Page 55 of The Actor and His Secret

It isn’t until we are covered in flour, our fingers and lips sticky with fresh honey, that I remember that, one day, this memory will also haunt me.

All good things must come to an end, sometimes that end comes sooner than we hope for.

21

OLI

I can get used to waking up in Nikos’ strong arms.

The next morning, the sun is streaming in through the open windows, and the breeze drifting in cools my skin. We’d talked late into the night, with Nikos sharing more memories of his mother and growing up here in Greece. I could tell that it was bittersweet, especially when he’d slipped up and said that he’d always wished that she could meet the person he’d one day fall in love with.

He’d gotten misty-eyed, and I’d done the best to hide the lump in my throat. Not just a reaction to his pain, but to the deep, aching want that pierced my chest.

I wanted to be the person he introduced to his family. I wanted to be the man to make Nikos Ridge fall in love.

What I’m not brave enough to do right now is put a name to the feelings that are growing inside my rib cage like the flowers gracing the garden. I’ve always been quick to fall for people, and I don’t want to get hurt - not like with Geoff. And besides, I know full well that Nikos isn’t mine to keep. We’re on a deadline, not meant to last. All I can do is enjoy the here and now, and not let myself catch inconvenient feelings.

I don’t want to break the spell of a sleepy Nikos, enjoying watching him breathing softly, his face completely relaxed. I want to trace the curve of his jaw with my finger, to memorise every line of him, but I try to stay as still as possible so as not to wake him.

I must move, though, or maybe the sun warming his skin is enough to rouse him from sleep. Nikos blinks awake, his golden-brown eyes catching mine.

‘Kalimera.’ His voice is lower than normal, rough from sleep. He squeezes me tighter, and I relax into his grasp. ‘Did you sleep well?’

I reply in Greek, the words for good morning rolling off my tongue with forced ease. ‘Kalimera, agape mou.’

Agape mou - My love.

His tired eyes widen in pride. ‘You remembered.’

‘I did,’ I say into his chest. I can’t get over the way he smells, especially here - I could drink in his scent forever. ‘Did you sleep well?’

‘Mmm.’ He makes a satisfied noise and buries his nose in my curls. ‘How could I not with you by my side?’

My heart summersaults, and I have a hard time pretending that it’s a flippant comment he’s made hundreds of times with people he’s slept with, not with how sincere he sounds. Not when I can feel the beat of his heart pick up as he presses a kiss to my hair.

‘What do you want to do today?’ I ask, trying to distract myself. I can’t catch feelings. I can’t.

‘I thought we’d go into town for an early breakfast, and I can show you around.’ Nikos sounds tentative, and I wonder if it’s because town holds more memories for him, or because he’s worried about being recognised. ‘If that’s alright with you?’

‘I would love that.’ I snuggle deeper into his embrace for a moment, allowing myself the luxury of being held. I had no idea that Nikos was such a cuddler, but he seems even less inclined to get up than me. But eventually I need to get up and use the bathroom, so I reluctantly free myself from his arms and get up.

When I get back from washing up and brushing my teeth, Nikos is in shorts and a linen button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and I have to stop myself from staring. He looks like a movie star on set in Greece.

As soon as I have the thought, I mentally smack myself over the head. Nikos is a movie star, and we are in Greece.

I’m the luckiest man in the world right now.

‘Ready to go?’ Nikos raises an eyebrow at me, and I pull out shorts and a light cotton t-shirt from my suitcase, throwing them on.

‘Whenever you are,’ I say.

He leaves me reluctantly to wash up too, and when he’s back I can’t resist but kiss him, his mouth minty from toothpaste. He hasn’t shaved since we got here, and the stubble on his jaw is tantalising. But for once I’m more interested in going out and doing something with Nikos than in pulling him back to bed.

His hands travel down my back to cup my ass, but he leaves it at that. He must be feeling the same way I am, because he pulls back and extends a hand. I take it and he leads me down the stairs - I’m careful to use the banister, not wanting to give him any anxiety - and out onto the gravel path that leads to the dirt road.

We walk in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the breeze and the sound of the waves far below us. It’s gorgeous and serene and private, and I wonder what it would have been like to grow up here as a kid.

‘This is where I got my stage name from.’ Nikos stops us when we reach the top of an incline in the winding road. He turns me back in the direction we came and points, and I take in the view. ‘I used to climb it as a kid.’

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