Page 85 of Love on the Rocks
“It needs more of you,asteri mou,” he’d say with a wink. And most of the time he was right. I’d been so used to making myself and my food simpler that I was afraid to be bolder, to go bigger.But with Nikos I could be myself and embrace my big kitchen witch energy.
I’d never felt this close to a man before, and yet I still felt like he was holding something back. A few times I’d caught him staring at me and frowning. He’d start to say something and then stop and pretend like it was nothing. I tried to brush it off because, right now, all that mattered was my food. The rest was out of my control.
The next week, I accompanied him to the camp again. I spent the day working with Ferhana—who had made the grueling trip from Afghanistan with two kids after her husband had passed away. She was a talented cook and hoped to get a job in a kitchen somewhere in Europe.
“You have to come work with me!” I told her. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? There had to be a way to get Greystone to sponsor refugees from the camps—and not just Greystone, other restaurants too. An idea began to take root in my mind for creating some sort of network that would help train migrants to work in the food industry.
As we finished cleaning up, Nikos reappeared. Even now, he gave me butterflies. I could finally admit it to myself. I liked him. A lot. More than a lot. A dangerous amount. It was hard to imagine there was ever a time when I couldn’t stand him.
On the way back to Lyra I told him about my idea.
“It’s a brilliant plan. It’ll be difficult, though,” he warned, taking my hand.
“Do I strike you as someone who’s afraid of hard work?”
“No, not at all. You terrify me with your drive.” He laughed, playing with my fingers in a way that made all the nerve endings in my body come to life. I couldn’t wait to get back to his place and show him how much I’d missed him that day.
When we got off the boat and walked past the taverna, Yiannis waved and shouted at us. “Niko, someone wants to see you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I hope this isn’t another emergency rash.”
“Well, you can’t blame them for trying.” I laughed as he led me toward the restaurant.
A large crowd had gathered around the bar and when we approached, they parted to reveal a small, dark-haired woman perched on the leather stool. Nikos’s mouth dropped open when he saw her, and he dropped my hand. “Ma? What are you doing here?”
His mother jumped off her seat and threw her arms around his waist, laughing and kissing his cheek. She ran her hands over his scruff and shook her head. Then she turned her large dark eyes to me, greeting me in Greek.
“She doesn’t speak Greek, Ma. This is Callie. She’s American.” As Nikos introduced us, his mood changed, his forehead creased with worry. I tried to ignore the alarm bells ringing in my head.
“Nice to meet you,” his mother said, gripping my hand firmly in her own. “It’s so rare to see an American on this island.”
“I’m opening a restaurant here.”
“Oh?” Her eyes darted between us. “You don’t mean at the hotel?”
“That’s right.” It was my turn to look meaningfully at Nikos who still wore an expression of utter panic like he’d been caught stealing from the collection basket at church. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.”
“I have. I’m amazed it’s happening after all the energy this one has put into stopping it.” She patted her son’s arm, smiling fondly. “He’s very stubborn.”
“I’ve noticed, yes.” I tried to smile, but the awkwardness of the encounter was throwing me for a loop. His mother was looking at me like I’d upended her plans.
“Callie has been helping at Kos, cooking at the community center.”
“Oh? How good of you. Does that mean you’re friends now?”
Nikos jumped in to reply before I could, quickly changing the subject. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
I felt a sting of rejection. Okay, I got it. He wasn’t crazy about me meeting his mom. I wasn’t ready to meet his parents either.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did,” he said. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet.” She turned to me. “Will you join us?”
“Oh, I don’t know . . .” I said looking for a way out. “I should probably get back home. Let the two of you catch up.”
“Don’t be silly. I already know everything about him.” She took my arm. “Come, I want to hear all about this famous hotel.”
