Читать книгу Wedding Party Collection: Here Comes The Groom: The Bridegroom's Vow / The Billionaire Bridegroom - Rebecca Winters, Emma Darcy - Страница 11

DIMITRIOS awoke the next morning feeling much more his old self. Although he was still sore here and there, the dizziness had pretty well disappeared.

He realized he hadn’t been in his right mind for the last few days where his secretary had been concerned. Determined to reestablish professional distance with her, he started out the day by asking Serilda to send breakfast trays to their separate rooms.

Now that he’d showered and dressed, he was anxious to get to the office. He hoped Ms. Hamilton was ready to go.

When he entered the dining room looking for Leon, he found Ananke eating breakfast alone. He greeted her before asking why his nephew hadn’t joined her. She looked at him with wounded eyes.

“Did you think he would stay around after the way you hurt him yesterday?”

He poured himself a cup of coffee from the buffet, then stood staring at her while he drank. “What exactly did he tell you?”

“That you had discussed his personal life with your secretary, and she’d had the nerve to offer her opinion as if it were her right!” Her voice shook. “You know how he adores you. How could you betray him like that?” she cried.

“Aside from the fact that I’ve never discussed Leon with Ms. Hamilton, it might interest you to know she’s on your side without realizing it.”

Ananke’s eyes rounded. “What do you mean?”

In a few words he told her what had happened. “Her opinion obviously hit a nerve, otherwise he wouldn’t have left the room so fast.” As far as Dimitrios was concerned, it was exactly the kind of thing his nephew needed to hear before he made a final decision about his future.

“Nevertheless you can see why Leon’s so upset,” Ananke persisted. “Since you came from New York, you’ve been virtually inaccessible.”

Even Ananke had picked up on his preoccupation with Ms. Hamilton. Damn. Well, that was over now.

He finished his coffee. “I recall spending part of yesterday afternoon with you and my nephew.”

“But nothing was resolved!”

“We have to give him time to talk this out, Ananke. Maybe that’s all he needs to realize this is a phase that will pass.”

The irony of those words weren’t wasted on Dimitrios when he considered his own alarming state of mind since he’d left New York. His interest in Ms. Hamilton better be a phase.

Ananke jumped up from the chair. “There’s something different about you since your return.”

No one knows that better than I do.

“If I’m different, it’s because I’m feeling the weight of a father’s responsibility without being a father. Perhaps it’s time you knew that my brother never wanted to be a part of the family business, either.”

She shook her head. “That’s not true!”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. Leon always preferred to be out-of-doors.”

“Surely you’re not saying he would rather have had a career in forestry than work for the Pandakis Corporation!” Her angry laugh resounded in the room.

“I have no idea how his life would have turned out had he lived.” His voice grated. Thanks to you, we’ll never know. “The point is, my nephew shows the same lack of interest in business as his father.”

A stricken look crossed her face. “You’re so cold, Dimitrios. Don’t you care that he might leave us for good?”

“You already know the answer to that question. But forcing something that goes against his nature will only push him in the opposite direction that much faster.”

“You wouldn’t say that if he were our son.”

“If Leon were my son and I’d been the one who’d died—” he spoke without acknowledging her attempt to personalize the situation “—I’d like to believe my brother would have listened to him, guided him as much as possible, then let him come to his own conclusions. Fortunately he hasn’t made a definite decision yet.”

He checked his watch. “We’ll have to continue this conversation another time. My secretary and I need to get to the office.”

“She already left.”

His head reared back. The sudden movement reminded him of his recent head injury. “When?”

“I saw her leave in a taxi half an hour ago.”

If he didn’t miss his guess, Michael had asked her to come to the hotel room before her workday began. Dimitrios felt like he’d just been kicked in the gut.

“If Leon wants to talk, tell him to call me on my cell phone. I’ll see you later.”

He left the dining room and rang Kristofor to bring the car around. While he waited, he phoned his secretary on her cell phone. If the call came at an inopportune moment for her, he didn’t particularly care.

To his surprise she answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Good morning, Ms. Hamilton.”

“Mr. Pandakis. How are you feeling?” She sounded bright.

He gritted his teeth, trying to shut out certain pictures in his mind. “Well enough to be headed for my office. Shall I swing by the hotel and pick you up?”

“I—I didn’t realize you meant to go into work today,” she stammered.

Obviously not.

Attempting to tamp down his anger, he said, “Does that present a problem for you?”

“Actually it does.”

Dimitrios inhaled sharply. “When can I expect you?”

“Tomorrow morning? You see, I was under the impression you needed to convalesce one more day, so I thought this would be the perfect time to visit Soufli and check out preparations. My flight’s just been called.”

“You’re at the airport?” he demanded incredulously.

“Yes. It’s one of those commuter planes we’ve advertised for the trade fair. After it lands in Alexandroupolis, I’ll rent a car to drive the rest of the way. So far everything’s working perfectly. If the car is at the airport waiting for me as I requested, then I don’t foresee any problems for the fair attendees.

“I’ll check each silk exhibition en route. In case there are any glitches, we’ll have time to sort them out tomorrow. I’ll return on the first flight back to Thessalonica in the morning and report straight to your office.”

No boss could ask for more than that from his secretary. She gave a thousand percent all of the time. He had no right to be upset with her. No right at all.

“That’s fine,” he muttered, still trying to recover from the shock of realizing she wasn’t anywhere in the villa. “Keep in touch with me.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, Mr. Pandakis, but I have to board now or they’re going to close the gate. Goodbye.” She clicked off.

Goodbye? Her cheery tone irritated the hell out of him.

If his secretary thought she’d seen the last of him until tomorrow, she had another think coming.

Using his phone once more, he canceled the car, then sent for the helicopter. While it was coming, he made one more call, to a lodge in Dadia requesting two rooms for the night. After that was accomplished, he returned to his bedroom for some additional clothes and his backpack.

One thing he knew about Ms. Hamilton. She would never lie to him, but that didn’t mean she’d gone to Soufli alone. If joining her meant he interrupted something private, then so be it.

Alex walked through the Alexandroupolis terminal to the car rental counter where she’d arranged for transportation.

Everywhere she looked, whether in or outside the terminal, she saw flags and banners advertising the trade fair. It had been the same at the airport in Thessalonica. There was a sense of festivity in the air that seemed to have affected everyone except her.

Two nights of living in close proximity to Dimitrios had created a physical ache for him that wasn’t about to go away. For her own good, she’d wrenched herself from the villa early this morning in order not to see him.

She thought she’d escaped him until she’d heard his deep, familiar voice on the phone at the airport. Now she was in more pain than before. It was absolutely vital she leave her job the second the trade fair was over.

While waiting to board her flight, she’d phoned her mother to let her know she was all right. She’d kept their conversation brief. As for Michael, she’d finally been able to connect with him.

It sounded like he and the guys were having a terrific time. But when he wanted to talk about the costume and Dimitrios, she told him she had to go and would debrief after her return from Soufli.

“Kalimera. My name is Alex Hamilton. I requested a car?” She displayed her passport.

The employee was all smiles. “It’s the black four-door right outside the building at the curb,” he said in beautiful English. “You can’t miss it because it has our company logo on the back window.”

“Thank you.” When nothing else was forthcoming she said, “May I have the key?”

“We have provided you with an English speaking driver.”

“Oh. I had no idea.”

She shouldn’t have been surprised. The Pandakis name insured outstanding service. Dimitrios was a very special man, and no one knew that more than Alex.

There were women he dated who would have fought to be first at his side had they known about the accident, yet he’d insisted on Alex’s attentions. Looking after him all night had bonded her to him in a brand-new way.

But she had to face the fact that if he’d preferred her company for the last two nights, even over that of his own sister-in-law, it was because he’d known he didn’t have to pretend in front of his secretary.

Dimitrios paid her a fantastic salary to do whatever was needed and place no demands on him. She might as well be another man for all the interest he took in her as a woman.

“Enjoy your trip to Soufli.”

The man’s parting comment brought her back from her torturous thoughts. “I’m sure I will.”

With her suitcase in one hand, her briefcase in the other, she made her way out of the busy terminal.

As she approached the lane where a string of cars were idling, she noticed there were quite a few black ones mixed in with the others. Not certain which of them was hers, she started down the queue searching for the rental agency’s logo.

“Alexandra?” came a vibrant male voice from behind her.

She spun around in surprise to hear her name, then almost fainted to discover who it was.

“Dimitrios—”

Alex had been thinking so hard about him, the word slipped out before she realized she’d said it. He was wearing sunglasses, a rare sight, but after his accident she assumed his eyes were still sensitive to the light.

“It’s nice to hear you say my name,” he drawled.

Suddenly she was out of breath. “I—I don’t know what you mean.”

His white smile dazzled her. “It’s one thing to be formal in front of other people, but it’s long past the time we functioned on a first name basis in private. Don’t you agree?”

He took the cases from her hands and put them in the back seat of the car. While she watched, it dawned on her he was really here. To make things even more difficult for her, he was such an attractive Greek male, she couldn’t look anywhere else.

The sage-colored summer suit with a white, open-necked silk shirt brought out the blackness of his hair and olive-toned skin. She had the overwhelming urge to hold him as she’d done on the plane when she’d cradled his head and shoulders in her lap.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming while we were on the phone?” This wasn’t the way this day was supposed to go, yet she was so thrilled to see him, she could hardly stand it.

“It was a last-minute decision. Rather than work at my office alone, I thought it might be more fun to join you while we both test the system for flaws.” He opened the passenger door for her.

Fun?

Alex didn’t know what to think. He’d teased her before, but never to this extent.

Averting her eyes, she climbed in the front seat. After he’d shut the door and had gone around to the driver’s seat she asked, “Should you have flown anywhere this soon after your accident?”

He turned the key in the ignition, revving the engine. “Do I detect a note of pique in my secretary? I promise I won’t bother you while we make our inspection.”

“That isn’t why I asked the question,” she said in a quiet voice. “I realize that without a command of your language, you were probably concerned I couldn’t do this by myself. I just hope you won’t suffer a relapse.”

They pulled away from the curb and followed the exit signs. “If you’re worried you’ll have to nurse me halfway through the day, I promise I’m feeling fine.”

“That’s reassuring, especially when it’s so close to the opening of the fair.”

He didn’t respond to her comment. Instead, he drove the car with the same expertise he did everything else. Before long they’d left the airport and were headed for Soufli, which according to her map was sixty-five kilometers away.

She sent him a furtive glance. It was still hard to believe he’d come all this distance when there were other things that needed his attention at his office.

He caught her looking at him. Her heart did a little kick. “Why did you bother to bring your suitcase, Alexandra?”

To hear him say her name with that slight trace of accent sent a ripple of forbidden excitement through her body.

“I didn’t think I’d have enough time to visit all the exhibits and make it back to Thessalonica in one day, so I booked a room in Soufli for the night.”

“Which hotel?”

“The Ilias.”

“Considering the influx of tourists for the big event, I’m amazed they had anything available.”

“I don’t think they did. But as soon as I said your name, there was no problem.”

At that remark he pulled his cell phone out of his suit jacket pocket and made a call. Except for words like hello and goodbye, it was impossible to follow his Greek. Curious to know who he was phoning, she waited for an explanation after he clicked off, but it never came.

Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Is everything all right?”

“It is now,” came the mysterious reply.

She hated it when he refused to explain his actions, particularly in this case because she was afraid they had something to do with her. In order to get her mind off him, she studied her map. It was printed on the brochure the man at the car rental desk had given her when he’d handed back her passport.

“You see that little area outside Soufli?” He touched the spot with his index finger.

At his close proximity, she drew in an unsteady breath. “Yes.”

“That’s called Dadia. We’ll be sleeping there tonight.”

She bit the inside of her lip. “Have you forgotten the government dinner at the Dodona Palace this evening? I accepted for you a month ago.”

“On my way here I told them I needed another twenty-four hours to convalesce from my accident. My cousin Vaso is going to attend in my place.”

Alex turned her head to look out the side window. No matter which member of the illustrious Pandakis family was sent, the officials would be disappointed because it was Dimitrios they wanted. Instead, he was going to be with her.

If he didn’t have worries about her being able to get around the country without his help, then the only other reason she could imagine him showing up like this was that he needed a legitimate excuse to put space between him and his nephew.

Maybe there’d been another unpleasant episode with Leon this morning, and Dimitrios hadn’t recovered enough to deal with it yet. Ananke Pandakis hadn’t said more than two words to her at breakfast.

Alex had wanted to ask the other woman to tell Leon how sorry she was for having offended him with her insensitive remarks. But the negative tension radiating from his mother had made conversation impossible. As soon as the taxi arrived, Alex had been only too glad to slip away from the villa.

“What should we do about the Ilias?”

“Don’t worry. I canceled your reservation.”

“Some desperate tourist is going to be very happy.”

“But not you?”

He was playing the relentless inquisitor again. When he was like this, there was no stopping him.

“I’m perfectly content to spend the night anywhere, you know that. Is there something special about Dadia?”

“It’s the forest that’s famous. As a boy, I explored every centimeter of it with my brother.”

“Your favorite place?” She couldn’t help asking. His love of mountaineering must have been born there.

He nodded. “I’ve been back several times, but I haven’t climbed to the top of Gibrena Peak since my brother Leonides died.”

He’d spoken of his brother’s death to Mrs. Landau, but this was the first time he’d mentioned it to Alex. Moved by his tone, her hands clutched together. “You’ll see it through different eyes this time.”

“That’s true. You can’t return and expect things to be the same. But knowing you and your passion for life, I shall enjoy watching your reaction. Tell me now if you didn’t bring suitable clothing. There’s a store in the village we’re coming to where we can buy what you need.”

Panic gripped Alex in its vise.

“I—I didn’t bring any walking clothes to Greece.”

“No problem.”

Perspiration broke out on her hairline. “Why don’t you drop me off in Soufli to do my work? It will leave you free to visit your old haunt unencumbered. We can meet at the silk mansion in the morning for the trip back.”

“Have you forgotten your hotel room is gone?”

She shifted in the seat. “I’ll find something else.”

“It’s already noon. Too late in the day to make other arrangements.”

“Is it very steep in the forest?”

“I suppose that all depends on your definition of the word steep.”

“Can I explore it in this outfit and my sneakers, or are you talking about scaling walls?”

Deep-throated laughter rumbled out of him. “I’m not asking you to climb a mountain.”

“That’s good.” She could have wept in relief. “A picture of all those plaques and trophies in your closet flashed before my eyes. It almost gave me a heart attack.”

“So that explains why you took so long to find the garment bag.” He was still chuckling.

Heat filled her cheeks. “I admit I’m a bit of a snoop.”

“I prefer to call it an inquiring mind. It’s what makes you an irreplaceable secretary. If I haven’t said it before, you’ve redefined the word for me, and I’m indebted to you, Alexandra.”

Whenever he said her name, he made it sound so beautiful.

“Thank you,” she whispered in agony. A nagging voice cried, Is it worth it to be the bridesmaid, but never the bride?

“Tomorrow will be soon enough to inspect the exhibits. Today I’d like to reward you for all your hard work by showing you a national treasure. How does that appeal to you?”

Oh, Dimitrios. If you only knew. “That sounds lovely.”

Convinced she’d arranged to spend the night with her American boyfriend, Dimitrios should have felt guilty for thwarting her plans. But heaven help him, all he could feel was a sense of elation that they were going to be alone together far from the horde.

Since they’d been driving, he hadn’t heard her cell phone ring. For that matter, she hadn’t tried to use it. He was surprised she didn’t want to stop at a local shop, if only to excuse herself long enough to make contact with Michael.

Of course she could have planned to get in touch with him later in the day. Then again, maybe she was meeting her Greek boyfriend, and Michael didn’t have a clue.

Dimitrios grimaced at the thoughts assailing him.

Was it possible Yanni had flown up from Athens? Why not enjoy a private interlude with her before she had to return to Thessalonica where her other lover was waiting for her at the hotel.

Did both men resent the time Dimitrios demanded of her? The late nights at his office? The early-morning conferences?

He wondered how Michael felt about having to pick up the costume she’d had made for him, let alone be asked to bring it all the way to Greece on the plane.

Had it upset him to learn she’d be staying at the villa instead of the hotel? Or was he so sure of her, it would never occur to him to worry what she was doing with her employer.

If Dimitrios were in either man’s shoes, the thought of her making love to anyone but him caused a blackness to sweep over him. The feeling was so staggering, so powerful, it took him a minute to recognize it for what it was.

“Shouldn’t we have taken that turnoff for Dadia?” Her voice seemed to come from far away.

“There’ll be another one in a minute,” he muttered, still gripped by the sheer force of emotion too painfully raw for him to shake off. Jealousy had never touched his life until now.

“Oh, Dimi—listen to me. You’re barely twelve. Not quite old enough for a man’s feelings to have taken over inside you yet. When that day comes, your body will react when you see a beautiful woman. You’ll want to hold her, make love to her. The pleasure a woman can bring you is to die for.”

Dimitrios struggled to control his rapid breathing.

The night she’d brushed those magic fingers of hers across his forehead had brought him pleasure to die for. The thought of those same fingers on his body tonight…

Lord. He was already so far out of control where she was concerned, he didn’t know what in the hell he was going to do about the situation. He’d made reservations for two rooms, but the way he was feeling right now, one of them would be going to waste. Dimitrios couldn’t believe he’d reached this point.

“Your cell phone’s ringing,” she reminded him.

There was no way he could talk to anyone right now. He handed it to her. “When you answer it, tell whoever it is I’ll get back to them.”

“It’s coming from the villa. What if it’s your nephew?”

She knew him too well. But the question drew his attention to the generous curve of her lips with their flare of passion.

When he’d awakened the morning after the accident to find her face mere inches from his, he remembered thinking she had a mouth nature had made without flaw.

“Shall I let it ring?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “If it’s Leon, I’ll talk to him.”

Except that as he listened, it became clear someone else had called. The conversation was over so fast, he realized it had to have been Ananke. These days she was so upset over Leon, she’d forgotten her manners.

After his secretary had clicked off she said, “That was your sister-in-law. She told me to tell you her son is no longer a student at the university. He just left the villa with his backpack and indicated he wouldn’t be around for the family dinner tomorrow night.”

That didn’t surprise him. It was a knee-jerk reaction to punish Dimitrios for taking Alexandra into his confidence, or so Leon had thought. “What else did she say?”

“That was all, but she sounded…desolate.” Her head swerved in his direction. “I got the distinct impression she blames me that he’s gone away so upset.”

He changed into a lower gear so the car could begin its gradual ascent to the lodge. “My sister-in-law’s one dream has been to see her son rise to the head of the Pandakis Corporation. What she forgot to remember is that Leon is capable of dreaming his own dreams.

“Whether they have substance or not, he thinks he wants to be a monk on Mount Athos. She’s terrified of losing him.”

“Oh, dear God— I’m so sorry—” The voice of the woman next to him shook with pain.

“Don’t fall apart on me now, Alexandra. For him to run away because you happened to express an innocent opinion in his presence means he’s more childish and immature than I thought.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it. He must have believed you’d confided his dream to me, a mere secretary. He couldn’t help but think I was trying to influence him on your behalf. If I’d been in his shoes, I would have felt a trust had been broken, too.”

Dimitrios had to clear his throat, not only because of her understanding and sensitivity of the problem, but because of her earnestness in trying to make him understand how badly she felt.

“He worships you!” she cried. “I saw it in his eyes and expression the moment he boarded the plane and found you suffering. And later at the villa, until I ruined everything, he was so excited to try on the costume for you.”

“I love him very much, and appreciate what you’re saying, but I’m not blind to the fact that he’s still very young for his age.”

“Age doesn’t matter when you’re not used to sharing the person you love with a stranger,” she came back. “I don’t blame Ananke for being beside herself. If I could just tell Leon you bear no fault in this.”

“I appreciate your defense of me, Alexandra, but if my nephew can’t see how petty he’s being, then he’s not ready to make life-changing decisions.”

“I think it’s more a case of his being afraid he could never measure up to you. Perhaps he sees the monastery as a place where he won’t have to try.”

He marveled at her ability to see through to the heart of a situation. Her mind was as exciting as everything else about her.

“My uncle Spiros used coercion on everyone in the family in order to have his will obeyed. Even my own father gave in to him out of fear. When I became Leon’s guardian, I determined that was the one thing I would never do.”

“Perhaps you succeeded so well, it has led him to believe you don’t think he’s capable of following in your footsteps. Maybe it’s your approval he’s been waiting for to give him that final push in the right direction, but he never received it. If that’s the case, then my comments to him would have come as a double blow.”

“What do you mean?” Her understanding was rather astounding. He found himself anxious to hear what else she had to say.

“Have you told him straight out you don’t want him to be a monk?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s possible he has a true vocation.”

“But don’t you see—” She broke off talking.

He turned his head toward her. “Go on.”

“I—I’m much too outspoken. It’s none of my business.”

“After what happened in my bedroom, I’d say you’re very much involved. Finish what you were going to tell me.”

She was making more sense than anyone he’d ever known. With every word that came from her mouth, he found himself more enamored of her.

“Maybe he took my remarks to mean that you don’t think he’d make a very good monk, either. Coming from me, it must have been humiliating for him.”

Good heavens. Was it possible she had hit on the truth?

He couldn’t count the number of times Ananke had begged him to take Leon in hand. But all these years he’d shut his mind and heart to her entreaties because she’d been the one doing the pleading.

From the moment Leonides had told him he’d been trapped into a loveless marriage, Ananke had been emotionally dead to Dimitrios.

If Alexandra was even partially correct, then he’d done a terrible disservice to his nephew, who could be floundering. It made sense he’d gone off to lick his wounds.

Dimitrios struggled to contain emotions erupting inside him. To think Alexandra had applied for a job with him four years ago, yet only now was he beginning to understand what a true prize she was.

Without wasting any more time, he reached for the phone to call Leon, but his nephew had turned off his cell phone. The only thing to do was leave a message.

“Leon?” he spoke in Greek. “Wherever you are, I hope you hear this in time. I thought I was recovered enough from my accident to take part in the opening ceremony of the trade fair. But I flew in the helicopter to inspect the silk exhibits and found out I’m still too dizzy to contemplate anything that vigorous.

“I need you home, preferably by tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness for all the polo you played. You ride like you were born in the saddle. We can also be grateful you inherited your father’s height and build. Besides me, you’re the only other man in the family who could wear that costume Ms. Hamilton went to so much trouble to have made.

“You’ll be leading the parade with a regiment of mounted soldiers. That means giving a speech on horseback while you’re in front of the dignitaries’ stand. You’re the only Pandakis I’d trust to face the media with their cameras.

“After the many talks we’ve had, you know how important this trade fair is. I have every confidence you’ll make all of Greece proud, especially your mother who has raised such a fine son.”

Dimitrios could admit that much about Ananke. She’d been devoted to Leon.

“If you hear this message before I get home tomorrow afternoon, phone me and we’ll talk.”

He clicked off, anxious to find out what kind of response he would get from his nephew, if any. At least he’d taken the first step to rectify a situation he may have unwittingly created years ago. Unfortunately it might be too late if Leon had already shut down. Only time would tell.

Thanks to the wisdom of the woman seated next to him, Dimitrios had been given a fighting chance to make amends.

Right now he felt an urgency to get her strictly alone with him. What better spot than the pristine forest that lay ahead of them.