Saved By A Billionaire Brit (3 page)

The time difference made it very difficult to communicate with New York, and I needed to phone Rex, during his lunch hour. I grabbed the phone and dialed happily. Rex answered immediately.

"Darling? How are you? Things are going perfectly here. You're going to love it."

"Give me a minute. I haven't left for lunch yet, and I need to close the office door."

I heard the door click and then the sound of his breath. "I've been thinking, and I've made some decisions too. Are you alone?"

"Sharon is in the other room. We can talk."

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done, but it has to be said. I can't do it. I thought it was what I wanted, but with you gone, I've had a lot of time to think. It just isn't going to work. I can't marry you."

I sat there unable to speak. There was a burning at the base of my skull. It slowly spread down my spine like a disease. When it reached my stomach there was an emptying. The hollow feeling stretched down my legs and paralyzed every part of my body. I thought I was going to drop the phone. It dangled loosely in my fingers. When I didn't reply, Rex continued.

"No matter how I think about it, I cannot get a good feeling about our wedding. This is hard to say because I am so fond of you, but I just can't be happy as a married man. It seems so final, till death do us part and all that. I feel it is the end of so many possibilities, and I'm not willing to give them up. I don't want to be one of those husbands who struggles against being married all the time. It would lead to anger and infidelity - and finally divorce. I know this seems cruel right now, but it will save a lot of heartache in the future.

I've already had my secretary cancel the flowers, the reservation at the gardens, and the reception plans. Well, almost all the reception plans. I'll go down the list tomorrow and check off the last ones. Don't worry about the money. I'll cover all the cancellation costs. Don't worry about the Santorini trip either. Stay as long as you like. I'll pay for everything. It's the least I can do. Alexa? Are you still there? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm still here, and I'm not ok," I answered weakly.

"There was no good way to tell you this. I know you may hate me forever, but I hope you will forgive me. It is better for both of us, believe me."

"Is there anything I can do? Nothing I can say to make you change your mind?"

"I don't see any other way. Good luck to you. I'll get my secretary to contact you about the travel bills and arrange for you to get your things out of my apartment when you get back."

He hung up, and I went into shock. I ran into the bathroom and screamed as loud as I could. Sharon came running down the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door. I couldn't move, just sat there on the toilet lid and choked and sobbed. It quickly turned into that ugly kind of crying, tears running down my face into my mouth. Sharon pushed the door open because it was unlocked.

"Are you hurt? Sick? Can you come out and sit on the couch?"

I nodded, and she put her arm around my shoulders to lead me back to the living room.

"Should I get the manager to call a doctor or something?"

"No, there is nothing he could do. I just called Rex, and he broke up with me. He had already cancelled the wedding."

"Oh my god, I can't believe he did that. What a disgusting creep. Did you have a fight or something?"

"He just said he didn't want to be married." At this point I just fell over on the couch. Words seemed so inadequate and far away.

"Well, you would think he might have thought about that before he proposed to you. This is really bad, but a divorce would be a lot worse. You don't want to waste your time on a man like that. He doesn't deserve you." She hugged me and covered me with a blanket. I don't know if I fainted or fell asleep.

Later that night I stumbled into my bedroom, still fully clothed, and fell onto the bed. My throat was dry, and my face was wet. It felt as if I had been crying in my sleep.

––––––––

I
'm not sure what happened the next day. It had to be the most difficult day of my life, and my memory failed on most of the details. I don't think the clock ever went off. When I woke up, the sun was already shining through the small windows. I realized I had missed the ferry to Delos and that worried me until I remembered why the Delos trip had become unimportant. I was curious why Sharon hadn't awakened me. I drifted through the apartment, climbed the stairs, and wandered into her bedroom. The bed was empty. At first I thought she had gone to Delos without me - until I saw her empty closet. The suitcases were gone as well, every personal belonging. I sat down hard on her bed, running possibilities through my head.

Was it pity and compassion? She hadn't wanted to disturb me? It suddenly seemed strangely logical for her to leave me in peace. Of course, her vacation was ruined, so she would leave. Maybe she felt guilty about accepting Rex's money now that the engagement was off. I looked for a note, but didn't see anything. Perhaps she didn't know what to say.

I walked across the terraces to the office. My hair was uncombed, and I was still in last night's wrinkled, silk blouse.

Anne, the assistant manager, looked up at me. I was relieved to see her since the hotel manager spoke limited English. Anne was from America and worked at the hotel May through October.

"Oh good, you are up. Sharon said you didn't feel well. I can arrange for late breakfast to be brought up for you if you like."

"Where is Sharon?"

"We booked a flight to Athens for her. She left a few hours ago and is already on the Greek mainland. From there she is flying through Frankfurt back to New York. Do you feel like eating now?"

"No, don't bother. I have some cereal and milk in the kitchen." Sharon left for New York? Even though I knew she had gone somewhere, I was still surprised to hear it in reality. Something was wrong, in addition to the crack in my soul. What kind of friend leaves you at the worst moment of your life without a word of explanation? My head spun like a roulette wheel. A vortex of questions remained, but the energy to consider them...

I went back to the suite and sat on the terrace with a bowl of cereal. I may have eaten three bites, but then I just stared at the ferries cutting their way to the docks. Far below the cruise ships looked like toys. Their wakes made designs across the water. I cursed my lack of appreciation for the view. The next minute, I wondered why I was sitting on the terrace. I should be in bed, sobbing my heart out, but I didn't know what to feel.

This was all just a moment. In my head, I knew I should be starting anew, now that I was basically homeless and alone. I didn't even have a real job, just access to the research for my imagined novel. Intellectually, I clearly realized that every day on Santorini was precious. I should have been making plans, writing outlines. Surely someday in the future I would be wishing for another chance to research and write. But the flesh was weak, my world collapsed around me. I'm not sure how long I sat at the table, nearly catatonic. It may have been hours or days. Crying seemed impossible, but then the tears came. I put my head down and sobbed loudly like an abandoned infant.

The next image that emerged was strange. A calm voice urged me to eat. My only impression was a kind face. I didn't even question how a complete meal appeared on the table. For a moment I wondered what had happened, and then I remembered. No Rex, no Sharon. It was like a death.

"Can you eat a few bites? Just a little bit? I got it from my favorite restaurant in Thira. You could get really sick if you don't eat something.”

I looked up into those deep ocean eyes. Where had Robert come from? For a moment I thought he was going to feed me with a spoon. To avoid that I picked up the fork and picked at the moussaka. I had no taste, no hunger, no pain, just a giant empty.

"What happened? Why are you here, Robert?"

"I'm sorry. I was just so concerned about you sitting out here by yourself, crying like that," he reached over and touched my arm gently. "I couldn't get you to talk, but you did nod when I asked if I could get you some lunch. Is there anything else I can do to help? Where is your friend?"

I continued to stroke the food with my fork while I blurted out the whole story. Sometimes I choked instead of swallowing.

The next image was from my bedroom. He was literally taking off my clothes, tucking me in carefully. I had no shame, in fact no feeling at all. He lay down next to me, fully clothed, and I said nothing.

I'm not sure how many days passed. Was it one night or two? Suddenly I was aware of myself in the shower, in the bathroom, and drying my body. Every move seemed painful. I dressed in slow motion. It was an enormous effort to open the blue door and walk out into the sunlight. Robert sat beside the table smiling broadly and motioning to me. As usual, the hotel staff had brought up a huge breakfast of cheese, meats, granola, fruits, juice, yogurt, and croissants. I still had no appetite, but nibbled some grapes and strawberries. Robert pushed some yogurt and cereal toward me. I knew he had slept on my bed one or more nights, on top of the covers. He had obviously already phoned for breakfast.

"I need to thank you for helping me..." I was thinking back to what I could remember: gentle touches, kind words, lovely meals I hadn't eaten.

"No thanks needed. I enjoyed being with you. I was keen to take care of you. In fact I'd like to get you out of the hotel for awhile today. Later this afternoon I want to take you on a pleasure cruise around the caldera. We could have lunch at an outdoor restaurant in Thira and then ride the cable car down to the dock. I have tickets for a sailboat tour and I've heard the view of Santorini is incredible from the water."

I suddenly realized I knew him without even trying. Never had I met anyone so easy to be with. He was a creature of incredible beauty and, surprisingly, a true gentleman. I certainly needed to have lunch and a pleasant afternoon on the water. I scolded myself for wasting so much time when I should be enjoying this beautiful island and a gorgeous man. I managed a fake smile. The mourning would have to wait.

Robert jumped up. "When I'm around you, I smile so much my cheeks hurt. I'll pick you up around noon. Bring proper attire if you care to swim. I can't tell you how pleased this makes me."

He ran into the apartment and brought me a day old Wall Street Journal and a paperback novel. It wasn't possible to get a current American newspaper in the islands. I was hoping to discover the current date by looking at the paper. I turned to ask Robert, but he had already dashed up three flights of stone steps toward the street.

The morning seemed to creep along. I opened the newspaper, but it lay on the breakfast table unread. I wandered back into the apartment to look for clean clothes. I put on a white bikini instead of underwear. Hopefully I could find something really amazing to wear on a sailing adventure, something blue and white nautical to match the Greek flag.

I dressed slowly and then strolled over to the office hoping to find Anne. Luckily she was right by the doorway gazing at reservations on the computer. She seemed glad for the interruption and greeted me warmly.

"What is the date today?" I asked.

"The fourteenth of September. You are just the person I wanted to see. Do you have any idea how long you are going to stay? I am making final reservations for the year, and the hotel closes at the end of October. We have many requests for these last few weeks. In fact, I just received an email from your friend Sharon. She is coming back for her honeymoon in a few weeks. I was a little confused at first because she had to explain who she was. She was making the reservation under the name of Rex Sanders, her fiance I suppose."

So there it was. Anne had no idea what she was saying to me because I had never gotten the chance to make a reservation for my own honeymoon. Rex dumped me before that could happen. I was scarcely getting my life back, still numb from the shock, and now I finally understood why Sharon had left abruptly with no explanation. Of course, she was afraid to face me. I can't say that I was totally unprepared because I still had questions about Sharon's departure. Hindsight is usually perfect, and I wondered how I could have ignored my suspicions. Some things were obvious now. There was a limit to what the human psyche can endure.

I returned to sit on the terrace for the rest of the morning. Geraniums bloomed a brilliant red in the corner of the stone wall, unnoticed burgundy bougainvillea raced across the white wall beyond the office, uncelebrated. Glowing mists veiled and unveiled the distant village of Oia, a dance unappreciated. Sailboats aimed for an island village on the other side of the caldera. I would soon be aboard. New questions swirled inside my head, but I realized I wasn't alert enough to determine which questions made sense. Answers were ever more distant.

When Robert returned to the hotel in a jeep, I tried to explain my newest shock to him. For a moment I thought he was going to swerve off a cliff on the way to Thira. He tried to reach over and hug me while he was driving. I was determined not to cry. My tears were too precious to waste on Rex. All those lies! A few tears slid down my cheeks anyhow.

"Oh, hon, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make things better. I can't believe Sharon deceived you like that." He twisted his head like a puppy looking at a crying infant, sitting there in the town parking lot. He held me tightly even as we climbed the stone walk toward the restaurant. I attempted some kind of mumbling reply. What could be more healing than lunch and a cruise atop an ancient volcano?

I was astounded by the view from the restaurant in Thira. Though it was the same caldera, each angle gave a new vantage point. There were hotels and shops tumbling down the mountainside like a sculpture of white boxes. Beside the restaurant roof ran a paved walk, populated with tourists and the occasional mule train. It was easy to see how the Greeks invented democracy, a talking government. The shop keepers shouted and chattered endlessly, waving their hands for emphasis. I was surprised by the rhythm of the Greek language. It reminded me of Spanish. I expected something far more unfamiliar. The cream sauce on my pasta was too good to waste, so I forced myself to eat. Again.