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“Yes. Snore very loud,” the old woman said with an innocent smile, much to Christian’s amusement.
“Have coffee,” Ana offered and poured from a ceramic pot. Olivia saw that curious smirk on Christian’s face as he chewed slowly and watched her. Olivia muttered her thanks and took a sip from the cup. It was strong. The taste hit her hard, and she puffed her cheeks and held her chest, coughing as soon as she gulped it. Her eyes moved around the table. The family laughed while she coughed and let the coffee settle down her throat, leaving its bitter tanginess slapping the insides of her cheeks.
“Turkish coffee, the strongest around,” Christian chimed in and she felt like pinching the smirk off his face.
“Maybe too strong for you?” the old man asked.
Trying to prove them wrong, she took the cup to her lips and pounded it. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes watered as she tried her best to hold back the cough rising through her throat. She gulped and smiled. “Not at all.”
“Don’t have more, you’ll get dizzy,” Christian whispered, lifting his hand as if he wanted to touch her arm. Olivia raised her chin, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“More please,” she said, and Ana obeyed.
The cold cuts tasted delicious. She closed her eyes while she chewed the meat, savoring the taste. She looked up. The old man was smiling at them. He’d asked a question, but it hadn’t been in English, so Olivia looked to Christian.
“They want to know how long we’ve been married,” he said.
Olivia dropped her fork and lowered her voice. “Can’t we just tell them the truth?” Christian, his face cool, nodded. “Fine, I’ll just tell them the truth.”
She smiled at the old man.
Christian continued, whispering to her, “I’ll tell them that we’re not married, and that we only met yesterday and slept together in their house. In the same room, I’ll add. And they’ll assume in the same bed—”
“Two years,” she said, exasperated. She held up two fingers at the couple. “Married two years.”
Christian grinned. “Thanks,honey.”
The couple nodded and smiled at Olivia and Christian.
After breakfast, Christian and Olivia thanked the nice couple and left the house. It was a beautiful morning; bright clouds and the warm sun hung over the stone floors and colorful plants. Olivia saw the van parked in front of the house.
She glanced at Christian. “It’s fixed?”
He nodded.
“How?”
He shrugged and smiled as if he enjoyed the look of wonder on her face. “Fixed her this morning. When you were still happily snoring away.”
Olivia checked her wristwatch with a raised brow. “It’s only eight now,” she said incredulously.
“I couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged his shoulders again and opened the door to the van, which creaked loudly. The van shook as he climbed into it.
Turning around, he added, “It was very hot in the room with my sweater and pants.”
“It was freezing out,” Olivia countered and tried to open the door from her side. The handle snapped stiffly without budging.
“I’ll get it.” Christian grabbed the handle from the inside and the door swung noisily open. She climbed in and Christian looked at her.
“I have to admit I’m not used to sleeping in a room with a beautiful woman.”
Olivia blushed and looked away, holding back a smile. When had she last heard someone use the wordbeautifulin the same sentence as her name? It made her fluttery on the inside. Then she looked at Christian and frowned.
“You’re probably teasing me again.”
“I’m not teasing you,” he argued.
“Well, I don’t believe you.”
