33. Oli

33

OLI

-One Year Later-

I'm more exhausted than I've ever been, and happier than I ever thought possible.

‘You really need to stop looking at those, or you're going to strain your eyes.'

Nikos prods me in the back with a finger. I'm hunched over the desk in our office, sitting on a pile of Nikos' scripts because I couldn't be bothered to move them off the chair where he'd left them. He has so many offers coming in these days for movies he actually cares about that I keep finding scripts everywhere - including once, memorably, in the shower, propped up on the shelf with the soap.

‘I'm not done yet,' I mumble, my tongue between my teeth. ‘I want to look at them all.'

Twice. Maybe three times. I'm type-A, what can I say. And this day? It's got to be utter perfection. I'm not going to settle for anything less.

When Nikos proposed six months ago, lying on our little private beach behind his childhood home in Greece, I spent an hour crying my eyes out from happiness until I got so thoroughly dehydrated and dizzy that he had to carry me back up the path and force me to lie down. We'd gone out to dinner in town that night with Selina and Megan - who'd very conveniently managed to buy a small, abandoned vacation home down the road from us and were currently renovating it - and they'd both screamed loud enough when I waved my hand with a ring in their faces that half the population came running.

We'd managed to keep the engagement a secret for a few blissful days. When we're in Greece, now that Nikos doesn't have to sneak around anymore, we're welcomed with open arms. And while each of the Yiayia's in the village could win a contest in prying into our lives, they've turned out to be fiercely protective of Nikos and his privacy when it comes to the outside world.

A herd of donkeys very memorably chased a reporter down the street and nearly off a cliff when she'd dared to sneak too close to our house. We laughed about it until we couldn't breathe.

When we'd arrived back in London, we'd announced it on Nikos' Instagram page, a simple black and white shot of us holding hands. The response had been an outpouring of love and support which overwhelmed the both of us. All the comments from fans and friends alike kept me going as Nikos had left for a month-long filming stint in Scotland to complete the second Age of Dragons movie.

Yes, he did fuck me whilst in his Armin Wolfe costume. And yes, it did fulfil every single one of my bookish fantasies - and then some.

The only way to keep our wedding from being a media circus is to keep it incredibly small and covert. I knew from the moment Nikos proposed that the longer planning went on, the more likely it was that the media would catch wind of what was happening and intrude on something that I want to be just for us.

‘Oli, love. They're napkins.'

‘Yes,' I snap waspishly. ‘And they come in so many colours.'

I yelp as Nikos literally picks me up off the chair and cradles me to his chest. Now that he's still all bulked up from playing Armin - and staying that way, for the already-announced third movie - he can toss me around easier than ever. It's so unfair.

It's also incredibly hot, though, so I guess it's alright.

‘Honey, darling.' He presses a kiss to my forehead. ‘All napkins have to do is wipe food off your mouth. No one will even remember what colour they are a week later.'

‘They'll be in all the pictures,' I moan. ‘I'll remember them forever.'

‘The only thing you'll remember is that you're marrying the love of your life.' His warm brown eyes gaze into mine, and my heart flips the way it does each and every time that I remember this man is mine. For the rest of forever.

I sigh, putting a hand to my forehead like I'm a fainting maiden. ‘Oh Armin, thank you for rescuing me from the terror of our decorator's hundred-page PDF of napkin colours. However can I thank you?'

‘Oh,' he says, steering us out of the office and into the kitchen, where he sits me on the counter. ‘I can think of a few things.'

He's clearly been cooking dinner, because I can smell the delicious Greek spices in the air, coming from the direction of the oven. We decided to keep my house in London, because even though it's where I was heartbroken over Geoff, it was also where I fell in love with Nikos.

And as he looks into my eyes and sinks down to his knees, I'm so, so glad it's the choice I made.

My life has turned out better than I ever could have dreamed, a true fairytale romance. I'm the luckiest man in the world. And I can't wait to write the rest of our story - together.