Page 14 of Faking Ever After

I arched an eyebrow before I could stop myself. I really had to remember that having unlimited dollar bills didn’t exactly solve all the problems of a human heart. Not that it made things worse, as far as I could tell.

He shrugged in a shy way nerds in college would. It looked like such a natural gesture for him. “I know what that sounds like. You really don’t get to complain when there’s a silver spoon wedged in your mouth, but…” He fell quiet and shook his head as if to rattle the words off his mind.

“But?” I softened my voice enough to remove the tone of irony that tended to catch me off guard around his kind.

Percy showed a lopsided smile and looked away from me, his blue gaze kissing the equally blue canvas of sea and sky around us. When he inhaled a deep breath, his chest inflated, and I almost forgot what we were talking about. How could he be so geeky and shy in one moment and so hot and confident in the next? Before I could begin searching for an answer, Percy supplied one to my earlier question. “But…I sometimes wonder if I was just struck by lightning and my whole life happened because of pure luck, not hard work.” He looked into my eyes as if to test the limits of my sympathy. When he found that I had plenty left, he continued. “I’ll be the first to admit that we had a good idea, Richie and I, but that was it. The rest was just luck and timing. We were two broke college students who got to the answer to a very particular problem five minutes before another pair would. It could have happened to anyone. And now I’m listed as influential byForbes.” He rolled his eyes with more than a little contempt.

“Forbes?” I asked, dialing up the intrigue in my voice.

A snort worthy of an award erupted from Percy. “It’s a pile of nonsense. I tried to give a university lecture once. That was before Kim joined my team. She would have had the sense to stop me from accepting the offer. Not only did all my jokes bomb, but I stumbled through ninety minutes of lecturing without understanding half the things I thought I knew.”

I blew out a big breath of air. “Crap. In front of college students? That does a number on your confidence.”

He shuddered. “I still have nightmares about it.” We shared a short laugh and Percy looked at me. “I guess the lesson is, being unhappy with things is simply human nature.”

“I suppose that’s how we evolved in the first place,” I mused.

“Except here,” Percy said. “Here is where I’m happy.”

Massive ferries dotted the blue surface of the sea, sending ripples in all directions, but Percy’s yacht rode the waves, heaving, falling, and making its steady way toward the growing island of Naxos. Its mountainous peaks became more visible with each minute that ticked away. A huge stone arch on bare rocks struck me as familiar, but I couldn’t place it until Percy pointed to it. “Apollo’s temple. That’s what’s left of it, at least.” And I remembered seeing it on some postcard somewhere a long time ago.

Percy’s yacht left a frothy trail in its wake, cutting through the waves until we neared the harbor.

“If it weren’t for my entire extended family, all their friends, and the friends’ fifth cousins flocking here for the party, this would be Paradise.” Percy steered our way into the harbor and began the slow process of docking and tying his yacht in a line of sleek private boats and ships.

Before we got off the deck, Percy tossed his shirt back over his annoyingly perfect body, buttoned it nearly all the way up, and clenched his fists. “This is a bad idea,” he muttered.

“Too late for second-guessing now,” I said.

“Doesn’t make the idea any better.” He glanced at me then at the approaching car that had all the makings of a billionaire’s private ride; black, elegant, longer than strictly necessary, polished like a freaking mirror.

“Can’t wait to meet the in-laws,” I said in an over-the-top, oh-golly manner.

Percy choked and cleared his throat. “When they unload all their questions, be vague, act shy, and improvise only when it’s necessary.”

“And if all else fails, I’ll just break intoHello, My Babylike Michigan J. Frog,” I said. By the horrified look on his face, Percy wasn’t sure whether or not I was joking. And upon further introspection, I wasn’t certain either.

CHAPTER 6

Percy

Dimitrios exitedthe car as soon as he pulled it to a halt. He had a white head of hair and a neatly trimmed white beard with a few gray streaks around his chin. It glistened with beard oil under the bright Greek sunshine. A Hawaiian shirt paired with knee-length khakis was as formal as you could make the man dress.

“Yia sas, yia sas,” he called, stepping forward with a warm smile.

“Kalimera, Dimitrios,” I said just as Finn added, “Hullo.” The man took my hand with a firm grip and, instead of shaking it, pulled me into a big hug. He had all the makings of a mountain man from a Greek island. He was larger than me in all ways, like a gentle giant, and he always wore a generous smile. He was the first to bring out the good wine and the last to leave the dance floor.

Upon releasing me from the tight hug and welcoming me back to Naxos, Dimitrios turned to Finn precisely the way he might, had Finn truly been my boyfriend. “Welcome, welcome.” Before Finn could duck, the big man pulled him into a huge embrace. This was hardly just a welcome to the island, but a statement that Finn was part of the family.

Sweat broke out over my back and I turned on my heels to search for my luggage while my boyfriend’s feet dangled above the hot stone ground. When he was released, he let out a relief-filled laugh and bent down to get his backpack.

I loaded part of my luggage before Dimitrios joined to help with the rest. Finn appeared reluctant to let go of his backpack, pointing out there was enough room in the car to take it with him. So we sat down and waited for Dimitrios to start the engine.

I could sense Finn’s gaze on me before I looked at him. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t read so easily. It was nothing negative. In fact, he looked at me with a new kind of softness.

Dimitrios sat behind the wheel and fired up the engine, then pulled out faster than was strictly allowed. I had learned my lesson on my first summer here and kept my mouth shut ever since. The man knew how to drive according to the local traditions. It wasn’t for me to point out that there were other moving cars around us. Especially since, for all my slow and careful driving, I scratched and bumped my car twice a year, and Dimitrios hadn’t even caused a speck on his.

We were off.

---