Shit. Does Alex have X-ray vision? Can he see the lock of hair I just swiped from his garden? Because how awkward would that be? Not to mention ironic. First his father, and now me, collecting hair samples.
“What is it?”
“The light,” he said. “Like stars on your face.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but as he walked up to me, he was touched by the silver flashes from the CDs hanging in the garden. We stood under the grapevines, surrounded by glints of sunlit magic.
“You’re so beautiful.” His fingers were warm against my face. They smelled of butter and sage. “The world dims around the edges when I look at you, Heart-Eyes.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and rested my cheek on his palm. “I need the recipe.”
“For?”
“For what you made this afternoon.” I wanted to recreate the moment—the light playing on his skin, the look in his eyes, the way he made me feel like golden honey. “On a cold, gray day when I’m back in Chicago, it’ll remind me of today.”
“No.” His kiss was soft and playful.
“No?” I pulled back. “What do you mean, no?”
“I’m not giving you anything, Heart-Eyes. You crave it, you get your sweet ass to me.”
“It’s like that, huh?” I swiped his hand away from my butt.
“Don’t be like that.” His grin was pure mischief. “Not when the whole village is watching.”
“What?” I swung around and caught a pair of eyes staring over the garden wall. It was the farmer I’d passed by earlier. “The whole village? It’s just a dusty old man.”
“Don’t be fooled,” Alex replied. “He’s part of theYiayia-Pappoumafia. Behind every door is an elder, watching all the goings-on in the village—the whos, wheres, and whats. My dignity will be shredded unless you kiss me. Passionately. Like you can’t help yourself.”
“The Yiayia-Pappou mafia? Like a Grandmother-Grandfather gossip circle?” I waved at the man.
He held something up and called me over.
“For me?” I ignored the tugging on my top as Alex tried to pull me back, still angling for a kiss.
“For you,” confirmed the farmer, handing me a bracelet with a little blue bead on it. A black dot was painted on it, resembling an eye. “To protect you from themati. The evil eye. Thank you for pulling out the weeds.”
“The weeds?”
“Yes. In my field.” He pointed to where I’d picked flowers for Alex.
“You mean the white ones? They’re weeds?”
“Yes. They give everyone a runny nose. My wife says thank you too. She sent you a gift from our bees.” He handed me a jar filled with honey and set back off for his home.
I turned around to face Alex. “Weeds? I brought a bouquet of weeds home for you and your father?” The look that had passed between them made sense now. Alex sneezing. Vasilis wiping his nose throughout lunch. Hell, I’d almost choked on a sneeze myself. Instead of enlightening me, they’d honored my blunder and placed the weeds in Frida’s vase.
“You suck.” I wrapped my arms around Alex’s neck. “You really, really suck.”
In the split second before Alex scooped me up, I felt like I’d float away on a cloud of happiness—breathless with the light, bright quickening in my heart.
“Stay with me, Heart-Eyes,” Alex murmured against my lips.
“What?” I blinked.
“When the cruise is over… Stay with me. Extend your trip. Come back to Folegandros with me. If the Kiriakis family hires me, I’ll have two weeks before I set sail again. I’d love nothing more than to spend them with you.”
“You’re crazy.”
