This confused him a little. “Something fresh?” he repeated, cocking his head to the side.
“You know, a nice salad or something with vegetables. Nothing greasy or fried.”
“I see,” Nick said and laughed. “I think you mean Greek food.”
She smiled. “Then lead the way.”
“Areyou going to take me the long way again?” she asked, when seated in Nick’s old Volkswagen.
“Do you want me to?”
“No, I just want to eat,” Joanna sighed. “You’ve been promising me food all afternoon.”
He grinned. “We’re going to a restaurant that only Skiathan natives know of. No tourist, to my knowledge has ever gone there.”
“They won’t throw me out then, will they?”
“No, because you are part Skiathan too. One who can’t speak any Greek perhaps, but youareSkiathan.”
Nick looked at her and saw her face. “Miss Joanna, no, I’m teasing. If you knew me you’d know I only tease people I like.”
Joanna thought they were going to drive straight along the coast and into town, but soon he turned left where the road suddenly became a dirt path and curved and wound its way up one of the many mountains on the island.
“What are you doing?” she urged, becoming a little irritated now. “Don’t drive me all over this island because you’ve got nothing better to do. Feed me!”
Nick grinned. “We should have brought a donkey, but I think we’re going to make it. How strong are your American legs? You might have to push. My car is old.”
Joanna bit her lip and stifled a laugh. She hadn’t bantered with a guy like this in a long time. Peter was serious and so literal. He didn’t really know how to banter.
Nick stopped at the peak of the hill in front of a modern, glass walled building. There were no signs that it was a public place other than the fact that there were parking spaces.
“This is a restaurant?” Joanna asked dubiously.
“It is. Not the typical tourist taverna you were expecting no?” he joked.
Inside, Nick spoke Greek to the waitress who smiled warmly at Joanna and then took them outside to a terrace.
“Look,” Nick said, pointing. “Both coasts of Skiathos. That’s the southern end, and behind me is the northern coast. Great view, still not as good as the one Villa Azure provides. But I like it here. I feel like I’m at the top of the world.”
It was a stunning view but gray clouds had begun to form, and it was looking like it was going to rain any minute. The sky rumbled and the wind picked up.
“If it rains, we’ll go inside,” he told her. “I just wanted you to show you the view.”
Joanna tried to decode the menu but couldn’t read a word.
“Just tell me what you want, and I’ll tell her,” Nick offered.
“But I don’t know what I want. I can’t read it. I don’t know what they have.”
“They have a little bit of everything.”
“Anything you’d recommend?” she asked. “What’s the best thing they have here?”
“I don’t know. Just let me know what you prefer. They have lots of good stuff.”
Nick was quickly becoming the antithesis of Peter, who would have jumped at the opportunity to tell Joanna what she wanted, whereas Nick made no move to assume such a thing.
He took out a cigarette and lit up.
