now. And the man who had been a stranger at that time now felt like an incredibly big, incredibly important figure in my life.
He felt like one of the most important people in my life.
And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Not yet. In fact, I wasn’t positive that I’d ever figure it out. Because no matter how much I didn’t want to go back to the real world, the truth was that at some point, I was going to have to. And when I did… Nikos and his magical island were going to stay in Greece.
The chances of me ever seeing them again were minimal. At best.
A knock sounded at the door, and I jumped, because it was—I checked my phone—six in the morning, and you just don’t expect people to come knocking at your door at that hour.
I glanced down, made sure I was decent, and remembered that I was wearing the pajamas Nikos had provided. No lacy lingerie here. They were plain old two-piece cotton pajamas. Perfect for entertaining a stranger in your room. Not ideal if you wanted to seduce said stranger.
But who was I kidding? Hadn’t I just been lecturing myself about getting used to the idea of never seeing him again? Seduction wasn’t on the menu.
“Come in!” I called. “I’m awake.”
“I knew you were,” he said, swinging the door open, a tray in his hands. “I could hear you moving around.”
I stared at him in shock for a moment, totally unsure of how to respond to that.
“You were… listening at my door?” I asked finally.
He shrugged as if this was the most natural—and the least embarrassing—thing in the world. “I got up and thought I’d cook breakfast, and wondered if you wanted any. So I stopped by your room to see whether you were awake or not. It’s not like I was just hanging out in the hallway with my ear pressed to your door. I’m not that good a host.”
I scooted over on the bed to make room for him. “I’m not sure listening at your guests’ doors makes you a good host, actually. In fact… I’d say it makes you the opposite.”
He set the tray on the bedside table and then leaned toward me, dropping his voice conspiratorially. “So you’re saying that if I ever do that, I shouldn’t tell people?”
I burst out with laughter at that, because it was so obvious that he was kidding—and it was such a different side of him. This playful, joking version of him had been coming out more and more the longer I stayed here, and I was loving every second of it.
Loving it as someone who knew she was going to have to leave soon. Obviously. Because by my count, I only had three days left before my replacement sailboat arrived.
And once that happened, I thought, we were going to run out of reasons for me to stay on the island.
I brushed up against the thought and then scooted in the other direction, completely unwilling to consider it.
“And what have you brought me, Man Who Definitely Does Not Listen at Doors?” I asked, turning my eyes to the breakfast.
“Eggs. Croissants. Jam from last season’s grapes that didn’t make the cut for wine.” He shrugged again, like this was no big deal. “Not a complicated breakfast. But all homemade.”
“By the humblest man I know,” I said, popping a bit of croissant into my mouth.
It was, of course, delicious. Just like everything else he did.
The reason he’d made breakfast so early, it turned out, was that he had yet another adventure planned for today.
“The olive grove,” he said grandly. Like that explained everything.
“I’ve already seen that, you know,” I reminded him. “That was one of the first places you took me. So it’s not like that’s going to be earth shattering.”
He just grinned at me. “This time we’re actually going to get out of the golf cart and go into the trees, though. And we’re taking food. Besides, I want to show you the curing rooms and get your opinion on some stuff.”
Curing rooms? My opinion? What was I, his business partner?
I stifled a smile, though, because that thought was followed closely by another: I could have been crazy, but it was certainly starting to look like I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to think about me leaving soon.
No, it didn’t make it any better. Because I was still going to be leaving. But thinking about Nikos not wanting to think about