“Mom!” Ari called to his mother, thankful for the interruption.
Pia waited until Mano caught her up and then linked her arm in his before they walked across the courtyard. They stopped at Monty’s cage, and Nick turned to Ari. “Don’t tell me they’ve sold Monty to the new owners. He’s been with us since I was a teenager.”
Ari moved behind the bar as his mother and father approached. “I’m pretty sure Monty won’t be going anywhere. A drink, Mom? Dad?”
“The best champagne you have,” Mano said as he leaned in and kissed his wife’s cheek.
“You certainly seem happy,” Nick said to his dad. “I guess you guys got a good settlement.”
“Perfect!” Mano said as he kissed his fingers and threw his arm into the air. “It couldn’t have been a better outcome, and now your beautiful mother and I can rest easy under the orange trees in Lesbos.”
“Let’s go into the restaurant,” Ari said, anxious to get them inside.
“We’re here!” Yasmin called from the courtyard door. She must’ve been to the salon, as her hair was even more brilliantly purple than usual.
“Yasmin—koritsi-mou!” Mano exclaimed. “There is no need for the crying. Tears of happiness are the only ones that are allowed here today.”
Lane pulled Yasmin close to him, and she brushed the back of her hand across her eyes. “I just never thought I’d have to say good-bye to this place,” she said, her voice wobbling. “I can see every bead of sweat Dad put into painting that office wall, every piece of almond meal Mom put into the kourabiedes that we ate out here when we were kids.”
“Everything changes, my darling,” Pia said as she came toward the assembled group. “And this is just bricks and mortar, just walls and corners. What really matter is what we build in here,” she said as she placed her hand over her heart.
“Time we went inside,” Ari said again.
Nick lowered his voice. “I’m not sure these new owners have got off to a great start if they can’t even be at their own party on time.”
The gate to the courtyard opened, and everyone turned to see who was coming through.
Chapter Twelve
Grace pushed open the courtyard gate to the Aegean Palace and took a deep breath. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, so this obviously wasn’t a big party. She’d say hello, offer her congratulations, and then excuse herself. Early afternoon was a strange time for a party, but it would mean she could offer the excuse of work when she left early.
She’d recognized Lane’s Mercedes in the parking lot, so did that mean he and Yasmin had bought the Palace? Or just that they’d been invited, too? Ari’s bike was nowhere to be seen, which created a complicated ball of relief and sadness inside her.
When she pushed the gate shut, she was delighted to see Mano and Pia walking toward her.
“Oh, I thought you’d gone!” she exclaimed as tears stung the back of her nose. “I’m so glad I can say good-bye.”
“It will never be good-bye for us,” Mano said in his booming voice. “You will come to see us in Greece, and we have so many excuses to come back and visit,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
She gave him a hug and then Pia, but when she looked over the older woman’s shoulder, she froze. Ari was walking toward her.
Pia and Mano melted away as all she could focus on was Ari’s gaze burning into her.
“Hey, Grace,” he said in that deeply soothing voice. Only she wasn’t soothed, she was panicked and red-faced and didn’t know what to do next.
“We’ll see you two inside,” Pia said, and Ari kissed his mother before drawing closer to Grace.
“How are you?” he said. “I hope you don’t feel ambushed.”
She held her hands in front of her, knitting her fingers together and trying not to show the wellspring of sadness that threatened to erupt from inside.
“Why should I feel ambushed?” she said. “I presume you’re here to congratulate the new owners, and why wouldn’t you, when this place has played such an important part in your life.” She hated that she sounded so formal, but wasn’t this the kind of relationship he wanted with her now?
He nodded. “Before we go inside, I want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened the last time we were here together.”
Her fingers were clammy so she brushed them on the sides of her skirt. “You were being honest, and I appreciated that. I just wish we’d put a stop to it much earlier so that—” She cleared her throat.
She would not cry. Not because of the way his eyes had softened when she’d started to speak, not because of the achingly beautiful smile he gave her when she started to choke up, nor for the absolute, heart-wrenching sadness that was soaking her body.
He took a step closer, and her heart rate hiked, just as it had always done when she was near him.
“I understand why you didn’t return my calls,” he said quietly. “And I want you to know that when I realized the enormity of what I’d done, I spent the last week apologizing to my family. And now—”
“You don’t need to apologize to me,” she said. “You never hid what you wanted from me—a bit of fun and nothing more. I was the one who changed the rules.”
“Oh, Grace,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve lain awake, wishing my reaction had been different that day, but the point is that I hadn’t come to the realization that I’ve come to now.”
She rubbed her throat. “What’s that?”
“That I’m nothing without you.”
Blood stilled in her veins.
“Grace,” he said with the softest of smiles. “You’ve helped me to find myself. My real self. The biggest parts of me that I’d pushed down and suppressed for so long, you encouraged me to face and accept. It’s time I took some risks and stopped making excuses.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “That’s beautiful, Ari. It really is. And most girls would be happy to be here, having you say that, but it doesn’t change that I have a dream I can never give up on.”
“I know that,” he said.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt!” Pia was sheepish as she called from the restaurant door. “Mano and I have to leave for the airport in an hour. Is it okay if we get things underway?”
“Maybe I should go,” Grace said, her voice catching as she took a step back. “You’ll be wanting to be with your family at a time like this.”
Ari held an arm wide and gestured toward the restaurant. His gaze was fixed firmly on her face. “Grace, please come inside with me. There’s something I need to explain.”
She hesitated for a second then something in his eyes, something certain and strong, made her take a step forward. She followed him inside.
When she moved through the doors, her hand went to her throat as she realized it was only his family who were there.
“Oh, Grace!” Yasmin squealed. “It is you. I was so hoping things would turn out like this.”
Hot, cold, clammy—her body was a mess of confusion as her eyes widened and she looked around everybody. What did Yasmin mean? Nick and Erin seemed puzzled, Lane and Yasmin were smiling, and Mano and Pia were beaming from ear to ear.
“Yasmin, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.” Why was she here? She wasn’t part of this family, and she’d resigned her job two weeks ago.
Yasmin began to speak, but Ari stepped into the middle of the room and held his hand up until there was silence.
“Thanks for coming, everyone.”
“Wait,” Nick said. “The invitation was from you?”
Ari stood straighter and seemed to be taking a deep breath. “I’ve asked you here today to celebrate that I’ve taken over the Palace.” Then he turned so he was only facing Grace, and a warm glow swept across her skin. “But before we do that, there’s something else I need to say.”
He cleared his throat, and Nick and Yasmin exchanged glances. Neither of them seemed to know what was going on.
“Growing up, I took a lo
t of things for granted,” Ari said, hands in his pockets. He looked first at Grace, then at his parents, and occasionally up at the ceiling. “I just expected that Mom and Dad would always be here if I needed them, that my brother and sister would put up with me, and I believed that at all costs I had to fight to remain true to myself. I didn’t fit a mold that I’d believed was pre-determined for me.”
Mano nodded enthusiastically.
“But in the last few weeks,” Ari continued. “I’ve realized that taking things for granted is careless, and it doesn’t fit with the man I want to be.”
He clasped his hands in front of himself. This would be so hard for him, laying himself bare to his family. She ached to reach out and hold him, help him through this, but he was doing fine on his own. “I needed to keep people at a distance, and I’d become pretty cynical and negative. That was until I met my beautiful Grace.”
Grace held her palm to her chest, mesmerized by the look in his eyes and the intimate way he addressed her.
“It was Grace who taught me that the best part of a relationship is when you learn to open yourself to finding out who you really are. Being with Grace gave me the courage to stop making excuses. She made me question my beliefs and the world around me, and she’s changed the way I think about love and commitment.”
She brushed her fingers across her damp cheeks, overwhelmed by this beautiful man standing in front of his family, and her, allowing himself to be vulnerable and open.
“If there’s one thing being in this family has taught me, it’s that you must never take anyone for granted. Mom and Dad, I wish you the very best in your new adventures, and I’m committing myself from now on to being the best son I can be.” Ari kissed his mother and then his father on both cheeks and then moved back into the middle of the room.
A bubble of hope burst deep inside Grace’s heart. She’d never heard him speak like this, never hoped she’d hear such open and humble words from someone who had been so closed and confident.
“And to my tenacious sister and my enigmatic brother—I had to Google those words,” he said as his brother and sister both laughed loudly. “I want you to know that you have inspired me in the way you have fought for love in your life, and I have never been prouder of both of you.”
Yasmin rushed forward and pulled her brother into a tight hug, then Nick moved closer and slapped his brother on the back.
When they’d moved away, Ari turned to Grace and the room fell silent. “I’d have realized none of that without you in my life, Grace. Being with you has taught me to be proud of who I truly am, and not only to accept change in my life, but to embrace it. Not so long ago, you said to me that you believed in weddings because you knew that in marriage, the lives of those two would be stronger, deeper, and more magnificent because they’d made a public declaration to the people who are the most dear to them. Grace, you’ve taught me to want to be a better brother, a better son…and, I’m hoping, a better husband.”
Ari moved forward, took her hand in his, and then dropped to one knee. “Grace Bennett, will you make me the happiest man in the world by agreeing to be my wife?”
With one hand in Ari’s and the other covering her lips, Grace had to steady herself. Was this the same man who’d let her go two weeks ago? The same man who’d sworn off marriage for good?
In his open face and warm eyes there was sincerity and love. If there was one thing she’d known about Ari from the very first time she’d seen him, it was that he was honest and true, and for that reason she pulled him up to stand beside her.
“Ari Katsalos,” she said. “Being with you, growing old with you, and being the best people we can be together would be the greatest joy of my life.”
As the room erupted into shouts and tears and clapping, Grace let herself melt into Ari’s hug. He kissed her long and slow, and from the very deepest part of her, she knew this was right.
When finally they pulled apart, Ari held her hand in his, and together they turned to face his family. “Being part of a family who celebrates love and commitment is something I’ve also taken for granted, but not any longer. Grace has made me the happiest man in the world, and as we go forward, I hope that she’s going to help me in my newest venture.” He turned back to face Grace, and Erin and Yasmin let out a combined shriek. “Grace, if you agree, you and I will be the new owners of the Aegean Palace and, for another generation at least, we’ll celebrate love and marriage right where it all began.”
With tears running down her face and a smile straining her cheeks, Grace kissed Ari’s mouth, his face, and his eyelids. “Yes,” she whispered into his ear. “To love and life and future with you. Yes, yes, yes.”
Epilogue
Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece
“There they are!” Ari said as they moved through the airport arrivals gate toward the small group waiting. He reached for Grace’s hand and squeezed it. It had been a grueling journey from the States to Greece, but the swell of pride that he was arriving here with her as his fiancée gave him all the energy he needed. He leaned in until his lips touched her hair then breathed her scent of shampoo and sunshine and…Grace. “Know how much I love you?” he whispered.
She lifted her chin and grinned. “Enough to close the Palace for a week and take me to a Greek Island to celebrate our engagement?”
He tilted her chin so their lips were closer. “So much more.” As he kissed her long and slow, they were interrupted by whoops of delight from behind the barrier.
Pulling Grace close, he moved over to the small group, and they were engulfed in a welcome.
“Hey, little bro!” Nick hugged him as Grace kissed his sister Yasmin then her fiancé, Lane. “Where are Mom and Dad?” Ari asked when they’d all said their hellos. He looked around. “And Erin’s not here, either.”
“When I called them this morning, Dad said they wouldn’t be able to make the trip to the airport,” Yasmin said as they walked toward the baggage carousel. “Maybe it’s because of the late night we had.” She turned to Grace and Ari and grinned. “Lane and I have decided to get married here next summer, so all the aunties were wanting their say on where and when.”
“Oh, that’s fantastic!” Grace cried as she hugged Yasmin again.
“Of course, we thought long and hard about the Palace, but you know me, happy to do things on a whim.” Yasmin linked her arm with Lane’s.
“And Erin?” Ari asked again.
Nick’s mouth tilted in a broad grin. “Let’s just say it’s morning, and she’s not feeling so well.”
“Oh wow, Nick! Congratulations!” Ari pulled his brother into a tight hug. In only a few months he’d found the love of his life, a whole new direction for his career, and now he’d have the honor of being an uncle. “You’ve told Mom and Dad?” he asked, his hand still on his brother’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” Nick grinned. “Mom cried for the rest of the night, and Dad spent a few hundred euros buying ouzo for everyone at the taverna.”
“So, you’re taking us back to the village?” Grace asked. “I wanted to book a hotel, but your mom insisted we stay with relatives.”
“That’s the strange thing,” Yasmin said as she took one of Grace’s bags. “I just had a text from Dad, and he’s asked us to take you straight to the taverna on the hill behind the village.”
“But it’s only ten a.m.,” Ari said. “You know I’m happy to eat souvlaki any day of the week, but that’s pretty early.”
When they’d loaded the car, they made their way into the brilliant Mediterranean sunshine, and after a long and winding drive past silver olive trees and tiny villages, they pulled up in a taverna parking lot.
“Oh my goodness,” Grace breathed as she looked out over the ocean. “When was the last time you were here?”
“I think I was about six,” Ari said as they walked hand in hand to the cliff’s edge. “The thing I remember most is helping my papou dig his vegetable garden, and the sounds of the doves as I drifted off to sleep for my af
ternoon siesta.”
Grace tilted her chin and looked up into his face. “You never came here again?”
He frowned and took a deep breath of the salty, earthy air. “The rest of my family did, when I was a teenager, but I guess I was too tied up in my own head to think any of this was important.”
“And now?” she asked, a broad smile lighting her face.
He nodded. “Now it feels like anywhere I am with you will be as magic and special as this.” He bent his head and kissed her again, willing this moment to go on forever.
“Are you coming?” Yasmin called from the top of a rise alongside the taverna. “You’re not going to believe this.”
They made their way to the brow of a small hill and, when they joined the others, looked down into an amphitheater below.
Standing under an archway of flowers, Mano and Pia were beaming up at them.
“What in the name of—” Nick turned to look at the others.
Erin was walking toward them. “Sorry, Nick. Your mom asked me to help arrange this, and I could hardly say no.”
Nick took his wife by the hand. “Trust the old man to upstage every wedding any of us have ever been involved in.”
As Nick and Erin made their way hand in hand to where Mano and Pia were standing, a priest in his golden robes joined the small group below.
“Renewing their vows?” Yasmin breathed. “And they always said I was the radical one! I’m not sure where they found a Greek priest to agree to that, but we’d better get down there before he changes his mind.”
When it was just the two of them standing on the lip of the amphitheater, Ari turned to Grace and grinned. “This is all down to you, Grace Bennett.”
She turned to face him, her blond hair blown back by the warm morning breeze, her dusky-pink lips parted in a smile. “How on Earth is it all down to me?” she asked, laughing. “I’ve never even been here before.”
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