Page 1 of Love Among the Ruins
CHAPTERONE
ELENI
The pristine white yacht jutted out of the aquamarine sea like a killer shark’s fin.
“That’s new!” Eleni wrinkled her nose at the sight of it as she tightened her ponytail. “It wasn’t there yesterday.”
“Your yacht watching worries me, Leni. When is this going to stop?” Her friend Stefanos took a big bite from his souvlaki pita and looked at her with a dash of tzatziki on his lips.
They sat on a wall, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the port, not far from the taverna owned by Adamos, Stefanos’ uncle, where Eleni and Stefanos both worked.
“It must have arrived overnight,” she mused, ignoring his comment. “It’s sobig.How can younotnotice it?”
Stefanos gave her a wicked grin, wiping his mouth. “I usually would, especially since it’suprightandhard.”
She swatted him playfully across his back, causing a piece of chicken to fall out of his pita and land on his lap. He picked it up, dusted it off, and took another big bite.
“Is that the one we’re partying on tonight?” she asked.
Stefanos slanted a hand to his forehead and squinted. “Could be. Cassia says tonight’s party isveryimportant and there are some seriously rich—”
“Disgustingly rich, shouldn’t-be-allowed-to-be-that-rich people,” Eleni interjected. Her stomach roiled at the thought.
“She says we have to be on our best behaviour tonight.”
“Your aunt always says that.”
“And you have to watch your temper.” Stefanos waggled his finger at her. “Cassia is hoping to get a lot of business after this.”
Eleni gritted her teeth, before popping a piece of chicken into her mouth. Spetses, the glittering little jewel of an island—a playground for the global elite, celebrities and Greek tycoons—was littered with yachts. The wealthy rubbed shoulders with locals in the cafes and tavernas, the hotels and restaurants, as well as in the island’s many nightclubs.
Cassia jumped with joy each time a new yacht moored here. She welcomed the wealthy like bees to honey. Her business provided catering to the insanely rich and Eleni worked for her on the side, during evenings, weekends, and whenever she could. The only problem with working these events was that she didn’t get any tips. But Cassia paid well, and it helped.
Everything helped.
Eleni rubbed her hands together. “I only need another five thousand euros, then I’m gone.”
Stefanos’ face hardened. “You’re not going forever, Leni. You will return. You’re climbing Kilimanjaro, not K2.”
It was a big, bold thing to do, and no one thought she was capable of it. Not even her mother. But then, her mother was always waiting for her to fail—that’s what it seemed like to Eleni.
She often stared at the picture of Mount Kilimanjaro she’d pinned to the corkboard in her bedroom.
It was a dream. It had beentheirdream. Something she and Jonas had been planning for.
“At least now I have a reason for getting out of bed in the morning.” She didn’t have to cry herself to sleep every night now that she had a purpose.
Stefanos put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him and kissed her head. “I wish you wouldn’t go, but I understand why you have to.”
The last fifteen months had plunged her into the depths of grief because of the tragic death of her boyfriend, Jonas. He’d been killed in a horrific jet ski accident caused by reckless, drunk party goers off a yacht like the ones she now found herself waitressing on. They’d entered the water near where Jonas was swimming. A fitness fanatic with a love for adventure, Jonas had planned to one day set up a water sports business on one of the larger islands in the hopes of attracting tourists. He and Eleni had often talked about this, but her mother had scoffed at their plans.
“Stupid young love,” she’d called it. But, like with most things, Eleni ignored her.
Jonas had been Eleni’s first love and her best friend, and his passing had been a cruel blow. He’d been taken unexpectedly, way too soon and now he was never coming back. All their young dreams and plans had vanished forever, leaving Eleni devastated and rudderless.
Engulfed in her misery, she’d spent the first few weeks numbed by his death from such a tragic, senseless accident. A revulsion grew deep in her soul over people who hadn’t known their limits or cared about the dangers of their frivolousness.
Bad memories had forever stained this island for her. She had nothing to stay for here. No Jonas to plan a future with. Her mother didn’t seem too bothered about her. It was a miracle that they managed to live under one roof—a small roof nonetheless—but what they shared wasn’t a home. She’d never known her father and she felt more at home in the taverna alongside Stefanos who was like the family she’d never had.
