Page 51 of Forgotten Deeds

Of course, Iris takes that as an invitation to shove the chocolate cone in her face with a delighted squeal. “Oh, no! I’ve started a bad thing.” I laugh, pulling wipes from my bag.

“Just another Naxos tradition,” Darius declares.

“Uh-huh. Trust the local,” I say with a wry smile, wiping chocolate off Iris’ face. “You next,” I tell Darius. He playfully snaps his teeth at me, and Iris giggles. “Behave,” I tell him, wiping the ice cream from his face and part of his beard.

“Not me; him.” Darius flexes his dog tattoo and barks, causing Iris to break out in a fit of giggles.

Finishing our cones, we continue our leisurely exploration. A shop catches my eye, and we step inside. “Lots of pretty things, but please don’t touch,” I tell Iris, as there’s pottery and other breakable souvenirs as far as the eye can see.

Darius scoops her up and places her on his shoulders. “There. Just don’t touch the ceiling,” he warns Iris, who’s grinning from ear to ear.

I explore the shop, my eyes landing on a small Hades and Persephone statue set. “Handmade with an alabaster cast,” the shopkeeper calls to me.

“We’ll take them,” Darius says, now standing beside me with Iris perched on his shoulders.

I stand on my tiptoes, giving him a proper thank you.

“They kiss a lot,” Iris informs the shopkeeper, much to my embarrassment.

“Ah, Eros. To be young again.” The old man smiles, carrying the statutes over to the counter and wrapping them in bubble wrap before bagging them.

Darius says something in Greek, and the man returns something before reaching behind the counter—handing Darius a large evil eye charm.

Darius passes it to Iris, and she asks, “What is it? It looks like my eyeball!” She holds the cobalt blue glass charm up to her eye.

“Mati. A good luck charm,” Darius tells her, handing the man some Euros. Feeling pretty lucky myself, I say a silent prayer of thanks to the Fates for bringing this crazy, wonderful man into mine and Iris’ lives.

We make one more stop in a jewelry store, where Darius picks out for me a dainty evil eye charm made of diamonds and gemstones on a gold chain. He pays, and we step outside.

Taking the necklace out of the bag, I turn around for him and hold up my hair as he fastens it around my neck. “I love it. Thank you,” I swoon, giving him one more kiss. “Now that we have all this good luck, where to?”

“Let’s visit my mamá before our flight home,” he announces.

“What about your dad?” I wonder.

“He’s no longer with us.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him.

“I’m not,” he answers bluntly, and so I don’t push him on it. “It’s a pretty good clip up some steep hills, so I’ve rented us a car. With a car seat,” he assures me.

We walk to the car rental company, and soon we’re off—making our way out of town on a narrow, winding road. I grip the armrest for dear life, trying to ignore the terrifying drop-off on my side.

“Relax, Lily,” Darius tells me. “I know these roads like the back of my hand.”

“Why did you leave here? It’s beautiful,” I comment, trying to distract myself.

“I received an offer to move to Jersey I couldn’t pass up.”

An offer with the mob. I don’t ask any more questions.

We reach Taverna Angelos, and Darius pulls into the gravel parking lot. “This is your family’s place?”

“Yes.”

He opens the door for me, and gets Lily out of the car seat. Taking our hands, he leads us to the restaurant’s outdoor patio. A group of local men speaking in Greek falls silent; one look at Darius has them hopping up and scurrying away.

“They must not like dogs,” Darius comments.

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