Adonis in Athens - Page 45

“Dessert,” Apollo corrected her.

“That wasn’t a hard one to figure out,” Paige smiled at him. He leaned over and kissed her, his lips smacking hers soundly. “What was that for?” she asked.

“’Cause whatever you and my grandmother did, you made her smile and laugh, which makes me happy.”

“She’s delightful,” Paige said. “We didn’t do anything special!”

“Every day is special, no?” Thespina asked.

They walked back into the house and found Dimitri, Maria, Giorgios and Melina having coffee. Sophia wasn’t there and Maria looked up as if nothing had happened.

“Did you and Thespina have a nice walk?” she asked, getting up and greeting Paige.

“Yes. Her roses are beautiful. I wish things would grow like that in Las Vegas, but it’s hard to have that kind of garden in the desert.”

“Is it very hot?” Maria asked. “More than now in Greece?”

“Well, there’s no ocean, and that makes a difference.”

Without Sophia, the rest of the afternoon was pleasant. They had a table full of desserts and then strong Greek coffee. As Dimitri, Giorgios and Thespina dozed in different chairs, Paige and Melina helped Maria put away the food in the kitchen. Apollo had disappeared to return a phone call to a client so Paige had no choice but to follow the ladies.

“You must not be angry with Sophia,” Maria said after a moment. “She is angry. The baby…” She glanced at Melina.

“They don’t know why she can’t get pregnant again,” Melina said. “There’s nothing wrong with her, but it’s been three years since Mihalis was born and nothing. Not even a miscarriage.”

“Has Giorgios been tested?” Paige asked reasonably.

Mother and daughter exchanged looks. “That’s not a thing here,” Melina said quietly. “He says nothing is wrong, and won’t get checked out.”

Paige frowned. “Well, if there’s nothing wrong with her…”

Maria nodded. “Yes, difficult situation. But Greek men are very proud—not like in America.”

“I don’t think a medical condition has anything to do with pride,” Paige said. “But I may not understand the culture.”

“Do you think you will be happy in Greece?” Maria asked, wiping her hands on a towel and looking directly at her.

Paige was starting to get used to these abrupt changes in conversation, but she wasn’t sure what to say. “I think I could be, but it’s scary. Apollo is…amazing. I just don’t know how we would do it. I don’t speak Greek, I wouldn’t be able to work—I don’t know what I would do. He works long hours and I would be alone. No friends, no family—”

“You have family!” Maria said firmly. “We are family now.”

“But you don’t know me,” Paige said quietly. “I can’t explain why, Mrs. Lakkas, but I love your son. We did something foolish three years ago, but now that we’re together again, I know exactly why we did it: he’s wonderful and I guess he thinks I am too.”

“I absolutely do,” Apollo said, coming in behind her and wrapping his arms around her. “You’re not trying to talk her into leaving, are you?”

“We try to talk her into staying,” Maria said gently. “But I don’t think she’s ready. And I don’t think you are either, Apollo.” She looked from one to the other. “I would like very much to see one of my children happily married…and I can see that you and Paige are very much in love. The trouble is that she’s American and you’re Greek. Very American and very Greek. This is not simple, to change your whole life and move to another country.”

“Mama, after what Baba did, maybe it’s time for me to spread my wings. Find a job in America and—”

“Apollo!” Maria’s eyes widened. “You cannot!”

“Listen to me,” he said gently, gripping her hands in his. “Not forever. But a job for a major shipping company in the U.S. might be good for me. I could learn how other, bigger companies do things, build my résumé and come back to Greece when the time is right.”

“If you go, you will not come back,” Maria said sadly.

“That’s not true,” he said, glancing at Paige. “If I spent five years in the U.S., working in the shipping industry, would you be willing to give it a try here in Greece?”

“It would give us time to be really sure this is going to work,” she said softly. “But I don’t want you to do that unless you really want to.”