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By the time they made it back to dry land they were both wrinkled and tired, but happy. Nico couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so…unburdened. Which was ridiculous. He was about to enter something which was difficult for people in a supporting, loving relationship, let alone for two strangers.
“I’m starving,” Marianna proclaimed as they wrapped towels around themselves and headed away from the boat. “And I remember you saying something about ice cream.”
“This way.” He directed them toward a set of stairs that led away from the beach, atop which was perched only the best ice cream in all of Corfu.
While they waited in line for their ice cream, Marianna chatted happily to a French couple ahead of them. The sound of Marianna’s melodic voice transformed by the lyrical language was a delight to his ears.
“So you speak French?” he asked as they found a seat.
“Oui, mon français est excellent,” she said with a cheeky smirk. “I speak English, je parle français, parlo italiano, hablo español, and ich spreche Deutsch.”
He made a snorting sound. “Show-off.”
“Why wouldn’t I show off? It’s impressive.” She grinned as he rolled his eyes. It was clear she enjoyed pushing his buttons. “I can also carry on basic conversation in Portuguese, Indonesian, Russian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. Though I find the tonal languages to be quite a challenge.”
“Greek never interested you?”
Her tongue darted out to swipe at the chocolate ice cream sitting atop a perfectly shaped cone, and he swallowed. The way she did that reminded him of how she’d kissed him in his pool and at the party. Of how sweet and honeyed she tasted, like a sticky pastry.
Do you want to try and hide a hard-on in board shorts? No. Then stop thinking about her mouth.
Marianna nodded. “It’s always been on my list. Fun fact: Melbourne has one of the largest Greek-speaking populations of any city outside Greece.”
He studied her for a moment. “How did you learn so many languages?”
“I started learning Italian and German when I was in primary school. After that, I started teaching myself and doing online courses. We couldn’t afford to travel after my mother died…” She paused, swallowing, and his heart wrenched in his chest. “My older brothers took care of us younger ones, but they didn’t earn much. We never took holidays. Never left the country. In fact, when I came to Greece for my brother’s meeting, it was the first time I’d ever left Australia. Languages were the only way I ever thought I’d get to experience the rest of the world.”
“And now here you are, living on an island in the Ionian Sea.”
“In a totally unexpected way,” she said. “I’m looking at the silver lining of this whole situation. I am doing what I’ve always wanted…in a roundabout way. I do want to work, though. I’ve given up my studies to come here and I don’t want to lose that passion.”
“There’s a language center in town. Maybe you could teach English.”
“Do you think they would be interested in me?” she asked.
“I honestly can’t see why anyone wouldn’t be interested in you.” He found himself believing every single word.
She blushed and bit into her ice cream cone. “What about you? What do you want to do with your life?”
Until recently, that answer had been crystal clear. More of the same. Growing his business and keeping busy was priority number one. But now it sounded so woefully underwhelming compared to her dreams and desires. She was excited by life’s opportunities.
“Maybe I should learn another language,” he said.
“I could teach you!” She bounced on her seat. “That would be so fun. We could spend time together, and I can teach you everything I know.”
You’re not supposed to be concerned with spending time together.
It wasn’t that. A wife fluent in so many languages, with knowledge of immigration statistics and cultures, would be a useful thing in business. Learning another language would be good for his work. Not to mention he could take her on business trips. She would charm the pants off any of the men he dealt with around the world. She was an asset, only he hadn’t realized it until now. But it had nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with him developing feelings for her.
Chapter Twelve
In the two weeks following the “honeymoon at home” activities, Marianna had explored Corfu Town further. Nico’s comments about her language skills had stirred something in her, a desire to find a way to bring her passion for language into her new life. After an encouraging meeting with the manager of the language center, she’d secured herself a “trial” session teaching English to business owners wanting to improve their service for tourists. Overjoyed at the chance to do what she had always wanted—using language to help people improve their lives—she couldn’t wait to tell Nico.
Marianna had noticed a change after her “honeymoon” weekend, both in Nico and in herself. They’d spent the Saturday night following their eventful afternoon at the beach at an open-air restaurant eating and laughing, getting to know one another. Sunday had been a lazier day, with a trip out for a late brunch and exploring the coast on the other side of the island.
