Page 17 of Loving the Greek Billionaire

Rose smiled. “Isspanakopitayou’re favorite? I haven’t tried it yet.”

Nefeli’s jaw dropped. “You’ve never hadspanakopita?”

“This is my third day in Greece, so I’ve had limited time to try new foods. I shall certainly addspanakopitato my list to try.”

Adonis tugged on her skirt. “What aboutdiples? Do you like them? They’re my favorite.” He wiped his hand under his nose.

“I haven’t haddipleseither.”

Adonis shook his head.

Nefeli looked to the men. “Can we havespanakopitaanddiplesat Rose’s party?”

“Of course,” Mr. P said.

“We’d better get in the helicopter if we’re going to be on time for our tour,” Stavros said.

Rose tried to hide her dismay. She wasn’t quite prepared to fly again. “The helicopter?”

“We’re doing a flyover of the six monasteries before we see them on the ground,” Stavros explained.

Mr. P handed the children into the copter before joining the pilot up front.

“I take it you served together on the helicopters and airplanes,” she said to Stavros as he assisted her into the copter.

“Yes. He’s a hair better pilot than I am, but don’t tell him I told you. I’ll never hear the end of it.” He winked at Rose.

The children took the front facing seats and donned their headsets. They seemed quite at home in the copter. Rose mused that they’d obviously flown in it many times, whereas today was her first and now second flight in her life. Oh, the things the rich took for granted.

With everyone secured, the engines and rotors whirred to life, and they were airborne.

Stavros pointed out each monastery as they flew over: Varlaam, Roussanou, St. Stephen, Holy Trinity, St. Nikolaos, and Great Meteoron.

Rose alternated between watching the children’s delighted faces and staring dumbfounded at the structures perched on top of towering rock formations that stretched skyward.

“The monks seemed to think they could be closer to heaven and God if they built their houses of worship as near to the sky as possible,” Rose said.

“Can you imagine the difficulty of building these monasteries at the top of mostly sheer cliffs?” Stavros asked.

“They were strong,” Nefeli said.

“Like me!” Adonis flexed his arm muscle.

“Just like you,” Stavros agreed with a smile at the young boy.

The interaction between Stavros and the children warmed Rose’s heart. His affection for them was genuine and made a better impression on her than Mr. P’s formality. Too bad the men’s roles weren’t reversed. But then, Rose wouldn’t enjoy Stavros’s company as much, and she wouldn’t be as friendly with Mr. P. She needed to give Mr. P a fighting chance. First impressions weren’t always what they seemed. Stavros was quite different from what she’d assumed at the start.

The copter landed, and they climbed into a waiting vehicle.

“Welcome to your exclusive tour of the monasteries of Meteora. I’m Dia, your guide for the day,” said the young, perky woman in the driver’s seat.

“Nice to meet you,” Mr. P said. “Thank you for accommodating our small party.”

“No problem. I love to do VIP tours and share my knowledge of the monasteries.”

“Are you an anthropologist?” Stavros asked.

“I started a degree in history and archeology but didn’t finish.” Dia headed down the road. “The academic scene wasn’t for me, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows more than me about this region. I grew up here. My father is one of the caretakers of the sites. And a few of my ancestors served the monks.”

---