I continued to enjoy the good dinner vibes, but Christos’ trial kept nagging at the back of my mind. I couldn’t decide if Christos was avoiding the topic. He’d probably talked with Spiridon about it at length when I wasn’t around. It had been five months since Christos’ arrest, so they were probably sick of it. I wasn’t going to spoil dinner by bringing it up for the billionth time. I’d wait until afterward.

When we finished eating, I got up to clear the plates and do the dishes.

“Let me get those, koritsáki mou,” Spiridon said. “You go spend some time with my grandson.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes,” he smiled, a faint sadness swirling in his eyes.

“All right,” I said uncertainly.

“Go,” he said, “enjoy yourselves.”

“What the man said,” Christos grinned. “Wanna help me clean up the grill?”

“Sure,” I said.

We walked onto the back deck and Christos grabbed a steel brush to scrub down the grill. His muscles flexed and popped as he worked the brush, hypnotizing me instantly. I couldn’t concentrate. What did I need to talk to Christos about that was so important? Was it the fact his tattooed arms made me dizzy and my thighs were now quivering? No. Something else. Was it the way my stomach was somersaulting and my cheeks glowed red when his sexy lips curled into a smile as he glanced over at me like my mere presence had made his day? No, couldn’t be that either.

“Admit it,” he said, “once again, seeing me cleaning something is turning you on.”

Guilty. I rolled my eyes. “Totally not turned on.”

He flashed me a dimple grin. “Uh huh. I see the way your eyes are spinning in circles. You can barely stand up.”

So what if he was right? I wouldn’t admit it, not even in front of a jury after swearing on a stack of Bibles. Crap. That broke the spell. We needed to discuss his trial. I sighed sadly. “Did you get my call today?”

Christos chuckled as he scrubbed. “Yeah. Right in the middle of court. The judge gave me a ton of shit because my phone rang.”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot. I should’ve waited to call.”

“It’s not your fault, agápi mou,” Christos reassured. “Don’t worry about it.”

No matter how anxious I was, Christos’ even demeanor could always calm me down. I took a deep, cleansing breath. “Did you get my text or have a chance to listen to my message?”

He set down the wire brush. “I did.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And,” I said, “I can testify for you. It’s not too late, is it?”

Christos ran a heavy hand across his stubbled cheeks. His always sexy cheeks. Why did he have to be so damn handsome? I could never get enough of my magazine cover model boyfriend. He was eye crack. I’m surprised my eyes didn’t go into withdrawal when he was out of my sight. At least I could get a fix right now. Wait, he was doing it again! Trying to distract me with his sexiness!

“Please, Christos, can you stop being sexy for one second so we can discuss this?”

“I’d rather be sexy,” he smirked. “It amuses me to watch your eyes cross like that.”

“My eyes aren’t crossing!”

“They were a second ago,” he winked.

“You’re such a man,” I groused.

“Yup.”

Wow. Cocky as ever. If it was me who was two days away from going to court, I’d be freaking out. Maybe Christos could give confidence lessons to packed stadiums and make a mint in the self help industry. Or maybe we could just bottle his ego and put heroin out of business. Either way, we’d retire young and rich.

I remembered thinking of him as Good Time Christos at the Halloween party at Jake’s house last year. It turned out that had been an accurate title for him.

Christos lowered the lid on the grill and hung the brush on the side. “Shall we go inside? All this exercise has got me all worked up. I need to relax.”

“Okay,” I fawned dreamily. Then I shook my head. “Wait! Stop! Quit charming me with your hotness powers. We need to talk about your trial.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Must we? I wanted to enjoy this evening with you. And I’ve got a present for you.” He smoothed a loose lock of hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead.

Swoon.

“You do?” I sighed. Who didn’t like presents? Wait a second, he was doing it again! I squinted at him and jammed my hands on my hips. “Is this another distraction tactic, Christos?”

“No, I really have a present.”

“Fine. Do we discuss the trial before or after the present?”

He considered. “Before. That way, my present will get you back in the mood.”

“Mood?” I said skeptically. “Are you trying to get me into bed, Christos Manos?”

He nodded confidently and slid an arm around my waist.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Fine. But not until after we talk.”

“Works for me.” He leaned forward and kissed me passionately.

After a minute, I could barely stand up. My legs had officially melted because of the forest fire deep in my…forest.

I shook my head and pushed away. “Stop! We need to talk,” I pleaded. Who needed talking when the hottest man on the planet had his arms around my waist? I’m pretty sure that was the devil voice on my shoulder talking. Devil voice liked to have a good time. But Angel voice reminded her that there would be no more parties in my panties if Christos was in jail. Sigh. “Christos, you know I want you, but I don’t want you just for tonight. I’d also like to have you tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that, and—”

He smiled. “I get the idea. Look, my attorney has got everything wrapped up. I totally appreciate your desire to help. But everything is going to be fine.”

“Christos, I don’t know much about how court works, but I do know that I was there that day. You’re going to trial because of that guy who yelled at me the day we met, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “You figured it out. I’m not surprised. Your smarts are half of what attracted me to you in the first place.”

“Really? I’m not just a pretty face?” I struck a fashion model lip pout pose and piled my hair on my head with both hands.

He chuckled. “You’re a pretty face too. The prettiest.”

“Then you’ll totally want me in your trial so I can win over all the male jurors. I’ll have them wrapped around my finger after I’m through.”

“I’m sure you would. But you don’t need to do anything. It’s going to be fine.”

“Come on, Christos. We both know I was an eyewitness. And my eyes were closer to that jerk than anyone else’s. My version of events would totally help you. Am I wrong?”

“No.”

“Then how do I get into the trial? What do I have to do to tell my side of things?”

“You don’t.”

I frowned at him. “Why not?”

“It’s too late.”

“What? Can you please explain in detail?”

He sighed. “We had to tell the judge at the pre-trial today which witnesses we’re going to call to the stand on Friday. It’s too late to add more.”

“That’s stupid! Why?”

“Because the D.A. has to have a chance to hear whatever testimony you might give before the trial starts. So they have time to prepare.”

“No problem. I’ll call them right now!” I stomped my foot.

“It doesn’t work like that. You have to go through the system. It takes time.”

“That’s ridiculous!” I felt my anger rising like a volcano. I wanted to protect Christos more than I wanted to draw another breath. “We still have two days!”

“No, we had two days two days ago.” he said calmly.

“What if I—”

He shook his head.

“I could—”

“No, agápi mou,” he said. “It’s too late.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I wanted to pound him on the chest in frustration. “I could’ve helped!”

“You’ve already helped me more than you will ever realize.”

“Who cares?” I was raging at him now. “If you’re in jail because I didn’t tell everyone what happened in court, it doesn’t matter! I don’t want you behind bars for even a second! Don’t you get it? This is so stupid!” I pushed out of his arms and stalked across the deck until I was standing at the edge of the swimming pool. I suddenly had the desire to dive in and swim a hundred laps in my clothes. I was furious. But swimming wouldn’t get me where I wanted to go.

I felt warm arms wrap around me from behind. He kissed the top of my head and I leaned into him.

I was crying now. “Why didn’t you tell me, Christos?”

“Because I didn’t want you to waste your time on this. I got myself into this mess, I’ll get myself out.”

“But I want to help!” I cried.

“Agápi mou, you need to focus on your classes and your jobs. Speaking of which, didn’t you have a shift at Grab-n-Dash tonight?”

I stiffened in Christos’ arms. Oh shit. Oh fuckity shit! I’d forgot all about it. I was so stressed about Christos not answering my calls, I had gone space cadet.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” he asked.

I winced, “Uh…maybe?”

“Samantha, this is what I’m talking about. You’re so wound up worrying about me when you should be worrying about you.”

I spun around in his arms. “Don’t you get it? You’re always helping me, Christos. This is finally the one time I can do something to really help you, and you won’t let me. My stupid job at Grab-n-Dash doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be a convenience store clerk for the rest of my life. I can find another job. But if I’m not mistaken, you only get one trial, right?”

“Unless there’s a mistrial. But yeah, usually there’s only one.”

“So quit being so bull headed and let me help you, damn it!”