She’d hoped to get some perspective while she’d been away from him, but instead the opposite had happened. Her bad experience with Nate hadn’t seemed to have taught her anything. The ache in her heart had grown more serious while she’d been away from Andreas. S
eeing him again had turned it into real pain.
His gaze played over her in that way only he could do, causing her insides to melt on the spot. “The world traveler is back home. How does it feel?”
Like I’m going to die from happiness.
“I’m glad to be back, but it’s not going to be for long.” Let him know now.
The gleam in his eyes vanished. “What’s next on your agenda?”
“Since I uncovered new information while I was in Turkey, I have to go back to Messolonghi tomorrow for a week.”
“Do you have time to eat lunch with me before you’re off again?”
“I’d love it.” She reached for her suitcase, but he took it from her.
“My car is out in the short-term parking. Let’s go.” They walked out together. After he helped her in the car and got behind the wheel, he said, “Do you want to go to your apartment first?”
“Oh, no. I don’t want to put you out. We can eat on the way in. You pick a place.”
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Anything. You can’t get a bad meal in Greece.”
He started the car and drove away. “As opposed to Turkey?”
“The food there was delicious, but you know what I mean. I’ve been here since January and have loved it all.”
“That’s nice to hear.” He drove them to a restaurant where the specialty was moussaka with a béchamel sauce he liked. They could eat outside on the patio and enjoy some house wine.
The waiter took their order. When he walked away, she smiled at Andreas. “How is Ari? Do you have any more pictures to show me?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” He pulled out his phone and they laughed over the photos for a few minutes until their meal came. They were both hungry. Then he changed the subject.
“Will you let me drive you to Messolonghi? We could leave later today and enjoy an evening together there.”
“You’re so generous to me, but this afternoon I have an appointment at the University of Patras with a professor who’s finally back from his vacation. He has some vital information for me.”
“How were you planning to get there?”
“Call for a taxi.”
His dark eyes narrowed on her face. “Do you dare?”
The question made her chuckle. “If you’re offering to drive me, I won’t say no. But I’ll be there for at least two hours.”
“Then I’ll do some errands and come back for you. If you want to go back to the apartment, I’ll drive you and then we’ll leave for Messolonghi.”
Zoe realized she couldn’t say no to him. He was determined to spend time with her, and heaven help her, she was so thrilled to be with him she could hardly stand it.
They ate dessert before he took her to the university. She waved him off before hurrying inside. Zoe didn’t think the dean of the literature department had summoned her because his information was new, but she was curious.
What really stunned her was that he’d been talking to others in the humanities department and was offering her a temporary post to teach there in their theater department for the fall semester. Byron had written a series of plays she could teach in a curriculum she’d developed.
The earlier mention of her association with Magda Collier had no doubt excited them to the point they’d made this offer. But as tempting and alluring as it was because it would keep her in Andreas’s sphere, she turned it down. No way did she dare accept.
When she’d met Nate, she’d fallen for him too fast and had rushed into a serious relationship with him with disastrous results. If she stayed in Greece and was given this position at the university, it would be throwing her into temptation’s way with Andreas. She had to keep reminding herself that she’d be leaving Greece soon and had no intention of coming back.