Chapter 3

3

" A ren't you going to finish your sentence?" she asked after a while, when she couldn't stand the silence or his incomplete thought .

"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I'm a bit confused ."

" About ?"

"Everything! Paige, three years ago we spent three fun, passionate days together. For some inexplicable reason, on our last night together, we got married . We can say we were drunk, young, foolish—lots of words to describe the act itself, but what words describe the feelings? The subconscious desire to solidify something that should have been nothing more than a college tryst. I've done a lot of drinking in my life, especially in college, and I sure as shit didn't marry anyone else ."

"It's easy in Vegas," she pointed out. "There are chapels everywhere, it costs almost nothing and there's no waiting period ."

"True. It just feels…intentional. Why didn't I change my flight so I could stay another day and sort out the situation? Why didn't you go get confirmation, one way or another, before now? And when you get married, don't you usually get something in the mail from the state or the government ?"

She grimaced. "I've never gotten married before, so I have no idea !"

They both started to chuckle, the absurdity of the whole thing hitting them harder than before .

"Listen," he said when they'd finally settled down. "Spend your vacation with me. I know there probably isn't a future for us, but you talked about closure… Does it seem right to end a marriage without at least solidifying our friendship and maybe making a few more memories along the way ?"

She looked over at him suspiciously. "Apollo, I don't think — "

"I didn't mean sex!" he grunted, recognizing the wary look in her eyes. "Jesus, I know we don't know each other very well, but if you think that little of me, why would you have come to find me ?"

"I don't think little of you," she protested. "But I have very distinct memories of… that ."

" That ?" He couldn't help an impish smile. "Does saying the word sex offend you? Would you rather we referred to that as making love ?"

"I'm not embarrassed," she protested, though her cheeks held a tinge of pink. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I came here thinking we'd have a conversation, maybe a drink. Then we'd go somewhere to find a notary so we could sign the papers, and we'd say our goodbyes. Now you want to spend time together—why? A guy like you probably has women falling all over themselves to be with you, so I don't believe you're trying to get laid. But even without sex, this has disaster written all over it. We spent three days together, and three years later, we're still fighting this…well, whatever this is ."

"Attraction?" he supplied helpfully. "Chemistry? Passion ?"

"If in three years we couldn't get over three days, can you imagine how hard saying goodbye is going to be after four more days—four sober days ?"

"It just seems to me, if those three days made such an impact on us that we're still feeling the same… attraction …three years later, maybe we should explore why. Maybe this is the adventure of a lifetime—for both of us ."

She turned to stare at him in shock, her eyes open so wide she was sure she looked ridiculous. Had he just suggested this was an adventure ? How could he have known? How could he have said the exact word she'd been begging Tom to understand for over a year, after spending just three days with her more than three years ago ?

"Do you like adventures?" she whispered when she finally found her voice .

"Of course—doesn't everyone?" He glanced at her curiously .

"Not everyone," she said softly. "Definitely not everyone ."

"But you? You're interested in adventures, yes ?"

Suddenly it didn't matter that she was certain to have her heart broken. It didn't matter that in four days she would fly out of his life forever. It didn't even matter if he ever signed those stupid papers—the only thing that mattered was the fact that he knew . Somehow, someway, he knew her like no one else, and he understood. She didn't know why or how, but she didn't have to. For four days, she was going to have an adventure. With her husband . And for four days, she was going to let herself love him. Because deep down, she knew she already did .

"Yes," she said, after a long pause .

"Yes, you like adventures ?"

"Yes, I like adventures. Yes, I want to make more memories. Yes, I'd like to spend my vacation with you ."

" Yes ?"

His smile made her heart feel a little funny, but happy and excited too. "Definitely yes ."

"What changed your mind?" he asked curiously .

"You knew about adventures," she whispered, feeling silly but not too embarrassed to say it out loud. "No one else has ever understood, but you do ."

He wasn't completely sure what she was talking about, but whatever it was made her happy. Not just happy in general, but happy with him, and for the first time since his father's stroke, he felt truly happy again too .

For a long time after that, neither of them spoke. Paige stared out at the glistening waters on her right, mesmerized by the beauty and a little bit nervous that she'd given him such an all-encompassing yes . It didn't feel scary, though, and the comfortable silence between them was so natural she couldn't quite make sense of it. Instead, she focused on the beautiful beaches and the bright blue sky .

"There's a place on the beach nearby that has wonderful food," he said quietly. "Are you hungry ?"

"I could eat," she nodded .

"Do you like seafood ?"

"Love it! We don't get a lot of fresh seafood in Vegas ."

"You're in for a treat then." He pulled off the highway into a large, busy parking lot. "We'll have to walk a little—the beaches are crazy during the summer and parking is limited ."

"That's fine." She got out and looked around, loving the sound of the waves crashing nearby and the wind blowing through her hair .

"You look radiant," he said, coming around to look down into her face. "You really are on an adventure of some kind, aren't you ?"

"Absolutely!" She grinned up at him. "But I'm not on an adventure— we are on an adventure ."

He chuckled. "So we are." He leaned down to softly brush his lips across hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and he had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her and press her against the car so he could feel that soft body against his. Damn, he couldn't figure out why he wanted her so much, but he had four days to convince her to let him have her. He didn't know if it was possible to give her whatever it was she was looking for, but he was sure as hell going to try .

"Come on," he said after a moment. He took her hand and led her up the path that wound along the edge of a line of clubs, restaurants and beach entrances .

"This is so beautiful," she breathed, tugging on his hand to get him to stop walking. "I just…I want to take a minute to breathe it in and suck in as much of Greece as I can because I may never come back ."

"Why wouldn't you come back?" he asked .

She shrugged. "Money. Time. Responsibility. Our whole generation is in a hurry to make the big career moves, find the right person, get married, have babies and plan for retirement. It feels like no one wants to enjoy the present because they're so worried about the future ."

"I can understand that," he said slowly. "Sometimes you have to worry about the future because the world is a scary place. As the head of the family now, I don't want to have to worry that my parents won't have anything to eat or access to the medicine they need because we didn't plan for the future. However, here in Greece we tend to have a more relaxed attitude about working. Siesta in the afternoon, shorter hours some days of the week...you'll notice that the beaches, cafés and restaurants are packed, despite the struggling economy here right now. It's a different mindset ."

"It's lovely," she said. "But I get the feeling that you don't have that relaxed attitude ."

"That's not an option for me because of my father's stroke. If I hadn't stepped in immediately, and learned everything I could as quickly as possible, we could have lost everything. After more than a year, I'm still learning, still testing new business models to see what will help us grow in a terrible market." He looked out at the water. "I was just thinking earlier today that I missed the beach and having time to myself once in a while to enjoy life. Then you walked through that door with your silent plea for adventure—and here we are ."

"Well, I'm going to need food if you want to adventure me around Greece," she teased .

"Let's go." He threaded his fingers through hers and they walked a few hundred meters to the restaurant. A middle-aged ma?tre d' raised a hand and welcomed them warmly. They were immediately led to a table near the water and Paige just smiled happily as the men chattered in Greek .

"I ordered for us," he said hesitantly. "If you don't like what he brings, we can get other things, okay ?"

"Okay." She brushed her hair back from her face, running her fingers through it and letting it fall where it would. Staring out at the sea, she felt as carefree as the wind. She didn't know exactly where she was, what she was going to eat or even what she should say, so she didn't even try. She just watched the waves fizzle out on the shore and the birds swoop down to find food .

Watching her, Apollo wondered what she was thinking that brought such contentment to her face. What was her life like back in Las Vegas that had her yearning for adventure? "So, tell me about your life," he said after they had drinks .

"Well, there's a new NHL team in Las Vegas now, the Sidewinders, and I work in the sales and marketing department, essentially selling ticket packages to companies ."

"So the NHL expanded to Vegas," he said thoughtfully. He'd spent five years in New England getting his bachelor's degree and then his MBA, so he was well versed in hockey, though it wasn't a Greek sport. "I thought for sure it would be Seattle ."

"That still might happen, but you know how political it can get ."

"Do you like working for a sports team ?"

"It's a great organization…I work with fun people and my boss is nice ."

"And your friend…the one with the pink hair? I can't remember her name ."

"Raegan." Paige flushed with pleasure that he remembered her. "She's still my bestie. We're roommates now, share an apartment about 20 minutes from the Strip. She's a waitress at a casino, getting her MBA ."

He nodded. "Good for her! What about you? Are you done with school ?"

"I got my bachelor's in marketing, but I needed to get a job because I was tired of being broke. Of course, now my student loans are killing me, but that's a way of life in the U.S. Unless you're really lucky, you wind up with student loans ."

"It was expensive," he agreed, "but the education I got made it worthwhile ."

"I don't regret getting my degree," she said. "I just wish it hadn't cost so much. It won't be so bad if I start getting more bonuses. I got one in January for reaching 150% of my sales goal and that's how I bought the flight to Greece. I'd put it away for a rainy day, but after some things that happened two weeks ago, I decided this was a worthwhile expense ."

"What happened two weeks ago?" he asked as the waiter brought a salad, a basket of bread and a dish of tzatziki .

"What's that?" she asked, breaking off a piece of bread and dipping it in a plate of some sort of white dip .

"It's called tzatziki ," he explained. "Essentially yogurt, cucumbers, dill and garlic—a lot of garlic !"

"Oh my God." She closed her eyes as she chewed. "I'm having a foodgasm ."

"A what?" he laughed .

"Foodgasm—combines food and orgasm ."

He grinned. "I guess I never thought of it that way, but the food here is truly excellent ."

"So far I agree ."

"Tell me more about two weeks ago," he said .

"I don't want to talk about me," she said .

"You don't want to talk about you or you don't want to talk about what happened two weeks ago? Does it have to do with almost getting engaged ?"

She sighed, making a face. " Yeah ."

"Who proposed ?"

"Tom." She stabbed a tomato with her fork and put it in her mouth, thinking about what to say as she chewed. "We've been dating about 18 months and — "

"You're still together?" He couldn't help the rush of jealousy that coursed through his veins .

"No, of course not!" She shook her head. "We'd been dating for about 18 months and — "

" We'd been is different than we've been ," he interrupted impatiently .

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" she scowled at him .

He couldn't help but chuckle at the annoyance on her face and had to admit he was being ridiculous. Until a couple of hours ago, he hadn't even realized she was legally his, so he didn't know where this jealousy was coming from. "Sorry," he said contritely. "Please go on ."

"He proposed six months ago," she said softly. "And I wasn't ready. Even though it had been a year, it felt… I don't know, it's hard to explain. I can't tell you anything he does wrong. He's handsome, has a good job, works hard, is very sweet and generous with me, but…" She couldn't help the sigh that escaped. "I really can't articulate what I feel but I told him I wasn't ready and he was great about it, said he understood, and that he would ask again when the time was right ."

"So two weeks ago…" he prompted .

"He staged this big thing," she said. "He invited our parents, our friends…but I didn't know anything about it. He just told me to meet him at our favorite restaurant. When I got there he went and asked my father for my hand…" She rested her chin in her palm as she recounted the rest of the events of the evening .

"You haven't spoken to him since ?"

"There's nothing to say. He has no idea who I am, not really ."

"So he's boring ."

She sighed, not wanting to say that out loud .

"I guess I owe him one ."

"Owe him one? For what?!" she demanded incredulously .

"Whatever happened that night prompted you to come find me," he said quietly .

She met his eyes. "Raegan said you're the reason I wasn't ready to settle down with him ."

"What do you think ?"

"I think we needed to see each other again ."

"Now that you're here, I have to agree ."

The waiter arrived with a big tray of food, putting down plates of things Paige didn't recognize and a few she did. When he was gone, she stared in fascination. "That's octopus, right? I've never seen it on a plate like that ."

"That poor guy was probably still breathing a couple of hours ago," he said .

"Wow." She stuck her fork into one of the pieces and slowly put it in her mouth. She'd imagined it to be rubbery but it wasn't and the taste held a faint hint of chicken, though that wasn't exactly it. Chicken with a seafood flair? It was different but delicious, and she took another bite. This one was probably part of the head since it looked like a chunk of white meat instead of a tentacle, and she moaned. " Yummmmm ."

He delighted in watching her explore the food on the table. From the octopus to calamari, kasseri to feta cheese, and both tzatziki and taramosalata —a spread made from fish eggs—she explored it all and ate with gusto. She didn't eat like most of the American women he'd gone to college with either; she genuinely enjoyed it and ate until she couldn't anymore. When she finally sat back with a groan of satisfaction, she met his eyes almost apologetically .

"I think that's the best meal I've ever had!" she said .

"It was delicious," he agreed. "I used to eat here often, but I don't get down this way much anymore ."

"I would eat here every day!" she laughed .

"We'll discuss it again after I take you to George's ."

" George's ?"

"George's Steak House. It's a place in Glyfada that makes the best damn biftekia you'll ever eat ."

"What is biftekia ?"

"Think a cross between a meatball and a hamburger, but no bun or anything—a really big, glorified meatball. But so much more. The place doesn't look like much from the outside, but you won't know what hit you when you taste the food ."

She grinned. "Works for me !"

"Would you like to sit here and chat or drive a little further down the coast? I think watching the sunset in Sounion would be fun. We could sit up by the Temple of Poseidon and watch it go down ."

"Really?" She almost squealed with glee. "That sounds amazing! Thank you, Apollo ."

"For showing you around my country? It's my pleasure ."

"But how is this an adventure for you ?" she asked. "None of this is new—you must be bored ."

"Bored?" He chuckled. "I'm on the beach with a beautiful woman, enjoying food I love, interesting conversation and ignoring my phone—I promise I'm not bored !"

"You owe me 20 bucks, by the way!" she giggled .

"It's more like 25 U.S. dollars," he corrected. "But actually, I don't." He held out his phone, showing her a dozen missed calls. "My mother has called three times, my father once, my oldest sister twice, the younger one once, the guys at the office four times and my grandmother—who barely knows how to use a cell phone—once as well ."

"Uh- oh ."

He shrugged. "They'll get over it. I should call the office back, just in case it's about a customer, but if it's not I'll disconnect immediately. Do you mind ?"

"Of course not." She leaned back and enjoyed the scenery as he called the office, trying not to giggle again as his voice grew distinctly annoyed .

He hung up with a huff and rolled his eyes. "The questions were endless ."

"What did you tell them ?"

"Nothing—I hung up ."

"What are you going to tell people like your mother? The ones you really can't hang up on ?"

He paused, his dark green eyes meeting hers. "The truth ."