Page 22 of Accidental Getaway

I take a sip of my sparkling water, letting the carbonation soothe my nervous system. My body is still buzzing from the moment he called me cute.

I glance over at Niko. Could this be more than I originally thought? Does he feel something too?

“Have you enjoyed living in Greece after spending so much time in the United States?”

Niko inhales a deep breath. “That’s a loaded question.”

Well, there goes that idea. Good job, Jenni. Picking the one question for which Niko doesn’t have an immediate and charming answer. Perfect.

“Oh, sorry. You do not have to answer that,” I rush to say.

He waves me off. “Moving here hasn’t been everything I thought it would be.

” He bites the side of his cheek and turns toward me, resting an elbow on the back of the couch.

“Growing up, I was never close to my dad. I always thought it was because I lived so far away. I did everything I could to try and impress him. I got the best grades, attended Greek lessons on weekends, got business degree and then an MBA. I came back to Greece thinking that if I were here everything would finally click into place. We would understand each other.”

I can sense a “but” coming.

“I’ve been back six months now, and when I see him, we still have nothing to talk about. You would think we weren’t even related. And … I don’t know. It’s hard.” He looks more serious than I’ve ever seen him.

“I’m so sorry. That must be awful.”

“I really thought that doing all of this would mean I finally earned my place in his world, but I haven’t. Sometimes I don’t think anything I do will make a difference. He’s only impressed by himself.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. That sounds terrible. No one should ever wonder whether their parents love or accept them. Niko deserves proud parents after all his accomplishments. Just the thought makes me mad.

“Are you serious? You’re not even thirty and you run an amazing hotel. How is that not something to be proud of and celebrate?”

Niko seems to consider this. “I don’t know. He hates the changes I’ve been making. He would rather I make the hotel like all the rest on the island.”

I take a moment to choose my words. This feels like a really important moment, and I don’t want to mess it up, because Niko needs to know he is doing the right thing.

“I know my opinion might not mean much, but your hotel feels like family, like home. It’s been such a great experience. I can’t think of a single property we have worked with that has more heart. Your dad is wrong.”

Niko shakes his head and looks out the window to the open sea, taking a sip of his water.

“I’m serious, Niko! And I don’t just mean the gallery or the garden. You treat everyone you meet with respect, and that is so rare in this industry. You paid for surgery for an employee’s dog! Who does that? A good person.”

He gives me a quizzical look. “How did you know about Pebbles?”

Oops. “It doesn’t matter. All I’m trying to say is that you care so much about the people around you, which makes the Omorfiá an incredible place to be.”

I scoot closer to him on the couch and put my hand over his. He looks up at me.

“Thank you. That really means a lot.” His eyes are on mine, and in them, I can see every moment he made me laugh, every time he treated me like a person, every time he cared what I was thinking or feeling.

One blink. Two blinks. His eyes are bright and hopeful and if I’m honest with myself, I can see his heart, open and free.

It’s then that I realize, once again, how close together we are.

The urge to bolt shoots through my veins.

Because if I open my heart to him and then go back to Colorado, I may never recover. I’m just having fun. Not falling in love. I scoot back to put some distance between us.

“Are we getting close?” I ask, getting up and walking to the window.

“Yeah.” Niko clears his throat. “We should be. Let’s go up and have a look.”

We head back out to the deck and settle in on a bench to watch the water.

I allow my thoughts to get lost in the teal, blue, and aqua ribbons of color bending and rippling against the hulls of the catamaran.

This doesn’t feel real. It feels like a dream.

And not just the scenery. If someone had told me six months ago that I’d be in Greece on a private boat with a good man, I would have said they were crazy.

I thought my life was over. I thought good men didn’t really exist. I thought my shot at the career I had dreamed of was done.

Maybe things can change. Maybe what Malcolm did to me doesn’t have to ruin the rest of my life.

“You’re right. We’re here. Look.” Niko has transformed back into his confident self. No more raw edges. I almost regret pulling us away from that couch because I want to know that Niko too. But this is how it has to be. Just fun.

I look around. We’re sailing straight toward a rocky island, not much else in sight.

“Okay … and where is here exactly? Didn’t you say something about a dragon?”

Niko turns and points at the giant rock in front of us like I’m missing something obvious. I search the mound for any clues but come up empty. Niko keeps waving his hand over imaginary curves.

“It looks like a dragon, right? Sleeping in the sea. Can’t you see it? That’s the head, and over there is the tail. The island is nicknamed Dragonisi.”

He looks so excited, pleading with me to see it. Ugh, he’s cute.

“I’m sorry!” I laugh. “I really don’t see it. Maybe if I saw some pictures from a different angle?”

I shrug, and Niko puts an arm around my shoulder, pulling me toward the front of the deck.

“Never mind. The dragon isn’t important. That’s what’s important.”

I look to where he’s pointing and see a large archway in the rock where the water disappears into darkness. Where does that lead?

“We’re going in there,” Niko says, as if reading my mind. “This is one of Mykonos’s best-kept secrets: the caverns of Dragonisi. We’re going in there to swim.”

“Are you serious?” I practically squeal.

“As long as you’re up for it. ”

“Absolutely! Are you kidding me? That sounds like a once in a lifetime experience.”

He laughs. “I told you that you would love it!”

We take turns getting dressed in the cabin while the captain maneuvers our vessel into the opening of the caves. As it crawls along, I can’t help but feel like we’re being transported into some magical world of mermaids and sea dragons, where ex-boyfriends and failing careers don’t exist.

Once we reach the middle of the expansive cavern, the captain puts down an anchor and turns off the boat.

I take in my surroundings: a cathedral of rock with huge arches overhead and little caves and waterways all around.

Light pours in, creating a patchwork of shimmering blues.

In this moment, it’s easy to forget everything else going on.

All I want to do is jump into the crystal-clear water.

“See you down there?” Niko asks before stepping up to the back of the boat and swan diving into the sea, as if he couldn’t wait one second longer, either.

He surfaces and hollers for me to join him.

As I toe the edge of the platform, my joy is almost too much to take. It just might burst through me like the rays of sunshine cascading through the rock ceiling.

I inhale a deep breath and jump into the water feet first. The first sensation I feel is cold, but then freedom. The water is so clear and blue it feels like I’m swimming through the sky in a cloud of bubbles.

I emerge from the water gasping and smiling. When I catch Niko staring, I splash him.

“Oh, you want to play that game?” he taunts, splashing me back before diving under the water. When I realize he’s swimming toward me, I turn to race away, kicking as fast as I can while trying to breathe around my laughter.

Niko catches my ankle in his hand and tickles the bottom of my foot. Shrieks of laughter echo off the cavern walls .

Niko emerges from the water, smirks, and says, “What’s so funny?” He turns to the left and right before spinning around in the water, looking for whatever must be making me laugh. I know I should stop but seeing him play innocent just makes me giggle even harder.

“Come on,” Niko finally says. “Let’s explore.”

We swim around the entire cavern, following the rocks. At one spot, Niko hoists himself out of the water and stands on a rocky ledge, water dripping from his muscular frame. “Rate my splash,” he yells before doing a cannonball into the water.

“A solid seven,” I tell him, once he surfaces. “But I’ve seen been bigger.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I gasp and cover it with one hand while the other treads water. I’ve seen bigger? I lock eyes with Niko, waiting for his reaction.

“Well, it’s a good thing I am comfortable with my masculinity, or we’d have a real problem on our hands. I’m rather competitive about my splash abilities, though, so I need you to get up on that rock and jump.”

Oh, it’s on. I can’t get out of the water as easily as Niko, but I’m absolutely not going to ask for a boost. Instead, I find footholds in the rock under the water and push myself up like I’m at the rock-climbing gym.

“I could have used that grappling hook right about now,” I call over my shoulder. Once I’m standing, I turn to face the water. And with all the gusto of a circus performer, I wind my arms, leap off the rock, lock my hands around my knees, and crash into the ocean with my backside.

Niko is slow-clapping when I spring back to the surface. “Not bad, not bad. You get bonus points for style, so why don’t we call it even?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what a loser would say,” I taunt. “Another round?”

We take turns jumping from the rocks with more and more ridiculous flare and dramatics. Niko climbs higher and higher, but I stick with the lower rocks. He never once makes me feel bad about being more cautious.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Niko says after a spectacular twisting jump where he landed on his back into the water. “Do you want to head back to the boat for some food?”

I pause, as if I need to think about it, and then take off sprinting toward the boat. “I’ll race you!”

I beat Niko to the stairs on the back of the boat, but just barely. As he arrives, he grabs my waist and pulls me back toward him in the water. Instead of going for the ladder to cut in front of me onto the boat, he pulls me close.

“Got you!” he says, low and steady, making me shiver in the cool water.

I can feel his fingertips on my waist, his strong hands gentle, just above my hips. Our feet are kicking together in the water. I grab onto the ladder to steady myself, never breaking eye contact. Niko looks down and goes to lean in. A volcano of nerves erupts in my stomach.

“Is this okay?” His gaze flits from my lips to my eyes, and I can tell there’s a longing there.

How long has he wanted to kiss me? Since our talk on the boat?

Longer? When did I first want to kiss him?

I don’t know when my feelings started. Sometime between him encouraging my adventurous side and taking care of my nervous side.

His eyes race back and forth between mine, begging for an answer.

I know I shouldn’t. I can’t kiss a potential client. What are the rules? What would people say?

“I … You’re my client. We’re working together.”

He places a hand on the side of my face, his thumb on my cheekbone, and my knees go weak on the ladder.

“Not right now we’re not.”

He’s right. I don’t want to play by the rules. I promised myself that today would be about fun, not work. Ana’s words from the spa come back to me. “ Kiss whomever she wants to kiss.”

I want to kiss Niko.

I really want to kiss Niko.

I give a small nod. He asks again, “I want to make sure that nod was consent. It’s important to me.”

“Yes, please kiss me,” I confirm, my voice shaking with nerves and desire and probably ten other emotions I’m incapable of processing in this exact moment.

Niko doesn’t need any more time. He leans in and kisses me, our mouths meeting effortlessly. His lips are soft and warm, salty from the water.

He pulls me closer, and I can feel his heart racing in his chest. He turns me until my back is fully against the ladder, his right hand holding onto a rung over my shoulder.

His left hand stays firmly on my waist, holding me.

I snake my left hand under his outstretched arm and grab hold of his back, feeling the muscles tense as he keeps us above water.

I’m completely lost in this kiss. It’s gentle, but passionate.

Hot, but sweet. It’s exactly what I need.

I part my lips, needing air, feeling intoxicated by this rush of sensations.

He matches my breathing and kisses me again.

This time, he is more confident, open-mouthed.

He catches my lower lip in his mouth and tugs just the tiniest bit, causing my breath to catch as heat courses through my body.

Niko pulls me tighter and I wrap my legs around him.

He takes on my weight seamlessly, holding both of us above water as the boat gently bobs up and down.

He slows, and I lean in to chase his lips.

I don’t want to stop. Every single part of me is on fire, despite the cold water lapping around our tangled bodies.

But we can’t stay here, leaning up against the boat, forever. So I let him place one more kiss on my tingling lips before unlocking my legs and smiling up at him sheepishly .

“You are incredible,” Niko breathes out. “But I think we should probably find somewhere with a bit more solid footing.”

I look up into his sparkling, sea-foam gray eyes. “And whose fault is that? I don’t remember being the one who pulled you off the ladder and into a kiss, but I could be wrong.”

“I have zero regrets.” Niko smiles and then steals one more kiss before pushing back off the ladder and letting me climb aboard the boat.