He did not call all that week, and Alexandra’s emotions went from impatience to frustration to anger. To hell with him, she thought. He’s found someone else. Good!
When the phone rang at the end of the following week and Alexandra heard his deep, husky voice, her anger dissipated as if by magic.
“This is George Mellis,” he said. “We met briefly when you and your sister were having lunch. Eve said you wouldn’t mind if I telephoned you.”
“She did mention that you might call,” Alexandra said casually. “By the way, thank you for the lunch.”
“You deserve a feast. You deserve a monument.”
Alexandra laughed, enjoying his extravagance.
“I wonder if you would care to have dinner with me one evening?”
“Why—I—yes. That would be nice.”
“Wonderful. If you had said no, I should have killed myself.”
“Please don’t,” Alexandra said. “I hate eating alone.”
“So do I. I know a little restaurant on Mulberry Street: Matoon’s. It’s very obscure, but the food is—”
“Matoon’s! I love it!” Alexandra exclaimed. “It’s my favorite.”
“You know it?” There was surprise in his voice.
“Oh, yes.”
George looked over at Eve and grinned. He had to admire her ingenuity. She had briefed him on all of Alexandra’s likes and dislikes. George Mellis knew everything there was to know about Eve’s sister.
When George finally replaced the receiver, Eve thought, It’s started.
It was the most enchanting evening of Alexandra’s life. One hour before George Mellis was due, a dozen pink balloons arrived, with an orchid attached. Alexandra had been filled with a fear that her imagination might have led her to expect too much, but the moment she saw George Mellis again, all her doubts were swept away. She felt once again his overpowering magnetism.
They had a drink at the house and then went on to the restaurant.
“Would you like to look at the menu?” George asked. “Or shall I order for you?”
Alexandra had her favorite dishes here, but she wanted to please George. “Why don’t you order?”
He chose every one of Alexandra’s favorites, and she had the heady feeling he was reading her mind. They dined on stuffed artichokes, veal Matoon, a specialty of the house, and angel hair, a delicate pasta. They had a salad that George mixed at the table with a deft skill.
“Do you cook?” Alexandra asked.
“Ah, it’s one of the passions of my life. My mother taught me. She was a brilliant cook.”
“Are you close to your family, George?”
He smiled, and Alexandra thought it was the most attractive smile she had ever seen.
“I’m Greek,” he said simply. “I’m the oldest of three brothers and two sisters, and we are like one.” A look of sadness came into his eyes. “Leaving them was the most difficult thing I ever had to do. My father and my brothers begged me to stay. We have a large business, and they felt I was needed there.”
“Why didn’t you stay?”
“I will probably seem a fool to you, but I prefer to make my own way. It has always been difficult for me to accept gifts from anyone, and the business was a gift handed down from my grandfather to my father. No, I will take nothing from my father. Let my brothers have my share.”
How Alexandra admired him.
“Besides,” George added softly, “if I had stayed in Greece, I never would have met you.”
Alexandra felt herself blushing. “You’ve never been married?”
“No. I used to get engaged once a day,” he teased, “but at the last moment I always felt there was something wrong.” He leaned forward, and his voice was earnest. “Beautiful Alexandra, you are going to think me very old-fashioned, but when I get married, it will be forever. One woman is enough for me, but it must be the right woman.”
“I think that’s lovely,” she murmured.
“And you?” George Mellis asked. “Have you ever been in love?”
“No.”
“How unlucky for someone,” he said. “But how lucky for—”
At that moment, the waiter appeared with dessert. Alexandra was dying to ask George to finish the sentence, but she was afraid to.
Alexandra had never felt so completely at ease with anyone. George Mellis seemed so genuinely interested in her that she found herself telling him about her childhood, her life, the experiences she had stored up and treasured.