“Sure, what’s going on Liv?”
“Markos and Alexa; they totally helped me figure this entire thing out just by falling asleep on me,” I explained with a laugh as we walked through the house toward the front door.
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “What do you need from me?”
“One plane ticket. Which is to say that you’re going to know before the rest of them do who I’ve chosen,” I replied with a sly smile. “I just need you to keep everyone occupied. I have two phone calls to make and I don’t want to do it with an audience.”
Marley nodded and took position at the front door as I stepped outside and closed it behind me.
I called Mitch first. I told him that my plan was for him and Alejandro to both go to the airport that evening and take the overnight flight. I told him that there would be a plane ticket to Greece for one of them and the other would go home; be it America home or Spain home.
When I hung up with Mitch, I called Alejandro and told him the same thing. Both agreed to it and both said they would see me in the morning.
I shook my head and stepped back in. “Alright Mars, to the computer. We need to set this up asap.”
She nodded and we went into Gabé’s den. She sat down and powered on the desktop. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my cigarettes, lighting one and giving one to her before lighting one for myself.
Marley did the majority of it herself. She put in all of the flight information and moved on to the customer information page.
“And the winner is ...,” she asked her voice trailing off.
I grinned at her and told her who I had chosen. Marley laughed and shook her head as she put the information into the system.
“Before I hit confirm on all of this, are you absolutely sure?” she asked with a smile.
“Positive,” I replied.
Thirteen
We all went to sleep early that night. I felt like a kid on Christmas eve waiting for Santa to show up personally. The only thing that I was doing different is that one person would get their heart broken tonight while the other would (hopefully) be happy with me forever.
The next morning I stretched in bed and yawned. I was greeted by two pairs of light green eyes staring at me with big smiles attached and I laughed.
It was Marley’s babies and they seemed to have taken a shine to me already.
“Hi Thea!” they both said cheerfully before Marley entered the room and scooted them out.
“Sorry about that. I had a feeling this is where they were when we couldn’t find them,” she said with an apologetic laugh.
“It’s fine, but they called me Thea,” I replied sitting up.
“It’s Greek for aunt,” she replied with a smile. “Now, get up Thea Olivia. We need to head to the airport in an hour and pick up Prince Charming.”
I grinned at her and threw my covers off. I practically skipped into the bathroom where one of the girls had left my carry-on bag for me. I turned on the water and I got in singing to myself the entire time.
When I was done and my hair was dried, I put on my favorite pair of black denim shorts, a white band t-shirt, and my best pair Converse black and white soled sneakers.
I went into the kitchen where everyone was eating, including his parents who immediately apologized to me for playing along with Gabrien and Marley’s scheme for getting me to Greece, before they left.
I ate my food quickly and helped Marley with the dishes before we all went outside and jumped into Gabrien’s SUV. I sat behind him so that I could look across and chat with Mars who was the only other person that knew what was about to happen.
Twenty five minutes later we arrived at Athens International Airport and I jumped out as soon as Gabrien parked the truck. I linked arms with Marley and Sofia who had linked arms with Cassidy as we walked in.
I went over to the information board and found the flight I was waiting for. It said it arrived at the gate in five minutes.
“Where’s that at?” I asked Gabé.
“This way,” he said nodding and leading us down to the other end of the airport. We went down to the baggage claim area and I stood there impatiently waiting for any sign that the plane had landed.