[Invitation to Eden 20.0] The Island of Eden Read Free

I’d been fooled by a pretty face.
    At the end of the day, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. If my instincts are off, if she’s a shitty pilot, if she wants to murder me and dump my body in the ocean...
    I don’t entirely know that I care. Not anymore.
    The girl shrugs again, stuffing her hands deep into her baggy pockets. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve got nothing else to do.”
    That’s not it—or at least, it’s not all.
    But her reasons for being here are none of my business. Even though I’m about to put my life in her hands, I’m hard-pressed finding the energy to care.
    “Just tell me your name, then, and we have a deal.” I hold out my hand, a gesture that I’ve adopted, though it’s not so common in my home country of Greece. She eyes it warily, then slides her small palm against my own.
    A jolt passes through me—that sense of familiarity, but stronger.
    “Do I know you?” I query, peering down into her face. The feeling isn’t one of attraction, not at all... rather, the feel of her dry, cool hand against my own soothes me in a way that nothing has since my accident.
    “I think I just have one of those faces.” She hesitates, then seems to settle. That jolt that passed between us—that almost familial feeling link—I’m pretty sure she felt it too. “And you can call me Joely.”
    “Joely.” An unusual name, yet it fits her. Satisfied I nod, squeeze her hand once more. “I’m Theodosius Vardalos.”
    I wait for her eyes to widen with recognition—the society pages used to love to detail my exploits, especially those of a romantic nature.
    “That is one mouthful of a name, big guy. I think I’ll call you Mr. V.” She nods decisively, as if satisfied with the nickname, then gestures to the plane. “Your chariot awaits, Mr. V. Please keep your hands and feet inside the plane at all times, no smoking or listening to music the pilot doesn’t approve of, and in the event of a crash landing I’m sure something on this baby floats, so we’re good. Next stop, the middle of nowhere.”
    Nowhere was exactly where I wanted to be.
    I was going to the island.

Chapter Two
    S ince the accident I have wondered, quite a bit, about whether I care to keep living. But instinct is just that, and I feel my pulse stutter in my veins when Joely starts up the plane, then cackles with maniacal glee.
    Irritated at being made to lose my cool, I shout at her over the roar of the engine as she taxies the small seaplane through the harbor, then lifts us into the air.
    “It’s not that safe a decision that you made, you know. Sealing yourself off  up here with a complete stranger. A man who’s twice your size, and probably twice your age.”
    Though her eyes are fixed on the expanse of air in front of us, the slight twitch of the muscles in her face tells me she is rolling them.
    “Be as big and old as you like, but I’m at the wheel or we crash, buddy.” She flicks a switch, adjusts a knob. “Kinda closes off your opportunity for extracurricular activities like murder or hanky panky. Plus, you’re not that kind of person.”
    Her response takes me aback completely, and I find myself at a loss for words, which I never am. When I find my voice, it sounds as mortified as I feel.
    “I’m not talking about raping you, girl. I am saying you shouldn’t make a habit of volunteering to fly a perfect stranger out to, as you said, the middle of nowhere.”
    “I can take care of myself, and you just proved my point. You’re a decent guy. Giant chip on your shoulder, but decent. Anyway, even if you weren’t, you and I don’t go down that road.” She tilts the wheel, and I feel the plane turn in a slow, steady arc. “It isn’t meant to be.”
    “How do you know that?” I should be insulted, perhaps, even though I know what I look like now. “Is it the scars?”
    “No.” No quantifiers—just no . “And I just know.”
    I mutter something under my breath about stubborn females as I move to return to my