Читать книгу Ultimate Romance Collection - Rebecca Winters, Amalie Berlin - Страница 97
ОглавлениеWHEN HER PHONE RANG, Lys had been out on the patio of Danae’s villa talking with her about Takis and his fragile relationship with his father. She checked the caller ID before clicking on. “Yes, Giorgos?”
“I don’t mean to intrude on your day off, but there was a man at the front desk asking for you a few minutes ago. He didn’t leave his name. I told him I’d schedule an appointment, but I needed information first. All he said was that you would know who he was and he’d be back later.”
Lys shot to her feet out of breath. Takis? But surely he would have phoned her if he’d flown to Crete! He’d been gone a week, but it had felt like a month. Seven days away from him had proven to her how much he had come to mean to her, feelings that went soul deep.
“Did you hear what I said? Do you want security when you return?”
She’d forgotten Giorgos was on the phone. “Was this man threatening in some way?”
“No. But he had an attitude that sounded too familiar and possessive for my liking.”
If anyone sounded possessive it was Giorgos, whose observation surprised her. “Thank you for the warning, but I’m not worried. I’ll be back at the hotel later.”
After hanging up she told Danae what happened. The older woman cocked her head. “Who else could it be but Takis? Aside from Nassos, he’s the most exciting man I’ve almost ever bumped into.”
Lys chuckled.
“The man’s charm is lethal. I have no doubt it rattled Giorgos, who, according to Nassos, was interested in you from the moment he came to work.”
“You’re kidding—”
This time it was Danae who laughed. “When Nassos realized Giorgos was invisible to you, he stopped worrying that he’d hired him.”
“I had no idea I was that transparent.”
“There were two or three men you dated that gave us concern because you seemed so swayed by them. We felt you were too young and we ran interference for your sake. But it was when you started seeing Kasmos Loukos, whose father owns the Loukos Shipping lines in Macedonia, we grew very nervous.
“That spoiled young man had already been seen with too many wealthy celebrities. Nassos knew Kasmos was shopping around for the best female prospect to build on his father’s fortune. When we saw the way he went about seducing you, we were fearful you might really be in love with him. The problem was, you were an adult. We couldn’t do anything about it, and only hoped you could see through him before it was too late.”
“Which I did. One night he started talking to me about Nassos, asking questions that were none of his business. That’s when a light went on and I remembered all the lessons you’d tried to teach me. I was no longer blinded and told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. You should have seen his face—”
“Thank goodness that relationship didn’t last! I’m afraid neither Nassos nor I ever thought you’d met your match. Speaking of which, I think you’d better take the helicopter back to the hotel so you can meet up with this mystery man before you die of curiosity.”
Heat crept into her cheeks. “I’m not dying,” Lys muttered.
“You could have fooled me.” She reached for her phone. “I’ll alert the pilot.”
Lys checked her watch. Ten after one. She’d been here a long time. The two of them were closer than ever. They were family and needed each other while they mourned their loss. No longer did Lys want to go to New York except for a visit to the Farrells’. Her life was here. Takis was here and not going anywhere. Joy.
She walked over to hug her. “Have a lovely evening with Stella. Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.”
“Let me know how this ends.”
“You know I will. Love you.”
After leaving the villa, she walked out to the pad and climbed on board the helicopter. Within fifteen minutes the pilot landed on top of the Rodino Hotel. She took the elevator to the third floor and freshened up in her suite. With the blood pounding in her ears, she went down to the lobby.
If Takis was here and waiting in the lounge, he’d see her. But since he still hadn’t phoned her, she began to think it must have been some other man. Lys couldn’t think who that would be unless it was a high-tech salesperson not wanting to go through Giorgos to reach her.
Magda, one of the personnel on duty at the desk, waved her over. “Giorgos told me to watch for you. I’ll get him.” The woman hurried off before Lys could tell her not to bother.
A second later he came out of his office and walked toward the counter where she was standing. At the same time, she felt two hands slide around her waist from behind.
“Forgive me,” Takis whispered. “I have my reason for doing this.”
The intimacy brought a small gasp to her lips. She whirled around, meeting those intense hazel eyes that were devouring her.
“Don’t look now, but Giorgos is having a meltdown,” he murmured. She wouldn’t have understood what he meant if she hadn’t just had a certain conversation with Danae about the manager. Their mouths were mere centimeters apart. His warm breath on her lips excited her so much, she forgot that she was clinging to his arms. “I’ll answer your questions later. Come with me first. We’re going for a ride.”
Her heart nearly ran away with her as he kept an arm around her shoulders and they left the hotel. Instead of walking her to a taxi, he helped her into a black, middle-of-the-line Acura parked in the registration check-in line. Leon, one of the staff members outside, stared at the two of them in surprise.
Takis started up the engine and darted into the heavy main street traffic in front of the resort. When she could find her voice she said, “This smells brand new.”
He flashed her a smile. “I just drove it off the lot. I’m here for the next six months and need transportation.” His choice of car made total sense considering the modest income of his family.
“My driving must have frightened you more than I realized.”
“Are you saying you would have agreed to be my chauffeur day and night? If so, we’ll drive back to the car dealership and turn it in.”
Lys laughed gently while he drove them along the harbor road to the Venetian Fortress of Koules. He pulled into a parking space where they could watch the boats.
After shutting off the engine, he turned to her, stretching his arm along the back of the seat. “I owe you an explanation. Thank you for going along with me back there.”
“I take it you wanted to make a statement. So why did you do it?”
“In order for us to be together so no one knows the underpinnings of our relationship, I’m proposing we do something shocking. How would you feel about getting engaged to me?”
Engaged?
Lys looked away, literally stunned by what he’d just said.
“Hear me out before you tell me how outrageous I’m being. It could be the one thing that will make it easier to help us achieve our main goal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you agree the most important one is for us to get through the next six months honoring Nassos’s wishes?”
Her pulse had started to race. “That goes without saying.”
“An engagement will give us the perfect cover. While you run the hotel, I’ll spend real time with my family. When I whisk you away for a little personal time together, or spend time in your hotel room, no one will know I’m helping you behind the scenes.”
Lys struggled to sit still. Nassos had told her Takis was a genius with vision, but this proposition went beyond the boundaries of her imagination. The thought of being engaged to him robbed her of breath.
“The only way the manager will understand why you and I are spending time together and not become suspicious is if he thinks we’re romantically involved. I was simply setting the scene.”
A thrill of alarm passed through her body. “There’s no doubt you accomplished your objective a few minutes ago,” she said in a tremulous voice.
“It had to be convincing. Tell me something. When you flew to Italy, did the staff know you were leaving the country?”
“Only Giorgos, but I didn’t tell him where and let him assume what he wanted.”
“That’s perfect. Just now it didn’t hurt for him and other members of the staff to see us meet in the lobby and assume we have a history away from Crete. When we walked out of the hotel with my arm around you, it no doubt created a new wave of gossip.”
“You know it did.” Being that close to him practically gave her a heart attack.
“If we’re engaged, it’ll be about you and me for a change. I’m aware the old gossip came close to crucifying you. An engagement would put an end to it.”
“I can’t imagine anything more wonderful than changing that particular conversation.” She took an extra breath. “I’ll admit it was awful for Danae too.”
He studied her for a moment. “Neither of you deserved this. It pains me for both of you. The new gossip you and I create will cause people to see you in a new light. With a ring on your finger from me, the old news will be forgotten.”
She closed her eyes tightly. He was making it sound possible and that increased her nervousness. If this proposal had come from his heart, she’d be in heaven. But it hadn’t, and she needed to remember that.
“Lys?” he prodded.
“Can you tell me what you’ve decided to do about your other businesses?”
“I’m already in negotiations to sell my chain of hotels in New York and invest the money. After talking it over with my partners, I’m going to stay committed to them. The castello hotel-restaurant will be the only asset I own and I’ll fly to Milan when necessary.”
“I’m sure they’ll be happy about that.” Her voice shook from emotions sweeping through her. “Do your parents know what you’ve done?”
He nodded. “I’ve told them I’ve come home for good and want to help out at the family hotel. My father hasn’t said anything about that yet. Lukios has indicated I’m not needed. He explained they would have to let someone else go who must keep their job. I understood that and told him I’d be happy to do some advertising around Crete to bring in more clients.”
“What did he say?”
“He shook his head and left the living room with the excuse that he was needed at the front desk and we’d talk later.”
“I’m sorry, but these are early days. Your mother must be ecstatic!”
“I think she’s still in shock that I haven’t gone back to Italy yet.”
“You’ll have to give your family time before everyone accepts the fact that you’re home permanently. But you have to know she’s thrilled, and she’s the one to work on. After all, your mother was the one who begged you to come home permanently. In the meantime, you can offer to do little things for her.”
Takis studied her intently. “You’re a very intuitive woman, so I’m going to take your advice. A few more days and they might be more receptive to the idea of my helping around the hotel. Maybe I’ll be able to break my parents down enough so they’ll start confiding in me.”
Lys moistened her lips nervously. “I’m sure things will get better for you, but I’m afraid you haven’t thought out your proposition carefully enough where I’m concerned.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you were to tell them we’re engaged, it could make things a lot worse for you. I’ve been in the news recently. Have you thought they might not approve of me?”
His brows furrowed. “If you’re the woman I’ve chosen, they won’t say anything no matter their personal feelings. I know that if my mother heard your whole story, she’d be thrilled. Besides, deep down she’s had a fear I’d end up with some foreigner and as you’re half Cretan, she’ll be overjoyed.”
“I am part foreigner,” Lys murmured. “How would you explain our meeting?”
“That’s simple. We met at the castello hotel in Italy while you were on vacation a while ago. It was love at first sight and we’ve been together ever since.”
His words sank deep in her psyche. It might not have been love at first sight, but a powerful emotion had shaken her to the core when he’d walked in his office to find her there. That emotion continued to grow stronger until she knew he was the man she’d been waiting for all her adult life.
Lys looked away from him. “How will you explain it when we break up in six months and call off the engagement?”
“I don’t know. Right now I’m trying to navigate through new waters because of what Nassos has done to us. This situation could have happened forty years from now, but it didn’t. You and I are both vulnerable for a variety of reasons and we need to think this through carefully if we’re going to do it right.”
“I agree.”
“Isn’t it interesting to realize Nassos had no way of knowing that he’d done me a favor when he deeded me half the hotel. It has forced me to come home and try to make a difference for my family, something I should have done a long time ago.”
Lys could feel his pain. “I’m sorry you have the worry of their health on your mind.”
“I’ve been living with it for a while. Maybe I’ve been wrong and misread what I thought about mother. Just because she has aged a little doesn’t mean she’s ill.”
“That’s probably all it is.”
“Cesare has accused me of leaping to conclusions. Still, if one of them is ill, I need to find that out. But they’re so closed up, it’ll take time to pry them open if they’re keeping a secret from me. Nothing else is as important to me right now.”
“I can relate,” her voice trembled. “After Nassos hit his head, he pretended that everything was fine, but I could tell he wasn’t himself and it gnawed at me. So I can understand how disturbed you are by your mother’s plea that you move back here.”
He flicked her an all-encompassing glance. “No matter what, it’s my worry. The decision of our getting engaged is up to you. If I see one problem, it’s how Danae would feel about it. If neither of you is comfortable with the idea, then we’ll figure out another way to proceed.”
After Lys’s conversation at the villa with Danae earlier in the day, she had no clue how the other woman would react over such an unorthodox idea. But you couldn’t compare Takis in the same breath with any other man. Even Danae had admitted as much.
“I—I don’t know what Danae will say...” Her voice faltered.
“I realize you love and respect her, and you are uncertain with good reason. Even if Danae could see some value in it, she would probably tell you no. Six months of being engaged to me will prevent you from meeting a man you might want to marry. It will rob you of an important chunk of time out of your life.”
“And yours!”
“Let’s not worry about that. What matters most to me is to be back with my family where I’m able to make a contribution any way I can and still be a sounding board for you without anyone knowing.”
Lys was so confused she couldn’t think straight. He’d brought up some valid points that went straight to the heart of their individual dilemmas. But she needed to sort out her thoughts and would have to talk to Danae.
He sat back and turned on the engine. “I need to get home, so I’m going to drive you back to the hotel. I’m in no hurry for a decision. There’s no deadline. I’ll leave it up to you to contact me when you want to discuss hotel business.”
Before long he pulled up in front of the hotel. Lys could tell he was anxious to leave. “We’ll talk soon, Takis. Take care.”
“Just a minute.” He leaned across and kissed her briefly on the mouth. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. “I needed that,” he whispered before she opened the door and got out.
Her heart thudding, she rushed past Leon without acknowledging him. Her only desire was to get to her room where she could react to his kiss in private. After what he’d just done, the thought of a fake engagement to Takis had caused her heart to pound to a feverish pitch. She feared she was already running a temperature. When she could gather her wits, Lys would phone Danae. They needed to talk.
* * *
Takis drove to Tylissos, still savoring the taste of Lys, whose succulent mouth was a revelation. He’d never be the same again.
Before long he stopped by the children’s hospital. After phoning his mother to find out if she needed him to do any errands for her, he discovered that Kori had taken Cassia to the doctor because of another asthma attack. It meant she’d been forced to leave her part-time work at the restaurant. Takis told his mother he’d look in on them.
He found his older sister holding his niece in her arms while she recovered after the medication they’d given her.
“Tak-Tak,” his little niece cried when she saw him enter the room and held out her arms. Takis gathered her to him and gave her a gentle hug, kissing her neck.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Nay. Go home.”
Takis looked at his sister, who had the same dark auburn hair as her daughter, the color of cassia cinnamon. “Did the doctor say she could leave?”
“Yes, but I have to wait until Deimos goes off shift to pick us up.”
“But that won’t be until nine thirty tonight. Tell you what. I’m going to slip out and buy an infant seat for my car. Then I’ll drive you to work.”
“You have a car?”
“I bought one this morning. I need transportation now that I’m back for good.”
She stared hard at him. “You’re really going to live here again?”
He nodded. “I never planned to be gone this long. Now that I’m home, I’m staying put.” Just being here to help his sister let him know he’d done the right thing to come back to Greece for good.
Takis handed a protesting Cassia to her mother. “This won’t take me long. When I get back, I’ll run you by the restaurant and take her to the hotel with me.” His mother tended Cassia when Kori had to go to work.
Her face looked tired but her light gray eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“There’s nothing I’d love more.” He leaned over to give them both a kiss on the cheek. “See you in a few minutes.”
Takis hurried out of the hospital and drove to a local store, where he bought a rear-facing and two forward-facing car seats. That way he could take all his nieces and nephews to the park at once.
Within a half hour he was back and had fastened Cassia in her new seat. He would put in the other seats when he had the time. Kori sat next to him while he drove her to the Vrakas restaurant, where Deimos cooked traditional Cretan cuisine.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take good care of her.”
“I know that. She loves you. So do I.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’ve come home.” Her love meant everything to Takis.
After she hurried inside, he chatted with Cassia during the short ride to the old Manolis Hotel. He pulled around the back next to his father’s truck. Lukios’s car wasn’t here, which meant he’d gone to his house a block away. Both his brother and sister lived nearby.
“Come on, sweetheart.” He lifted her out of the seat and entered the private back door where his parents had lived in their own apartment since their marriage. “Mama? Look who I’ve got with me!” His mother came running from the kitchen into the living room. “She’s breathing just fine now.”
“Ah!” She pulled Cassia into her arms. “Come with me and I’ll give you some grape juice.” Grapes grew in profusion on this part of Crete.
“Tak-Tak!” his niece called to him, not wanting to be parted from him. He smiled because she couldn’t say the is part yet. He grinned at his mother, who laughed.
“I’m right behind you, Cassia.”
While his father was busy with hotel business, he had his mother to himself in the kitchen. She put a plate of his favorite homemade dakos on the table, a combination of rusk, feta cheese, olives and tomatoes. Cassia sat in the high chair drinking her juice while he devoured six of them without taking a breath and finished off the moussaka.
Afterward he held Cassia and read to her from a bundle of children’s books he’d brought her on his last trip home. She had a favorite called Am I Small? He had to read it to her over and over again.
The little Greek girl in the story asked every animal she met if she was small. It had a surprise ending. Cassia couldn’t wait for it. Neither could Takis, who was totally entertained by her responses.
At quarter to ten, Kori ran into the apartment and found her daughter asleep in his arms. She thanked him with a hug and hurried out to the car where Deimos was waiting for them.
Takis turned out lights and went to bed in the guest room he used whenever he came home for a visit. However, now that he was back for good, he needed to figure out where to live. Tomorrow he’d look around the neighborhood and find a house like his brother’s and Kori’s, close to the hotel.
Takis took a long time to get to sleep, knowing the nub of his restlessness had to do with a certain female who’d come to live in his heart. They weren’t engaged yet, but the way he was feeling, he didn’t know how he was going to keep his desire for her to himself much longer. Earlier in the car he’d kissed her, but it hadn’t lasted long enough and he’d been forced to restrain himself.
The next morning, he installed the other two car seats before visiting a Realtor in the village. By late afternoon he’d finally been shown a small Cretan stone house he liked with a beautiful flowering almond tree. It had been up for sale close to a year and was two blocks away from the hotel. The place suited him with two bedrooms upstairs and a little terrace over the lower main rooms covered in vines.
Takis stood in the kitchen while they talked about the need to paint the interior and upgrade the plumbing. The house would do for him and not stand out. While he and the Realtor finished up the negotiations, his cell phone rang. One check of the caller ID caused his adrenaline to kick in. He swiped to accept the call.
“Lys?”
“I’m glad you answered.” She sounded a little out of breath. “Can you talk?”
“In a few minutes I’ll be free for the rest of the evening.”
“I just flew back from Kasos.” She’d been with Danae. “How soon can you meet me at my suite?” The fact that she wanted to see him right away might not be good news, but he refused to think that way.
“I have a better idea. I’ll pick you up in front of the hotel in a half hour. There’s something I want to show you. We’ll talk then.”
“All right. I’ll be ready.”
He hung up and thanked the Realtor, who drove them back to his office. The older man handed him the keys to the house. Takis walked outside to his car with a sense of satisfaction that he was now a homeowner on Crete, the land of his ancestors.
En route to Heraklion, he stopped for some takeout of his favorite foods; rosemary-flavored fried snails, Sfaki pies and a Greek raki liqueur made from grapes. He liked the idea of sharing his first meal in his own home with Lys where they could be alone.
Before long he reached the hotel. Lys stood out from everyone when he pulled up in front. Her black blouse and dark gray skirt made the perfect foil for the tawny gold hair he was dying to run his hands through. He leaned across and opened the door for her.
“Hi!” Lys climbed in the front, bringing her flowery fragrance with her. “Umm. Something smells good,” she remarked as he drove away and headed out of town.
“I’m hungry and thought we could eat after we reach our destination.”
“Where are we going?”
“To Tylissos. I bought a house today and thought you might like to see it.”
She made a strange sound in her throat. “Already?”
“My parents’ apartment is small. They don’t need another person underfoot while they tend my niece during the day. She naps on the bed I use while I’m here.”
“How old is she?”
“Cassia is three. I’m crazy about her. The cute little thing has chronic asthma. Yesterday my sister had to take her to the hospital so the doctor could help her, but she’s back home now.”
“Oh, the poor darling.”
“She handles it like there’s nothing wrong. Now tell me about you. I take it you’ve had a talk with Danae.”
“Yes.”
The short one-syllable answer could mean anything. “Is it a good or bad sign that you can’t look at me? Don’t you know I’m fine with whatever you have to say?” At least that’s what he was telling himself right this minute.
“After discussing everything with Danae, she surprised me so much I’m not sure what I am supposed to say.”
He left that answer alone and drove into Tylissos and it wasn’t long before he pulled up next to a house on the corner. “We’ve arrived.”
While she got out, he reached for the bag of food on the backseat. After they walked to the front door, he put the key in the lock and opened it. “Welcome to my humble abode. I’m afraid we’ll have to eat in the kitchen standing up.”
Her chuckle reminded him not everyone had such a pleasant nature. So far there wasn’t anything about her he didn’t love. While she wandered around, he put their cartons of food on the counter next to the utensils.
After a minute, she came back and they started to eat. “Your house is charming, especially the terrace.”
“Best seen at twilight.” The house needed work from the main floor up.
“Takis—”
They both smiled in understanding. It felt right to be here with her like this. He’d never known such a moment of contentment and wanted to freeze it.
Once he’d poured the raki into plastic cups, he handed one to her. “To our health,” he said in Greek. They drank some before he asked her what Danae had said. She kept drinking. “Why are you so reticent to tell me?”
Her frown spoke volumes. “I wish I hadn’t talked to her at all.”
“Why?”
“Because she thinks an engagement could be a good idea for the reasons you suggested, but she says it doesn’t go far enough.”
* * *
“What does she mean?”
“Her blessing is contingent on us taking the engagement a step further, which makes this whole discussion ridiculous.”
“How much further?”
She shook her head. “None of it matters.”
“It does to me. Go on.”
“I told Danae about everything you confided in me concerning your relationship with your family, especially your father. She was very sympathetic, but she’s convinced they won’t believe you’re serious about living here for good unless we put a formal announcement of our engagement in the paper.”
Elated with that response, he said, “I tend to agree with her.”
Lys looked surprised. “That’s not all,” she murmured, not meeting his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“She says we’ll have to put a wedding date in the announcement, but the paper won’t publish it if the date is longer than three months away. That’s so soon!”
A strange sensation shot through Takis. If he believed in such things, he had the feeling Nassos had spoken through Danae. No one could sew up a deal like Nassos, covering all the bases. “What reason did she give?”
“I was raised in the Greek Orthodox church and so were you. She knows your parents are traditionalists. Because of the scandal that surrounded me after Nassos died, a promise of marriage to me in the writeup will show their friends and neighbors that you never believed the gossip about me.
“Danae said that in honoring me that way, they’ll see you intend to be a good, loyal husband and they’ll be happy you’ve come home for good. Every parent wants to see his or her child making plans to settle down and have a family. Anything less than a newspaper announcement with a wedding date won’t carry the necessary weight.”
The woman was brilliant. “Danae’s right. Did she say anything else?”
After pacing the floor, she came to a halt. “Yes. After knowing your history, she says she likes you and approves of you for my husband. She knows Nassos would approve of you too.”
That sounded exactly like something Nassos would have said in order to protect Lys. “I’m humbled by her opinion. She’s a true Cretan. The more I think about it, the more I know she’s right about everything she said. How do you feel about it?” The blood hammered in his ears while he waited for her answer.
“I—I didn’t expect her to be so direct,” she stammered.
“You still haven’t answered my question. Does it upset you that I’m the first man Danae has ever approved of for you?”
Her knuckles turned white while her hands clenched the edge of the counter. “I’m not upset.”
“Then why are you so tense?”
“We’re not in love! We don’t intend to actually get married—” Lys protested. “It would hurt your family too much to pretend something that won’t happen. I told Danae as much, so we’ll forget the whole idea of an engagement.”
His eyes narrowed on her features. “I don’t want to forget any of it. The idea of marrying you appeals to me more and more.”
A quiet gasp escaped her lips. “Please be serious, Takis.”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. When I first suggested the idea of getting engaged, my main concern was to fit in with my family again and it seemed the perfect way to do it. But now I find that I want to be married, and Danae is right. Three months will be a perfect amount of time to grow close before we get married.”
Color filled her cheeks. “We’d probably end up not being able to stand each other!”
Someone was on his side. Lys hadn’t said no to the whole idea because she loved Danae and listened to her. “That’s the whole point of an engagement, isn’t it? To find out how we really feel? I know how I really feel at this moment.”
In the next breath, he pulled her into his arms. After kissing her long and hard, he relinquished her mouth. “Do you think you could see yourself living in this house as my wife? I’d give you free reign to furnish it any way you like.”
“Don’t say any more,” she cried softly and eased away from him. “You told me you want acceptance from your family. I can promise you that won’t happen when they find out I’m the daughter of the man who gave you your first job in New York. I represent everything that took you away from them in the first place.”
When he’d confided in her at his lowest ebb, she’d taken his pain to heart. Unfortunately, he’d done too good a job and needed to turn this around.
“Besides the fact that I left Crete of my own free will, keep in mind we didn’t meet until a few weeks ago. When I tell them I’ve found the woman I want to marry, you have nothing to worry about.”
