Adonis in Athens (Romancing Europe #1)

He paused. “I suppose that’s a possibility, but that’s the case with every girl I’ve ever dated. My country is struggling economically right now, so we’re lucky to be making money and doing well financially. The chance someone is after me for financial stability is nothing new, but since you knew nothing about me when we met three years ago and you came here with divorce papers, that doesn’t really make sense, does it?”

“I just don’t think we should tell anyone,” she said quietly. “I’m only here for a few days and this thing with us—our adventure or whatever you want to call it—is private. I’d like you to respect that. Please.”

He hesitated, thoughtful, but finally nodded. “I can respect it while you’re here, but I’ll certainly tell my family after you’ve gone.”

“That’s fair.”

“We have about an hour’s drive to Sounion. Tell me more about your life.”

“I’m boring!” she protested. “You know where I live, what I do at my job and the reason I turned down my ex-boyfriend. What else is there?”

“Your family?”

“Oh. Well, my parents live about 20 minutes away in Henderson. My father is a college professor and my mother is a kindergarten teacher. My sister, Nicky, is a senior at UNLV and is going to be a teacher too.”

“Very academic,” he said with a smile. “No education career in your future?”

She shook her head. “It’s not my thing.”

“Teaching doesn’t sound that exciting to me, either.”

“Your turn,” she said. “Tell me about your life.”

“Well, I’m kind of boring right now too,” he admitted. “My father had his stroke a little over a year ago and I immediately took over the business. I work seven days a week most of the time because I don’t trust anyone to do what I do, which is almost everything. The sales guys bring in business, but I negotiate the deals, make sure the contracts are right, take care of the legalities, and keep up with each shipment from the time it leaves port until it arrives at its destination. Once I know it got where it was going, I let the sales guys take care of satisfaction surveys and follow-up unless a customer asks for me specifically, but I handle almost every detail of every shipment.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It is, but I didn’t want to disappoint my father and now I’m so deeply immersed in everything, I don’t even know how to slow down.”

“You walked out today without a backward glance,” she pointed out.

He nodded slowly. “It’s the first time I’ve ever done that.”

“I feel like I should apologize.”

“Not at all—it’s good for me to step back a little.”

“I assume you’re close to your family?”

He nodded. “Very. I have two older sisters; Sophia and Melina. Sophia is 29 and married with a little boy. Melina had just come in as we were leaving today—she’s 27 and has been dating this guy on and off since high school but they don’t seem to be in a rush to get married. She works at a clothing store part-time and helps out at the shipping company on days like today when we don’t have a receptionist. My mother pretty much fusses over my father these days, although he’s much better. He still has a little trouble with fine motor skills like writing, but the physical therapy is helping. And my father’s mother, Yaya Thespina, lives with my parents—she’d love you! She’s a pistol.”

“I’m sure.” She paused. “So what do you do for fun?”

He cut a glance in her direction. “Are you trying to ask about my sex life or whether I’m dating?”

She laughed. “Not directly, no, but generally speaking—do you date?”

“Sure.” He made a face. “But not with any regularity. As we discussed, my family’s name is well-known because of the company and every father of a marriageable daughter within 50 miles has approached my parents with some sort of dowry and a dozen reasons why we’d be a good match. I avoid that nonsense, and luckily, my parents aren’t overly excited about it either. I have an ex-girlfriend I used to see on occasion, but she gave me an ultimatum about six months ago and I haven’t seen her since. I’m busy and the idea of using my precious free time to make small talk feels too much like work, so mostly I don’t bother.”

“What do you do in your rare free time then?”

He grinned. “If it’s summer or early fall, I’m at the beach. My friend Xristos and I both have motorcycles and we like to take off and ride down in this direction until we find a place to stop. Sometimes we meet friends, other times it’s just the two of us. We like to swim and lie in the sun, occasionally fish. Other times we head to downtown Athens and go to a couple of clubs, have a few beers. We haven’t done anything like that in ages, though. I just don’t have the time and he’s broke. I tried to offer him a job at the company, but he’s proud and doesn’t want charity. It’s tough right now.”

“What does he want to do?”

“He went to school for computers, but there are no jobs right now and though he could probably get one in England, his mother is ill and he doesn’t want to leave. Cancer, you know? Her chances aren’t good so I think he’ll stay until she’s gone.”

“How sad,” she said quietly.