Gina would make a perfect businessman’s wife. She was polished, aware of the demands of work and brought a wealth of contacts with the wine industry in Italy.
Yet still he hesitated. If left to him, he probably would not marry. Families were overrated. He knew from his own experiences and shattered expectations that it was an institution best handled carefully. Currently he set his own goals and had no one to blame except himself if things didn’t go as he wanted. A wife would be an additional responsibility. Still, he did want children, some boy or girl to leave the resort to. To teach the ways his forefathers had lived for generations. Would Gina be that wife?
He didn’t have to decide on this cruise, but he wasn’t getting any younger.
He quickly scanned his messages, replying to two that were urgent. Shutting off his laptop, he rose, ready to face his guests and offer some of the hospitality of the small island they were heading for.
The ruins were spectacular. He’d taken other guests on a tour of them in the past and everyone had raved about the antiquity of the stones and the view of the sea that seemed endless.
He hoped the Fregulias and Onetas would like it, as well.
Four hours later Nikos knew this particular outing hadn’t met with the same success as the visit to the market had the day before. The three couples had walked around the cobblestone streets of the old town, stopping in several shops but purchasing nothing. The morning was winding down. There was time for a quick visit to the ruins before a late lunch, but his guests seemed disinclined to continue.
Senor Fregulia wanted to visit a taverna. His wife wanted out of the sun. Nikos knew what Gina wanted but the more she seemed interested in him, the less he felt interested in her. Was it just the normal reluctance of a man to commit to one woman?
“It is so hot,” she complained for the tenth time.
“Perhaps we should return to the boat and continue the sail,” he suggested.
“No, I wish to visit the taverna. A drink of fine wine while sitting in the shade and watching people would suit me better than the boat. I seem to be prone to a touch of seasickness,” Senor Fregulia said, heading in the direction of an outdoor café.
“I wish to see into some more of the shops,” Senora Fregulia said, looking at her friend. An instant later Senora Oneta agreed.
Gina was pouting. Nikos wanted to shake the lot of them, but his duties as host prevented that. How had the outing turned out to be so annoying?
“Gina?” A young man dashed over and began talking with her in rapid Italian. His speech was too fast for Nikos to follow with the limited Italian he spoke, but the gist seemed to be they had been friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.
“Excuse my manners,” Gina said at one point, linking arms with the young man. “Pietro, this is our host, Nikos Konstantinos. Nikos, my friend Pietro from Rome.”
Once introductions had been completed, Gina flirted with Pietro, keeping a careful eye on her father and on Nikos.
“Come, we will all enjoy some wine and watch the boats in the harbor,” she suggested, drawing Pietro toward the taverna. “Nikos can tell us all about this quaint little island and the people who live here.”
It was obvious to him what she was doing and he had no intention of playing her game of pitting one man against another. If she thought that would spark his interest, she would be very surprised to know his thoughts, which of course he would never voice.
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