Read Online Sweet Baklava by Debby Mayne - Free Book Online Page A

graduated.
    He'd held onto hope that eventually he and Paula would be together, but her mother told him she would probably never return to Tarpon Springs after college, so he followed his other dream and enlisted.
    He should have known better than to listen to Bonnie Andrews. Nick kicked himself all over the place after he learned that Paula had not only returned to the area but established roots—something she'd never had before.
    When his last opportunity came up to get out of the Air Force, he came home, only to discover Paula dating another man—Drew, the new associate pastor of their church. How could he compete with that?
    Until he met Paula, he'd only gone to the Greek Orthodox church with his family. Paula had been the one to invite him to her church back when he was doing everything he could to hold her interest. Mama said she didn't mind him going to church with Paula as long as he went to church with his family too. He smiled at the memory of his first time at Paula's church and how he'd met the woman who brought Paula to church her first time—a next-door neighbor who noticed that the middle school girl spent the entire weekend home alone while her mother was who-knows-where.
    Yeah, he should have gone up to the college and talked to Paula face-to-face. She'd told him to let her get through school without any distractions, but this was bigger than a distraction. Too bad he didn't realize just how much of a distraction it was at the time.
    "Nick!" The voice echoed up the stairs, snapping him from his thoughts. "Are you up there?"
    "Hey, Mama! Yes, I'm up here." He hopped back into bed and pulled the covers over himself.
    "You still in bed?" He heard the thudding of her footsteps. "You might be on vacation from work, but that doesn't mean you can sleep all day." She appeared at his door smiling, defying her tone.
    She flinched as he tossed back the sheet. "What's the matter, Mama? I'm dressed."
    "Ya never know about those things." She entered the room. "So when are you coming to stay with us?"
    "Whenever my time's up here."
    "It's up. I just spoke to Ophelia and let her know I wanted my boy back." She sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at his face. "I miss you, Nick."
    "I miss you too, Mama, but that straw thing you women do trumps anything the rest of us want."
    "It's an old tradition we started before you were even born. If I'd known then . . ." She looked toward the window before turning back to face him. "So what's going on between you and Paula? She's such a sweet girl."
    "I have no idea what's going on."
    "Do you still love her?"
    Nick didn't want to tell his mother before talking to Paula, but this was Mama. He nodded. "I don't think that's the kind of thing that just goes away."
    "You should find a way to be together."
    "You're forgetting one thing, though. We don't know if she still loves me."
    "Oh, trust me, she does. How could she not? This is Nick Papadopoulos we're talking about."
    Nick belted out a laugh as he sat up. "Thanks, Mama. You always did believe in me."
    "That's because you've always been able to do anything you set your mind to."
    "Most of the time."
    "And you can this time too if you just talk to Paula and let her know how you feel."
    "It's not that easy."
    "And why not? Just because you're a man doesn't mean you can't communicate. Your father and I talk all the time."
    She talked, and his father listened. It seemed to work for them, but that wouldn't work for him and Paula, who said what she thought but didn't say much about what she was really feeling.
    "So when you gonna talk to her?"
    "I don't know. You just sprang this on me, Mama."
    She flipped her hand from the wrist as she stood back up. "Don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it. Don't forget, I know you better than you know yourself."
    "That you do," Nick agreed. He went to the closet and pulled out a different shirt. "I'll get my stuff together and be at the house in about an hour, unless Aunt Ophelia has