"Not really." It had been years since she had tried stuffing grape leaves. Her attempts had always turned out messy and lopsided.
Her grandmother clicked her tongue disapprovingly as she chopped garlic. "How will you make a proper Greek wife if you don't know how to cook? What have you been doing with yourself?"
"I went to college. Got a master's degree. Went to Quantico for training. Been chasing down bad guys." She gave her grandmother a wry look. "You know, the usual girly stuff."
Eleni's mouth twitched. "It'll take a special husband to keep up with you."
Olivia's thoughts immediately snapped to Robby MacKay. He was definitely special. She'd tried to scare him away, but he'd refused to give up on her.
Eleni scraped the minced garlic into the mixing bowl. "I need some fresh parsley." She grabbed a pair of scissors and headed out the back door to the patio.
Olivia sipped her tea and noted that the red rosebud had opened. After Robby had left, she'd returned it to the vase on the kitchen table. Its sweet scent competed with the onions and garlic of Yia Yia's cooking.
She wondered how long the rose could last. And how long a relationship with Robby could last. In two weeks she'd be accompanying her grandmother to Houston for the Christmas holidays. And then she'd be returning to her job in Kansas City. It seemed highly doubtful that she'd ever see Robby again once she left Patmos.
She sighed. Why should she let it bother her? The relationship was doomed anyway. She could never get involved with a man she couldn't read. She would never know if he was being completely truthful.
Still, there were a few facts she could believe. One, he was extremely handsome. Two, she was hopelessly attracted to him. She felt fairly certain that his story was honest. He was a soldier who'd been captured and tortured for two days. That sent a shudder down her spine.
Could he have made up the story to gain her sympathy? Yes. But his reluctance to tell her had seemed real. And the pain in his eyes had seemed real. Too bad there was no computer or Internet at Yia Yia's house so she could run a check on him.
She was tempted to believe him. She wanted to believe him. If he'd really survived being tortured, it explained a lot: his reluctance to admit that he'd been traumatized. His tendency to be suspicious and paranoid.
It wasn't surprising that his family wanted him to see a therapist. And it wasn't surprising that he'd be averse to it. Who would want to relive such an experience? No doubt a big, strong guy like Robby found it humiliating to admit he'd been victimized and totally helpless.
With a gulp, Olivia realized his physical wounds might have healed, but the wound to his pride was still raw. She'd smacked his pride badly when she'd implied he couldn't be trusted.
Eleni marched back into the kitchen with a bouquet of parsley clutched in her hand. "We're having dolmades, spanakopita, lamb, and salad for dinner. I'll need your help." She rinsed off the parsley in the kitchen sink.
Olivia winced. She had a bad feeling about this. "That seems like a lot of food just for the two of us."
Eleni sat across from her and chopped the parsley. "I invited Spiro for dinner. Dolmades are his favorite."
Olivia groaned. "Does he speak English?"
"A few words." Eleni added the chopped parsley to the mixing bowl. "I can tell you're annoyed with me, but don't worry. The language of love doesn't need words."
Olivia snorted, then sipped some tea. She doubted it would do any good to complain.
Eleni dug her hands into the mixing bowl to combine all the ingredients. "We'll be busy for a few hours. Why don't you tell me about the bad man who's got you so worried?"
Olivia sighed. "He can't bother me here." She hoped. "He's in prison."
"Prison? What did he do?"
"He raped and murdered thirteen women."
Eleni made a sound of disgust. "I don't know how you can deal with such terrible people."
Otis Crump was more than terrible. Olivia interviewed lots of criminals, but she'd never felt like she'd come face-to-face with evil incarnate until she'd met Otis. "I'd rather not talk about him." She didn't want her grandmother exposed to all the gruesome details.
Eleni shook her head, making tsking noises as she readied the grape leaves. "All right. Now you watch, so you'll know how to do it." She spooned a dollop of the meat mixture onto a grape leaf, folded over the stem, then the sides, and rolled it up.
Olivia wanted to shove all thoughts of Otis out of her mind, so she took the rose from the vase and held it up to her nose. The scent filled her head, reminding her of Robby.
"You're not watching me," Eleni admonished her. Her eyes narrowed. "Your emotions have suddenly changed for the better."
Olivia smiled as she stroked the velvet rose petals. "Last night I met the guy who left this."