Bride Behind The Billion-Dollar Veil (Crazy Rich Greek Weddings Book 2)

by Clare Connelly

  His lips lifted in what was almost a smile. ‘You think that precludes me from enjoying an active social life?’

  She pursed her lips. ‘No. But I don’t think you do enjoy that kind of lifestyle. It doesn’t gel.’

  ‘Gel?’ He repeated the colloquialism with a small tug of his lips.

  ‘Suit you.’

  ‘Ah.’ He kept his eyes on hers as he sipped his drink.

  ‘I’m serious. I just can’t imagine you going from this—’ she waved her hand towards him ‘—to some kind of bachelor on a yacht surrounded by drunk supermodels.’

  He didn’t smile. His expression was unreadable.

  ‘It got me wondering about which version of you is real?’

  He expelled a breath, turning to look out of the windows. ‘Can’t they both be real?’

  She frowned. ‘I don’t think so.’ Alice leaned forward on the table a little, her heart running a bit faster. Despite the intimacies they’d shared, she wondered if she’d overstepped the mark in some way.

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she offered quietly, when several moments passed without him speaking.

  ‘I’m not ignoring you,’ he said, finally. ‘I was just trying to frame an answer.’

  Her stomach flipped.

  ‘I like the noise that a lot of people together make.’

  And despite the seriousness of their conversation, a small laugh escaped her. ‘That’s your answer?’

  His owns lips twisted in a smile. ‘I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, I suppose.’

  Alice thought about this. ‘I’ve never liked crowds, myself. Nor parties. I find that kind of shallow social interaction so meaningless. Making conversation with someone you don’t really know, who you don’t care to know.’ She studied him thoughtfully. ‘I suppose parties are a great way to surround yourself with people without really forging deep relationships.’

  Thanos was very still, watching her. ‘Do you think that is what I do?’

  The little line formed between Alice’s brows. ‘I don’t know. What do you think?’

  He expelled a breath, a grim set to his jaw. ‘Forse,’ he responded—perhaps, in Italian. ‘Parties became a habit some time in my teens. It grew to be a way of life I didn’t question.’

  She sipped her champagne, surprised to see the glass was almost empty. A waiter appeared almost instantly, topping it up. ‘And now?’

  He waited for her to expand.

  ‘When you’ve bought P & A, and our divorce gets filed?’ The words lined the insides of her mouth with acid. She swallowed to clear it. ‘Will I see your photo in the tabloids again, a different woman by your side every night?’

  Thanos’s angular face was very still. ‘Would that bother you?’ The air around them was like mud; so thick, so stymying.

  Alice dipped her eyes forward, shielding them from his inquisitive attention.

  ‘It’s not my business,’ she pointed out slowly. ‘We both know this is temporary. What you do when our marriage is over is up to you. I’m only asking if you still feel a pull towards that lifestyle.’

  ‘We’ve only been married a week,’ he pointed out.

  Alice lifted her eyes to his, seeking something in the depths of his eyes. ‘Yes,’ she heard herself agree. ‘It’s only been a week.’

  A week or a year, it didn’t much matter to Alice. Something had shifted inside her, pieces of her soul were changing shape and morphing into something else, something unrecognisable.

  Confusion was threatening to pull her into a dark vortex, so she pushed the thoughts aside and plastered an over-bright smile to her face. ‘The calamari looks delicious.’ She speared a piece and forced herself not to think of anything beyond this moment. Who or what he became beyond their marriage wasn’t her concern—there was a reason she didn’t want to think about it.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘YOU HAVE NOT forgotten my invitation?’

  Thanos leaned back in the wide leather seat of his private jet, Kosta’s words crackling a little through the distance of altitude.

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘You’ll bring your wife to Kalatheros soon?’

  ‘Alice,’ Thanos inserted, a smile playing about his lips as he thought of his convenient bride. Their marriage had been born of a desire to secure a company—a business merger with a little matrimony on the side—but he’d never expected to find himself married to someone he found so distractingly pleasing.

  Thanos had never been interested in a relationship, but playing the part of a loving husband to Alice wasn’t really a stretch. She was easy to get along with and the sexiest woman he’d ever known. He was still reassured to know he had the divorce documents sitting in a drawer in his lawyer’s office, to know that they could put an end to this and get back to normal once he had P & A in his control, but he acknowledged now what he hadn’t thought possible when he’d suggested this ruse: he’d miss her.

  In his bed, in his life.

  ‘Alice,’ Thanos repeated.

  Impatience cracked across his spine now. He wanted the company. He’d jumped through all the hoops. Enough was enough.

  ‘How’s Friday?’

  Kosta was quiet for a beat. ‘Good, good. Come for the weekend. I look forward to it.’

  ‘As do I.’ Thanos disconnected the call, an unknowingly brooding expression on his face as he turned to look out of the window. The sky beyond them was dark, the plane cutting through the night, delivering them to Greece, to home. And he was looking forward to showing it to Alice, though he couldn’t say why.

  * * *

  Two days later, the waves lapped gently against the shoreline of Statherá Prásino, Thanos’s private island in the Aegean Sea, and Alice sat cross-legged on the grass in the shade of an impressive pomegranate tree, simply listening.

  In and out, regularly, faithfully, tirelessly, the ocean kissed the sand, washing over it, spilling secrets into the tiny little gaps of crushed shell.

  The sun on her skin was perfect—warm without burning, a light breeze lifting off the ocean to keep her feeling fresh. She blinked her eyes open, fixing her gaze on the expanse of green water that surrounded the white sand beach.

  She’d learned, on the helicopter flight over from Athens, that the island’s name roughly translated to ‘never-ending green’, and she had to say how well it had been named. The ocean was a rich shade of turquoise, but it was more than that. The island itself was incredibly verdant, filled with olive groves, vineyards, a full citrus orchard that included several rows of pomegranates, and an eighteen-hole golf course to the eastern side.

  As if Alice hadn’t already been impressed by Thanos’s obvious wealth, it was this island that encapsulated how successful he’d been in his quest to rebuild his family’s empire. The house on the island was not so much a mansion as a palace. She knew from one of the housekeepers—there were three!—who took care of different aspects of the running of the place that the house boasted twenty-seven bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and sitting area attached,

  ‘Mr Stathakis likes to entertain,’ the woman had explained with a smile.

  Alice hadn’t really wanted to think about that.

  Ever since their conversation in Italy, she’d found it hard not to think of what Thanos’s life had been like before their marriage, or what it would be like afterwards.

  It really wasn’t any of her business, and yet she’d come to hate the idea of him picking up where he’d left off, throwing lavish, decadent parties for all of Europe’s elite, for film stars and rock gods. It wasn’t because she was jealous. She wasn’t.

  But she’d come to care about Thanos and she wanted him to be happy. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt as if that wasn’t making him happy at all. If anything, it was simply a way to hide from the real world—to make enough noise that no one notice
d you weren’t saying anything.

  He sought shallow interactions.

  But why?

  He was an intelligent, interesting man, and the more she’d got to know him, the more she could see how worth knowing he was. Did he realise that? Had anyone ever told him how worthwhile he was?

  She frowned, the thought incongruous in some way. Thanos Stathakis could hardly be suspected of lacking confidence or ego. After all, look at the life he’d made for himself! All that he’d achieved, his latent power and appeal, his strength and charisma...

  ‘There you are.’ She shifted her gaze over her shoulder in time to catch Thanos striding towards her. He was casually dressed in shorts and a shirt and his already deep tan had been burnished by the amount of time they’d spent outdoors during their honeymoon.

  ‘I’m admiring the view,’ she said, her breath a little shallow as he approached. They’d never agreed, at any point, that their marriage would be real, in the sense of intimacy. They’d never so much as had that conversation. It had been completely organic, but, one way or another, Alice was spending every night in Thanos’s bed, and every day by his side. Despite that, the sight of him still had the power to make her body tremble with anticipation and longing.

  As though they hadn’t seen each other in a decade, not a few hours.

  ‘It’s quite the view,’ he teased, coming to stand at her side, his frame providing a little shadow.

  ‘I like it here,’ she said with a wistful smile, turning back to the ocean. ‘I feel like I could be anywhere in the world, at any point in history.’

  He sat down beside her. ‘We will be back soon.’

  ‘Just a weekend?’ she prompted, turning to face him, a hint of worry playing about the corners of her eyes.

  ‘Two nights,’ he agreed with a nod.

  ‘So.’ Alice expelled a soft breath. ‘It’s show time?’

  He shifted his head to show his agreement. ‘You’re nervous?’

  Alice thought about that. ‘Not really.’ She reached down and plucked a blade of grass between her fingers, feeling its smoothness slowly. ‘I’m sorry your business acumen alone isn’t enough for him.’

  ‘I think it has less to do with my proficiency in the corporate world and more to do with the scandal that trails the name Stathakis.’

  Alice lifted her knees to her chest and propped her cheek on them, angling her face to his. ‘It’s in your power to change your reputation, even without the drastic step of getting married.’

  His eyes swirled with emotions. ‘I wasn’t referring to my lifestyle, so much as my father’s crimes.’

  ‘Ah.’ Alice made a noise of comprehension. ‘But you’re nothing like him.’

  Thanos laughed. ‘That doesn’t particularly matter. His name is my name. Leonidas and I will live in the shadow of what he did for ever, no matter how we pull away from his choices.’

  Alice’s heart constricted with pain for him, for how limiting that knowledge must make him feel.

  She reached her hand out, laying it gently over his shoulder.

  ‘You have made a name for yourself outside his acts. Your father is an aberration. What he did is deplorable, but you’re not him. Nor is your brother. You have made it clear with your business choices that you are legitimate and law-abiding.’

  ‘You are in the minority, I think.’

  ‘I don’t believe that.’

  Thanos pierced her with the intensity of his stare. ‘Playboy reputation or not, do you not think Kosta would have sold P & A to me a long time ago, were it not for my father’s criminality?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Of course he would have. He doesn’t approve of how I live my life, but what he really fears is the stain of illegality attaching itself to his legacy.’

  Alice mulled this over thoughtfully. ‘In which case, does marrying me do anything to change his mind?’

  Thanos lifted his shoulders. ‘It shows him how much I want the company. It shows him I want to be the kind of man he thinks of as respectable and wholesome.’ He said the last two words with disdain.

  Alice’s heart worked overtime to keep her blood pumping.

  ‘I think,’ she said, eventually, ‘that you are, and always would have been, more than enough for him. His hang-ups are his problem, not yours.’

  Thanos’s jaw tightened as her words landed around him. ‘Perhaps.’ He lifted his hand to hers, curving his fingers over it. ‘But one way or another, in two days I intend to have his agreement to sell the company back to me.’

  A swooping feeling dropped through Alice’s stomach. ‘And I’ll do whatever I can to help you.’

  * * *

  Kalatheros was only a short flight from Thanos’s private island. Alice thought, as they lifted up, how accustomed she was becoming to flying in helicopters. The first time they’d lifted off, she’d been a little uncertain about how to buckle herself in, but now, she managed it all like a pro. She even knew which levers and knobs Thanos had to turn to get the big bird into the sky.

  The scenery was utterly sublime, and Alice spent much of the short flight with her forehead pressed to her window, staring down at the sparkling ocean and the hundreds of tiny islands that dotted their way across its depths. There was something magical about the Mediterranean.

  The helicopter dipped a little lower as they approached the tip of the mainland, which was shaped like an arrow, and a few minutes later, a clearing came into view. He brought the helicopter lower, and lower, so Alice could see the tops of the trees, and then the house in the distance, and, finally, Thanos cut the engines. Alice disconnected her headset and put her hand on the door.

  Only, Thanos reached across, stilling her, so she turned back to face him.

  ‘I have something for you.’

  The words surprised her. She smiled, in silent invitation for him to continue.

  ‘Here.’

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet pouch. With a look of curiosity, Alice took it and slipped her finger into the drawstring, opening the mouth and upending it into her palm.

  ‘Oh.’ She blinked, the necklace the last thing she’d expected. It was simple, and very beautiful, a single diamond solitaire, almost as large as her engagement ring, suspended on a fine platinum chain. ‘It’s...stunning,’ she said, honestly. ‘But you didn’t have to get me that. It’s too much.’

  Thanos reached for the necklace, shaking his head as he did so. ‘You are Mrs Thanos Stathakis now, remember. Kosta will expect you to be adorned with jewels such as this.’

  ‘Oh, of course.’ Heat spread through Alice’s cheeks at the fact she’d almost forgotten that she’d need props for this play-acting. That it was play-acting. ‘I’ll give it back to you once we’re—when this is over,’ she said.

  It was the first time since their wedding that either of them had really referred to the end point of their marriage so pointedly. In the midst of their easy interaction, the reminder that it was temporary sat like a jagged rock.

  ‘That’s not necessary. I bought it for you.’

  Alice’s smile was just a lift of her lips and she chose to make light of the situation rather than go down the rabbit hole of how she was feeling and why. ‘You don’t have to buy me jewels, Thanos. When we’re divorced, I can buy my own ridiculously huge diamond necklaces.’

  He didn’t laugh, at first. He simply stared at her almost as though he hadn’t heard, and when finally he spoke, his voice was gravelled and deep. ‘It suits you.’

  He came around to her side of the helicopter, opening the door at the same time she stepped out, so their bodies were brought close together, and desire throbbed low in her abdomen.

  Thanos’s hand lifted to her cheek, his thumb stroking her flesh there. ‘Alice?’

  Her heart skipped a beat. Then another. She waited, her
breath held, not sure what he was going to say, not sure what she wanted him to say, knowing only that she had a very familiar feeling of standing on the edge of a precipice, wondering if she should jump or not.

  ‘Yes?’ A whisper.

  ‘Whatever happens today, this weekend, thank you.’

  Alice’s heart squeezed, her stomach churned. ‘What for?’

  ‘For this. For your help. For understanding how much this means to me and why.’

  Her smile felt heavy on her face—there was a pervasive sadness clouding her heart, one she didn’t fully comprehend. ‘It’s your company,’ she said, gently. ‘And you’re the right man to run it.’

  * * *

  When the marriage had first been suggested, Alice had felt a little anxious about the idea of performing her role for Kosta Carinedes. After all, pretending to be a joyously happy newly-wed was one thing, but doing so in the man’s home, under his scrutiny, would require a whole new level of attention to detail.

  Except, in reality, it didn’t.

  Nothing about it felt forced or unnatural.

  In fact, as she and Thanos walked, hand in hand, towards Kosta’s Greek paradise, Alice found it difficult to process how bizarrely right it felt.

  ‘Don’t be nervous,’ he said, sotto voce, as they reached the wide timber door and pressed a button on the buzzer. ‘It will be easier than you think.’

  Alice lifted her gaze to his. ‘I’m fine. This will be fine.’

  The door was drawn inwards and Kosta stood there, a man Alice had now met three times in the space of a month.

  ‘Ah, the happy couple.’ He beamed, and the greeting sounded genuine enough.

  She smiled easily, and when he wrapped her in a warm embrace and kissed both her cheeks, Alice returned the greeting. Thanos shook his hand, his manner a little more reserved, so she reached down and laced her fingers through his, squeezing them with a smile on her lips.

  It was a beautiful day—blue sky, warm sun and a sea breeze—and Kosta enjoyed providing them with a leisurely tour first of his house and then the gardens that surrounded it. Despite the fact he must have been in his eighties, he moved with alacrity, spry and confident as he strode up the steep steps towards a cave that provided shelter and incredible views of the sea.