by Leslie North
Eva sighed. “I know. It’s just… I do want to be just like everyone. But for that I need college in the States.”
Gaia tapped a finger on the top book. “And for that you need learning.”
“I need a teacher, not a guy who throws reading and more reading at me, and then asks me questions.”
Gaia smiled. “He’s making you think.”
“He’s making me miserable.”
Frowning, Gaia folded her arms. “You’re not thinking too much about him are you? He’s a nobody from America. Your brother would not be happy to hear you are falling for your tutor.”
Eva sat up. “No…no he wouldn’t like that, would he.”
“What are you planning? I know that look in your eyes—it means you are up to trouble.”
Eva smiled. “No trouble at all. In fact, I’m going to get rid of trouble. Will you bring me some iced coffee, Gaia?”
Muttering about more trouble, Gaia turned and strode into the house. Eva sat twirling her sunglasses. So far her tutor had been all about work, work, work. But there had to be some way to get him to see her as a very pretty girl—and then Antonio could discover him kissing her. Yes, that would get rid of her tutor. Her stomach tightened at the idea and she shifted in her chair. But Antonio wouldn’t hurt her tutor—no matter what. And didn’t her tutor want to go back to America—that’s what he was saving for, wasn’t it. What else did he want? She bit down on the arm of her sunglasses. She didn’t know much about him, which meant she needed to find out her tutor’s weaknesses. Yes, she wanted to find out all sorts of things about Mr. Callum Woods from New York.
***
What was he going to do about Eva?
In the guesthouse, Callum showered and changed—a very cold shower. It was his job to teach her, and so far he’d been doing the learning. As in he’d learned Eva was a spoilt girl, used to getting what she wanted. He was lucky she didn’t seem to want him. Her brother was the one calling the shots and writing the checks, and Antonio had made it clear that Callum had better keep his hands to himself.
“Eva is young and impressionable,” he’d said on Callum’s first night here. “I will not have you breaking her heart while you are living on my estate. Are we clear?”
Callum had waved aside any worries. If he’d had a younger sister, he would have laid down the same warning. “That’s not going to be a problem.” Callum groaned now and sat on the edge of his bed to pull on his motorcycle boots. His head knew what to do, but his body kept reacting to Eva.
She was a gorgeous girl with thick, black hair, and eyes so deep a brown they seemed black. He’d seen her swimming, skimming through the water like a mermaid, slim and fit, with curves in all the right spots. If only she’d put that brain of hers to use, he could finish his job here and get back to the US. That was his focus—that had to be his only focus. Getting home.
And then what?
He shook his head. He’d wanted to be a teacher for as long as he could remember, but it seemed to him like he was failing with his first student. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this job. Pulling on his boots, he grabbed the bike keys. He needed a ride to clear his head before he tackled the next lesson with Eva.
Chapter 3
“Come on, Eva. Think,” Callum told her. He’d come back from his ride and had changed shirts into something lighter. The Greek sun seemed hotter to him in the afternoon. They had the library to themselves—a large, airy room lined with bookcases and books in Greek, English and Latin. Someone here knew their stuff, but that wasn’t Eva.
Eva pulled a face—just like a kid. “I know the answer.”
“So why don’t you tell me?” He leaned back in his chair. The leather squeaked. The rugs in here were all Persian silk and the chairs tall, big and comfortable. Callum took another sip of the Greek coffee Gaia had brought them along with fruit and slices of a spiced raisin cake Eva had told him was fanouropita. The pita part he recognized—Greek food in New York was some of the best in the city, but Athens kept surprising him with things he’d never heard of. He wished Eva would surprise him.
It seemed to him that she’d done everything she could this afternoon to get some sort of reaction from him. She’d come in wearing a tight, short dress. She had her hair down and kept fiddling with it, more like she was in a bar instead of a make-shift classroom.
“Eva?” He made the word a caution—he really was losing his patience with her.
She gave a shrug and a smile. “Sorry. I was just thinking here we are—both young, both unattached, and what do we do? Do we go out? No, we sit in a room and look at books.”
Callum stiffened. “What’s wrong with books?”
“Nothing. But don’t you want to see the sights of Greece? Don’t you want to go to some clubs? Don’t you want to live a little.”
“That is not my job.” He frowned at her and started to tap on the chair arm. Something she’d said had given him an idea—maybe a way to reach her. “You do know Greece is the birth place of modern science. The great philosophers taught us ways to look at the world—to analyze, to think. They didn’t always get it right, but they gave us a foundation that still holds up all our modern science.”
She twirled a lock of hair around a finger. “And you think I shouldn’t disappoint them? I want to be an artist, not a scientist.”
He blinked at her—he’d just been wondering if her hair was soft or wiry. Sitting up, he cleared his throat. “There’s science in art. It takes chemistry to mix colors. Geometry to adjust scale and determine proportions. Science and art have always been close sisters.”
Eva closed her book with a thump. “I wish my sister was here. I could beg Alexandra to rescue me.”
A soft knock sounded on the open door and Gaia stepped in to the room. She smoothed her black dress with her hands. “Excuse me, Miss Eva. My daughter just called and she is getting ready to have her baby. Her husband is still at sea and she needs me to come to Patras right away. I would ask your brother but he said he and Claire are spending a few days in Athens and may need to fly to London.”
Eva stood and walked over to take Gaia’s hands.“Of course you must go. Antonio’s pilot can fly you there so you don’t have to drive.”
“But I—“
“Gaia, you are almost family. Go. Tell your daughter we are all thinking of her, and let us know what they name the baby.”
“If you are sure…ephkharisto, Eva.”
Callum watched the older woman hurry away. He tipped his head to the side. He’d never seen this side of Eva. He’d thought she was too self-involved to even think about others, but it was obvious she cared for Gaia. She watched after Gaia, and then turned to Callum. “Guess we’re going to be on our own for the next several days.”
Callum saw a spark in those dark, dark eyes. He was having trouble keeping his eyes off the deep vee of her dress and how the tight fabric clung to the swell of her breasts. His pulse quickened. We need to get out of here and surround ourselves with other people. Standing, he grabbed her wrist. “Come on. I’ve got an idea about how to teach you a little science by going to the source.”
Eva looked at him with wide eyes, but she followed as he led her to the garage. “Really?” She frowned. “Wait—we’re taking the books with us?”
“Not books. I need to show you how geometry was used to build the perfection of the Parthenon—those columns aren’t just works of art, they used science to determine the perfect height and width. And then we’re going to check out some other spots.”
“A club?” Eva asked.
He heard the hope in her voice. Turning to her, he looked her up and down. She really was just a kid in some ways—a kid who’d never had to think or work hard. He made up his mind. “Make you a deal—you come with me to the Acropolis and if you can show me you actually know something about the Parthenon, and if you learn three new things, then we’ll stop for dinner. And a club.”
She clapped her hands and gave a small jump. “Really—you mean it
? We’ll have some fun?”
He frowned at her. It seemed to him she was acting more pleased that she really was—he didn’t see the enthusiasm in her eyes for his idea. She linked her arm through his and started pulling him with her. “I’ve never ridden on a motorbike before. I’ll have to wrap my arms around your waist to hold on, and press up tight against you.”
Callum swallowed the lump in his throat. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea, but he was stuck—with her hanging onto him. He glanced at her. “Maybe you should change first. Jeans. Boots if you have them. If I spill I’m not leaving your skin on the streets of Athens.”
She waved a hand. “You won’t spill. I’m sure you won’t.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not taking chances. I’ll go grab the bike and meet you out front. Don’t be long.” Callum turned and headed out to the garage. At least he’d get her out of that short, short dress and he wouldn’t have her bare legs wrapped around him. He put his thoughts on the lessons they could go over at the Parthenon—he hadn’t been lying when he’d said there was good science behind the ruins, and not just ascetic reasons for its construction.
But he kept thinking about how Eva’s eyes had lit up when Gaia had mentioned her daughter was having a baby. There was more to Eva than just a dumb rich girl who though only of clothes and more clothes. And suddenly he wanted to find out why she was hiding that part of her from everyone.
Chapter 4
At first she was bored. Oh, the bike ride to the Parthenon had been exciting enough. The Ducati’s engine roared, drowning out the sounds of the traffic, and Callum wove in and out between cars as if he’d been born in Athens. A few times, Eva closed her eyes and pressed her head against his shoulders. She’d worn a helmet—Callum insisted—but it buckled below her chin and left her cheeks clear. Wind tore into her eyes and she was glad he’d insisted on her changing—she’d never have been able to keep her dress from riding up to her hips.
Once at the Acropolis, they parked and had to climb up to view the Parthenon. Callum went on and on about how the columns appeared to be straight but actually were slightly curved and leaned inward.
“Think of it—this building is the most copied structure in the world, from the French Parliament, to the U.S. Supreme Court, to banks, and museums—they all look to this building as the symbol of strength and democracy. And it’s here in Athens, where Socrates studied philosophy, and Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine, visited Athens, and even Herodotus, who pretty much started the study of history, wrote about it.”
Eva glanced up at the pale, marble columns. Construction equipment lurked in the inside of the Parthenon—Athena’s temple, she knew. She shrugged. “It’s a lot of stone—and it’s going to fall down someday.”
Callum shook his head. “You have no romance in your soul—and no ideas in your brain!”
She stiffened. “I do too!”
He took her shoulders and turned her. “Look. This is a masterpiece. There’s not a right angle here, or a straight lines. It’s illusion. And the Greek architects who built this believed that all beauty mirrors the proportions of an ideal human body. Just like Da Vinci and the other masters. But that was invented here.” He took her hand. “The span from finger tip to finger tip is a fixed ratio to total height. And height is a fixed ratio to the distance between the navel and the foot. And it’s not an accident that Da Vinci's ideal Renaissance man stands in a circle surrounded by a square. Da Vinci named him ‘Vitruvian Man’ after the Roman architect, and the ratio of the radius of the circle to a side of the square is one to one point six. Pythagoras came up with that—the golden ratio. And the Parthenon uses ratios. A ratio of four to nine is found between the width of the columns and the distance between their centers, and the height of the facade to its width. It’s perfect! How can you want to be any kind of artist and not want to know this?”
Eva frowned. She’d worn a sleeveless blouse and Callum’s fingers seemed to burn into her skin. “Okay...I see what you mean. I should know about that. But I’ve studied symmetry and composition.”
“But you don’t know why they matter—you don’t know the math or science behind the art.” He gestured up again. “Do you even know the marble was once painted in brilliant shades of red, blue and green?”
She looked up. “Was it? I thought it was always white.”
“No….no. That’s a Victorian idea we’ve been stuck with. Don’t you want to know about colors?”
She smiled…and nodded. But what she wanted was to keep seeing Callum like this. He wasn’t stuffy now. He wasn’t making her read endless pages, and she liked how his eyes lit up and how the wind ruffled his hair.
Taking her hand, he pulled her with him through the ruins. Talking about ratios and how to calculate a radius. She started to understand—a little. The math could affect composition. She tried to ask good questions, and she even got another smile from him. He also made good on his promise to take her to dinner and a club.
She took him to the Rock n Roll club where they ordered burgers and the music was loud. The club had just reopened for the winter—it was closed in summer—and was one of Eva’s favorite hang outs. She liked the loud music, the understated luxury, and the two huge bars. Callum ordered a beer, barely touched his burger, and didn’t seem to like it at all. And it was too noisy to talk. This wasn’t working out at all. Eva had thought they would dance, drink, and he would unwind, but he was looking more uptight and disapproving than ever.
She saw some friends come into the club and waved to them. Sophia and Niles came over to the table and Sophia caught Eva in a hug. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you in ages? And who is this?” She spoke in rapid Greek, leaving Callum out of the conversation.
Waving to Callum, Eva introduced him in English, saying, “He’s from New York. He’s my—” Cheeks warm, she bit off the rest of it. She didn’t want everyone knowing she had been saddled with a tutor. “My friend.” She glanced over to see Callum staring at her, his eyes narrowed and his hand tight around his beer.
Sophia gave Callum another once over. She was blonde and pretty and very much a party girl. Niles slid into the booth to sit next to Eva. “So we’re thinking of going skiing this winter—you up for that?” He spoke in Greek again, and it was obvious he intended to shut Callum out of the conversation.
Eva shook her head and answered in English. “I may go skiing, but I want to get my college acceptance first.”
Niles laughed and answered in Greek. “What do you need that for. And is that why you’re hanging out with this old man? What—he’s going to get you into college?”
Switching to Greek, she told Niles, “Go take a flying leap.” She smiled and turned to Callum. “Shall we go. Later, Sophia.” Calling for the bill, she paid and headed for the parking lot. Outside, she waited for Callum.
“Nice friends you’ve got,” he said.
“Oh, they’re not my friends. Well, Sophia is. But Niles can be an immature jerk sometimes.”
“So I noticed. So you like him?”
“What?” Eva huffed out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right? His father is a diplomat and Niles thinks the world revolves around him. He started making passes at me when I was thirteen, and I’ve been telling him to take a hike for that long as well.” She grinned. “He stays away when Tonio is around. And Dareios. Neither one of them like him much.”
“I know the feeling. Put your helmet on.”
She grabbed the helmet and fastened it. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d like the Rock n Roll—it’s famous.”
He shrugged. “Not my scene. Ready to go?”
She nodded. He threw a leg over the bike, and she climbed on behind him. She wanted to put her arms around him again, but he seemed distant again—back to being her tutor again. He’d been…something else at the Parthenon, and she’d started to like him a little. Now he was all stuffy and formal and very much the guy she didn’t like.
Swinging off the bike, she stared at him. This
evening hadn’t gone so well. But at least now she knew he didn’t like clubs, but he did light up when it came to history.
Callum gave her a nod. “Get plenty of sleep. We’ll move back into math in the morning.”
She groaned. And Callum rode the bike off to the garage. Heading into the house, she tossed her helmet onto a side table and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too restless to sleep, so maybe she’d go for a swim. She started to dig through her closet to pull out her swimsuit when her cell phone rang.
“Eva! It’s Alexandra.”
Eva flopped down onto her bed. “Hey, big sis. Are you having a fabulous time with Dareios? I’m so jealous you didn’t take me with you on his yacht!”
Alexandra giggled. “We’ll be home tomorrow. And we’ve set a date—we’re getting married next month.”
“What? Alexandra, you can’t possibly pull together a large wedding in that time.”
“We don’t want a big fancy wedding. As soon as I get back, we have to go find dresses. I want both you and Claire to be my bridesmaids.”
“Claire and Antonio are gone for a few days.”
“We’ll just have to pick something out that can be altered when she gets back. I need to talk to Gaia about the food. Well, everything except the cake.”
“She’s not here either. Her daughter went into labor early and she flew to Patras right after lunch. Maybe you guys could wait?”
“And let Dareios change his mind maybe? No way. I’ll see about a caterer. And you can help me.”
Eva lay back on her bed and stared at the white ceiling. “I’m buried under books. This tutor Antonio hired for me is a monster. It’s all work, work, work. I don’t think he likes me.”
“Sweetie, you can bet Antonio told him that he’d better not like you.”
“You think that’s it? Great, now Antonio’s pretending to be our papa. Well he’s not going to dictate my life!”
Alexandra laughed. “You go girl. But don’t go too far.”
Eva smiled. “Oh, I’m not the one who needs to go very far.” She hung up and cluched her cell phone to her stomach. Great, now she had a brother messing with her life and a tutor making her miserable. She needed to get the men in her life sorted out but fast.