Page 49

Sweat mingled with salt water as she and the children finally cooled in the waves of the sea. When they tired of splashing, Rose took the children a little beyond the gentle breakers and taught them to float and tread water.
“Remember the sea is a beautiful thing, but you must always respect that she’s in charge. Tides and waves can change unexpectedly. You must always keep your eyes on the sea.”
The children shook their water-coated heads solemnly. A few drops sprayed.
“Who would like a snack? I think our food has arrived.” She jutted her chin toward their beach chairs.
The kids let out whoops of joy, and she helped them back over the breakers. Once they had their footing, the children raced across the sand to the table.
From the water, Rose smiled as she watched the siblings nosh on cheese, grapes, bread, and olives. Always olives. It was a good thing their father owned olive groves all over Greece and kept their hungry stomachs well supplied. But then, that’s probably why they liked olives so much.
She let her imagination add in the image of her lost boy. He popped a grape in his mouth and then laughed at something Adonis said. Water from his dark hair dripped onto his shoulders and back. He turned to smile at her, reminiscent of Robert’s smile with a dimple on one cheek. His nose matched hers as did his eye shape, but the color was the same as Robert’s.
She let out a sigh of longing and sorrow, then left the image behind as she emerged from the waves.
Rose wrung the water from her hair and piled her waves on top of her head in a messy bun before settling into a chair to eat her snack.
“Can we build the sand-castle?” Adonis tugged on her foot.
“Drink some water first,” Rose instructed. She didn’t need to add dehydration to Adonis’s precarious position. “You too,” she reminded Nefeli.
The kids obediently quenched their thirst before settling into the sand with toys and a plan to construct a castle complete with a Minotaur maze. History had made an impression.
She gave herself permission to lounge for a few minutes before joining them. She wasn’t on holiday after all. She was the nanny. She should’ve requested days off, but that wasn’t part of her contract since it was only for a month before Marie took over or found a suitable replacement.
She stared across the waves, keeping an ear on the chatter of the children. The problem for Rose was that the more time she spent with the children and Stavros, the less inclined she was to leave and return to her solitary life. Yes, working on films was exciting, and she enjoyed the creativity and interaction, but it was also exhausting and meant her friends were spread across the world.
Marie’s time was taken up by the business she ran from Paris, and even though the sisters were in the same country, Rose saw Marie and their parents about three to four times a year due to Rose’s heavy travel schedule.
Something had to give. Something had to change.
Which inevitably brought Rose’s thoughts back to Stavros.
She got down on the sand with the children, attempting to distract her thoughts. But building walls and turrets wasn’t enough.
What if she decided to stay on as nanny instead of going back to makeup? Would she and Stavros be allowed to pursue a relationship if they worked together? Would it cost one or both of them their jobs? She frowned as she mixed dry and wet sand for a tower.
So many unknowns. She plunked the bucket upside down and tapped the top to release the tower. When she pulled the bucket away, the sand fell apart. She was building dreams out of sand without a solid foundation, much like the castle in front of her.
She started the tower over. She still didn’t have concrete proof that Stavros wanted to pursue a romantic relationship. There were the looks and the hand holding and one date. Not nearly enough to build a future on. No declarations, no kiss. Just her assumption that he wanted to kiss her.
The tower held together. Was it a sign?
She banished all thoughts of Stavros and what-ifs, and spent the remainder of her time focused on the children and the task.
When the castle was complete, she took a picture of it and the children.
“I’m starving.” Adonis rubbed his tummy.
Rose checked the time. Whoa, way past dinner, and she needed to put the children in bed. She looked around and realized the sun was on the horizon. “I’ll order dinner in while you two get cleaned up.”
“Can we watch a movie?” Nefeli asked while putting the sand toys in the mesh bag.
Adonis turned hopeful eyes on her.
Rose bit her lower lip. A movie would keep them up much too late, and they had another full schedule tomorrow. A late night would certainly result in a meltdown by Adonis.
“We’ll see,” she hedged. “Maybe instead of a movie, we could watch a show while you eat.”