Aegean Intrigue Read Free Page B

he was telling the truth. Should she have lunch with him? He truly is a handsome man, she thought. But he was a Greek man, and she wanted nothing to do with them outside of the professional realm.
    â€œI’m sorry, but I have exams to study for.” She gestured toward Jane and Christina, who had followed them from the meeting. “You have two young ladies waiting for you with questions.” She frowned as she remembered something else. “And I need to go to work.”
    â€œDo you think your boss will bother you again?” He stepped closer. “Has he bothered you before?”
    â€œNo! He’s never—not before last night, anyway. But I’m going to have to let him know I’m leaving. I’m sure he’ll have no trouble replacing me.”
    â€œWhat time do you start your shift?”
    She looked at him warily. “Why?”
    â€œNo staring or stalking, I promise. I’ll be nearby in case he gives you trouble.”
    Francie wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or frightened by that.
    ****
    The rest of the week passed in a blur of activity. She had completed her classes, taken her exams, and packed for her trip. She had given her notice to Kostos, who had begged her to stay and even offered a raise. Nothing had been said about his lapse outside her apartment, and she wondered if he’d been embarrassed over the incident. In the end, he’d wished her well and made her promise to come back to work for him in the fall.
    â€œI now understand I am nothing but an older brother to you,” he’d told her. “And I promise to care for you as I would care for my younger sisters.”
    Since she planned to return for the fall semester, she hadn’t wanted to give up her apartment in Athens, but paying rent on an empty apartment would have been an expense she couldn’t afford. Fortunately, a neighbor had needed a place for visiting relatives to stay, and arrangements had been made for delivery of keys, storage of her personal items, and other details. Having her rent paid for the two months she would be gone was a huge relief.
    A few days before departure, a courier arrived with a packet of final instructions. She was told to ride the early ferry to the island of Paros, and Dimitri would meet the crew at the dock and take them to the dig site. Her ferry ticket was included in the packet, and she danced for joy at another expense she didn’t have to bear.
    Carefully, she packed for the trip. She wouldn’t need much in the way of clothing: sturdy work boots, heavy socks, shorts, light tops, a hat, underwear, and sunscreen. Then she packed her tools: her notebook, a camera, and her trowel. The last was polished and wrapped in an old T-shirt. It had been a gift from her father, one of the few items she had ever received from him. He had given it to her after they’d gone on their last dig together. Nothing could have been more precious to her than this verification of his approval of her as an archaeologist. Since then, the beloved trowel had accompanied her on every dig, been cleaned every night, and stored safely in her knapsack.
    Maybe someday her father would ask her to go on another dig with him.
    ****
    In his own apartment, Alex also packed for the trip. His laptop, of course, and some digging tools, borrowed from an archaeologist friend. As the Project Director, he wouldn't be expected to participate in the actual dig, but he intended to be in the thick of all the action. It was the only way he could closely observe his suspects. The rest of his belongings took only a moment to pack. He was a seasoned traveler, often leaving on assignments with little notice.
    Again, he studied his file on Francie Vasileiou. She was a study in contrasts, but a lot of those contrasts mirrored his own. Like him, she was half-Greek. Like him, she was as comfortable in Europe as in North America.
    Like him, she had been burned in love.
    The details of her