s why I’m here.’
His face dropped, a deep frown etching his brow. ‘Sorry to hear that, Emilia. My deepest condolences. If you need to talk, or if you need help with any arrangements, just give me a call, okay?’
The two of them had exchanged mobile numbers at the café, when he offered to take the puppy. At first, what she’d really hoped for was to find the puppy’s mother, but now she thought things had worked out for the best. The puppy would have a proper home and good care in this kind man’s house. Plus, she’d have an excuse to call him, if she wanted to. And she already knew she would.
‘Thank you, Andreas. I might just take you up on that.’