With Love, Greece.

Chapter 3

"Kaliméra!"

"Yassou!"

"Yassas!"

"Kaliméra, Good Morning. Would you like a drink?"

"Demetrios will bring us some breakfast, won't you?" Maria speaks. Settling slowly into one of the chairs.

I glance to where Demetri is stood behind his, very large, Greek family and watch as he shakes his head, that smirk I've become familiar with in the past twenty minutes plastered on his face as he takes in my, what must be, shocked and overwhelmed expression.

"That would be lovely, thank you," I nod as I place my bag between my feet. Demetri walks towards the back of the outdoor seating area and into the building.

"So, tell us why you're here, and for so long I heard," one of the middle-aged women speaks.

"Let us eat first, Mela please," Maria scolds again.

I send my warm smiles to the eager looking family around me and hope they don't want too much detail about why I'm here.

After a few moments, the family seems to be distracted by dealing with other holidaymakers getting refreshments or light bites to eat and I take this moment to finally relax and let the tension out of my shoulders.

When I spot Demetri walking back out with another lady in tow, both holding boards with an array of what looks like a continental breakfast, my stomach rumbles. After everything that had gone on this morning, I had forgotten that I had only eaten a yogurt and oats pot while in the airport this morning.

As soon as the food touches the table, every Greek in the vicinity pulls up a chair and sits. The array of little children digs into the cakes and pastries on the boards, and I laugh as they stuff them into the mouths quicker than I could blink.

A deep, slightly aggressive sound comes from behind me, and the children freeze just as I jump. Demetri is stood behind me, his eyes glued to the hooligans with hamster cheeks. Whatever he says in Greek is obviously some kind of telling off as every single one of them slouches and slows down with their eating.

I do my absolute best to ignore the flutters inside of me as Demetri takes the seat next to me and starts filling my plate along with his. "You jump easy, you know that," he states, not looking directly at me as he speaks, as though he's speaking out loud and only to himself.

"I...I guess I do," I reply, picking up my fork and digging into the fresh watermelon on my plate.

"Mmm," I moan, my eyes widening as I chew the piece of fruit. "Wow! This is so good." When I look towards Demetri, his eyes are hard, his lips in a firm line and his gaze on my mouth. As if the world wants to embarrass me more today, I feel a dribble of watermelon juice drip down my lip and slowly descend to my chin.

I flick my tongue out and grab it before it can drip onto my dress and make any more of a state on me. Demetris eyes flick from the movement to my eyes, and I feel the tingles return. Perhaps they never actually left.

A cough, as though someone has cleared their throat, draws my attention to the side and I turn to see everyone staring at me, and Demetri with smirks and curious eyes. Even the hooligans.

"I...I'm sorry, did someone say something?" I ask, using the back of my hand to wipe my chin, feeling the heat creep up my neck with Demetris gaze still burning into me.

"Erm, yes, I did," Mela speaks, her gaze flicking between me and Demetri. "I said, what brings you to the island?"

I shift in my seat as I try and get comfortable and keep my focus on Mela, trying my best to ignore the man next to me.

"Well, actually I'm here to work. I'm a wedding planner, I'm venturing into destination weddings and decided to start here," I smile.

"Wow," Mela smiles. "Have you got any weddings already planned?"

"Well, not fully. But I am actually meeting with my first client tomorrow. They're flying to the island to see the church and go through their plans with me. Then they're heading on some pre-honeymoon and wedding activities around the island, I think. I'm hoping I'll be able to build up enough content from this wedding that I'll be able to start focusing more on destination weddings."

"You're a wedding planner?" Maria speaks, eyeing me from the side.

"Erm, yes. I have been since I left college. I worked with a few wedding planning consultancy companies and then finally went self-employed last year. I had such a busy and successful year; I decided to jump ahead again and get myself further in the industry. Destination weddings are the in thing," I nod.

"The in thing?" Maria frowns.

"Yes, they're very popular nowadays," I reply.

"Do you know who your first client is?" Mela asks.

Shaking my head I reply, "no, I've communicated with the bride, but just over email to plan where were meeting, the budget and so on."

"Where are you meeting?" Demetri asks, drawing my attention back to him.

"I said in the main town, I told them I'd be waiting by the church at eleven am tomorrow morning."

"Wow, sounds incredible," Mela replies. "You can use us as a base point for your meetings if you want. Perfect location."

I smile back, "thank you, that's a wonderful idea."

After spending the rest of my day with Demetris family, I took the bus back towards my villa and spent the evening doing exactly what I had planned before I got mowed down. I watched Mamma Mia on repeat and looked into helping the donkeys of Greece. Turns out, Skiathos doesn't have a donkey charity but does have a dog shelter, where you can go and take one of the dogs for a walk. Of course, that set my very animal tender heart off and I spent the rest of the evening crying looking at dog shelters of Greece.

Once I'd exhausted all my energy and the long day of travelling had finally caught up with me, I jumped into the creaky, wooden bed and fell asleep. And not once did I remember about my house guest.