A Hush of Greek (Out of Olympus Book 4) Page 15

  She could firmly feel his eyes following her. But she didn’t turn around, and didn’t change her mind. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it. Eros was hiding something. Her bad experience with Wayne had taught her to recognize the signs when a man wasn’t being honest. Or was she just paranoid and projecting all her worst fears onto him? Had Wayne’s reappearance rattled her more than she wanted to admit?

  24

  Psyche snuck out of the house early the next morning. She’d slept badly, her mind conjuring up all kinds of scenarios about a possible relationship between Eros and Aphrodite. All those mixed with memories of Wayne and her recent encounter with him, reminding her of the text messages he’d sent her to try and talk her into getting back with him. She’d ignored every single one of them. All in all, the dreams she’d had made little sense, but instead contributed to her insecurity regarding her relationship with Eros. Maybe it had been a mistake to agree to it in the first place. Had they simply continued to have no-strings-attached sex, she certainly wouldn’t care if he was seeing somebody else behind her back. Or would she?

  Annoyed at herself for giving the whole thing too much importance, Psyche climbed into her truck and drove to her condo to collect her mail and review the progress Eros’s plumber had made. She braced herself for disappointment in this area, too.

  Psyche opened her mailbox, took the mail, and shoved it into her handbag. With trepidation she walked up one flight of stairs and unlocked the door to her condo. She pushed it open carefully, not wanting it to crash into any obstacles the plumber might have created. When nothing obstructed the door, she opened it wide and peered into her home. The living room looked as cluttered as ever. She closed the door and walked toward the bathroom.

  When she arrived at the open door, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The plumber had replaced the old pipes and installed brand-new ones. They were still exposed, but it appeared that the area had been cleaned up and was prepped for a carpenter to replace the floorboards and lay the tiles. Excited, she rushed into the bedroom and examined the floor there. The pipes were still exposed, but they were new. They’d been repaired and weren’t leaking any longer.

  “Yes!” She pumped her fist into the air.

  If things moved along at this speed, perhaps she’d be able to move back into her place within a week or two. Then her life would return to normal.

  Feeling better than when she’d gotten up, Psyche returned to her truck and drove to her shop. She went to work, selecting flowers, leaves, and grasses to put together several arrangements and immersed herself in her work. It calmed her somewhat, and by the time she was done with them a couple of hours later, she’d managed to push her concerns about Aphrodite and Eros to the back of her mind.

  A short time later, she parked her truck outside of the Olympus Inn and unloaded the flower arrangements. One by one she carried them inside, staging them in a nook off the second floor landing.

  The place was busy with guests. The breakfast buffet was set up in the dining room, and several guests were eating there, reading the newspaper, and planning their day. A young couple was enjoying breakfast on the terrace, and Alice, the cook, was humming in the kitchen. The door to Triton’s office was closed, and above her, on the third floor, Psyche heard footsteps. The maid was probably already cleaning some of the rooms.

  Psyche stepped into the kitchen. “Morning, Alice.”

  Alice turned her head. “Morning, Psyche. You’re early.”

  Psyche smiled. “Couldn’t sleep, so I got to the shop early. I can wait on changing out the flowers until after the breakfast rush, if I’m in the way.”

  “Oh no, you’re not disturbing me. Just do what you need to do.” She slid the bacon she was cooking out of the pan. “Have you had coffee yet?”

  “Actually, no. Somehow I totally forgot to stop by the coffee shop.”

  Alice was already pouring a cup and handing it to her. “Here you go. Can’t start a day without coffee. I’m a total zombie without it.” Alice chuckled. “Greg avoids me in the morning before I’ve had my first cup.”

  Psyche took a sip. “Hmm, thanks, Alice. That’s good. Why does your coffee always taste better than the stuff from the coffee shop?”

  “Cause you drink mine out of a real mug, not them paper cups, mm-hmm. Makes the coffee taste strange,” she claimed, then took the plate with the bacon and walked out into the dining room to replenish the breakfast buffet.

  Psyche drank more of her coffee while she gazed out through one of the large kitchen windows into the garden below. The flowerbeds she’d planted nearly a week ago looked healthy, though they probably needed a little extra water. She’d take care of that after arranging the flowers inside the house.

  “Oh, morning, Psyche.”

  At the sound of Sophia’s voice, Psyche turned around. “Morning, Sophia.” She motioned to her coffee cup. “Alice offered me some coffee. I’ll get to the flowers in a moment.”

  Sophia made a dismissive hand movement. “Don’t rush. In fact, I need another cup myself. I’ll join you.”

  After pouring herself a cup of Alice’s coffee, Sophia approached and pointed to the small eating nook at one of the windows. Sophia sat down, and Psyche accepted the invitation and joined her.

  Sophia looked out into the garden. “I love this place. And the garden is beautiful now, thanks to you. I wish Eleni could have seen it.”

  Psyche felt herself blush at the compliment. “Eleni?”

  “My aunt. I inherited the house from her.” Sophia took another sip from her coffee and changed the subject. “I was happy to see that you joined us for Penny’s anniversary the other night.”

  “That was fun,” Psyche said.

  “So, you and Eros…” Sophia said, smiling. “If I’d known you two would hit it off, I would have introduced you earlier.”

  Not sure how to respond, Psyche drank from her coffee and looked out the window. “Oh, it was just one date.”

  “It didn’t look like it. Eros seemed very taken with you, from what I could tell,” Sophia suggested.

  “I really doubt that. He’s like that with all women, I’m sure.” After all, he’d looked very cozy with Aphrodite.

  Sophia furrowed her forehead. “I’ve known Eros for quite a while, and frankly, he’s not looked at anybody like he looked at you for quite some time.”

  Psyche shrugged. Sophia was mistaken. “He’s more interested in other women than he is in me.”

  “What other women?”

  Psyche lifted her hand and made a sweeping motion. “Well, women like that childhood friend of his. What’s her name? Aphrodite.”

  Sophia’s eyes widened and her chin dropped. “Aphrodite?”

  “Yes, do you know her? She visited him yesterday. I guess they’re close.” Too close for Psyche’s liking.

  “You think he’s interested in Aphrodite?”

  Psyche gave a non-committal shrug, trying to look unaffected. “Why wouldn’t he be? She’s gorgeous. I mean, I don’t care. We’ve only been out a couple of times. It’s nothing serious.”

  “A couple of dates? Earlier you said it was just one date,” Sophia noted with raised eyebrows.

  “All I’m saying is that it doesn’t matter. He can see who he wants to.”

  “Obviously it matters to you.”

  Psyche jumped up. “I’d better deal with those flower arrangements, before they get in anybody’s way.”

  Sophia’s firm grip around her wrist stopped her and made her spin her head back to her.

  “The flowers can wait.” There was a determination in Sophia’s gaze that she’d never seen before.

  Psyche hesitated.

  “Eros isn’t interested in Aphrodite. They’ve known each other since he was a baby. Yes, they are close, very close. But I can guarantee you that there’s nothing sexual between them and there never will be.”

  “How can you be so sure? I mean, have you seen her?”

  Sophia nodded. “Many times. I know her w
ell. And I also know the man she loves. And it’s not Eros.”

  “She’s happily married?”

  Sophia sighed. “Not exactly.”

  Curious now, Psyche dropped back onto the bench. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m afraid her father-in-law never approved of the match. He’s done everything to keep them apart. Yet over the years they’ve always managed to find a way to be together again. Until his father drives another wedge between them. But true love can’t be blocked forever. They’ll always find a way to be together. Aphrodite will never give up on being with the man she loves. No matter how many hurdles she has to jump over. Eros has stood by her all these years, supporting her, helping her, giving her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it. She would do the same for him.”

  “Oh.” Psyche felt foolish all of a sudden. Eros and Aphrodite were truly friends. And in her mind she’d accused Eros of cheating. “I thought… oh my god, I feel so bad about thinking that…” She hesitated and raised her gaze to look at Sophia. “My experiences with men have made me think that Eros is just like everybody else.”

  Sophia patted her hand. “He’s a man. And for sure, he’s a flirt. But when he cares about somebody, he’s a straight shooter. He’s not the kind of guy who’d go behind a woman’s back.”

  “He looked so guilty when I surprised them,” Psyche said. “And I immediately assumed…”

  “They were probably talking about something they didn’t want others to hear. She often visits him when she needs to get things off her chest. That’s all it was.”

  “Sophia, I can’t believe what a fool I’ve been.”

  Sophia smiled. “Who knows, I might have reacted the same way in that situation.”

  “Thank you.” Psyche got up. “I should get to work now.”

  “So you’ll give him another chance?”

  Smiling, Psyche nodded. Not all men were like Wayne.

  ~ ~ ~

  After finishing her work at the B&B, she drove to the cemetery, where she parked in one of the spots nearest the entrance. She stopped by the groundskeeper’s hut to borrow a wheelbarrow and proceeded to load her tools and plants. When she reached the grave in the middle of the cemetery, close to a huge willow tree, Mrs. Lloyd was already waiting for her.

  Psyche parked the wheelbarrow next to the grave and smiled at the old lady. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long. I was just finishing another job.”

  “Oh no, dear, not at all. I took the occasion to visit with a few old friends.” She motioned to a row of graves farther up the slight incline. “Funny how many of my friends are here now.” She chuckled unexpectedly. “If the scientists don’t invent something soon, we’re all gonna end up here, you know.”

  Psyche couldn’t help but laugh at Mrs. Lloyd’s humorous comment. But she had no witty comeback, so she looked at the grave and said, “I brought a selection of flowers and plants to see what might work best.” She pointed to the wheelbarrow. “Is there anything you’d like?”

  Mrs. Lloyd walked around to the wheelbarrow and hunched over it, looking at the various plants. “So lovely. All of them are very pretty. What do you suggest, Psyche?” She looked up, and her eyes were now covered with a sheen of moisture.

  Instinctively Psyche put her hand on the woman’s arm, squeezing it. “Why don’t you sit down over there in the shade where that little bench is and let me create something that your husband would have loved?”

  “You’re such a dear.” Mrs. Lloyd nodded gratefully and walked to the willow. Around its trunk, a circular bench had been built so visitors could sit and look out in whatever direction they liked.

  Psyche looked back at the wheelbarrow. Earlier, she hadn’t been able to make up her mind about which plants and flowers to bring, but now that she looked at her selection, she knew exactly what would please Mrs. Lloyd the most. Psyche didn’t just love flowers for their beauty, but also for their meaning. And while other gardeners would consider the flowers she chose to plant on Albert Lloyd’s grave whimsical, for her they represented exactly the feelings that Mrs. Lloyd wanted to convey: a love she would never forget.

  The time passed quickly, and with each minute her vision became clearer. When she was done, she watered the grave, then walked over to the willow to collect Mrs. Lloyd. She’d nodded off, but when Psyche murmured her name softly, she awoke instantly.

  “Do you want to see it?” Psyche asked.

  Mrs. Lloyd rose. “You’re done already? My, that was fast. I barely sat down.”

  Psyche smiled, but refrained from telling Mrs. Lloyd that she’d been napping for at least an hour. “Come.”

  At the grave, they both stopped and looked at it in silence. In the middle of it, there was a small rosebush that bloomed with tiny red buds that would open up as the weather grew warmer. Surrounding it, Psyche had planted several individual forget-me-nots. Their blue color contrasted with the red rosebuds and the green leaves. To frame the grave, she’d planted white star lily flowers, a grass-like plant with white lilies.

  Mrs. Lloyd turned to her and reached for Psyche’s hands. “Oh Psyche, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice cracked. “This is exactly what I feel.” She pointed to the rosebush. “My love for Albert.” Then she pointed to the forget-me-nots. “He’ll know that I’ll never forget him.” A single tear ran down Mrs. Lloyd’s cheek and she fished for a handkerchief in her pocket, dabbing the tear away. “Thank you so much.”

  “I’m so glad you like it.”

  The old lady sniffled and opened her handbag. “How much do I owe you?”

  Psyche shook her head. “Nothing, really. The plants were left over from another job,” she lied. “We’re good.”

  Mrs. Lloyd shook her head. “No, no, I can’t accept that. You worked hard. And you made an old woman very happy.” She took out her wallet and opened it.

  Psyche sighed. She knew that Mrs. Lloyd was barely scraping by. It wasn’t right to take her money. And Psyche herself had had some good fortune lately. With her pipes repaired for free, she wouldn’t have to worry as much as she had only a week ago. There had to be a way to convince the old lady that she didn’t need to pay.

  “Please, Mrs. Lloyd. It’s a gift.”

  “I can’t accept that, dear. I have to pay for it. Albert would want it.” And that was Mrs. Lloyd’s last word on the subject, before she pressed several bills into Psyche’s palm.

  25

  Eros had hoped to catch Psyche before she left for work, but had missed her. He knew he’d screwed up. Introducing his mother as a childhood friend hadn’t gone down well. He wasn’t stupid. He knew what it had looked like to an outsider, but he hadn’t been able to come up with an explanation that Psyche would believe. This was something he had to fix, because if Psyche thought that he was seeing somebody else behind her back, she would have even more reason to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. For all he knew, she was already making plans to do just that.

  When he found Psyche’s shop closed, he went to Wayne’s work, checking whether he was there. He was, but there was no sign of Psyche. At least that was a relief. Just then he remembered that she’d mentioned that she was supposed to do some work at Sophia’s. He got there just as she was leaving, so he followed her. It was lunch time after all. Was she going to meet Wayne?

  Curious, Eros kept following her, but to his surprise, she didn’t break for lunch, but stopped at the cemetery and unloaded more plants. Satisfied that she would be busy for a while, he drove off, having come up with an idea.

  Over an hour later, he pulled back up to the cemetery, parked his car, and entered the graveyard. Many bushes and trees dotted the cemetery, lending shade to the old graves. He spotted Psyche with an older lady standing at a grave. It appeared that Psyche had just finished planting some flowers and the lady was paying her. Eros walked closer. Psyche hadn’t spotted him yet.

  The older woman set her handbag down next to the grave and bowed down, making a cross over her chest. Then she suddenly looked
around.

  “Almost forgot my cardigan,” the woman said.

  “Where did you leave it?”

  “At the willow.”

  “I’ll get it for you,” Psyche offered, but the woman declined, “No, no. I’ll get it. You still have to pack up all your tools. It’s nice enough of you to give me a ride home.”

  Then the lady turned and walked toward the willow tree. Eros was about to approach Psyche, when she bent down to the woman’s handbag, tossing a quick glance in the direction of the willow tree. The old woman still had her back turned.

  Psyche reached into the handbag and pulled out a wallet. Eros’s heart stopped.

  By the gods! Psyche was a thief? His hands balled into fists. He wanted to look away, didn’t want to be witness to the woman he’d started caring about proving to him that she wasn’t worth his affection. Yet something compelled him to watch, just like people liked to watch a disaster unfold.

  Psyche opened the wallet, but instead of taking out the cash inside, she reached into her shirt pocket. From it she pulled several bills—he couldn’t see the denomination—and put them into the old woman’s wallet. With another quick glance toward the willow tree and the old woman, she quickly shoved the wallet back into the handbag and whirled around to pick up her tools.

  Eros’s throat went dry. He was truly speechless for the first time in his life. Psyche had returned the money the woman had paid her only moments earlier. He’d never seen anybody do something like that. And for Psyche to do something so charitable was even more admirable. He knew her financial situation: her business wasn’t doing well. She needed all the income she could get, yet she’d worked for free for this lady. Not only that, Psyche had spent her own money to buy the plants she used on the grave.

  As the two women got ready to leave, Eros hid behind a bush, coming to terms with what he’d seen. Psyche was good, through and through. She wasn’t the kind of woman who’d steal, or lie, or cheat. He had to trust that she would be true to him, too. She wouldn’t go behind his back to see her old boyfriend again. He knew that now. And he had to make sure she knew that she could trust him, too.