“What do you do when you’re not at work back home?” she asked.
“I was in school full time,” I said. “I worked and studied and took care of the house I lived in with my dad. That pretty much took all my time.”
“That does not sound like a fun time,” she commented.
“It wasn’t terrible. I didn’t mind. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, and I worked hard to get my degree.” I did not feel like I missed out on anything. “I did go out some, but I don’t know. It just isn’t my thing. I prefer a walk or hanging out and talking or watching old movies. The loud, grabby scene has never appealed to me.”
“You’re an old soul,” she said, turning to look at me.
I burst into laughter. “I am an old soul. My dad used to tell me that all the time.”
“What does your dad do for a living?”
“He worked in a mine for a long time, still does, but in a different position. He has worked several jobs over the years.”
“What about your mother?” she asked, pulling open the door to the café.
It was always kind of a weird conversation killer. It was hard not to be blunt, but people always reacted so strongly when I told them she was dead.
“My mom died soon after I was born. I never knew her.” I did not feel sadness like people expected me to.
“Oh. I’m very sorry. Did your father remarry?”
I shook my head. “No. He had a couple of relationships, but I think he really loved my mother, and he could never find anyone else that measured up to her high standards.”
“That is so sweet and sad at the same time,” she pouted.
I smiled, following her to a table. We both ordered a slice of fruit pie. I felt a little out of place in the tiny dress, but I was a lot more comfortable in the café than I had been in the bar.
“What about you?” I asked, wanting to know more about her. “Are you from here?”
She nodded. “I am. Well, I grew up in Athens. I moved here about four years ago.”
“I can’t imagine how awesome that would be, to live in such a historical place like Athens,” I said with awe.
She grinned. “When you live there and see the stuff every single day, it isn’t nearly as exciting.”
“I don’t know. I think I would be very excited. Is your family still there?”
“Yep. They will never leave. My dad owns a shop there. They wanted me to work in it and take over the family business, but I didn’t want to be stuck there. I wanted to find my own path. They are very traditional and aren’t all that happy that I left them.” She sighed.
“I’m sorry. My dad was just the opposite. He was pushing me out the door from the moment I graduated.” I giggled.
“But you lived with him?”
“Yes. I mean, he pushed me to do better than he did. He didn’t get to go to college. He didn’t even graduate high school. He has always encouraged me to do and see as much as I could before I couldn’t.”
Thinking about him back home, alone, made me a little melancholy.
“He sounds like a good man. I think if you give yourself some time, you’ll find you really like it here. I love it.”
“I think I will too,” I said. “Thank you so much for inviting me out tonight. I’m sorry I ruined your fun.”
She waved a hand through the air. “You didn’t ruin anything. If you’re not comfortable at the bar, that’s okay. We can go to the beach, shopping, or I can take you sightseeing. I don’t always have to be drunk.” She giggled.
“I would really like that,” I said excitedly. “I would love to try some of the Greek cuisine and check out some of the historical sites.”
“Then we will make a date,” she said. “I have plans this weekend, but maybe next weekend?”
I nodded my head. “Absolutely. I am going to spend this weekend sleeping and doing very little.”
She grinned. “Then we have a date.”
I relaxed, feeling a lot better about the failed night out. Cassia was going to be a great ally to have, and I hoped we could become good friends. Maybe I could convince her to visit me in the United States one day.
Chapter 13
Adrian
It had been a long day at work, and all I wanted was a good cup of coffee to get me through the last bit of work I needed to get done so I headed to a nearby café. I was used to being alone. I didn’t mind it. I wasn’t the type of guy who needed to be surrounded by yes men or people in general. I liked the quiet. I liked to be able to think and daydream without someone asking me what was wrong—as if thinking were a bad thing.
I opened the iPad case and pulled up an account I had been working on while I sipped the coffee. I found it relaxing to work outside of the office. I was strongly considering working from home more often and letting Rand handle the day-to-day stuff at the office.
I glanced up, noticed the sun dropping lower, and thought about heading down to one of the beach spots to watch the sunset. Something caught my eye. Not something, someone. I glanced to my right, sifting through the people leisurely enjoying a stroll along the sidewalk and saw Bella. That was what had caught my eye. A beautiful blonde woman wasn’t all that rare, but Bella was different.
“Bella!” I called her name.
She turned left, then right, confusion on her face.
“Bella, over here,” I said, waving my arm in the air.
Her eyes landed on me. She smiled and waved back, walking toward the small table I was sitting at. “Hi!”
“Are you lost?” I asked her.
She giggled. “No. I’m lost on purpose this time. I was just out exploring, enjoying the beautiful evening.”
I nodded my head, happy to hear she was getting some downtime. “Would you like to join me for coffee?” I asked.
She grimaced. “Um, maybe tea, decaf. I don’t want to be up all night.”
I grinned, finding it amusing that she had a low caffeine tolerance. “I thought all Americans lived on coffee, all day, all the time?”
She shook her head. “Not this American. I’m one cup in the morning, and that’s it for me, or I will be a jittery mess.”
She sat down, and one of the waitresses rushed over. She ordered a peppermint tea, which I thought seemed a little odd for a warm summer evening, but who was I to say what worked and what didn’t? Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. The jacket she’d worn at the office was gone, leaving the blue silk sleeveless shirt exposed. Her arms were toned, telling me she did some kind of workout, but I didn’t think she was the gym type. I wanted to ask how she stayed in such excellent shape but figured that would be crossing a line.
“How was work today?” I asked her.
She shrugged a shoulder. “Much better. I only got lost once.”
I chuckled, sliding my finger over the screen to look at a new page. “I’m happy to hear you’re learning the ropes,” I mumbled, staring at the screen.
“Are you working?” she asked.
I looked up to meet her pretty green eyes. “Kind of. I’m just kind of reviewing some stuff.”
“Do you ever stop working?” she asked with a grin.
I smiled in return, sipping my coffee. “I like working. Working doesn’t feel like a chore to me. It’s kind of therapeutic, I guess. It takes my mind off other things.”
“Other things?” she asked, a grimace on her face. “Please don’t think I’m being rude or too forward, but are you married? Involved?”
I slowly shook my head. “No. I’m too busy with my work to worry about any of that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Lame excuse.”
My eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
It was her turn for her eyes to get big. “I’m sorry! I don’t know why I just said that. I forgot who I was talking to.”
I grinned, appreciating her ability to be very casual. “It’s fine, although you do sound a bit like my mother.”
She looked horrified. “I don’t think any woman wants to hear that.�
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“Sorry, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”
“So, what is it you’re trying to get off your mind? You’re living in what I’ve determined must be the most beautiful area in the world, you’re successful, wealthy, and quite the handsome devil. What could have you stressed?” she asked.
I liked the part about me being a handsome devil. “Well, it varies.”
“Like?”
“Like today I’m a little stressed out about my mother,” I said, surprised I told her anything.
“Is she sick?” she asked with concern.
I shook my head. “No, not in the least.”
“You said I sounded like your mom—is she nagging you about being single?” she pressed.
I sighed, knowing I probably shouldn’t divulge personal information with an employee, but there was something about Bella that made me feel like I could talk to her. She was very genuine and didn’t put on airs. She would have made an excellent therapist, I decided. I found myself wanting to tell her everything.
“I went to dinner at my parents’ house last night,” I said. “My mom all but demanded I go. When I got there, the usual conversation came up—the fact I am single.”
She smiled and nodded her head. “Hence the comparison of me to your mother.”
“Yes, but I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s just kind of funny your words were so similar to what she said.”
“I take it this is a conversation that’s been had before?” she asked.
“Yes, it has, and it’s always the same thing. I’m the youngest of three brothers. I’m not sure why she picks on me so much, but she does. She is always pushing me to date, and when I say I’m too busy, she sets me up on dates! The women she chooses for me are not quite what I would say was what I was looking for.”
She grinned. “I see. It’s sweet that she cares and that she is looking out for you. I don’t know if I would want my dad setting me up on dates, though. That could definitely end badly.”
“It does. Trust me. Stay away from anyone your parent recommends.”
“Is that all that’s got you stressed out?” she asked. “I mean, it sounds like you are kind of used to her asking you about your relationship status.”
I grimaced, a little embarrassed to admit just what it was that had me stressed out. “That isn’t what has me stressed. It’s my response to her attempt to set me up that has me debating moving to America.”
She burst into laughter. “It must be serious if you’re thinking about leaving this behind.”
“You haven’t met my mother,” I griped. “Trust me. A man would move to Antarctica if he had to in order to escape her wrath.”
She was still laughing while looking at me with obvious pity. “It sounds rough.”
I nodded. “It is. I told her I had a girlfriend and that’s why I couldn’t go out with the woman she was trying to set me up with.”
She winced. “And you don’t have a girlfriend?”
I shook my head, holding her eyes with mine. “No.”
“Ouch.”
“Yes, ouch,” I mumbled. “If I tell my mother I lied, she will kill me. I will be dead or wish I was.”
“So, find a stand-in,” she replied easily.
I looked at her. “A stand-in?”
“Yes. I could pretend I was your girlfriend if you want. We go meet your mom, and she will see you’re already spoken for and will hopefully stop setting you up. Then, you can tell her we broke up or I moved back to the States or something like that.”
I thought about her idea. “You would do that for me?”
“Yes. I owe you for not firing me immediately on my first day. I don’t mind.” She shrugged a shoulder.
As much as I wanted to jump at the quick and easy solution, I couldn’t do it. “You don’t want to get mixed up in this. Trust me. If my mom finds out we lied to her face, it won’t be good. She’s small but mightier than any mythical goddess.”
I could see Bella trying not to laugh. I knew I probably sounded like a scared little boy, but my mom was no joke. She could be terrifying. It wasn’t a threat of violence that kept us boys in line, but it was the implied threat. There was something about my mother that could make any man quake in his shoes. She was a fierce tigress. To be on her good side was a great thing. To get on her bad side was the stuff of nightmares.
“Well, it’s up to you. The offer is on the table. I don’t mind doing it. I won’t pressure you.” She took another drink from her cup before putting it on the table.
“Thank you. You’re very kind and very generous, but I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
I smiled, appreciating her willingness to go out of her way for me. “I appreciate that, but I think I’ll have to pass.”
“Suit yourself. Thank you for the conversation and tea. I’m going to head back to my hotel and get some reading done before I go to bed.”
I watched her stand and quickly got to my feet. “Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit. It was nice talking with you.”
“You’re welcome. Try not to work too much or think too hard on your little problem. I’m sure it will all work out.”
She turned and started to walk away. I couldn’t help but smile. “Bella?”
She stopped walking and turned to face me. “Yes?”
“You’re going to your hotel?” I clarified.
“Yes.”
I pointed behind me. “It’s the other way.”
She groaned, her shoulders drooping as she shook her head. “Thanks,” she mumbled and walked past me, heading in the right direction.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I sat back down at the table. I was going to have to put a GPS collar on her neck. It was only a matter of time before she ended up truly lost. I supposed it was a good thing we were on a relatively small island. It was hard to say where she would end up without a fence to keep her contained.
I mulled over her solution to my problem. Truth be told, I had considered doing exactly what she suggested, but it felt too risky. Fooling my mother was no easy task. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put Bella in that situation.
For now, I would have to try and figure out another solution. I had gone through the contacts in my phone, mulling over names of women I had dated in the past, but the idea of taking any of them to meet my mother was not appealing. I knew my mother wouldn’t like any of them. Things could only get worse if my mother managed to ferret out the truth of the lack of relationship between myself and my so-called girlfriend. The woman I chose to take would have to understand it was only a one day relationship. I didn’t want the woman to get the wrong idea.
I shook my head, quickly nixing the idea again. It was too risky.
Chapter 14
Bella
I was tapping away on the keyboard of the laptop, my mind whirring as I wrote up my ideas for the new campaign. Cassia was sitting across from me at the long table in the smaller conference room we had taken over. We wanted quiet and a space we could talk freely without interrupting the others busy working on their own projects. I quickly finished the document and emailed it to Cassia for her to review.
“I just sent it,” I told her, pulling up another file to begin working on it.
“Damn, you’re fast!” she exclaimed.
I laughed, staying focused on the project while she reviewed what I had sent. “I like to get my work done.”
“You are picking up on this job faster than anyone I have ever worked with before,” she said with a smile. “You are speeding through this, and it’s actually very good. I’m impressed.”
“Thank you. It’s something I’ve always done. I knew I had a choice: be good at what I wanted to do, which was marketing and creating, or be forced to work in the mines with my dad or some kind of hard-labor job like that. I didn’t want that for my life, and my father certainly didn’t want that for me. I learned how to absorb knowledge and how to focus at a very young a
ge. Seeing your dad come home bone tired and hearing of families losing their loved ones to tragic accidents or lung disease is a motivating factor to find a different line of work.” My eyes stayed on my screen as I reviewed the file.
“Wow, you are really driven,” she said with a small laugh.
“I’m very motivated to not do manual labor,” I said. “I’m not big on sweating and physical exertion.”
“I could definitely understand that. I wouldn’t want to get dirty and sweaty either, at least not in that kind of environment,” she added with a giggle.
I opened my mouth to reply but felt a presence in the room. I turned around to see Adrian standing just inside the room.
“Hi, ladies,” he said.
“Hi,” we both said at the same time.
“What brings you in here?” he asked.
“It was quieter and easier for us to talk about the project we’re working on without disturbing the others,” Cassia answered.
He nodded. “I see.”
Cassia pushed a file across the table. “Check out what our young intern has done.”
Adrian took the file, pulled out the chair next to mine, and sat down. His presence was hard to ignore. I could smell a faint hint of his cologne and found myself quietly inhaling through my nose to get more of it. It was manly and sexy and was triggering all kinds of responses in my body. I looked over at Cassia and found her watching me intently. It was then I realized I had leaned toward Adrian. I felt ridiculous and quickly leaned away.
“This is great!” he exclaimed, turning to look at me.
“Thank you,” I replied sheepishly.
“Bella, you’re doing amazing work. Really, this is great. I’m glad to have you on board.” He reached out to touch my hand resting on the table.
I gulped. “Thank you. I’m happy to be here.” His hand practically seared my flesh.
I couldn’t move or breathe with his hand touching mine. I had no idea what was happening, but the reaction to his touch unnerved me. I schooled my features, not wanting to look like I was freaking out. When inside, I was melting and quivering.
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