by Joanne Walsh
Her eyes lit up. “That sounds awesome.”
“So that’s a definite yes?”
Smiling, she nodded. “Definitely definite.”
*
“That’s wonderful!” Alison exclaimed when they went inside and told her their good news. “In fact, the whole village will be pleased.”
“The whole village?” Sally queried after Alison had enveloped her in a hug.
“Well, maybe not everyone. But there are quite a few of us who’ve been crossing our fingers and hoping for this to happen,” Alison confessed.
Dimitri stood to one side, listening to the two women laugh about local support for a Sally-Dimitri merger. It was good to hear people around here were rooting for them, because, once upon a time, he’d known the dark side of the village grapevine. Memories of being a kid, the whispers, taunts and scuffles with other boys came rushing back. His jaw hardening, he pushed them away. Those were different times, when attitudes were more uptight, and hadn’t he fought hard to claw his way to respect in the community since? Alison seemed sure that feelings towards him and Sally were positive, and maybe the only challenge would be a load of well-meaning but over-enthusiastic villagers who were dying to marry them off.
Marry them off. His mouth quirked. Not so long ago, he’d considered that as a solution himself to keep Sally from leaving Agia Kalamaros. He’d stopped short of doing it because it’d seemed too crazy and desperate. But now he wondered if it was so mad. Hadn’t he found himself longing to settle down, envying his brothers for finding their partners and wishing he could find the right woman too, have a family? Each day, he became more certain Sally was that woman—
“Dimitri? What do you think?”
He dragged his attention back to her. “Agapimenos, forgive me. I was miles away thinking about where I might take you for our first date.”
And realizing he had to be patient until, someday, he could pop the question.
Chapter Sixteen
“Fitting solar panels will not be a problem. As you know, we installed them for Kyrios Dimitri. And because it is you, Kupia Sally, I can offer a discount. My team and I will be honoured to restore the shop that has served my family for generations.” Hector’s darkly tanned face creased up into a thousand wrinkles. “I will have an estimate for you by Monday.”
“Thank you, Hector, I’ll look out for it.”
Sally watched the builder crunch across the store’s floor in his heavy boots towards the exit, the clipboard under his arm bearing the very detailed breakdown he’d made of all the things that needed fixing. She’d hired him on Dimitri’s recommendation, and they’d agreed the place would be a mix of eco-friendly and old-style fittings based on photos she’d discovered in the attic of 5 Dionysou Street—black and white shots of the old-fashioned interior, with meats and dried herbs hanging from the ceiling and shelves of vegetable-filled baskets and bottles of olive oil. Theia, Manos’s sister, had also presented her with a trunk of objects from that era, including brass weighing scales and an ancient manual cash register, which would make great display pieces.
She’d dreaded explaining to Theia why the building had to be sold. But as the new landlord, Dimitri had gone with her, and she’d watched in awe as he’d charmed Theia, also gently breaking it to her that her late brother had been a gambling addict.
“It’s not entirely a surprise, Dimitri,” Thea had responded, shaking her head sadly. “He just seemed to go into himself after our mother was diagnosed with dementia. And, to be honest, I began having less to do with him anyway because I was furious with him for leaving me to deal with Mama.” She looked directly at Sally. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of what you did, but I hope very much the store’s relaunch will be a fresh start for you.”
Rubbing away the beads of perspiration that had sprung up on her forehead with the back of her hand, Sally gazed around her at her old friend’s water-and-mud-stained walls and sighed contentedly. For the first time in years, it felt as if everything was going to be okay. Turning, she reached for her keys and her phone; it was time to call in at the café and pick up a bottle of water before heading back to Alison’s.
“Hi.”
The sound of the rich, deep voice had her almost jumping out of her skin. Dimitri! He was leaning against the doorframe, looking unshaven and unusually rumpled. “Give me a shock, why don’t you?” she exclaimed, a rush of pleasure filling her because he was here. “I wasn’t expecting you back from Athens until later today.”
“I caught an earlier flight. How did the meeting with Hector go?”
Stepping forward, she planted a kiss on his cheek. “Very well. Hector will have his tender to me on Monday and he’s offering a special rate. I’m sure it’ll be good to go.”
“Exochos.” He glanced down at the phone and keys in her hand. “You look as if you’re going somewhere.”
“Oh, only to grab some water from Constantine’s before I set off. It’s boiling in here, and it still pongs,” she said, holding her nose.
He laughed. “It doesn’t smell great,” he agreed. “What say you to going to the café together? I’ll treat you to a quick melon cordial before I head back to Skalos if you like.”
“Great,” she agreed, smiling her pleasure.
After she’d locked up, they set off, hand in hand, and strolled across the cobbled square. “How did you manage to cut loose early from your business trip?” she asked, twining her fingers with his in the way she’d come to love on dates they’d shared recently.
“I was able to talk with my Swedish buyer yesterday evening over drinks, rather than at the breakfast meeting we had arranged for this morning. Okay, here we are. Shall we sit over there in the shade?”
They made for the table he’d pointed to, which was well sheltered by the café’s awning. After taking their order, Constantine quickly returned bearing a tray of two large glasses filled with freshly pressed melon juice, ice and mint leaves. He grinned widely as he served them. “It’s wonderful that you are reopening the store, Sally.”
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without this man here.” Reaching for her glass, she raised it in salute at Dimitri.
“We are grateful, Kyrios Bekatoros. The square needs her.” Constantine gave a quick bow before taking his tray and heading inside.
“Thank you from me too,” she said softly. “I really mean that. Just before you arrived, I was standing in the store and realizing this is the best I’ve felt about the future in ages.”
A slow smile curved his lips. “And everybody in the square is happy that you’ll be back soon. So, what else have you been up to while I was gone besides obtaining Hector’s estimate?”
She took a few gulps of her juice. “Well, it’s been busy, what with work and the refit. I did that interview with the Kathos Gazette yesterday. They’re going to run a short piece in next week’s print issue and then put it online. They’ll come back to me again when the store opens and do a bigger feature.”
“Very good. Just the kind of PR we need.” He clinked his glass against hers to show his approval. “I had a successful time in Athens too. Bigger orders from our existing clients and two new, including one from the Swedish cosmetics company.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Now all I have to do is hire extra workers for the estate to meet the increased demand for Skalos’s produce.”
“Even more fantastic,” she laughed, “although I’m hoping there’ll be a little bit left over for Sally’s.”
“Oh, there’s always more than a little left over for Sally,” he smiled, leaning forward and staring into her eyes.
The way he gazed at her sent tingles running up and down her spine. Reaching for a straw, she shot him a glance from under her lashes as she sucked up the last of the delicious cordial. It was nice to have a man look at her like this again—as if he actually wanted to be with her.
He tilted his head. “You’ve finished? I’ll run you up to KATs on my way home. The car�
��s just parked over there.” He signalled to Constantine to bring him the bill, and after settling it, took her hand once more. They walked, chatting as they went, to the far side of the square. However, when they reached the Merc, he surprised her by tugging her straight past the vehicle and around the corner into the cool shadow of a building, where he caught hold of her by the waist and pushed her gently back against the wall. “Theos, I’ve missed you so much,” he muttered, running kisses down her neck.
The soft scrape of the scruff on his chin and the way his lips fluttered like butterflies’ wings against her skin had her instinctively arching into him. “I’ve missed you too,” she breathed.
He moved his hands to cradle her face, then trailed his thumb along her jaw. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you while I was away…how much I wanted you.” His lips claimed hers greedily.
This time, the heat of his embrace had her heart thrumming and her head spinning; it felt fierce—“Mm…” She ducked out of his hold.
“Lisous, agapimenos, I’m so sorry, I’m going too fast—”
“It’s fine,” she mumbled, “I want you. It’s just—”
“Shh, it’s not fine.” He placed his finger against her mouth. “You are uncomfortable, and we agreed we would take it easy. My bad.”
She nodded. “It’s-it’s still early days for me, and I need to take it one step at a time.”
“Of course.” He pecked her on the forehead. “Look, why don’t you come up to the estate this evening and have a relaxed dinner, with no pressure? I have some of my own lamb kleftika in the freezer.”
“Your own kleftika? How can I resist?” she quipped, her eyes meeting his, wanting them to be okay again. “What time shall I come by?”
“About seven? I can show you around. It’s been many years since you last visited, and we’ve expanded a great deal since then.” He planted another kiss on her forehead. “Come on, let’s drive you back.”
As he steered the Merc up the steep hill, he asked, “Where is McTavish, King of the Mongrels today?”
“I decided it’s safer not to bring him to the store until the construction work is done.” She pulled a wry face. “Anyway, the king’s got a new court, now that he and I have moved into Alison’s. Pav and Nyx the cat. He’s got no time for me anymore.”
“To mikro mako, the little rascal,” Dimitri chuckled. Then, giving her a sideways glance, he added, “No offence to your dog, but I want you all to myself—” At that moment, his hands-free began ringing. “Ah, Selene. Excuse me.” He pressed the answer icon on the dash screen. “Selene?”
“Good afternoon, Dimi, Athens calling,” Selene’s voice trickled like treacle into the space. “Just to let you know that I’ve taken Sven through the draft contract and he’s ready to sign.”
Selene had been with him in Athens? Sally inhaled sharply.
“That’s great news,” Dimitri replied. “Good work, Koutsopoulous. Look, can I call you back in about ten minutes when I get home?”
Sally sat quietly while he touched the end call icon to Koutsopoulous. “So, Selene was with you in Athens?” she queried as casually as she could. “I thought she only advises you financially. About accounts and investments and stuff?”
“With Skalos expanding at the rate it is, I have taken her on board as deputy director. She is a tremendous asset when we pitch and negotiate.”
Her jaw clenched. He’d hired Selene into an executive position, and they’d been together for the five-day trip, and she hadn’t known.
“I must call Sven when I get back, congratulate him on choosing to place his order with us.” He glanced at her again. “Is everything okay? You look…worried.”
“It’s nothing.” Forcing a smile, she shook her head. “I suddenly thought of something I should have told Hector. I’ll give him a call later.”
“There’s a lot to think about with the refurb. If you need any help, just say.” Flicking the indicator, he glanced at the rear-view mirror then turned right onto the KATs forecourt. “Okay, I will see you at seven.” He delivered another peck to her cheek. “Antio sas.”
Standing on the driveway, she watched him go, the news that Selene had become his right-hand woman still reverberating. Why hadn’t he said anything about the other woman accompanying him to Athens? She swallowed. An hour ago, she’d been on top of the world. Heaving a sigh, she trudged her way to the front door before stopping on the step. Was she really going to let Selene ruin everything? There was no doubt Dimitri wanted to be with her, and he was a busy man—perhaps the news about Selene had slipped his mind. In the end, the other woman was just an irritation. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed the door open, to find McTavish on the other side eagerly waiting for her. “Hello, boy,” she greeted, squatting and welcoming him into her arms, jerking her head back laughing when he tried to give her a sloppy doggy kiss. “Urgh!”
Two males in one afternoon who were dying to kiss her. Life was pretty good.
Chapter Seventeen
At ten to six, a horn blared; the cab Sally had called to take her to Skalos was outside. Hurriedly doing up the remaining buttons of the short-sleeved, floral-sprigged blouse she’d chosen to go with her most decent pair of jeans and the thong sandals Frankie had donated to her, she studied her reflection. Now that she was less stressed, and eating Alison’s yummy, generously portioned meals, she’d filled out a little, and the blouse’s buttons were looking a mite stretched over her chest. She tugged the hem down, but as soon as she let it go, the fabric pulled apart again. Huffing out an exasperated sigh, she turned away, searching for her purse. She didn’t have time now to rummage for something else to wear.
When she arrived at Skalos, Dimitri came out onto the gravelled driveway. He opened the passenger door of the taxi and helped her out, before paying the driver. “What would you like to do first?” he asked. “Have a glass of wine, or take the grand tour of the estate?”
She self-consciously twitched the front of her blouse to stop it gaping. “I’ll take the tour. I’m dying to see what you’ve done with the place. I haven’t been up here for, what, fifteen years?”
“Okay. We can walk up to the top of the hill behind the house and get a good view of the whole property from there.”
A few minutes later, they were surveying Skalos’s expanse, Sally marvelling at the rows and rows of vines, fruit trees and rose bushes basking in a pearly-blue haze after the baking hot day. “It’s incredible,” she breathed. “You know, I just can’t get my head around how far it’s grown. When I worked here, all you had were the vines and the olive groves, and the rest of this land lay barren.”
“It’s taken years and a lot of investment and hard work to reclaim it piece by piece and irrigate it by diverting rainwater that flows down from the mountain. But it paid off in the end.”
“What’s the deal with Sven from Stockholm?”
“Rose petals. We already have a thriving trade in selling them to make rose water for baking, and now, Sven wants them for his newest face cream.” Dimitri grinned. “I can get you a free sample if you’d like.”
“I would like that. Rose is supposed to make your complexion bloom. Ooh, sorry, that was terrible,” she winced when she realized her pun.
“You are forgiven,” he replied with a smile and, pulling her closer, planted a kiss on the side of her head.
She snuggled against him, pleased with herself she’d made that opening gambit about his business. He loved talking about it; that was clear from the pride in his voice. And the news about Selene he’d delivered this afternoon made more sense now, because she could see for herself just how large the Skalos enterprise had become.
“You have gone quiet. What are you thinking?” he asked, giving her a squeeze.
“I was just getting nostalgic about how I used to love drinking Skalos wine,” she improvised. She glanced up at him. “I remember it tasted sweet, like raisins and Hershey’s Kisses.” She didn’t add she could also recall when, once upon a time, they’d
drunk loads of it, and he’d kissed almost every part of her as she lay watching the sunset. She blushed at the intimate memory, hoping the fiery twilight camouflaged her hot cheeks.
Searching her face, he was silent for a moment, then smiled, and she realised he’d remembered that faraway evening too. “Raisins and candy, eh?” he replied softly. “I thought that was how you tasted when I kissed you all over, but that was the wine, was it? Perhaps I need to remind myself.” He bent and explored her mouth gently but thoroughly. “Definitely you, and not the wine,” he pronounced. “Okay, shall we go back to the house, crack open a bottle and you can refresh your memory further?”
Back at the villa, she took a seat on the patio illuminated by twinkle lights strung in the sheltering branches of a fig tree and sputtering candles on the table that had been laid for dinner, while he went inside to retrieve the wine. After pouring a large glass for each of them, he asked, “So, are you ready to eat now?”
“Yeah! Can’t you hear my tummy rumbling?”
“Bear with me while I deal with a few things in the kitchen. I won’t be long.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze.
Sipping her wine, she watched his departing back, so strong and broad-shouldered. It felt good to be with someone who had it all under control. If he did surprise her—unlike Manos—it was with nice ones, like this evening. Placing her glass on the table, she gave a cat-like stretch, revelling in the glow left by the alcohol and this new sense of contentment.
“Madame, dinner is served.” He was back carrying a lidded ironware casserole, which he laid on a mat on the table, then whipped off the cloth he’d brought out with him from his shoulder.
Sitting up straight, she exclaimed, “Oh, wow!”
“Tonight,” he said, lifting the lid with a flourish, “we have lamb kleftika, cooked according to my brother Nik’s sacred recipe. The meat was simmered for hours in red wine and rosemary.”
