Page 54 of Accidental Fiancé

They grinned at each other, and although I wasn’t sure what had just happened, she came in for a hug and said, “Welcome to the family, Maggie. Please, come inside. Julian, show your future bride the house then meet the rest of us in the lounge. Almost everyone is already here.” She twirled around and disappeared down a long hall.

In fact, it seemed everything around me was long halls. The whole building was built like a hotel, complete with a granddual staircase foyer with black banisters accommodating white marble stairs. Along the back, French doors framed a view of the mountains and a large swimming pool enclosed with a retractable tinted canopy.

“This way,” Julian said, taking my hand as he led me down the first-floor hall. “We’ll be staying on the second floor in my old room—it’s where I always stay when I visit. But I wanted to show you this first.” He opened a set of double doors, and low and behold, I gasped like a movie heroine ready to faint.

This was the real fantasy.

A kitchen as glorious in the truest sense of the word. Appliances I didn’t even recognize lined the walls, both vintage and new. Metal rack after metal rack sat at one end, organized like a library of small appliances. Multiple stainless and marble counters took up most of the open space.

I hardly noticed the staff, and once I realized they were there, I felt terrible about it. “Sorry to gawk,” I blurted upon the realization.

A woman with thick forearms and a happy smile shrugged. “No worries. Fresh tiropsomo will be available in ten, so feel free to come back.”

“Tiropsomo?”

“It’s a Greek bread, similar to focaccia,” Julian explained. “But with feta and more herbs.”

My stomach growled. “Oh, I’m gonna need some of that.”

“We grow our own food here. The olive oil is freshly pressed,” she went on. “If you’re into food, I’d be happy to tell you more.”

“I am. Very much.”

“You’re welcome to visit anytime, then.”

He put his arm around me. “I have a feeling if I don’t get you out of here, I’ll never see you again.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Come on,” he said, grinning.

“I finally find a kindred spirit in your world and I get dragged away.”

Once in the hall, he explained, “Eleni will talk your ear off, and we have other business to attend to. Sorry. In your downtime, feel free to seek her out.”

“Business. Right.” That word still stuck in my craw. “Where to next?”

“Our room. You need to be able to find it even after multiple shots of ouzo.”

“My liver is not going to have an easy week, is it?”

“I’m afraid not.”

As we ascended the staircase I asked, “So this is where you grew up?”

“Indeed.”

“No wonder you didn’t want me and Mom moving in. It would have been too crowded.”

He rolled his eyes. “I told you—we had to do a ton of repairs back then. Honestly, it’s amazing we were able to salvage the place, considering the mold issue among other things.”

The second-floor hallway had thick, patterned rugs and potted plants to warm the space, but that didn’t change the hotel feel. Doors lined either side, and I half-expected to see room numbers on them.

Julian opened a door at the end of the hall. “Here we are.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to find the door at the end of the hall regardless of how inebriated I am. Didn’t really need a tour for that.”

He cracked a smile. “Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my fiancée?”

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