Imagine being on a ferry from Athens to your favorite island and spying the most attractive men you’ve ever seen…you can’t concentrate, can’t take your eyes off their backs, and you definitely can’t deny the attraction. You keep staring. They turn, and the glint of recognition is unmistakable. Your one and only true love is standing mere feet away from you, AND he’s thrilled to see you.
What would you do?
ONE WEEK IN GREECE by Demi Alex
(Read on for an excerpt)
Bethany wanted to make Greece her home base and she planned to make the most of every minute spent on Mykonos. Even without seeing it, she knew she’d love it. She loved everything she’d seen of Greece: the landscape, the people, even the food. The idea of spending lots of time at the new Luxury Homes Away From Home property put a smile on her face.
She lowered the lid on the computer and sneaked a glance back at the men.
Her breath caught in her throat and her skin flushed.
Justin, her J, stared clear into her soul. Adrenaline shot through her, and every one of her cells launched a revolution. She considered how quickly she could escape. But her body wouldn’t cooperate. Her legs wouldn’t move.
Recognition flashed in his eyes and his mouth turned up in a smile. He stood, nudged the lighter-haired man’s arm, and motioned for him to follow. Those well-worn jeans came her way, and Bethany melted into her pleather seat.
She hadn’t seen Justin in years. She wasn’t sure she could handle seeing him…
“Bethy,” he said, reaching her and pulling her up onto legs that had turned to jelly. She fell forward, and he steadied her against his chest as he tucked her into a full embrace and lowered his face to the curve of her neck. His breath tickled and his lips heated, causing bumps to rise on her skin. “I’m happy to see you.”“Me, too, J,” she rasped, failing miserably at finding her balance while breathing in his familiar scent. That was the sexy smell that had distracted her in the first place.
“J? Bethy?” The other man’s surprised voice penetrated the haze and she somehow found the strength to stand. “Your Bethy?”
“My Bethy,” Justin said, only a slight question in his gaze, maybe searching for her acceptance of his touch, before he smoothed a finger down her cheek and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Bethany, this is my boyfriend, Paul.”
She had no time to process Justin’s words as Paul wrapped his arms around them, both her and Justin, and pressed his lips to the side of her temple. “Such a pleasure to finally meet the elusive and beautiful Bethany.”
Stunned, she didn’t know what to do or how to react. She went with a simple smile. “Hello, Paul.”
Paul, her once-lover’s boyfriend, held her in his embrace like a cherished friend. Snug against his muscular body, she realized it had been his scent that had added an edge of sophisticated roughness to her dreamy olfactory experience. She looked up at Justin, who kept on grinning like he’d just won the lottery, then over to Paul, who tightened his hold and squeezed her closer. What was she supposed to do?
“You should sit,” Justin said. “You look a little shell-shocked.”
A little! Was the man crazy? She dropped onto her seat and stared up at the man who had once shattered her world with a breakup phrase. I can’t stay here.
Not only had Justin moved on, but he’d moved on with a man. And yes, they’d discussed love for the sake of love, love not limited to heterosexual or homosexual love, just love. And yes, the fact that Justin had a boyfriend was not news to Bethany. But meeting the gorgeous man was.
Paul squatted beside her, placing his large palm n the side of her thigh. “From all Justin says about you, I feel like we’ve known each other for years. I know so much about you, but I can honestly say I’m totally stunned at how little justice his sweet words did for you. You’re even more beautiful than I’ve imagined.”
Well she didn’t know anything about him—other than the fact that his touch didat all. The man had walked away and broken her heart things to her a stranger shouldn’t. That was a lie. She also knew he was more beautiful than she’d imagined a man could be. If you could call a ha
Bethany forced another smile. She gazed at Justin and recalled her last conversation with him.
“I’m not signing away our life,” he’d said. “I can do it on my own. Be my own—
“I don’t want to hear anymore. I can’t hear anymore.”
“Give me a chance to explain,” he’d urged. “Staying isn’t the—
“No. It hurts too much,” she’d said, then begged him to stop speaking. “Just go. This isn’t working anyway. We’re done.”
Over the months that followed the heartbreak, she’d erased all the messages he’d left on her phone without listening to them. She’d deleted each unopened email. She’d even transferred schools and had given the house staff specific instructions not to share her forwarding information with him. It simply hurt too much.
Shoot, she wasn’t fooling herself trying to be all civilized and calm. Her world had been royally fucked and turned inside out. She’d been ready to make a life with Justin and had believed he’d been ready to make a life with her. They’d gone out of state for school together, but he’d left only a couple of weeks into the semester. She’d transferred to a new school in January.
“How long has it been, Bethy?”
She knew exactly how long. To the month. To the day. To the hour. She checked her phone, then realized she was in a different time zone. Nope. She wasn’t going there with him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Paul said, coming to her rescue. “We’re just happy to reconnect. Amazing good fortune to run into you today. It’s happenstance.”
Happenstance her ass. It was a curse.
“I kept trying to reach you,” Justin said. “You vanished. You were impossible to find. No one, not even Sheridan, would tell me where you were.”
Of course her sister wouldn’t tell him. While holding her hand and telling her to release her anger by slashing his bicycle tires, her sister had held Bethany’s head in her lap and had played with her hair so she could actually get some sleep.
“The only thing that helped was that your father said to leave you alone,” Justin continued… “I’ve kept my same phone number, just in case you ever wanted to contact me. You never did.”
Nothing he said was news to her. He’d never blocked her on any social network, so lurking had always been an option and the way she’d learned of Paul’s existence. Taking a deep breath, she kept her smile big as shit and concentrated on not letting a single tear slip. Those professional poker players had nothing on her.
“No worries,” Paul said. “You’re together now.”
Traveling to one of the sexiest places on earth, a past lover at her side, and his current lover at his side, did not mean “no worries.” It showcased the life of solitude that haunted her existence. No matter how Bethany had tried to drown her hurt in meaningless physical relationships, she hadn’t managed to put Justin out of her heart.
“So where are you going?” Paul asked.
That’s right. A tiny bit of hope crept through her as she realized the ship made more than one port and had a full route. She might not be subject to hormone-overload for the rest of the week. And it was hormonal…that was her story.
If she were to be subjected to so much tempting testosterone when it was off limits, it would be pure torture, and her body and mind would be in constant turmoil. She couldn’t handle the turmoil already brewing inside her.
Body: Go for it.
Mind: Are you crazy? Stay away!
Body: Go for it. Orgasms guaranteed.
Mind: Heartbreak guaranteed.
Body: Fantasy come true.
Mind: Shut the fuck up, body. We don’t like him anymore.
Bethany had to stop feeling and start thinking. What was it? The itinerary hit three different islands before returning to Piraeus. Maybe, just maybe, the boat would reach Mykonos, she’d disembark, and the men would continue on.
“Work,” she blurted. “I’m working on Mykonos for the next week.”
“We’re here for a week.” Justin slid into the booth beside her and draped his arm across the back of the seat. “Sort of for work, too.”`
“Sort of?” Bethany asked.
“No. It’s work.” Justin shrugged, and dark waves of hair fell across his forehead.
She had to stop herself from reaching up and sweeping them off his brow. She loved the feel of his hair on her fingers.
“We’d rather it was play, but it doesn’t matter. We have a chance to spend some time with you. A real chance to put the past behind us and move ahead.” He met Paul’s gaze. “And you finally get to meet Bethany and see how amazing she is in person.”
The pit in her stomach swelled, and her insides twisted with dread. Why did fate mess with her in such an evil way and subject her to two handsome men, Justin and his boyfriend, when all it would do is remind her of her current solo status?
Despite her confident and suave reputation, she had limited experience in honest relationships. Sure she’d had her share of lovers, but she wouldn’t classify any of them as relationship material. She’d always managed to leave before the sun came up or they’d wanted to chat. Then their calls would be diverted to voice mail and they’d eventually stop calling. Guess the effort wasn’t worth it.
Maybe she wasn’t worth it? Maybe it was her doing that Justin had gone gay?
Ludicrous. Nobody made anyone any way. They were or they weren’t. And if she was honest, like she had been when they’d been together, Justin never defined love by gender. He loved who he loved.
More likely, her real issue was that she was doomed to be lonely and alone.
“What’s wrong?” Paul sat across from her and placed his arms on the table. For a split second she thought he’d reach for her hands, so she tucked them under her thighs. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head, hiding her emotions. “It’s a work thing. Conference call.” She inched across the seat and out of the booth. “I need to go.”
“Where are you staying?” Justin asked.
Straightening, she shrugged, collected her files into a neat pile, and placed the computer in its case. “Not sure. The info is in my cabin,” she lied.
“A phone number?” Justin persisted, but she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t give him her new number, and definitely couldn’t place her heart and soul on the line to have them blown to smithereens again. But his gaze wouldn’t waver. “Want my number?”
“I remember it.” Another shrug.
“That’s great,” Paul said, standing beside her and giving her a reassuring smile. He pulled a card from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Plus, you now have my info, too. Local and US cell numbers. Both phones are on. Call either, any time.”
He closed his hand over hers and squeezed as if he understood her predicament, and her traitorous hand didn’t pull back. She liked it. She actually wanted to step into his arms, knowing darn well he’d welcome and comfort her.
Mind: Walk away now.
Body: Just let the man do what he can do.
Mind: I said now!
“Let’s shoot for meeting up before we disembark,” Paul said, the glint in his amber-colored eyes holding her as much as his touch. “But if the signal is bad onboard, or we don’t meet up before we dock, we’ll wait for you on the pier by the Sunset Café.”
“Okay.” She turned and walked away, waving over her shoulder because she didn’t dare meet Justin’s gaze again. If she did, her resolve to stay away would crumble.
ONE WEEK IN GREECE is available on all major book retailers!
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