LITMIR.BIZ

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least, not yet. Or that she had no intention of being Athens’s last virgin over the age of 29 if she could help it? She not only had some living to do, but no part of that plan included letting a man control her life.

      What she most wanted was a green card that would allow her to go to the United States to work. The past two years at the U.S. embassy had left her with a keen interest in the country. At least there, women seemed to be free.

      If only she had someone to talk to besides the two close friends she roomed with. Eleni and Arianna, who worked at the embassy with her, were also Greek natives and, in one way at least, in the same position she was: single. She wasn’t sure even they would understand the way she felt.

      It would be difficult to expect anyone not from a traditional Greek family like hers to understand her father’s call, she mused as she stared at the telephone. Sure, she was almost thirty and, for all intents and purposes, on her own. Unfortunately, her age was not about to stop her father from demanding she marry and raise a family. As the only daughter in an old-fashioned Greek family, her father’s voice was still the law.

      She was unhappily envisioning the kind of suitor her father had in mind when a burst of laughter caught her attention.

      “We’re going up to the roof garden for lunch, Melina. Want to come with us? Melina, are you listening to me?”

      Startled out of her reverie, Melina managed to smile brightly. Arianna and Eleni waited in front of her desk for her reply. “Yes, of course,” Melina answered. “I was lost in thought.”

      “About what?”

      She gestured to the termination notice. “I just received notice my position is being joined with Anna’s. Actually,” she added wistfully, “I was thinking how wonderful it would be if I could get a green card and go to the United States. I would like to work there for a few years before I settle down.” She went on to tell them about her father’s threatening phone call.

      Arianna clucked her dismay. “There must be someone here at the embassy who could help you!”

      Melina shook her head. “I don’t know anyone here well enough to ask. I’m not even sure if it would be legal, anyway.”

      Arianna rubbed her stomach. “Well, come on. We can talk about it over lunch. I’m hungry.”

      “Go on ahead.” Melina smiled at her pleasantly plump friend who loved the rich Greek food the embassy served. “I’ll lock my desk and meet you at the elevator.”

      Melina set the telephone button that would route incoming calls to Anna and fumbled in her bag for her vanity case to freshen up.

      Would the woman who stared back at her in the small mirror ever be free of the controlling influence of a man? Her younger two brothers had somehow managed to find their own way without her father’s unwelcome influence. Why couldn’t she?

      Because you are a woman in an established society, a small pragmatic voice answered. In a traditional country like Greece, unmarried women were still expected to be guided by their fathers. Especially in her home village of Nafplion.

      Not me! Melina vowed as she made for the elevator. Somewhere, somehow, she would find a way to keep her independence and to live out her heart’s desire. At least for a few years.

      “Ah, Melina, there you are! I was just coming back to get you.” Eleni pushed her way through the open door. “Hurry, the elevator will leave without you.”

      “There’s always another elevator.” Melina laughed as she squeezed in alongside her friend. “What’s so special about this one?”

      “Trust me.” Eleni wiggled her way to the back of the elevator and pulled Melina with her. “This one is our elevator.”

      “I’m starving.” Arianna wiggled and grumbled beside her. “It’s so crowded in here, I can hardly breathe.”

      Pushed back against a solid, masculine body, Melina quickly realized she was almost skin to skin with the man who stood behind her. “Excuse me,” she murmured, and tried to give him space. It didn’t work. What was working, to her dismay, was the effect of the man’s pungent shaving lotion. The scent, combined with the pressure of his firm chest against her back, brought her hormones to attention. The sound of his deep, raspy voice in her ear didn’t help her to think too rationally, either.

      Wondering if the intimate contact was having the same effect on him, she belatedly realized that he was speaking with an American accent. Ignoring her faint apology, he continued his conversation with the other man who also shared their space.

      “My ex called this morning to inform me she intends to remarry next week.”

      “Congratulations!” a Greek-accented voice answered. “Just think of all the money in alimony you’ll save.”

      “That’s not the point, Peter,” the American went on. “Jeanette made it clear she expects me to come home to take care of little Jamie while she’s on her honeymoon.”

      “That is understandable, my friend. After all, Jamie is your daughter.”

      “Of course. I’m nuts about Jamie,” the American agreed. “It’s not just the short notice, I don’t know how to take care of a little girl on a daily basis.”

      Melina felt like an eavesdropper as the very masculine and warm chest behind her heaved a deep sigh. “The problem is, I have to travel on business a great deal,” the American went on. “I’m going to have to look for both a housekeeper and a nanny when I get back to the States.”

      “Why spend money for two women when one would do?”

      “One?” There was a pause. “I’m not sure one woman could handle both jobs. You have a family, Pete. Which do you think is a better idea, a housekeeper or a nanny?”

      “Neither,” Pete answered with a wry laugh. “We Greeks are more practical than you Americans. Forget a nanny or a housekeeper. What you need is a wife.”

      Melina’s antenna quivered as the elevator stopped one more time to let a passenger out before continuing on up to the roof. Myriad thoughts raced through Melina’s mind.

      A housekeeper? The position had to be, as her American colleagues frequently said, a piece of cake. As a dutiful Greek daughter, she was well versed in taking care of a home…. She’d learned to cook for five people…How difficult could feeding two people be?

      A nanny? As the only girl in her family, she’d often helped her mother with the care of her two younger brothers. For the past two years she’d also taught Greek language to young embassy children and, in the process, had wiped more than a few runny noses. How different could the job of a nanny to one child be?

      Here was her chance to get her heart’s desire and still be able to put off her father’s demand that she marry, she thought. It was worth a try.

      The elevator, empty except for Melina, her two friends and the two men behind her, finally reached the roof garden. Tables, shaded against the afternoon sun by dark green umbrellas, were surrounded by pots of colorful flowers and vine-covered trellises. The scent of warm food at the buffet table filled the air.

      Eleni poked her in the ribs. “We’re here,” she whispered. “Go ahead. Now is your chance.”

      Her chance? Had Eleni overheard the men’s conversation and put one and one together? Had Eleni read her mind?

      Melina was so engrossed in preparing a logical approach to the American that one of the two men exiting the elevator bumped into her.

      “Ah, Melina Kostos! I thought that was you!”

      Melina pulled her wayward thoughts together. “Uh, hello, Peter. I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking. How are you?”

      “Excellent,” he said with a broad smile. “Even better now that I’ve met you again. Come, let me introduce you to my American friend, Adam Blake.”

      Peter

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