by Tina Folsom
“Why wouldn’t he?”
Natalie leaned forward. “Because he still hasn’t recovered from his amnesia. What makes you think he’ll believe you if you say you’re not engaged? All he knows is what you told him from the beginning. He’ll cling to that.”
Could her friend be right? “What are you suddenly, a nurse?”
Natalie tapped her finger against her temple. “Common sense. Think about it for a moment: he woke up after the fight, and the first person he sees is you. And you tell him lies.”
Ari wanted to protest, but every word her friend was saying was true.
“And then you act on those lies. You pretend he has a job with me and—”
“I was doing you a favor!”
Natalie grinned. “Thanks, but that wasn’t the point I was trying to make.”
“Then what is your point?” Ari felt herself grow impatient.
“You made sure that everything you told him was backed up by actions. You guys have chemistry together, otherwise I’m sure he wouldn’t have practically kissed you into submission after the fabulous dinner he cooked for you and—”
“Hey, he didn’t kiss me into submission. There was no submission.”
“There would have been if he hadn’t stopped.” Natalie held up her hand to stave off another protest. “And don’t even deny it. I know you. So you’ve been doing everything to make him believe in your lies, and now you decide to go ahead and tell him the truth? What is he supposed to think?”
Ari straightened. “He’ll believe it. He has to.”
Natalie shook her head. “He’ll think that you got cold feet and don’t want to marry him anymore.” She leaned back, then a second later, she shot forward on her seat again. “Or, he’ll think that because he lost his memory, you don’t love him anymore and want to get rid of him.”
“That’s ludicrous. He has no reason to believe any of that.”
“Then he has no reason to believe you either. Don’t you see? By telling him the truth now, you’re only making things worse. If you care for him at all, then don’t tell him. With his memory gone, he’s got nothing else in his life: no friends, no family. He needs you now.”
Ari let Natalie’s words sink in. Did Dio really need her? Did Natalie’s words have any merit? “You wouldn’t just say that so he continues working as your waiter, would you?”
Natalie gasped. “I can’t believe you just asked that!”
“Can’t you? So, tell me then, have you advertised for the job yet?”
Natalie’s gaze drifted away, a sure sign that she was looking for an excuse. “Really, I’ve been too busy, and then there’s the inspection by the food and entertainment commission next week and—”
“Uh-huh. You are such an opportunist, you know that?”
A sheepish grin crossed Natalie’s features. “Hey, he needs a job. And who knows how long he’ll suffer from amnesia? The customers like his, shall we say, refreshing charm.”
Ari had to agree: Dio had charm, tons of it, and he was constantly using it to soften her up. But that didn’t help her with finding a solution to her situation. “What now? I can’t just continue this way. I can’t marry him under false pretenses.”
“Then you’ll have to stop him from setting a date.”
***
The minute Dio turned his key in the lock, he knew somebody was waiting in his apartment. He also knew who—a god’s aura was unmistakable, and this god’s signature he knew better than others. There were times when he really hated it that gods could simply teleport to whatever location they pleased. This was one of those times.
Dio adjusted his still-hard cock in his pants and pushed the door open, hoping Eros wouldn’t notice the bulge and keep his snide remarks to himself. Just like he hoped that his friend wouldn’t stay long, because what Dio needed was a shower. And a handjob.
“About time,” Eros greeted him from his comfortable position on the couch, his feet resting on the coffee table.
“Do you mind?” Dio tossed a pointed look at Eros’ feet.
“Yeah, new shoes, like ‘em?” Eros grinned unashamedly knowing full well that Dio hadn’t commented on his shoes.
Dio plopped down next to him and shoved his feet off the coffee table, then propped his own feet up on it.
“Hey! You’re putting yours up there.”
“Get your own table, then you can do what you want.”
Eros glared at him. “Fine.” A second later, a smaller coffee table appeared in the living room. Eros shoved Dio’s table further away and placed the smaller table right in front of him before putting his feet up.
Dio rolled his eyes. “What do you want? I don’t have much time.” He glanced at his wrist watch. “I have to be back at the restaurant in a couple of hours.”
“Then let me make it quick,” Eros said pleasantly. “YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE!”
Dio’s eardrum almost exploded as he instinctively jumped toward the edge of the couch. “What the fuck?”
“You’re playing with her feelings.”
Dio didn’t have to ask who Eros meant by ‘her’. “None of your fucking business.”
Eros leaned over and drove his index finger into his chest. “Now that’s where you’re wrong, dead wrong. I’m the god of love, and I’d be a shabby excuse for a god if I didn’t take care of my responsibilities. And love is my responsibility.”
“Don’t interfere, I’ve got everything under control.” He hated it when Eros got all high and mighty about love as if he was the only one who knew anything about it.
“I interfere when I have to. She’s still pining for you. And what do you do? You lead her on and make her believe you want her. But no, that’s clearly not enough for you, is it?” Apparently Eros’ rant wasn’t over yet. “You have to make her believe that you want to marry her.” Eros jumped up and towered over him. “Are you out of your mind?”
She’s still pining for you. But could she love him despite the things he’d done to her, despite the callous way he’d dumped her after their amazing night together? Did she have it in her heart to forgive him?
“Shut up, Eros! I know what I’m doing.”
“The hell I will!”
Dio’s mind went back to the fitting room, but not to the time when he’d seduced her, but to the moment after they’d been interrupted. His demand to set a wedding date had been automatic. After talking to his two attackers he’d started seeing possibilities that were previously outside his reach. And then when he’d felt Ari in his arms in the fitting room, he’d realized that there was only one satisfying conclusion to the situation they were in.
“I want her,” he ground out and glared at Eros.
Eros responded with a shocked stare. “And that gives you the right to hurt her?”
“I’m not hurting her.” Not anymore. From now on he’d do anything to make her happy. He’d already started with it in the fitting room. He’d never seen a woman in such ecstasy. And it was a sight he wanted to behold again.
“If you continue with this charade, I promise you I’ll go to Zeus.”
The threat hung in the air like the scent of stale smoke the morning after. Had Dio not spoken to Zeus very recently, he would maybe have taken the threat seriously, but as it was, his father was on his side—for a change.
“You don’t understand, Eros. I love her.” It was surprising how easily the words rolled off his tongue. So easy, that he felt compelled to repeat them. “I truly love her. She’s all I want.” While the words were foreign to him, the feeling they created in his chest was the same he knew when Ari was in his arms. A sense of peace swept over him. It felt good to feel a cocoon of warmth and waves of affection wrap around him at the thought of her.
“You love her?” Eros gave him a strange look. And for a long time he said nothing. Then he opened his mouth again. “By the gods, I never thought I’d see it, but it must be true.”
Dio nodded, the knot in his throat preventing him from speaking.
; “Well, then I guess we’ll have a wedding to plan.” Eros slapped him on the shoulder and grinned. “Wait until Hermes and Triton find out.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ari fidgeted with the spaghetti strap of her summer dress. Dio had told her that he had a surprise for her, and lately she wasn’t sure whether she liked surprises.
She gave him a sideways glance as they walked down Battery Street, which bordered on the water on one side and was lined with large homes on the other. Dio held her hand in his, and to everybody watching they looked like an ordinary young couple taking a walk on a summer afternoon. Because nobody could see the turmoil inside her.
She’d spoken to Natalie again, but all her friend had done was try to convince her that Dio had changed, that the loss of his memory had made a better man out of him. She swore that she’d seen it in him at the restaurant: how hard he worked, and how nice he was to the guests. She was singing his praises from here till Sunday.
Ari had to admit that she’d seen similar changes in him. The dinner he’d cooked for her had been delicious and the presentation downright exquisite. He must have spent hours preparing everything. No man had ever gone through so much trouble for her. And before the shopping afternoon had gotten out of hand in the fitting room, he’d been the sweetest man, patient and accommodating, while she’d searched through rail after rail to find the perfect garment. Not even Natalie would have been as patient, and her best friend loved shopping—but evidently only shopping for herself.
Dio truly behaved like the perfect fiancé. He called her at least twice a day just to ask how her day was going and to say hi. And when he wasn’t kissing her senseless or touching her with his sinful hands, he was even the perfect gentleman. Not that she always wanted him to be a gentleman. His touch and his kisses had awakened desires in her so fierce and so impossible to suppress that they overrode her brain, blowing her common sense to smithereens. That had to be the reason for it, otherwise she wouldn’t still be clinging to the lies she’d invented just so she could spend more time with him.
What she should do was to finally tell him the truth and weather his anger before this entire charade blew up in her face. Already now things were getting dicey. While he hadn’t mentioned setting a wedding date since the incident in the fitting room, she knew him too well by now to believe that he’d forgotten about it.
“Here we are,” Dio said softly next to her, making her look at the house they’d stopped at.
She read the sign on the outside. Olympus Inn, B&B it said. Confused, she stared at him. “What would we want at a Bed and Breakfast?” Panic sliced through her when she feared the worst: he was planning to have them spend the night together. Her heart instantly stopped at the thought. If she had sex with him, she’d never be able to leave him. And then? Her heart would be broken once he left her. Because she knew he would. He had the first time. What if history repeated itself?
“It’s a surprise.”
Ari froze in place until he tugged at her hand. “No. Dio, we have to talk about something important.” It was now or never.
His expression was stunned for a moment, but then his lips curled up into a smile. “You’re thinking that I’m taking you to a B&B for some afternoon … shall I say … delight?” Then he shook his head and brushed a light kiss on her cheek before moving his mouth to her ear. “My sweet Ari, if I’d known you had ideas like that, I would have made arrangements, but alas, I wasn’t planning on sex this afternoon.”
She felt her face flush and her entire body heat at his lusty suggestion. How could he have misconstrued her words so easily?
When he pulled back and looked at her, she noticed a twinkle in his eyes, but not even his accompanying chuckle could get her heart rate down to normal. Like a jackhammer, her heart beat against her ribcage trying to jump out of her body and merge with his. Oh God, she was in so much trouble. Dio only had to look at her, and her knees turned to jell-o. And judging by the grin on his face, he was fully aware of his effect on her.
Yep, she was screwed.
Dio led her into the house and up the old wooden staircase before he turned on the second floor and followed a sign saying, ‘Reception’.
Behind an unassuming desk with a computer screen and an assortment of brochures and papers, a tall blond man rose to his feet. His tanned skin was in perfect contrast to his ocean-blue eyes and sunny smile. She couldn’t imagine that this man spent his days cooped up in a B&B when his entire appearance screamed ‘beach’. Even his khaki shorts and casual t-shirt suggested that he was about two minutes away from heading out to the ocean.
“Dionysus Theos,” Dio introduced himself and stretched out his hand to the man. “I called earlier.”
The innkeeper raised an eyebrow then shook Dio’s hand. “Triton Waters. My wife Sophia and I own this B&B.”
Then he glanced past Dio and ran his eyes over Ari. His scrutinizing look made her shiver for an instant. She felt as if being inspected for quality control. Was this place some sort of exclusive guesthouse where only the ‘A’ crowd was allowed in? She was about ready to tug at Dio’s arm and drag him out of this place when Triton gave her a charming smile.
“And I’m assuming this lovely lady is the fiancée you mentioned on the phone?” he asked and rounded the desk to shake her hand.
“Yes, this is Ariadne Taylor, my wonderful fiancée. I wouldn’t know what to do without her.”
Ari felt like a fraud as she took Dio’s words in. If he only knew how she’d been deceiving him in the last couple of weeks. At the same time, she couldn’t imagine not being with him.
“Very pleased to meet you,” Triton said as he took her hand and squeezed it firmly. Then he looked past her shoulder, and his eyes suddenly shone with something she didn’t know how to interpret. “And here’s my wife.”
When Ari turned to look at the woman who’d entered the reception area behind them, she saw the same look in her eyes and realized instantly what it was: love. As the dark-haired woman tore her gaze from her husband, she took a step toward Ari and extended her hand.
“I’m Sophia. Why don’t we all go out on the balcony? I’ve had Alice prepare iced tea and cookies for us.”
Ari wanted to protest, finding the entire situation more than strange. Why would these people want to sit down with her and Dio and have iced tea? When she felt Dio’s hand on her arm, pulling her with him as they walked to the doors that led to the balcony, she couldn’t help but whisper to Dio, “What’s going on?”
He gave her a quick sideways glance. “In a minute.”
Moments later, she was seated next to Dio on a two-seater Rattan couch, a glass of iced tea in her hand. She led the cold beverage to her lips, glad to have something to wash away the odd feeling of impending disaster that had crept up in her.
Sophia looked at the day planner she held in her hand, twisting a pen between her fingers. “I’ve already blocked out the date, exactly one week from today, so I guess, we should discuss what features you’d like for the wedding ceremony.”
Ari choked on the iced tea, spitting the liquid onto the floor in front of her, only narrowly avoiding Sophia’s pretty sandals and painted toenails. Wedding ceremony? “What?” Her one word question came out in a croak, the tea that had run down her windpipe preventing her from forming any more syllables.
As she coughed to expel the hastily swallowed liquid, Dio gently slapped his hand on her back to help her. She jerked her head to look at him, no, make that glare at him! How could he? His sheepish grin said everything. Yes, he was definitely done with waiting, so much was clear. He wanted to get married now, in one week, because he wanted to have sex.
“Are you all right, baby?”
God, why had she ever come up with that stupid excuse of requiring abstinence until marriage? She had to have known that it would never work. And now Dio had beaten her at her own game: he’d simply set a wedding date to get around her idiotic idea. What now? How would she get out of this mess?
&
nbsp; It took her precious seconds to get her breath back and with it her voice. “Dio, I think we should talk about this in private.”
“We’ve discussed this.” He gave her a curt smile, then turned back to their hosts. “We don’t want anything too big, just family and our closest friends. An intimate gathering.”
At the word ‘intimate’ Dio ran his eyes over her body, making her break out in a hot flash and reach for the iced tea once more. “This is all happening too fast,” she protested.
“It was the same for us,” Sophia commented.
Ari looked at her and Triton and saw them exchange a loving smile.
Dio laid his hand over hers and squeezed it. “When it comes to love, there’s no timetable.”
Before Ari could tear her gaze away to look at Dio, she caught Triton’s brows snapping together as if he disapproved of something. She dismissed the idea instantly, considering that hosting a wedding at the B&B probably earned him and his wife a pretty penny.
“Dio, we shouldn’t be hasty about this.” She gave him a pleading look.
“Hasty?” Dio led her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. The soft press of his lips sent a wave of warmth through her body. “We’ve been engaged for how long? Seven months?”
She wanted to shake her head and scream ‘no’, but instead told him, “Yes.”
“That’s a long enough engagement.” Dio turned his head to the innkeepers. “I hear you’re newlyweds. How long were you engaged?”
Triton shot them a surprised look. “That’s hardly comp—”
“Less than three months.” Sophia’s answer collided with Triton’s evasion.
Ari groaned inwardly. Those two were no help. If anything, they gave Dio even more ammunition to charge forward with a wedding. Who on earth got married after a three months engagement? Even the seven months she and Dio were engaged for seemed short.
Hell! What was she thinking? They weren’t even engaged, not seven months, not three months, not even a day! Yeah, maybe that was why she was panicking right now: because Dio was planning a wedding, her wedding! and he had no idea that they weren’t even engaged. This was so wrong on so many levels.
