Summer Love: The Best Mistake / Impulse

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“I think that’s the most wonderful compliment I’ve ever had.”

“Where have you been?” he murmured.

When she moved restlessly, he held her still. “Don’t. I’m not going to touch you. Not yet.”

“That’s not the problem.” With her eyes closed, she tilted her chin up and let the sun beat down on her face. “The problem is, I want you to touch me, so much it frightens me.” Taking her time, she sat up, gathering her courage. She wanted to be honest, and she hoped she wouldn’t sound like a fool. “Stephen, I don’t sleep around. I need you to understand, because this is all happening so quickly. But it’s not casual.”

He lifted a hand to her chin and turned her to face him. His eyes were as blue as the water, and, to her, as unfathomable. “No, it’s not.” He made the decision quickly, though he had been turning the idea over in his mind all day. “I have to go to Athens tomorrow. Come with me, Rebecca.”

“Athens?” she managed, staring at him.

“Business. A day, two at the most. I’d like you with me.” And he was afraid, more than he cared to admit, that when he returned she might be gone.

“I…” What should she say? What was right?

“You told me you’d planned to go.” He’d push if necessary. Now that the idea had taken root, Stephen had no intention of going anywhere without her.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t want to be in the way while you’re working.”

“You’ll be in my way whether you’re here or there.”

Her head came up at that, and the look she gave him was both shy and stunning. He stifled the need to take her again, to roll until she was beneath him on the sand. He’d said he’d give her time. Perhaps what he’d really meant was that he needed time himself.

“You’ll have your own suite. No strings, Rebecca. Just your company.”

“A day or two,” she murmured.

“It’s a simple matter to have your room held for you here for your return.”

Her return. Not his. If he left Corfu tomorrow she would probably never see him again. He was offering her another day, perhaps two. Never take anything for granted, she remembered. Never again.

Athens, she thought. It was true that she had planned to see it before she left Greece. But she would have gone alone. A few days before, that had been what she thought she wanted. The adventure of seeing new places, new people, on her own. Now the thought of going with him, of having him beside her when she first caught sight of the Acropolis, of having him want her with him, changed everything.

“I’d love to go with you.” She rose quickly and dived into the water. She was in over her head.

Chapter 6

Athens was neither East nor West. It was spitted meat and spices roasting. It was tall buildings and modern shops. It was narrow, unpaved streets and clamorous bazaars. It had been the scene of revolution and brutality. It was ancient and civilized and passionate.

Rebecca quite simply fell in love at first sight.

She’d been seduced by Paris and charmed by London, but in Athens she lost her heart. She wanted to see everything at once, from sunrise to moonlight and the heat-drenched afternoon between.

All that first morning, while Stephen was immersed in business meetings, she wandered. The hotel he’d chosen was lovely, but she was drawn to the streets and the people. Somehow she didn’t feel like a visitor here. She felt like someone who had returned home after a long, long journey. Athens was waiting for her, ready to welcome her back.

Incredible. All her life she had accepted the parameters set for her. Now she was touring Old Athens, with its clicking worry beads and its open-fronted shops, where she could buy cheap plaster copies of monuments or elegant antiques.

She passed tavernas, but she was too excited to be tempted by the rich smells of coffee and baking. She heard the clear notes of a flute as she looked up and saw the Acropolis.

There was only one approach. Though it was still early, other tourists were making their way toward the ruins in twos and in groups. Rebecca let her camera hang by its strap. Despite the chattering around her, she felt alone, but beautifully so.

She would never be able to explain what it felt like to stand in the morning sun and look at something that had been built for the gods—something that had endured war and weather and time. It had been a place of worship. Even now, after centuries had passed, Rebecca felt the spiritual pull. Perhaps the goddess Athena, with her gleaming helmet and spear, still visited there.

Rebecca had been disappointed that Stephen couldn’t join her on her first morning in Athens. Now she was glad to be alone—to sit and absorb and imagine without having to explain her thoughts.

How could she, after having seen so much, go back to so little? Sighing, she wandered through the temples. It wasn’t just the awe she felt here, or the excitement she had felt in London and Paris, that had changed her. It was Stephen and everything she’d felt, everything she’d wanted, since she’d met him.

Perhaps she would go back to Philadelphia, but she would never be the same person. Once you fell in love, completely, totally in love, nothing was ever the same.


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