Page 31 of A Girl and HER Prince
Knock it off!If this was how she acted after one evening with Venice, she’d made the right call in running away. Deedee tucked her hand into her arm, only cementing Livvy’s determination to stay strong. “Let’s eat before the festival,” Deedee said. “I promise that we’ll need it.”
Carrying their bags to a quaint restaurant, they dined on gyros and drank down the fresh yogurt drinks, ariani. It didn’t take long for Deedee to bring up Turner. Her friend’s red lips dropped when Livvy told her about meeting him in the elevator. “I still can’t believe you waited so long to tell me!”
That small, sweet encounter had paled to getting locked out on the deck with Venice, and now Livvy was far too confused to think about romance with anyone else afterwards, which probably meant that sheshouldtry to forget all about the prince by considering other guys.
That wasn’t exactly fair to Turner though, was it?
Livvy shrugged. “That’s all over now, but…” It took some effort to conjure up Turner’s dark velvety gaze, but as soon as she did, she remembered the kindness that went with it. “He told me to consider him a friend. He’s a good guy.”
Deedee nudged her. “Afriendwouldn’t say you were a ray of sunshine after a heavy storm. He likes you!”
Livvy smiled reluctantly. Yeah, maybe Turnercouldhold his own against the competition.
“Get on that dress you bought in the market, Livvy!” Deedee shook her from her funk. It was one of her greatest talents. “I want to see it on you. Right now!”
Now that was something Livvy was eager to do. Slipping into the restaurant’s restroom, she slid into the soft Egyptian cotton, feeling the white fabric cling to her like delicate cobwebs. The lightweight dress was a perfect fit and made her feel like a new woman as the skirt swayed over her legs in a glorious waterfall. She emerged from the back to Deedee’s glad cries.
“You look gorgeous!” Deedee grappled for her phone and directed it at her. “Twirl! Twirl.” Livvy obeyed while Deedee shrilled out for joy. “You have to keep it on for tonight!”
A dash of pleasure washed over her. This was just the thing to get her mind off that stupid prince. She began tugging her dark hair back into a ponytail.
“Don’t you dare put your hair up!” Deedee stuffed her phone into her purse and jumped to her feet to stop her. “Leave it against your back!” Her friend did her best to undo the damage by raking her fingers through Livvy’s hair. “Yes, much better! You look exactly like a Grecian maiden getting ready for her first dance under the full moon. If only Turner could see you now! Don’t you wish I’d invited him along to the festival with us?”
No!It was time to forget about these men and get back to enjoying their vacation. Feeling worlds better after her impromptu makeover, she grabbed Deedee’s hand. “No men! We can have fun on our own. We’re in the Neighborhood of the Gods.” Laughing, she tugged Deedee out of the restaurant with her and into the cobbled old-world streets.
The overcast pinks and golds melted against the sky and began to touch the world in its warm glow after a long and productive day. The white marbled pillars of the Parthenon ruins were lit under a glorious light atop the Slope of Acropolis.
Everything about this scene felt magical.
The mountain above them held a stunning Greek treasure trove of ancient history in its arms as it displayed these iconic ruins, though presently Livvy could almost imagine that its haunting architecture from a different time and place was the home of all the mythological gods of Mount Olympus—with special tribute to Athena, of course—after all, the Parthenon temple was originally meant to honor her… before it had been taken over by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, and finally the Ottomans.
The Greek temple had been transformed into a Christian cathedral then a mosque before it was blown up in a freak gunpowder accident. And yet—“It’s still so beautiful,” Livvy said.
Deedee took shots of the marbled ruins on the mountain with her camera phone and shook her head. “I can never quite capture how it looks in real life.”
“Then I suppose that means you’ll have to enjoy it with your eyes,” Livvy teased her.
“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Deedee snickered. “There are enough pictures online, I guess.” She slipped her phone into her purse and then smirked as she brought her ruby ring up into the dying light. “Let’s see how Venice feels when I give this ring to someone else tonight.”
Livvy groaned. How hard was it to forget about that guy anyway? “Just throw it back in his face. If you don’t, he’ll think you’re still pining over him.”
Deedee elbowed her in good humor. “Oh, he’ll know what I did with it.”
Steadying herself, Livvy grabbed her friend’s hand and leaned against her arm. “Deedee, for just a second, think about this moment we’re having. Right now, we’re walking through one of the oldest cities in the world.”
“You’re right!” Deedee perked up and dragged out her phone again. Flipping her hair, she adjusted a glow light over the lens and smiled prettily. “Hey, everybody! Do you see where we are? Athens? This is the city of Socrates, Plato, Pericles… okay, forget it—you don’t know him probably, but this is the birthplace of democracy!”
In another life, Deedee would make a great tour guide. She threw her hands out to show her online viewers the moon… which no doubt looked like a speck through the camera. “What ancient people experienced these sights under this radiating orb to celebrate the festival of the full moon in this same way?”
Okay that was pretty good. Might as well make this fun for the both of them.
Livvy popped her head over Deedee’s shoulder. “And even better? Every entry fee to these ruins is free tonight!”
“And there will be romance,” Deedee added, “… so many handsome men that we won’t know what to do with them.” Her gaze veered to Livvy. “Although I’m sure there is one youwishI’d invited, but hey, I think you’ll be pleased with my little surprise… in the end.”
Livvy turned nervous. “What surprise?”
“Ha! I’m zipping my mouth and throwing away the key.” Deedee made all the motions of doing that before turning back to the camera phone. “Greece is the country of surprises… and excitement and intrigue.”
