The bride turned around and saw who had caught it. She beamed and gave her a knowing nod.
Joanna was suddenly lifted up by Markos and spun around. “Well done!” he exclaimed. “Now, go tell Nick the good news.”Nick was talking to the priest inside the church and the two were in serious discussion. Shoulders bumping, Nick talked and held the priest’s hand as he escorted the old, arthritic man outside. The priest listened to everything he had to say, then patted him on the back and brought him in close to whisper in his ear. Nick nodded his head as if in agreement.
When they’d finished, Joanna stood still and shyly lifted the flowers for him to see.
He slapped his knee and laughed. “You see? You cannot leave Skiathos. Now that you are destined to be married here.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Oh Miss Joanna!” Chris exclaimed when they returned to Villa Azure amidst the rest of the wedding guests. “Skiathos has captured you! It wants you to stay. Here, I will put the flowers in water and leave them in your room.”
Joanna handed them to her, blushing. She’d never caught a bouquet before and was still embarrassed by all the attention.
“Come,” Nick said to her. “The party is outside.”
Two women walking beside them spoke softly to one another in Greek. Though Joanna didn’t know what they said, she sensed an element of nostalgia in their voices, but with a tinge of sadness.
Then suddenly the woman on her right shook her head and hissed and they walked away— sighing at each beautiful thing they saw.
Joanna whispered to Nick. “What did they just say? What were they talking about?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
She nodded that she did.
“They said this place is still so beautiful and that they can’t recall the amount of good times they had at the hotel. But now they are sad because it is to be sold. They think it is a sin that the daughter of George Herod would want to sell.”
“Oh…” Joanna gasped. She felt like she had been slapped in the face.
“Everyone has an opinion,” Nick said. “Of course, I wouldn’t have you sell either, but it is your decision.”
“I know but I didn’t want to upset anyone …”
“Cheer up. They didn’t even know it was you.”
“That doesn’t make it any better,” Joanna said, biting her lip.
The bride and groom were still taking photos when they left the church, but most of the wedding guests were already pouring in.
Wine bottles and glasses were everywhere and everyone was already helping themselves. The sounds of a jazz band softly filled the air, and a few couples were dancing in the back, close to the hill’s drop-off.
The pool, a mere cement hole with water in it the day before, was now adorned with blue, purple, and pink floating glass torches.
Round tables with pink tablecloths stretched almost the entire length of the hotel’s property, giving everyone unbridled views of the evening Aegean sea. Upon each table was ten candle candelabra awaiting to be lit when the sun set.
“Would you like some wine?” Nick asked.
“That’d be lovely.”
He walked away and several small girls came up to Joanna and spoke to her in Greek. They were about five or six years old.
She leaned over and said, “I’m so sorry, I can’t understand you. I don’t speak Greek. Are you maybe upset with me for catching the bouquet? I’m really sorry.”
They looked at her confused and said something to one another. They saw Nick coming and spoke to him in Greek.
He shook his head and then pointed his thumb to the side, telling them to scram. They gave Joanna a dirty look and skipped away.
“I’m an enemy here, aren’t I?” she said as he handed her a glass.
