Page 52 of Love on the Rocks
I poured her a glass of sparkling water and she nodded toward Callie. “I’ve made a new friend. She told me about the trick you made Yiannis pull on her!”
“I didn’t force Yiannis to help me,” I said, but I knew that wasn’t entirely true. Yiannis was easily influenced, and I used it to my advantage.
“Right, like you’re not forcing your political opinions down the throats of everyone here.”
“I’m not going to force anyone to do anything. If people are seduced by this”—I pointed to the bottles of soda—“so be it.”
“You won’t put up a fight then if we all decide that we do want to open the island up to tourism.”
I shrugged. “It’s a democracy, isn’t it? As far as I’m concerned, most people here share my opinion.”
I tracked Callie with my eyes. Hell, I hadn’t taken them off her since I got here. She moved to the podium and Dimitris, that little turncoat, followed her. What, was he her translator now? His eyes shot to mine and I shook my head.
“Let’s hear what she has to say.” I slid down onto a plastic folding chair against the wall and crossed my arms. I’d let her talk, but I wasn’t going to remain silent.
Chapter 21
How long must he wait before she asked him to touch her? Angelos was sure Mia would have been begging to have him between her legs by now. But she seemed content just touching him without allowing him the pleasure of discovering her body. Though he longed to explore her, he would not touch her until she asked.
- One Week with the Greek
CALLIE
Did he have to stare at me like that?
It was so disconcerting. It was bad enough that I could still feel him on me. That I had to stop myself every night from sayingfuck it alland inviting him over to replace my vibrator.
I needed to remember what an arrogant, cynical ass he was before I let myself think of other things—like how talented he was with his tongue and his hands. But how could I not when he was slouched back against the wall, long legs spread wide, offering a tantalizing glimpse of that bulge in his pants—the one I’d got myself off on just a few days ago. He stared at me under those heavy eyebrows, his full mouth quirked up like he was thinking about it too, and God help me, I couldn’t look away.
Finally, I shook my head and cleared my throat, plastering a big smile on my face. “Thank you, everyone, for coming. For those of you whom I haven’t met yet, my name is Callie McGinn,I’ll be the head chef of the restaurant that will be opening in the new resort. And I’ve been sent by The Greystone Group to oversee the initial construction of the hotel.”
I paused for Dimitris to translate. He’d started running errands for me this week. Apparently, he’d decided he’d rather be friends with the foreign witch than risk drawing my ire. Either that or he just wanted to keep eating my failed desserts, which I’d been offering as payment for his services.
He cleared his throat dramatically—imitating me?—and then launched into a long monologue peppered with exuberant Greek hand gestures. When the public chuckled at something he said, I narrowed my eyes at him then glanced over at Nikos, who had an even more wicked grin on his face.
“You’d better be translating this correctly,” I whispered to Dimitris.
He smiled innocently and responded, “Don’t worry. I know what I do.”
Oh, why hadn’t I asked Yiannis to translate?
I continued with the PowerPoint presentation that I’d prepared over the past few nights. All those hours of research I’d put in during my convalescence had paid off. Though I was winging it when it came to questions of how we’d deal with practical matters like waste, harbor use, ecological impact of the resort, I felt confident I would find solutions. I’d studied some comparable hotels on some of the other islands and had made a list of elements we could incorporate at this stage of planning. As I presented each of these ideas as fact, I could see Nikos out of the corner of my eye, frowning so hard I thought his head might cave in.
I ended the presentation with a list of all the economic benefits that controlled tourism could bring to the island. Apprenticeships at the restaurant and hotel, community-building activities. To win over the young women in theaudience, I’d included photos of some of our hottest chefs, barmen, and waiters, as well as photos with celebrities that I’d taken over the years.
“I would also love to hear your suggestions. You can note them here.” I pointed to the leather-bound journal I’d left on one of the fold-out tables. “Are there any questions?”
I held my breath waiting for Nikos to call my bluff. He didn’t though. Just like the first day when I got off the ferry and he just stared at me from beneath his dark brows like he could see right through me.
Finally, Giorgos raised his hand and started rattling off words that made the people around him nod and laugh.
“He wants to know what will happen to the olive grove. And he is afraid that so many people will eat all the goats,” Dimitris translated. “He also says you are very beautiful, and it will be a pleasure to give you more rides on his donkey.”
Images of the last time I’d ridden his donkey flashed through my mind, and I could feel my cheeks warm. “To answer your question about the grove: I’d like to build around it. Obviously, for the restaurant, having our own olive oil would be a boon to the business. Perhaps we could even work something out so that half of the production still goes to the local community.”
A young woman, who I recognized as one of the members of Nikos’s fanclub, raised her hand. “Will Harry Styles come?”
“Oh, um, we will definitely send him an invitation to the grand opening.”
