“Well then, I guess that’s that,” I muttered.
“Get up. I’m leaving in ten minutes.”
“Do I have to?” I whined.
“Yes,” she snapped and walked out of the room.
I threw off the blankets and quickly dressed. I didn’t bother with makeup, tossed my hair up in a messy bun, and walked into the living room. “Fine, I’m ready,” I said with a complete lack of enthusiasm.
“Good,” she replied, ignoring my snark.
We walked along the sidewalk to one of the local markets we frequented. “What happened?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“What do you mean?”
“You went to the beach with Rand,” she said, leaving the statement hanging.
“I did. We had sex. Then I went home.”
She stopped walking, and her eyes widened. “Woah. What?”
“We had sex,” I said. “It was a wild, crazy ride, and as soon as it was over, I asked him to take me home.”
“What the hell? Why did you run?” She pulled me to the edge of the sidewalk to let others pass.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I felt horrible, like I betrayed Alec in some way.”
She made a face. “Wait, did you have a thing for Alec? I thought your relationship was more of a familial type of thing?”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t have a thing for him, but he loved his grandson and had him on a pedestal. It feels weird. I kind of thought of Alec as my grandfather, which would make Rand my cousin or something weird. It just kind of freaked me out when I put the Rand I knew from the stories Alec told me with the Rand I now know. I wonder if Alec would have approved. What if he would have hated the idea of us together? I wish I could ask him if he was okay with it. It would give me some comfort, knowing I wasn’t betraying him in some way.”
“You know he loved you and respected you. The old man trusted you with everything. Why wouldn’t he approve of you and his grandson, whom he also loves, dating? I think you’re getting yourself twisted up inside for no reason.”
I groaned, looking up at the sky. “Maybe. I don’t know. It feels wrong to have benefited from his death.”
“How are you benefiting?” she questioned.
“Because his death led me to Rand. We got together because I had to give Rand a letter.” I felt slightly irritated I had to break it all down for her.
She looked at me. “Maybe that was his plan all along. He insisted you give Rand the letter so you could meet.”
I gasped with surprise. “You think!”
“Anything is possible,” she said, shrugging. “Let things happen. If it’s meant to be, it will be. Fate has a funny, twisted way of getting you to where you are supposed to be, but I bet if you quit trying to fight it so damn hard, you could be happy.”
We started to walk again at a slow pace. “I can’t help but wonder why Rand didn’t talk with his grandfather for so long. And why didn’t he go to the funeral? He’s been ostracized by his own family. His family doesn’t seem like bad people, and in the letter, Alec told Rand to let go of his mistakes and stuff. What if he’s killed someone or done something else equally horrible?”
She slapped at my arm. “You’re so dramatic! You said Alec left Rand everything?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“And you’ve not only had sex with the man, but you’ve been to his house, and you’ve been on a date with him. Do you get the sense he’s a bad guy?”
I shrugged. “No, but I’m guessing no one thought Ted Bundy was a bad guy either, until he was murdering them.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Never mind. My point is, I don’t really know him all that well.”
She burst into laughter. “You had sex with him. That’s a different level of knowing someone. You should have thought about the Bundy person before you got naked.”
“Not helpful.”
“So, what’s his house like?” she asked, shifting gears in the conversation.
“It’s beautiful and right on the beach,” I told her. “It’s all windows overlooking the ocean. He has a huge deck with stairs that lead right down to his private section of beach. It has a huge, gourmet kitchen, and his bedroom is really big, light, and airy as well.”
“That sounds amazing,” she said wistfully. “I’ve always wanted to live on the beach.”
“It is nice,” I said with a sigh. “Honestly though, his bed was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been on. Money can buy quality. I never realized there was such a huge difference in mattresses, but I have been sold. I don’t know what that thing cost, but it felt like I was being cradled in the softest, yet firmest hands of some other being.”
“That’s what money can buy,” she lectured. “That bed is reason alone for you to set aside your apprehensions and visit him again.”
I scowled, shaking my head at her. “No way. I’m not going to use him for his bed or money or anything else materialistic. Money doesn’t matter to me. I’ve seen it ruin people. I’ve seen people do horrible things to get money, and I’ve seen people suffer because they don’t have money. I hate money, and I would never base a relationship on a person’s bank account.”
She held up her hands. “Woah. Settle down. I had no idea it was such a trigger for you.”
I groaned. “I’m sorry. I’m just confused and twisted up.”
“Let’s get some chocolate,” she said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a side hug. “That always helps me when I’m all twisted up inside.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll figure it out, but for now, I’m just going to wallow and stress and freak out.”
She laughed. “Okay, if that’s what works for you, so be it.”
“Thank you.”
We walked into the market, each of us grabbing a basket. It wasn’t long before we ended up separating, both of us going in different directions as we browsed the goods. Shopping in Greece was a very different experience than it was in America. It wasn’t like a mall of food. It was fresh produce and goods that were of a high quality, mostly made right there in Crete. I loved shopping and sampling some of the goods in the farmers’ markets.
“Excuse me,” I heard a deep male voice say from behind me.
I turned around, facing a man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a scowl. I knew him—not knew him—but I knew he was a member of the Mattas family. The resemblance between him and Alec, as well as Rand, was very easy to see. “Yes?” I answered.
“You’re one of the maids who worked for my grandfather,” he stated.
I had to assume he was a family member and nodded my head. “I am. You are?”
“I’m Demokritos. I’m his grandson.”
“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, feeling intimidated by the man glowering down at me.
“Thanks,” he snapped with no real thank you in his tone at all. “Did he give you a letter before he died?”
I nodded my head. “He did.”
“Where is it?” He practically snarled the words.
I took a step back, not liking the energy coming from him. “How did you know about the letter?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. “Does it matter? I’d like to see it. He was my grandfather, and I want anything he may have given to you. You have no rights to it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Now he was pissing me off. “I did what Alec—I mean, Mr. Mattas—asked me to do with the letter,” I said defiantly, staring right back at him.
I had stared down a big, angry man before. I knew what could happen, and I also knew how much I could take. I was not a wilting flower that got pushed around without pushing back at least a little.
“I want the letter,” he hissed.
“I don’t have it.”
“Where the hell is it?” he asked, his voice angry, his eyes flashing fury.
“I gave it to Rand,” I shot back. “Mr. Mattas asked me to give it to Rand. It was addressed to him, not you.”
That s
eemed to really piss him off. His jaw was clenched as he stared down at me. I braced myself to be hit, then quickly reminded myself I was in a market in Greece, far away from home. Not all men hit women.
“You’re a maid,” he said, clearly skeptical. “I don’t understand why he would ask you to do it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting I stole the letter?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” he said haughtily. “I’m telling you it was none of your business to get involved in family affairs. You’re the help. Nothing more. I suggest you think about that in your next position.”
I smiled. “I’m still working for Mr. Mattas because he made sure his staff was taken care of,” I told him with a great deal of pleasure.
That seemed to irritate him even more. It gave me a little satisfaction to know I had gotten the upper hand in the situation, or at the very least, a little payback for his insult.
He smirked. “We’ll see about that.”
My mouth dropped open for a brief second as I realized he very well could fire me and the rest of the staff. I had screwed up. I had let anger take over my mouth again. “I—”
Alena appeared out of nowhere. “We need to go. We’re going to be late.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Demokritos.
I turned back to look over my shoulder at the angry man glowering at me. I knew it wasn’t going to be the last time I saw him. He had that kind of a personality. I knew he was Rand’s brother but had no idea if he was older or younger. He was nowhere near as handsome as Rand and lacked any of the personality Rand had.
I didn’t care for Demokritos, I decided. He was not a good man. It explained why Alec had talked very little about him. I was sure he probably kicked puppies for fun in his free time. He just had that vibe about him.
“What the heck was that about?” Alena whispered as she continued to drag me to the checkout.
“That was Alec’s other grandson,” I said quietly. “He wanted the letter I gave to Rand.”
“Oh shit. Is there going to be a family war over the letter?”
“I have a feeling it’s the contents of the letter that is going to start the war,” I said worriedly. “That guy was not nice. I have a feeling he is going to hunt down Rand next. Maybe I should warn him.”
She shook her head. “I think Rand can handle his brother or cousin or whoever that guy was. He probably also knows the contents of the letter are going to spark a fight among the family members. Stay out of it.”
I nodded and took one last look at the man who was stomping out of the store. He looked determined to raise hell.
Chapter 15
Rand
I walked out of my office, ready to head over to my grandfather’s place again to check on things. I hadn’t made it far when I heard Adrian calling my name. He was standing outside his office, waving me over. I assumed he was going to ask if I was ready to be back, and I would have to assure him I was just fine. I wondered how long he was going to keep asking me if I was okay. I hoped it wasn’t long.
“What’s up?” I asked casually.
“Bella and I are going to dinner on Friday,” he said. “I’d like for you to come along.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why? Why would I want to go to dinner with a married couple?”
“Because I have a friend I would like you to meet,” he said with a grin.
I groaned. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. She’s nice, and I think you two would really hit it off.”
I shook my head. “No way. You are not setting me up. I am not the guy that gets set up by his married friend.”
He laughed at me. “This one is different. I think she’d be good for you.”
“I don’t need anyone to be good for me. No.”
“One dinner. I’m not asking you to marry her.”
I shook my head. “I already have someone I would like to bring to dinner,” I said, the words sliding off my tongue faster than I could stop them.
“Great! Bring her! I’d like to meet her!”
I nodded, although inside I was vehemently shaking my head. “Okay. I need to go. I’ve got to check on my grandfather’s house.” I hurried away.
Shit, shit, shit. I didn’t even know if Nicole was talking to me, and now, I needed to ask her to have dinner with me and my friends. I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have told him I was going out of town or something, anything other than I already had a date. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to meet Nicole. It was more like I wanted to keep her all to myself until I figured out what was going on with us—if there was an us.
When I got to my grandfather’s estate, I felt that familiar pull of melancholy. It would never be the same. I wouldn’t walk through the doors and smell something sweet and tangy cooking in the kitchen. I wouldn’t hear my grandfather’s warm laugh as he threw his arms around me and hugged me close, thanking me for stopping by. He had loved to cook, which was where I first picked up on the skill. He had shown me how to make some of the traditional Greek dishes passed down from his mother and her mother before her. I remembered the many hours we sat in the kitchen, talking and laughing and him telling me stories about the Greek gods.
I walked through the door and smelled the lemon furniture polish right away. It was strong, a little too strong. I wiggled my nose, trying to push away the overpowering scent, and moved through the house. I nodded my head at the maid who was using the offending polish like it was going out of style.
“Maybe a little less polish,” I said in passing.
“Yes, sir,” she quickly replied, looking terrified.
I hadn’t meant to sound gruff, but the woman was dumping the stuff on the wooden stair banister. It needed very little. I had a feeling she was either nervous or not accustomed to the wood-polishing duties.
I didn’t see Nicole and worried she may have decided to quit after our little interlude. I hoped not. I was not above going to her apartment and trying to talk to her. I didn’t like how things had ended with us and wanted to try and fix them, or at the very least, remain on friendly terms.
I had too many women in my wake that hated me after a very brief relationship. I didn’t want to do that to Nicole or dishonor my grandfather by hurting her in any way. I knew he had cared a great deal for her and would probably haunt me from the grave if he thought I disrespected her. I did not need a ghost in my life, especially an angry one.
I came upon another housekeeper in the kitchen, tediously polishing the silver, which seemed a little ridiculous considering it probably hadn’t been used in years, but it was what my grandfather would have wanted.
“Is Nicole Weathers here today?” I asked.
The woman eyed me closely. “You’re the grandson,” she said, her tone not exactly friendly. It was more resigned. I wondered if she had heard stories about me as well. Nicole had said my grandfather talked about me a lot, but maybe it wasn’t all good.
“I am.”
“She’s out back, cleaning the rugs,” she answered.
“Thank you,” I said and walked toward the back of the house.
I saw her using a broom handle to beat the rugs thrown over the railing of the deck. I almost laughed at the very primitive method but kept it to myself. I didn’t dare offend her.
“Hi,” I said when I walked onto the deck.
She yelped, spinning around with the broom in her hand and nearly hitting me with it. “Dammit, you scared me!” she snapped.
“Sorry.”
“I’m not used to men being around the house,” she murmured.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize,” I said, thinking her reaction was a little overly dramatic, but she had real fear in her eyes when she’d turned toward me, wielding her broomstick like the lethal weapon it could be.
“It’s fine. What are you doing here?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I own the place,” I said dryly.
“You’re right, you do, but why are you here on the deck watch
ing me beat rugs?” she asked a little irritably.
“I wanted to check with you and make sure everything was okay. You seemed upset when I dropped you off. I hope I didn’t do anything that made you uncomfortable around me.” I prayed she would tell me everything was fine, and I was reading into something that wasn’t there.
She let out a big sigh, leaning the broom against the railing, and looked at me. “I’m sorry. I had a case of the guilts.”
“The guilts? What the hell is that?” I hoped it wasn’t an American slang word for some horrific STD.
“A guilty conscience,” she said. “I felt guilty.”
“Oh. Why? Do you have a boyfriend?” I worried I had stepped in the middle of yet another relationship.
“No!” she said quickly. “I felt bad about sleeping with you because it felt like I was somehow going behind Alec’s back. I don’t know if he would want me sleeping with his grandson.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Unless he had some claim on you, then I don’t see how it’s any of his business who I sleep with.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, he didn’t have a claim on me. Why does everyone assume that?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything. But you don’t have to worry about that. He would have approved, assuming he knew. My grandfather was a discerning man, and if he accepted you as one of his, he would have been okay with us seeing each other. Hell, he probably would have tried to set us up eventually.” I grinned.
She smiled and nodded. “Sometimes, I got the impression that’s what he’d been trying to do when he talked about how great you were all the time.”
I grinned wider. “I am pretty great.”
“Oh no,” she told me. “Don’t even start with that cocky thing. I’m not buying it. I ran into your brother yesterday, or rather, he ran into me, and I don’t think it was on accident.”
“Demokritos?” I asked.
“Yes. He wanted to know about the letter. He demanded I give it to him. I told him I had given it to you, the intended recipient, and he was not happy.”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about him. He’s angry twenty-four-seven.”
My Favorite Mistake Page 9
