Page 13 of Love on the Rocks
By the time we rounded the cliffs into a crescent-shaped harbor, it felt like an eternity had passed, and I was officially late. And when a speedboat with some sort of official-looking insignia darted over the waves out into the open sea, my stomach sank. “Wait, that was the permit guy!”
I shouted and waved my hands over my head. Where the hell was he going? I tried to stand, but the boat started rocking and Nikos threw me another furious glare. I sank back onto my seat.
“Faster, faster.” I frantically rolled my hands John Travolta–style in the universal gesture for “step on it, asshole” but just got a sullen shrug in response.
“No!” I screamed into the air. The Greystones were going to kill me. I’d been sent here urgently for this meeting, and I’d blown it. I looked again at my watch. I was only ten minutes late. The guy had to be the most impatient Greek ever.
I covered my face with my hands, trying to calm myself down as we headed toward the now empty dock. But I was so full of rage at all these men who’d put me in this situation: Gaz, who’d sent me out on this fool’s errand in the first place; the incompetent government official, who I had no doubt was a man; and, most of all, the broad-backed Hades ferrying me to my own particular version of hell. Right now, he was the object of all my fury. I was convinced he wanted me to be late.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumbled as I took in the hill where, according to the photo on the brochure, the construction site should have been . . . and there was nothing.
Nothing except an utterly breathtaking landscape. Again, if I hadn’t been so overcome with frustration and anger, I would have been able to appreciate the beauty of the place. A private beach with turquoise water beneath a dramatic, rocky cliff.
We pulled up to a small concrete dock and while my charming driver tied the boat to a metal hook, I heaved myself out. By some miracle I didn’t go flying backward into the water. It’s not easy to climb out of a bobbing boat in a form-fitting dress, but I’m nothing if not determined. And I was determined not to let Nikos help me out, convinced my entire body would go up in flames if he touched me.
My heel nearly gave out as I picked my way across the shore, praying that the permit guy was hiding behind a rock somewhere. I had no idea what I was even supposed to be signing this morning. Gaz had been annoyingly vague about this, as he had about everything else.
When my phone started buzzing in my purse, I nearly jumped for joy. I had reception! It didn’t even bother me that Gaz’s name flashed on the screen.
“Oh, thank God,” I said into the receiver.
“There you go confusing me with God again, sweetheart.” He laughed, and I was so happy to hear a familiar voice that I let his patronizing tone slide. “All right?”
“No, Gaz. Everything is not all right. Let’s start with the house you rented. A really shitty joke.”
“It ain’t no joke, I’m afraid. That’s all we could find for you. I told you it was rustic, but the view’s good, innit?”
My mind flashed to the sun setting over the ruined temple. “Yeah, the view is extraordinary. But I need hot water and a working stove.”
No response came. Just some garbled muttering. “Dammit!” I shook the phone. “Can you hear me?”
“. . . the permit. . .isn’t coming . . . next week.”
“What?”
“I said the meeting’s been pushed back. The bloke handling the permit got called away on an emergency.”
“Are you fucking with me again?” I would not be at all surprised that this wasn’t some elaborate practical joke. “I’m getting on the first plane back to London.”
“You can’t do that, babe. My old man can’t find out about the mess we’re in. I need you to get that permit. I’d handle it myself, but . . .”
“Yeah, yeah, I know . . . Cannes.”
“Don’t forget what a big opportunity this is for you.”
Oh, I hadn’t forgotten. It was the only thing keeping me here.
I sighed. “What am I going to do until then?”
“Work on your tan?” He laughed.
I was going to kill him. Just as I was getting ready to lay into him, though, my phone cut out again. “Fuck!” I screamed up at the sky.
Chapter 6
He guided her out onto the moonlit terrace overlooking the park. Their bodies swayed together, her soft curves pressed against every inch of his hard, muscular body. When at last his lips met hers, she moaned.
The kiss was like none he’d ever experienced before. There was an innocence to it that he found completely enchanting. Her lips were soft and sweet as the ripest fruit. Where had she come from? It was like a star had fallen from the sky and dropped into his arms.
