One Week in Greece

by Demi Alex

  Christo kissed each of their cheeks in turn, swept his thumb over Bethany’s cheeks, collecting the joyful moisture, and then stepped back. Kosta approached, and kissed them as well.

  “Married in a pair of Levi’s cutoffs,” Sheridan said, shaking her head and kissing Bethany. “That’s a Michaels first.” She laughed and touched her lips to Paul and Justin’s cheeks. “Take good care of my precious sister.”

  “The best,” Paul said.

  “Always,” Justin added.

  “Sign these papers and we’ll leave you alone to watch your first sunset as husbands and wife,” Kosta said, signing the documents, and then offering the pen to Justin.

  Justin, Paul, and Bethany signed, Kosta kissed them again and placed the pen in her hands. “Your family pen, koukla.”

  She glanced down and recognized the Santos pen. She smiled. They’d thought of everything. “Thank you.”

  “Good. And now we’re off,” Christo said, draping an arm over Sheridan’s shoulders. “How would you like to watch the sun set from the resort’s VIP spot?”

  “Hey, that’s my little sister you have your paws on,” Justin chided.

  “She’s not my little sister,” Christo said, and led her off the terrace.

  “I love you, children. Blessings of happiness and love for your family.” And with a big smile on his face, Kosta left as well.

  They stood, hands joined, the three of them together watching the sun set.

  When the fiery orange globe ducked beneath the horizon, and indigo and gold glowed in the sky, Paul turned to them.

  “I hear the sunset in Santorini is spectacular,” Paul chided, because there was no place with grander reputation for its beautiful sunsets than the volcanic island. “Tomorrow we watch the sunset over the caldera, on our first honeymoon.”

  “First?” Those funky tingles wouldn’t go away, and Bethany felt caught in a fairytale. She had her princes, had her castle, and was darn sure claiming her happily ever after. “Will there be more?”

  “As many as we want,” Paul said.

  “I didn’t know you were such a romantic, Paul, but you thought of everything and made this perfect. Thank you.” Justin smiled, his dark gaze glinting with unconditional love. “Now, I think it’s time I get to kiss my bride and groom.”

  “One more thing,” Paul said, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a gold coin. “I have a very non-romantic request for the two of you.”

  Swept away by all that had happened, Bethany had no idea what a non-romantic request was, but was willing to grant them anything they asked.

  Paul placed the coin in her hand, but looked at Justin, who looked just as hard back at Paul.

  “Today, we are blessed that society accepts a child with a father and a mother, or two fathers or two mothers,” Paul said.

  Justin nodded, clearly higher on the comprehension scale than she was.

  “We are one, together before all this splendor, forever and always,” Justin said. “But unless our society changes, we, Paul and I, will put our children before our personal and legal pride.”

  “Yes. Thank you,” he said, bringing Justin’s hand to hers, and placing his over both. “On the day we learn you are pregnant, this coin will determine which one of us signs the marriage license as a husband and which one as the witness.”

  “But how will we know—”

  “Bethy, no matter what a piece of paper says…” Justin began.

  “We’re a family,” Paul finished. “I will love Justin’s baby as much as I will love yours, as much as I will love mine. The matter of biology is nothing compared to what we have.”

  Could she really be so lucky to have such a beautiful marriage?

  “The baby will be ours. The babies will be ours,” Justin said, placing a finger on her chin and looking into her eyes.

  “You’re going to flip a coin to sign a paper?” Bethany asked, love for them growing with each second.

  “It’s as good a way as any,” Paul said, and Justin agreed.

  Scraping her teeth over her lower lip to keep from laughing at the absurd amount of happiness she felt, she stepped closer and looked up at them.

  “I think it’s time this bride gets to kiss her grooms.”

  “And this groom his bride and groom,” Paul said.

  Justin cupped her neck, and brought her mouth to his and Paul’s.

  “I love you more,” he said. “Always.”

  Their mouths met, and they shared that love as husbands and wife.

  Demi’s Recipe for

  Amygdalota from Mykonos

  Please be aware that in my family’s Greek cooking and baking, there is rarely an exact recipe. Much is done by ‘eye’ or ‘feel’ and not measurements. For example, in most of my mom’s recipes, there isn’t an amount for flour—you simply feel it when it’s right. In that spirit, if you feel you need an extra few pinches of anything, go for it.

  Ingredients:

  2 lbs raw almonds

  1 lb. sugar

  5 eggs (use only 4 if Jumbo eggs)

  Rosewater

  Powdered sugar

  1 stick butter for baking

  Preparation:

  Grind almonds to a very fine consistency

  In a bowl, mix almond ‘powder’ and sugar really well

  Add eggs (I like to beat them before adding them into mixture)

  Add a few drops of rosewater (Seriously, just a few drops. It’s potent.)

  Mix and knead until the dough goes soft, but keep in mind it should remain tight.

  Scoop a spoonful on to a well-buttered parchment-lined baking sheet—it is difficult to shape by hand, so just guide dough with spoon. (The island bakers shape the dough into peaks or crescent cookies. I also like to stick a whole skinny almond in the middle for decoration before baking.)

  Bake at 400° F until golden brown (15-18 minutes)

  Wait 30 minutes so you can handle the baked cookies and transfer them to baking racks to cool for approximately 3 hours.

  Prepare a short glass of water, with a few drops of rosewater (I really use it sparingly—others make it much stronger with 1 part rosewater, 3 parts water. Your preference.) Dunk the cookies into the water/rosewater solution.

  Sprinkle with powdered sugar (use a sifter for even distributions) and store in Tupperware-style container.

  Amygdalota are best shared with friends and enjoyed with your favorite coffee.

  PS: They look really pretty when arranged in cute cupcake liners and then sugared. If you keep them a few days in the fridge, sift some sugar on them before serving.

  Enjoy!

  If you enjoyed One Week in Greece be sure not to miss Demi Alex’s . . .

  Four days on the water . . .

  Four nights in his arms . . .

  Charlene “Charlie” Stanton doubts her maiden voyage on a lusty singles cruise will direct her sails toward love. But an unexpected lothario just might change the tide in her favor . . .

  Charlie boarded the Cozumel-bound Lovers Sail cruise hoping for nothing more than writing an article that would make it into the pages of City Wings, a trendy travel magazine. Still recovering from a highly publicized divorce, love is the last thing on her mind—especially when she realizes she’s mistakenly booked herself a spot on a kink cruise. That is until she meets Ford, an outsider just like her, and he whips her attitude into submission. Despite rules limiting their interaction, he shows her a world where pleasure is encouraged, and nothing is forbidden. And with Ford as her anchor, she begins to wonder if she can turn four nights of fantasy into more nights of reality when the trip is over . . .

  Click here to get your copy!

  And read on for a special excerpt!

  Chapter One

  Charlie debated whether to kiss her boss or kick him in the balls. Paul was off his rocker with this one.

  “That’s right, ladies. This is your chance. We’re going to feature
the winning article in the Valentine’s issue,” Paul said, puffing out his mouth-watering chest and grinning haughtily. “The selected piece will join ‘Aphrodisiac Foods from Around the World’ and ‘How to Say I Love You in Twenty Languages’ in City Wings’ Valentine’s edition.”

  Holy shit! This was it. This was the chance Charlie had been waiting for. It was the break she needed.

  “Our readers devour anything and everything having to do with international desires,” he continued. “It’s a way to escape the daily grind and dream of possibilities. Who would have thought New Yorkers were so romantic?”

  Yes, Charlene—Charlie—Stanton wanted her writing to win. She wanted to publish a real feature, with her own byline, in one of the trendiest travel magazines for New Yorkers. No, she didn’t want to compete against her friend and roommate, Kathryn Taylor, though. They’d worked together at City Wings for over two years, worked well together as copy writers and staff writers, and now Paul was pitting them against each other as feature writers. It was so messed up. A disastrous idea.

  “Get out there. Do your research,” Paul said, circling his hand above his head like he was a Texas rancher. “Lasso someone who makes your body hum, and write about the perfect place to find love, ladies.”

  “Seriously, Paul? Lasso someone who makes our bodies hum?” Kathryn rolled her eyes, then smacked her forehead with the back of her hand. “Wait. Hold on a minute. Wait . . . wait. I’m seeing a handsome man, in a far off and romantic place like Paris, sweeping me off my feet.”

  Paris. Kat had to go and mention Paris. Like, why? Did it really matter if Paris was the most romantic place on Earth if neither of them wanted to fly over and find out?

  Charlie didn’t travel well and wasn’t in the mood for a trip to the doctor in order to get a prescription so she could get on a flight. Kathryn had to stop speaking about the perfect place to find love on the other side of the Atlantic. How did one argue the romance of Paris?

  Wondering why she’d ever picked up the vape stick when she’d never even smoked, Charlie eached for her pink, sixty-dollar vaporizer, and twirled it in her fingers. She answered the silent question in her mind. The thing was a crutch. Something to keep her grounded when thoughts crowded her mind and she wanted to scream at the world. Screaming and throwing temper tantrums were not allowed in the grownup world. Puffing on vanilla-flavored vapor kept her mouth occupied. It kept her from engaging in unladylike behavior.

  “I think we can take a small detour from the publication’s travel angle on this,” Charlie said. After all, living in New York did have its benefits when it came to an abundance of male prospects for the feature. “Why can’t a woman find love in her neighborhood, and then sail off into a foreign and exotic land with the love of her life?”

  “If it’s done properly, I can see it working. However, any featured lovers must take off in the end for a foreign destination.” Paul nodded, tapping his fingers on the table as he considered her argument.

  Maybe, just maybe, Charlie could convince the sexy tyrant to see things her way? Hope spread in her chest and she leaned forward in her seat.

  “There is a pragmatic benefit, too,” Paul added. “If we concentrate on finding love locally, more of our readers will relate to the accessibility of that goal and can dream of escaping to a romantic place with their loves.”

  “Exactly,” Charlie said, breathing with relief.

  Paul encouraged her to continue, so Charlie barreled on. “The dating scene has evolved so much over the past few years. There’s always the chance of meeting someone at a bar or a club. Online sites host a bunch of events in this city. And let’s not forget the old-fashioned way of being introduced by common friends.”

  “Great options.” Kathryn looked doubtful. Charlie and Kathryn had exhausted all those options, but neither had found Prince Charming at a neighborhood hangout. Her friend was even more disillusioned than she was. Kat didn’t believe that love could last. Yet she was blabbering about far-off and exotic locations. Maybe because Kat loved to travel, and Paul was willing to tag along?

  Charlie was screwed. For some perturbed reason, Kat angled for

  Charlie to write about Paris. What was up with that? Wasn’t she just arguing Paris was perfect for finding love? And, why couldn’t they keep it in New York? Considering how many people lived and worked in Manhattan, if you couldn’t find love in the Big Apple, you couldn’t find it anywhere.

  “How are those local options working for you?” Kat asked, snapping her fingers before Charlie’s eyes.

  Kat continued on her Paris Romance 101 introduction, but if Charlie was honest with herself, she had to admit she was just as disillusioned as her friend with the local love options. She couldn’t truly get behind any romance for herself. Sometimes things weren’t fair. Like maybe it wasn’t about the location. Maybe it was about the fact that Charlie hadn’t let any guy in since her divorce. She simply couldn’t. It was too difficult to decipher their intentions. Did they like her for her? Or did they like her for her trust fund?

  “Not fair,” Charlie said. “Maybe it’s been bad timing for me. I really haven’t tried too hard. It’s been difficult to trust anyone since my divorce, so maybe I’m the problem and the scene is just fine.”

  Paul cleared his throat and held up a hand. “You’re not the problem, Charlie,” he said, covering her hand with his own. “Your asshole ex is. So let’s take jerks like him out of the equation for the benefit of this piece.”

  Whatever. She needed to relax. And just flirt. Like Kat and Paul were doing.

  “This is a very incestuous organization,” Charlie said, pointing from Paul to Kathryn to the door. “Between you two and the accounting department, a tree house should be the official headquarters of City Wings. You’re all too tight.”

  The conference room filled with laughter. Paul and Kathryn had known each other forever, so they had no problem teasing or hitting below the belt. When it came to Charlie, they treated her with kid gloves. As if her divorce had been the end of her life. It hadn’t. It had actually opened her eyes to what she really wanted. More than anything, she was so over the money-grubbing scumbags of the world.

  Charlie was ready to move on from sitting-duck status. She was doubly ready for a real sex life—something she hadn’t had with the ex—but she needed to learn how to compartmentalize physical and emotional.

  Shit. Shit. Triple shit. She had to stop thinking so hard. Everything she wanted would come, after she had her byline. First, she had to prove herself as a competent and successful writer to her family. It was a matter of professional and personal honor.

  “We’re looking for love, not sexy interludes,” Charlie said, an idea sparking in her mind. “Sexy interludes. But. Fine. Okay. Got it.” She placed her palms flat on the table and stood. “If we’re really looking for the perfect place to find love, why not a cruise ship? It’s textbook romance. What about one designated for singles? Passengers board with an agenda. Just think how much fun we’ll have writing about a cruise.”

  “Nope. There is no ‘we.’ You can sail away on a Love Boat, and Kathryn will fly off and take her chances in Paris,” Paul announced. Kathryn tried to argue that he should reverse the assignments because she was nervous about running into a past fling, but thankfully he didn’t budge. Paul insisted that Kathryn would benefit from a personal tour with Marko Renard, the man she’d placed above all others for years. He assigned her Paris. Charlie got the cruise. She sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. She didn’t need the added stress of flying if she was going to concentrate on her feature.

  “Good,” Paul said. “Time for you ladies to bring out the claws and get down to work. You each have your assignment. Your expense accounts will be adjusted and ready to go by noon. See Justin for the details. Get me your stories by next Wednesday. I’ll decide which one gets published in the Valentine’s issue.”

  “On what criteria will the winner be chosen?” Kathryn asked.


  “Whatever I want,” he said with a devilish grin. “I’m the boss.”

  * * *

  Two thousand dollars was more than enough money for roundtrip bus or train fare and a reservation on Lovers Sail Tours. Just over a day on the bus, then she’d sail out from Miami on Thursday. Then off to romantic Cozumel; add the singles on board, and she was sure to get enough material for a winning feature.

  Charlie reserved an inside cabin on the sixth deck and booked a port excursion. Lovers Sail recommended the “romantic” experience, and was even willing to pair them up if needed. Partners would be determined once on board.

  After clearing her immediate departure from the office with Paul, Charlie went home to pack.

  * * *

  With her expandable carry-on-size suitcase and leather backpack ready by the door, Charlie grabbed her cell, opened the Seamless app, and repeated the last order of shrimp pad Thai, red curry beef, and two orders of the crab Rangoon appetizer. She finished verifying payment just as the front door crashed open.

  “Charlie, I’m home,” Kathryn called, her forehead wrinkling as she took in the packed bags.

  “Aowww.” Charlie pretended to rush and hide the luggage in the closet. Relieving her friend of the large brown bag, she peaked inside and squealed. “Fuck-me boots! Way to go, babe.”

  “Got you something, too.” Her friend dangled a smaller bag, stuffed with tissue paper, and dropped on to the couch. Kathryn patted the cushion at her side, but didn’t offer her the gift. Instead, in a very animated and exuberant manner, she did the honors herself.

  Charlie sat and clasped her hands between her knees. She watched her roommate pluck tissue paper from the bag and fling the sheets extravagantly over her shoulder. Amused with Kathryn’s stripper imitation, Charlie covered her mouth with her hand and made her eyes extra big with excitement. “Should I blush before or after the big reveal?”