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“Prince Gabriel called me a few minutes ago,” Stewart explained. “He is unable to return to Sherdana at the moment, but when I explained you intended to linger until he came home, he asked if you would fly to meet with him tomorrow.”
It was what she wanted, but based on her panic attack a moment earlier, she was thinking that perhaps Gabriel intended to tell her in person that he was moving on.
“Of course.” Afterward she could fly home.
“The plane will be waiting for you at ten. I’ll send a car to pick you up.”
“Thank you.”
Olivia hung up and continued her walk, plagued by worries.
What if she didn’t reach him before he proposed to Fabrizia? What if despite the passionate kiss he’d given her the day of the twins’ birthday he wasn’t willing to risk the unconventional method needed in order for them to conceive the next generation of Alessandros?
Pushing everything out of her mind that she couldn’t control, Olivia concentrated on what she was going to say to Gabriel about the change in her circumstances. By the time Olivia returned to her room, she’d rehearsed and discarded a dozen ways to convince Gabriel they could have children. In the end, she decided the best argument was to tell him she loved him. And she was grateful she only had to wait hours instead of days before she could speak the truth of her heart.
* * *
The next morning saw her staring out the window with blurry vision as the royal family’s private plane taxied down the runway. Plagued by uncertainty, she hadn’t slept but an hour or so. Lulled by the drone of the engines, she shut her eyes and didn’t realize she’d drifted off until the change in altitude woke her. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she’d been asleep for nearly two hours.
Stretching, she glanced out the window, expecting to see Italy’s lush green landscape, but what greeted her eyes was shimmering blue water. The plane touched down smoothly and rolled toward a series of private hangers.
“Where are we?” she asked the copilot as he lowered the steps that would allow her to disembark into the foreign landscape.
“Cephalonia,” the pilot answered, carrying her overnight bag down the steps to a waiting car. He handed her bag to the driver. “Greece.”
“Thank you,” she murmured to both men as she slid into the car’s backseat. Although why she was thanking them, she had no idea. If they were kidnapping her, this was the oddest way to go about it.
“Where are we going?” she questioned the driver as he navigated along a coast
al road cut into the mountainside with a stunning view of the sea.
“Fiskardo.”
Which told her absolutely nothing. The only thing she was certain of at this moment was that she was nowhere near Italy and Gabriel. What sort of trick had Stewart played on her? Was this some sort of plot to get her out of the way while Gabriel did his duty and secured himself a new fiancée?
If that was the case, Stewart better be the villain. If Gabriel had orchestrated this stunt, she was going to be even more heartbroken. Pulling out her phone, she dialed first Gabriel, then Stewart when the former still didn’t answer. She had no luck getting through.
As soon as she arrived at her destination, she would figure out her next step. If this was Stewart’s gambit, she would find another way to get in contact with Gabriel. Perhaps the queen would help.
With nothing to do for the moment, Olivia stared out the window as the car descended from the mountains and drove down into a seaside town. She’d never visited any of the Greek Ionian Islands before and acknowledged the scenery in this area was spectacular. At least Stewart had been kind enough to find a gorgeous place to squirrel her away. As the car navigated through town, she glimpsed the whitewashed houses with their flower-draped balconies and wondered if her final destination was one of the lovely hotels overlooking the harbor. Her spirits sank as they passed each one and came to a stop a short distance from the waterfront.
They were met by a handsome swarthy Greek in his midfifties who flashed blinding white teeth in a mischievous grin. Seeing his good humor restored her own. She followed him along the cement quay, lined with chartered sailboats, believing that there had to be a happy ending to all this adventuring.
“I am Thasos,” he said as he helped her onto a luxurious thirty-four-foot cruiser.
“Where are we going, Thasos?” she questioned, accepting the glass of wine offered, glad for it and the tray of Greek food that awaited her.
“Kioni.”
Another name that rang no bells. With a sigh, Olivia munched on bread, dolmas, cheese and olives while the boat sped out of the harbor. If she’d thought the water had appeared beautiful from the coast, it was nothing compared to the sparkling blue that surrounded her now. A short distance away, another island loomed, a great green hulk adorned with olive trees and cypress. Few houses dotted the mountainsides. She would have worried about being in such a remote area, but the bustle of the town they’d just left behind told her she hadn’t been brought to the ends of the earth.
After polishing off a second glass of wine and taking the edge off her hunger, she stared at the coastline as it passed. Ninety minutes on the water brought them to another harbor, this one shaped like a horseshoe with three windmills on one side of its mouth.
“Kioni,” Thasos explained with another wide grin.
Olivia sighed, wondering who was going to meet her here. Could she expect another taxi ride? Perhaps the plan was to keep her moving until she cried uncle. While Thasos maneuvered the boat toward the cement seawall that circled the harbor, Olivia gazed at this town. Smaller and less busy than Fiskardo, it nevertheless had the same charm. A few houses clustered close to the waterfront, but most clung to the side of the mountain that rose above this scenic harbor.
Everywhere she looked vivid purple and magenta bougainvillea vines brightened the whitewashed buildings or arched over the steps that led to the homes perched on the hillside. Silence descended as Thasos killed the motor and the light breeze brought the clank of cowbells to her ears. But she doubted the steep terrain was suitable for cows. More likely the bells she heard belonged to goats.
