Page 106 of The Summer Show

The result was the same, though, and Nick and I each walked away with life-altering money. And Irini One got her new roof.

Was she happy? Never.

Marti flipped when I walked into her office on the first day of school with a bag of Greek souvenirs and a check to cover the costs of any additional classroom supplies for the new school year. She burst into tears when I told her every student in the school would be getting a new book each month, and that I was going to purchase a slew of new books for the library. She laughed when she unwrapped a crouching wooden man with a penis that curved out and up and almost touched his chin.

It was a miracle he didn’t tip over. I guess he compensated with killer thigh muscles.

* * *

With his share of the winnings, Nick went into the safety side of construction, teaching roofers how to make it down off the roof in one piece at the end of every work day. As a former roofer himself, he knew where guys cut corners.

Bryan was his first hire.

“You finally reached your true potential!” Lina said when he told her how well his new company was doing. “Who is my big Greek boy? You are.”

“She always says this,” Nick said to me, grimacing.

She pinched his cheeks. “Because it will always be true.”

* * *

A lot of healing occurred over the next few months.

Surprise, surprise, our romance wasn’t a magical Band-Aid. But having the support that comes with good, steady love helped us both.

I went No Contact with my mother. Blocked her everywhere. Ignored her when she came to my door, demanding her share of GTH’s prize money.

Nick opened the door.

Mom took one look at him, went, “Oops,” and bolted.

Nick’s RAF—Resting Asshole Face—is strong when he wants it to be.

* * *

You might wonder if I got to see more of Greece than one small island.

We didn’t. Not that summer. We were expected to lie low until the finale aired. The last thing the producers wanted was photographic proof of Nick and me gallivanting across Greece, holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other.

But I went back to Nera and the rest of Greece the following summer for the Top 20 of tourist sites. Nick came with me and played tour guide.

Despite our brief stint as Greece’s sweethearts, we moved around Greece mostly unnoticed. Public memory fades quickly, especially when there’s always new shiny people dangled in front of watchers’ noses. Since viewers got to watch me scale the ladder to save Nick, two seasons of crazy antics had distracted audiences.

But we did sign some autographs. In Sharpie.

Thank you, Effie Makri, pen benefactor.

Before our summer tour of Greece ended, Nick took me back to Nera’s amphitheater. Walking over the stones, it was impossible to believe they weren’t scarred from their time as the set of Greece’s Top Hoplite. Ancient Greek architecture endured. But I did wonder if we had imprinted them somehow, infusing the limestone with another layer of history.

More history was made there that evening. Several degrees more personal, this time.

There wasn’t a camera in sight as Nick Merrick got down on one knee and looked up at me with a sweet, soppy, and completely lovestruck expression. The retreating sun framed him in golds and peaches.

“I’m not some knight in shining armor. My armor is battered and dented, at best, but my heart is true. I am your fool, Kathleen Hart. Do with me as you will.”

My heart was bubbling over, but I had questions. “Is this a proposal or am I supposed to kick you in the chin? I don’t think these espadrilles are really made for kicking.”

He laughed. “I was working my way up to the part where I ask you to marry me. Marry me, Kathleen? You’ll be the beauty and I’ll be your beast.”

“Will you build me a library?”

“You can fill our whole home with books, but you have to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

His gaze was so earnest. “When you’re reading to me, don’t skip the smutty parts.”

I tipped back my head and laughed at the emerging moon and all its stars. “I’ll marry you, Nick Merrick, and I swear I’ll always read the smutty parts out loud.”