Page 110 of Holding Out for a Gyro
Hike up Mount Olympus
Kiss soul mate at the top of Mount Olympus
Hike up the Samaria Gorge in Crete
Tour the ancient city of Troy
Ride in a hot air balloon
Get married
Chelsea
Nine months later
I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the warmth of the September sun. The breeze off the Saronic Gulf gently lifted my hair like nature’s air conditioning. The smell of salt mixed with the sea could’ve come from an expensive spa. But this was an average day in Greece. I never wanted to leave this exact spot.
“I can’t believe you live here.”
I opened one eye, the back of my hand across my forehead to block out the light. “I don’t live here.”
Clear turquoise water stretched as far as I could see. Elizabeth lay on a beach chair beside me, an umbrella shading her while she read. I didn’t care about the landscape. She was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in weeks.
“I meant here. In Greece.”
“It is pretty spectacular. I only wish you could visit more often.” We talked nearly every day, but having her here in my world for a little while had been a slice of heaven. She’d been right, though: our friendship had stood the test of distance. We’d fallen right back into our old ways the minute she stepped off the plane.
“How’s the commute from Athens?”
I rolled more onto my side to face her. “Bas doesn’t mind. It only takes him about twenty minutes to drive in. Faster when he’s reckless.”
“Don’t you miss him when he’s here working?”
“We talked about moving here at first, but then I got my job.” Kostas had hooked me up with a company that specializedin commercial graphic design, and I’d been building my own career, separate from Bas. I had my own life, even my own work friends. I’d learned a bit of Greek, too, though anyone who spoke any English would immediately put us both out of our miseries and switch languages when they heard my sad, broken phrases. “And besides, we love exploring the city.”
