Page 41 of Love on the Rocks
I stared out the window at the boats rocking in the sea and, weirdly, found myself missing my old view of the ruined temple and the raggedy goats. It had been shitty of Nikos to put me in that old hovel, but it had grown on me and taught me how to be alone with myself. Back in London and before that in Paris, I’d always been so busy running around, planning, being productive. In those days and nights spent under the moon on the hill, I’d had to slow down and listen to myself again.
And I’d impressed myself. I always knew I was resilient, but this had proven to me that I wasn’t some pampered diva like Gaz had always made me out to be. No, I was strong. Like deep-down strong, and I was done doubting myself.
* * *
As I finished unpacking in my immaculate bedroom, I began to calm down. After all, here I was in a house where the wind didn’t whistle through eaves and the stars weren’t visible through holes in the roof.
The huge bed was covered with smooth linens and piles of downy pillows. The French doors opened onto a small terrace with a breathtaking view of the harbor. The connecting bathroom had a beautiful claw-foot tub, and I nearly cried at the prospect of taking a hot bath. Which I did almost immediately, adding jasmine and jojoba bath oils to the steaming water. I wanted to scald the past ten days off me.
I moaned as I slipped under the water. It felt so completely healing. And so did the glass of wine I’d poured for myself. Opening my group chat with Liv and Levi, I put the phone on speaker.
“Oh, thank God,” cried Liv when she picked up. “I’ve been so worried! We were ready to take the next plane out there, right, Levi?”
“Right,” came Levi’s laconic response. He sounded much less alarmed than his cousin.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, chicken.” I sighed. “It’s been a hellish twenty-four hours.”
“What happened?”
“Where should I begin?” Then I told them all of it. From my fall to my conversation with Nikos, and the horrible discovery that he was behind it all.
“God, Cal, it sounds like a soap opera. I can’t believe he did that to you, leaving you all alone in that place.” Olivia’s voice shook with indignation. “Levi already said that if anything happened to you, he was ready to draw blood.”
“I did?” asked Levi. “You’re always threatening me on people, but you’ve never seen me in action. Don’t let the uniform fool you, I’m more of a lover than a fighter.”
The image made me laugh. I had no doubt he’d be capable of beating a guy to a pulp—he was big enough—but he had such an “aw-shucks” small-town Midwestern appeal that he’d probably charm his way out of a fight.
“Fair enough,” said Liv. “Maybe I should come out there and punch him for you.”
The idea of my pregnant best friend taking on Nikos made me giggle. “Honestly, out of the three of us, I think I’d have the best odds of kicking his ass.”
Strangely though, punching him no longer held much appeal to me. I could think of a dozen kinkier ways to get back at him.
“Did he apologize?” asked Levi
“No . . . well . . . I threw him out before he could. I’m not interested in apologies.”
Then I told them about the call with Gaz and what he’d suggested. I was still shocked even though I was sure he was joking.
“Honestly, could he be any sleazier?” Liv sounded furious. “Cal, please tell me you’re done with him now. What this Nikos did was awful, but I can kind of understand the reason behind it.”
“Are you defending him?”
“No, of course not! But I can see how he could justify it to himself. Gaz, on the other hand, is obnoxious and disgusting. You must see that now.” Liv had never liked Gaz. I wished I had listened to her warnings, but narcissists were my weakness.
“Yeah, the problem is I can’t just cut ties with him. His father is my employer and, if anything, this whole experience has made me even more determined to make this restaurant a success.” I was so determined to prove Nikos wrong and to show the people at Greystone that, not only was I a phenomenal cook, but a creative businesswoman as well.
“I’d love to help if I can. Just tell me when you want me to come out there,” Liv said.
“Oh, sweetie, you already have so much on your plate.” After finishing culinary school last year, she’d started working as a recipe developer for the test kitchen of a major London-based chef. She’d gotten married, her husband was busy taking over winemaking at a vineyard in France, and they were expecting their first baby.
“The great thing about my job, Cal, is that I can do it anywhere. And now that you have a working kitchen, we can cook together. It’ll be fun!” I loved her enthusiasm. She was as much a sister as a friend, and I was longing to see her.
“Really? I’m not gonna lie, it would be amazing to have friends here.”
“I don’t have any vacation time now. Otherwise, I too would be all over those Greek beaches. You did say there were a lot of bored Greek ladies?” Levi piped up.
“Yeah, they would be overjoyed to have a single, hot fighter pilot on the island. Too bad you can’t make it.” I would have loved to see Nikos’s fangirls defect to the I Love Levi club.
