“Have you met anyone?” Dee asked. “A male anyone.”
“Not really.” It wasn’t a total lie. I had met a few guys here, but I wasn’t interested.
“You will. Soon you’ll meet a golden Greek god and he’ll sweep you off your feet,” Martín said.
I laughed and drained my drink. I wasn’t ready to meet anyone. I didn’t say that aloud because I didn’t want to have to explain myself or lie to my friends.
“So, what else is on your itinerary while you’re here?” I asked.
“Actually, we’re going to try to find Atlantis,” Dee said. “Which, now that you said that it’s in Spain, I guess we won’t.”
“I don’t think you’ll find it during a snorkeling trip.” I laughed. “But I’m sure it’ll be just as magical as you envisioned.”
“It will be. You should join us,” Martín said.
“When?”
“In an hour actually.” He glanced at his watch.
“Oh.” I pouted. “I can’t. I have a house to take a picture of. For the real estate company, not The Haunt.”
“Bummer,” Dee said. “But yay for making money.”
“Yay for making money.” I took some money out and Martín stopped me.
“It’s on us.”
“No way. You’re here for your wedding and I know Greece is spectacular, but don’t think you’re fooling me for a second by saying you’re not getting married here because of me.” I shot them a look.
“We couldn’t get married without you. We wouldn’t have met if not for you,” Dee said, raising an eyebrow. “By the way, Jose is also coming. He should be getting here later today.”
“Oh, fun.” I smiled wide and hoped I could keep it looking genuine.
I loved Jose, but I hadn’t given him the tea I’d made Dee and Martín. Jose would remember everything that happened. He’d remember River Caliban. He’d remember watching the tsunami hit. His house had been flooded by its remnants, after all. I gave Dee and Martín a hug and kiss goodbye, promising them I’d see them at the ceremony tomorrow and walked up the cobblestoned street and looked at the address in my hand. To my surprise, the address wasn’t too far away from Venetsanos Winery, which was where I’d just had lunch with Martín and Dee. Still, I climbed on my Vespa and drove the rest of the way, blinking away the sand that hit my eyes as I drove. It was pretty secluded, as far as houses in Santorini went. I stopped in front of the gate and pushed the button to ring the bell.
“Hello?” It was a female voice.
“Hi, I’m Penelope Guzman. I’m here to take pictures of the property.”
The gates opened in front of me before I even finished my sentence and I drove in slowly, stopping just past the gates and getting down to take pictures of the lot. There was a huge circle in the middle that looked like a helicopter landing pad. To the right, there was a covered area for cars, and way ahead, there was a blindingly white house. It was similar to most of the houses here, whitest of whites overlooking the bluest of blue water. A woman with long, dark brown hair stepped out of the house and waved at me. I hopped back on the Vespa and drove it to the carport, parking it beside a small white BMW.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I said, rushing to take the helmet off and hang it from the handle.
“It’s no problem at all,” she said, smiling as she shook my hand. “I’m Berenice.”
“Penelope. As you know.” I smiled back. “This place is beautiful. Secluded but beautiful.”
“Very secluded. The owner owns the lots on either side of it as well, so they will probably remain empty.” She glanced at me. “You won’t have to include that in the listing though.”
“Since they’re not selling the lots you mean?”
“No, since the listing is only for vacation rentals.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “I didn’t know that.”
“Definitely include the helipad.”
I laughed. “I did.”
“Please, come on inside.” She moved out of the way and let me start taking pictures, glancing at her watch.
“I am really so sorry I’m late,” I said again, realizing I probably messed up her entire itinerary for the day. “My friends are getting married here and it’s been hectic.”
“It’s really no problem,” she assured me. “I may have to step out to take a phone call with my son’s teacher, but aside from that, this is the only thing on my schedule today.” She smiled. “It’s my anniversary.”
“Aw, that’s nice.” I moved on to the dining room and tried not to gasp at the view coming from the large windows at the end of the room. I glanced at her after snapping a few pictures. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to taking pictures of new houses. This is beautiful.”
“Very luxurious, right?”
“Very.”
“This is the master bedroom, you’ll find a door that leads to the backyard there.” She held up her phone, which was obviously ringing. “I’m sorry, but I need to step out to take this.”