Page 119 of Love Among the Ruins
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
ELENI
“Are you in trouble?” Miranda asked, looking at her oddly as she left Dominic’s office.
Ever since Anna’s farewell party Eleni had been in and out of there a few times, and it shouldn’t have surprised her that hawk-eyed Miranda was keeping a close watch.
“No. It’s all good.”
She sailed past Miranda’s desk and headed straight for the washroom. When she finally looked at her ticket properly, she saw that it was a first class ticket.
First class?
She’d never traveled in first class in her life.
Nor would she ever.
She hadn’t even left the country, but this, a first class ticket to Santorini, was beyond her wildest dreams.
She wanted to call Stefanos and tell him. She wanted to shout it from the tops of her lungs. She wanted to tell Miranda, but everything about this trip was top secret.
The next few days passed in an uncomfortable haze. She’d been restless, and had gone on more runs than ever in an attempt to calm her nerves. Packing her suitcase had proved especially difficult, and had her questioning her sanity.
Then, the day finally arrived. When she left work at noon, she felt so uneasy lying to Miranda about going to Spetses for the weekend, that she couldn’t look her friend in the eye properly.
The short plane journey was over all too soon. It had taken less than an hour, with Eleni closing her eyes for most of the trip, wanting to cement and savor every last little souffle of pleasure so that she would never forget it.
Dominic had told her he’d send Kostas to pick her up from the airport. She was so happy to see him when she got out of the baggage area that she hugged him.
Her heart thumped as she gazed out of the car window, her nerves fraying like threads from a hemline. She fretted over how this weekend would go, and how she would survive two nights under one roof as Dominic’s fake girlfriend.
She saw blue domed churches, whitewashed houses, a few candy-colored ones sprinkled in, against a backdrop of sparkling turquoise blue waters. She opened the window and gazed out at the deep blue sky, inhaling the scent of summer. It was beautiful. Words couldn’t do it justice. She tilted her head, hearing the sound of Greek music playing faintly, but it soon disappeared as the car sped on.
“Where are we going?” Eleni asked, as they left a strip of hotels behind them. She’d thought they might be staying there. Dominic had told her that he’d taken care of it, but she was none the wiser.
“To Mr. Steele’s house.”
“He has a house here as well?”What house?He hadn’t told her a thing.
Kostas laughed. “They have many houses.”
“I’m sure they do,” she muttered to herself. After a while, Kostas announced that they were nearly there.
Her heart thumped with fear and excitement. If things became awkward between her and Dominic, she needed to be able to get back home easily. Dread settled in her stomach. She didn’t know Dominic that well.
What if he was a psycho?
What if … her imagination took her to the darkest of places.
But then a huge beautiful white villa came into view, with no other homes nearby. It was a majestic, sprawling building with balconies along the upper floor.
“Isthisit?”
“This is it. You will enjoy it here. It is paradise.”
It certainly looked like it. The villa was spread out like a giant octopus, and looked so exotic, so beautiful, she couldn’t believe she was going to spend two nights here.
How the wealthy lived.
