Harley's Achilles (The Rock Series Book 3) (9 page)

Harley

I watched in fascination as the large machine in front of me rolled out filo dough so thin I thought it would break. Another machine was working on chopping walnuts. And all the while, people were all over the kitchen making the meals for lunch that day. Calli was covered in flour, as was I, from making the dough. I was impressed. Everything was handmade in the kitchen, which was why the restaurant boasted of authentic Greek cuisine.

A few of the women in the kitchen had been eyeing me from the moment I walked in, but Achilles’ mother had said something to them in Greek and they hadn’t looked at me since. I heard Achilles’ name mentioned quite a bit by the girls in the kitchen. Seemed he was very well liked by the staff — especially the women. One of them sidled up to me while Achilles’ mother was at the stove.

“Achilles is home?” she asked innocently enough.

“Yes,” I answered, taking in her appearance. She was definitely beautiful, with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes. “Why?”

“We were hoping he would come. He always comes to help his mama out. You are his friend?”

“Um, yeah, sure.”

“You tell him Jana ask after him?”

“Jana!” Calli barked. The girl next to me stood ramrod straight, her eyes cast downward. A slew of Greek flew past me and then Jana skittered across the room like a frightened mouse. Achilles’ mother came to stand next to me, shaking her head.

“What is it? Is she an ex or something?” I asked.

“She wishes. They all do.” Achilles’ mother basically snorted. “Jana has had her eye on my Achilles since she was a little girl.”

“He never dated her?” I glanced over my shoulder at Jana.

“No. Achilles has…different tastes.” She glanced sideways at me with a coy smile. “What about you? What are your tastes?”

“Well, if you had asked me four or five months ago, I would have said Jana.” I chuckled softly.

“And now?”

“Now? My tastes seem to have changed.”

Calli shook her head firmly. “She is
not
my Achilles’ lobster.”

I snickered and Calli glanced at me.

“You know of what I speak?”

“I’ve seen the TV show, so yes ─ I know what you’re talking about. Lobsters mate for life.”

A ding went off in the kitchen somewhere and Calli strode across the floor to a large stove.

“Ah! The batch in the oven is done. Come taste!”

I stood by the counter as the baklava was cut into diamond shapes. Calli offered me one warm from the oven, honey dripping off the sides. I bit into it and almost moaned at the taste of nuts and sticky syrup. I could eat this stuff every day.

“Good?” Calli lifted a brow.

“Sooo good!” I mumbled around a mouthful.

Calli went to the other side of the kitchen and removed a large pan from the oven. She set it down on the counter and removed another dish from a nearby cabinet. After cutting whatever was in the big pan, she transferred it to the other one. I sniffed the air, my stomach grumbling.

“We will bring a pan of moussaka home for the men. Achilles and his father love it.”

“What’s in it?” I leaned over the pan and inhaled.

“Beef, eggplant, onions, tomato sauce, and a few other things. You like it?”

“I’ve never had it,” I admitted.

“Now is your chance.” She smiled, wrapping the pan in foil.

“I want to thank you for this, Calli. I love this place, it’s so homey and it feels like family somehow.”

“Everyone who works here worked here when my parents owned it. They’ve all grown up here. They stay because we treat them as family.” Calli touched my cheek. “You are part of that family now, Harley.”

I ducked my head as a blush rose to my cheeks. I was pulled into a hug, and then Calli kissed my forehead.

“You are ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes.”

We passed Jana on the way out and she shoved something into my hand. She put a finger to her lips and walked away. I stuffed it in my pocket and kept walking. We passed through town on our way back and I was amazed to see how ancient it all looked. The island seemed to have been frozen in time. Here and there, you could tell it was evolving, but certain areas kept an authentic look.

“There are a lot of stone houses out here. It’s so beautiful.”

“We like to keep this island as close to the way it was as we can. We don’t like outsiders coming in and trying to change it. They’ve offered to come and build huge hotels and we have always declined as a whole.”

“Well, I love it.”

“Achilles likes to come visit. We lived in New York for a little while, but this is home to Achilles.”

Well, that explained the New York skyline on his bedroom wall. I wanted to know more about him; what made him happy, what he liked to do in his free time.

“What was he like growing up?” I heard myself asking.

“He was very curious. He needed to know how everything worked. I found him inside our TV one time.”

“What?!” I laughed.

“Yes, the older ones, not like the flat screens of today. He’d taken the back off and had crawled inside. He took apart our car once, as well. I thought Krios was going to beat him, but Achilles remembered how to put it back together.”

I laughed out loud. I couldn’t even imagine Achilles as a child.

“Oh my God.” I held my stomach.

“Do not tell him I told you, but he also did not like clothing. We found him naked all the time.”

I spluttered and choked. Calli slid a sly look my way and grinned.

“I just can’t even imagine him as a child. He’s so…big.”

“He is very tall like his father, and he ages well.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s twenty-seven.”

My mouth fell open. Achilles was younger than me? Oh, I was going to
kill him
for treating me like a child! Calli must have caught on because in the next moment, she was holding my hand.

“He has always been the responsible kind, Harley. Do not be angry with him for his behavior. I am sure whatever he has done, he has done for you.”

Yeah, I caught on to that last night when he told his parents I was just his job. My heart ached again just remembering it. I felt my pocket, the note for Jana was still there, and I didn’t know if I wanted to give it to Achilles or not. What if it was a love letter or something? What if Achilles hooked up while we were here? Fuck, I couldn’t keep it from him. What if he truly had feelings for this girl?

“Ah, we are home,” Calli announced as we headed up the driveway. “Maybe tonight you can take a walk on the beach? It is beautiful at night.”

“Maybe.” I nodded.

As we entered the house, Achilles walked into the foyer and helped his mother with the pan of moussaka. He sniffed it with a grin. Right then, I could see the child in Achilles. I threw him a look which said
we’ll talk later
, and his brows creased in confusion. I smiled wickedly and entered the kitchen. Achilles’ father was seated at the table and a chessboard was set up.

“Thank God. I thought I would lose to my son again.” Krios lightly laughed. “Did you enjoy your day, Harley?”

“I really did!” I enthused. “It was really cool to see how stuff is made. I don’t cook much.” Achilles snorted and I shot him a look.

“Well, shall we eat?” Calli quickly interrupted.

As we sat around the table talking and laughing over the food, I felt as if I’d been missing out my entire life on what it was like to be part of a family. It made me miss Holden even more. I’d never had this with my own parents, and I was almost jealous that Achilles had such a close relationship with his.

“Harley, are you all right?” Achilles asked in a hushed tone.

“Yes, I’m just tired, I guess. Would you all mind if I headed upstairs?”

“By all means.” Calli stood with me and pulled me into a hug. “I had a wonderful time with you today, Harley.”

“Thank you. Me too.”

I had to get out of there. I excused myself and practically ran up the stairs. Once I got to my room, I shut the door and walked out onto my balcony. It overlooked the ocean, and I stared up into the night sky with a half moon that seemed to be closer than normal. I took deep breaths, fighting back the emotion just under the surface. I missed Holden so much.

“Can you see me, Holden?” I whispered to the night sky. “I miss you.”

There was a knock on my door and I walked across the room to answer it. Achilles stood with a plate of baklava and a smile.

“Hey, I thought you might like this in your room.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you okay?” He tilted his head, searching my eyes.

“I’m just,” I sighed, walking back out onto the balcony. “I wish I had what you have.”

“You can,” Achilles said from behind me.

I turned to look at him. “How would that happen, Achilles? My parents don’t even know I’m alive. I might as well not even exist.”

“Don’t you ever say that again!” Achilles shouted at me. He seemed to be surprised at his own outburst, and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“I didn’t know you could.” I gave him a lopsided grin.

“Funny.” Achilles frowned.

I felt my pocket and removed the slip of paper, handing it to him. He looked it over and his eyes met mine with a look of confusion.

“What’s this?”

“A message from Jana, I believe.”

Achilles ran a hand through his hair and let out what sounded like an irritated sigh. He opened the note and read it. I tried to get a peek, but I didn’t read Greek.

“What’s it say?” I asked.

“She wants me to meet her tonight by the temple.”

“Oh,” I said, a bit dejected.

“Not going to happen.” Achilles ripped up the note and stuffed it in his pocket. “How about you and I take a walk instead?”

“Are you sure? She was pretty and she seems to want you.”

“Why don’t you meet her then?” Achilles snapped.

“Whoa.” I took a step back.

“Fuck! I’m sorry. I need to go.”

I stood there in stunned silence as Achilles stalked out of my room, slamming the door behind him. Well, fuck me running. What the fuck was that all about? I stood there for what seemed like an hour trying to process what had just happened. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong. Anger began to boil in my gut and I stalked across the room, flinging the door open and walking down the hall to Achilles’ room. I could hear music playing behind the door and I cracked it a bit, peeking in.

Achilles was shirtless, doing push-ups. My eyes roamed along his strong back, the way his muscles tensed when he dipped to the floor. The music sounded familiar, like I’d heard it in a movie somewhere. I stepped into the room and slammed the door shut. Achilles stopped mid push-up and looked up.

“What the fuck was that?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And what is this song?”

“It’s Moby. ‘Find my baby’. Why?”

“Answer the first question.”

Achilles stood up and wiped his forearm across his temple. “I said I was sorry, okay?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No. It’s just me, okay?” Achilles paced the room. “I’m going for a swim.”

“Are you nuts? What’s the water temperature?”

“I don’t know, sixties?” Achilles grabbed his shoes and walked past me.

“Are you trying to get sick?” I followed him out.

“I’ll be fine. I do it all the time.” Achilles grabbed a towel out of the linen closet and I almost had to run to keep up with his fast pace.

We headed down the path to the beach and Achilles ran for the water, almost tripping trying to get his sweats off. I was really hoping he was naked under them, but no such luck. He was wearing boxers. Achilles hit the water and went under. I stood on shore, holding a towel for when he came back out.

The moon’s rays lit up the water and my mouth fell open at the beauty before me. Achilles had surfaced, water dripping down his massive chest. He shook his hair out and I swallowed the lump in my throat. In all my life, I’d never seen anything as breathtaking as Achilles Castellanos. He slowly walked out of the water and my heart beat in time with his gait. Achilles stood in front of me, droplets of water running between his pectorals. I wanted to touch him, feel his heart beat under my palm.

“Achilles,” I whispered.

I placed my hand on his chest and closed my eyes. Life beat there, the thumping of Achilles’ heart filled my senses. I’d never wanted someone so much in my life. Achilles’ hand came over the top of mine and I opened my eyes to find him watching me intently. His fingers threaded with mine and my heart skipped a beat. I wanted to see in his eyes what I felt just then, an innate need to kiss him, hold him. I wanted him to want me the way I wanted him. Achilles’ hand hovered by my face and finally rested on my cheek. I leaned into it, a soft sigh escaping me as Achilles caressed my cheek with his thumb.