The Greek Billionair's Marriage Matchmaker(20)

     



 



After that scare, the Greek was far more alert than he had been for  several hours. Zoey tried to stay awake and keep him company, but it  became more and more difficult as the hour grew later.



At about two in the morning, Zoey simply couldn't hold out any longer.  Without even realizing it, she fell into a deep and powerful sleep, and  Stelios was left to his own devices.



***





At first, it was pretty touch and go. With no one to distract him from  the fact that he was in a metal tube, thousands of feet above the sea,  Stelios' mind began to wander toward everything that could still go  wrong. He made a valiant effort to keep thoughts in check, though, and  an hour or so in, it was beginning to pay off. And then, another person  entered the cabin-the very last one Stelios expected to see.



It was Fulton, ostensibly on his way to the bathroom.



Stelios eyed him with alarm. "If you're here, Fulton, who's flying the plane?"



"The very best autopilot money can buy, sir. And before you ask, I have  the co-pilot watching the autopilot, and a system in place to alert a  reserve pilot in case something happens to him. How are you holding up,  anyway, sir? I had an idea that the young lady would be tuckered out by  now."



"I'm managing," Stelios replied evenly. "Though I'm pretty sure I need a pilot up there more than a babysitter back here."



"Well," Fulton replied, "I just want you to know there're only a few  more hours of this foolishness. Then we'll be on terra firma again, and  you won't need to worry about flying again for a solid week."



"Thank you," Stelios replied. It was a tiny comfort, but in his heart of hearts, he was glad to have it.



Fulton hung around for a few more minutes, before using the bathroom and heading back to the flight deck.



When he'd left, Stelios went fishing around in the cabinets, eventually  retrieving a luxurious-looking blanket. Very gently, he wrapped it  around the woman he loved, taking extra care not to wake her up.





EIGHTEEN





In the wee hours of the morning, as the sun began to peek over the  horizon, fatigue finally hit Stelios like a mallet over the head. When  he finally surrendered to sleep, silence fell over the cabin, and it  wasn't broken until half past twelve, when Zoey awoke with a yawn. She  stretched as far as she could, and then she pulled off the blanket,  folding it and setting it aside. She was certain she knew where the  blanket had come from, and walked over to Stelios, still knocked out in  his seat. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.



"Good morning, honey," she said brightly as he let out a sputtered yawn and shook himself awake.



"Morning," he answered, rubbing his eyes, and slowly getting to his  feet. "I'm guessing you slept well?" he asked, and Zoey nodded. "Then I  do believe it's high time for breakfast. Would you care to join me in  the dining area?"



"I certainly would," Zoey replied, and Stelios led her to the rear of the cabin.



Zoey had expected to see a small folding table for the pair of them to  share. Instead, she found an alcove that held a full-sized dining table.  It was covered with a cream-colored tablecloth, and a crystal  chandelier hung overhead. The stewardess, Marcella, a sharp-eyed  Midwestern woman in her thirties, appeared to take their order, and  several minutes later, the table was piled high with omelets, home  fries, coffee, bacon and scones.



They ate slowly, trading stories between bites, and discussing the  glorious country they were rapidly approaching. Stelios was talking  excitedly about his childhood in Greece, visiting villages with his  mother, and sampling exotic new foods. He described the rich gardens he  had seen, and told her how it felt to run over the grass-covered hills.  Midway through these stories, Zoey began to wish the plane would fly  even faster than it already was. In reality, one or two more hours had  passed before the intercom system came alive again.



"Passengers are advised to find your seats and fasten your safety belts.  We're getting ready to descend. We will be landing on the east coast of  Chios, in the Aegean Sea. For those of you who haven't experienced it  in a while, allow me to warn you that the descent will feel a little  weird, but I want to stress that you're in no danger, and it will all be  over quite soon."         

     



 



"I'm struggling to make myself believe that," Stelios remarked,  instinctively taking Zoey's hand. He was careful to be more gentle this  time, and Zoey appreciated not having her fingers gripped in a vise.



"Well, it's perfectly true," she said encouragingly. "This is the last  little bit that we have to deal with, and then we'll be off to meet your  grandparents. Do they live on the mainland or one of the islands?"



"The mainland," Stelios answered, but he didn't elaborate.



Stelios felt as if he were falling and the floor had suddenly decided to  go on strike. His instinct was to drive his heels into the floor, but  he knew that wouldn't halt the sensation. So he did what Zoey was  telling him to do, and tried to focus his mind on the temple that stood  in the center of his little man-made island. At first, no clear image  would form, or rather, no clear image that he wanted to see. But  gradually, he marshaled his will, and as Zoey whispered encouragement in  his ear, he was able to picture the scene, and slowly, very slowly, a  sense of calm claimed his body.



"That's it, Stelios. I knew you could do it," Zoey was saying. "Now I  want you to see those beautiful olive trees. Their gnarled limbs are  reaching into the sky like children reaching out to their mothers … "



Zoey kept up her guided imagery until the plane touched down smoothly and began to taxi down the runway.



The moment the plane touched down, Stelios seemed to come alive. His  eyes lit up, and he looked at Zoey, patting her hand gently.



"I wouldn't be here without you, Zo'. One of these days, I'm going to thank you for that properly."



"You've done that already, just by being in my life," Zoey replied, and as she did so the plane came to a halt.



"Thank you for choosing the Skylander for all your travel needs," Fulton  boomed over the intercom. "We'd like to be the first to welcome you to  Greece. The boarding ramp is now in place. Please exit the plane in an  orderly fashion, and have an excellent day."



"He really went through the whole routine, didn't he?" Zoey remarked, grinning.



"Fulton likes to devote himself completely to everything he does, but I  think he's also doing it to help me feel better. I've employed a lot of  people in my time, but he is really more than an employee to me. In the  years I've known him, he's become someone I am proud to call my friend."



"You're lucky to have someone like that in your life," Zoey replied.



"No, I'm thankful I have Fulton. I'm lucky to have you."



On that note, the lovers moved to the front of the cabin and descended  the boarding ramp with eager steps. Zoey was sure that she would feel a  new thrill the moment her feet touched Grecian soil, but she had only  gone four steps away from the plane when all thought of the wonders of  Greece was knocked right out of her. For a full minute, she stood as  still as if she had been turned to salt, paralyzed by the kind of shock  people experience once in a lifetime.



The plane was sitting on a long runway that cut a path through seemingly  endless fields of emerald grass. There were no buildings or roads of  any kind nearby. Besides the plane and a few olive trees, there was  nothing to block the view of the horizon. Wildflowers dotted the  landscape, and birds sailed to and fro, singing to the sun as they went.  Far off in the distance was a breathtaking mountain range, its stunning  peaks bathed in the light of the sun. Taken together, it was a master  stroke of nature; the kind of jaw-dropping beauty that inspires legends  and songs.



But it wasn't this halcyon scene that had caught Zoey's attention. It  was a thing that, at first, looked as if it didn't belong there at all.  It was a billboard. A rather large, but otherwise ordinary, billboard.  There was nothing special about it in the least. Compared to the beauty  surrounding it, it should hardly have been noticed, but this one had  captivated Zoey instantly.



It was one of Melinda's advertisements. The ones she had made without  anyone's permission, to promote the fact that Zoey and Stelios were  seeing each other as a Melinda Forde success story. The picture was the  same: Zoey and Stelios smiling serenely beside each other, with  Melinda's silver logo overhead. But unlike the others, this billboard  had a caption, and it was that fact that so affected Zoey when she  stepped off the plane. It read:         

     



 



"Zoey and Stelios, successfully matched by Melinda Forde Singles, are to be married."