Adonis in Athens - Page 20

6

An hour later he was parked in front of Paige’s hotel, watching her come out the front doors. He jumped out of the car so he could take her suitcase. He paused to press his lips to hers and couldn’t resist sliding his tongue between them, just enough to get a taste. The answering hitch in her breath made him wish he hadn’t agreed to go to dinner tonight, but they were committed now and he grudgingly pulled away.

“I have a lot to tell you,” he murmured, putting her suitcase in the back.

“I can’t wait to hear all about it.” She got into the passenger seat and looked at him expectantly. “Did you close the deal?”

“Not exactly.” He explained the way the day had gone. “And when I told them I already had plans tonight, they kind of called me on it. How mad are you?”

“Why would I be mad?” she frowned. “I just don’t know if I have anything appropriate to wear. I only brought shorts, T-shirts and that dress you saw yesterday. I don’t have anything for an evening with people like that.”

“I guess we’ll have to go shopping.” He glanced over at her. “Will you let me buy you something for tonight?”

She chuckled. “Since it’s your fault I have to go, yes.”

He grinned. “Did you eat?”

“Yup. I spent the second-best day ever at the Acropolis Museum. I could spend another few hours looking at the reconstructed pieces of the frieze from the Parthenon.”

“The second-best day ever?” he asked. “What was the best?”

She grinned. “Yesterday, of course!”

“I’m not sure I can top it, because your first sunset at the Temple of Poseidon is pretty memorable, but I’d like to try.”

“You don’t have to top anything,” she said. “Just being together is nice.”

“I think so too.” He reached for her hand. “How about we drive to my house, you can drop off your things, and then we’ll go shopping?”

“Sure.”

He nodded. “The house needs a lot of work, but the architecture and the view blew me away so I bought it anyway. I just haven’t had time to get work done.”

“You know I don’t care about that!”

“The kitchen is a disaster, but I don’t cook.”

“Me either,” she giggled. “I’m good at a lot of things, but cooking isn’t one of them. Is that grounds for divorce?”

He laughed. “Nope. Not for me, anyway.”

“Oh good.”

It took nearly 40 minutes to get to his house with traffic but she was awed as they pulled into his parking space underneath the building. It was a white concrete square shape that appeared to have three floors, and she could see at least one balcony as well as some sort of rooftop space that was lined with a wrought iron fence.

“Is the whole house yours?” she asked in surprise.

“All mine,” he chuckled. “Just remember, it needs work.”

“Are you trying to impress me, Mr. Lakkas?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Well, Mrs. Lakkas, it’s more like I’m hoping you’re not overly disappointed.”

“Disappointed? You have a three-story house on the beach!” She shook her head. “It’s gorgeous! And I’ll bet the kitchen isn’t that bad.”

He coughed. “Okay, sure. Let’s go with optimism.” He carried her suitcase and she followed with her small carry-on size bag. They walked up a short flight of stairs and he held open the door for her. The main floor was bright and sunny, but he hadn’t been kidding about work being needed. The floors were bare concrete and the only furniture was a couch that looked like it had seen better days.

“There’s no floor,” she joked, giving him a bland look.