Each had a door that opened onto the terrace. You would need a railing if you brought children over here. In her mind’s eye she could picture a lovely table with a colorful umbrella surrounded by chairs and pots of flowers.
Beyond the village the view looked out on the ancient Minoan site with its archaeological ruins, reminding her of the statue of King Minos on Takis’s desk in Italy.
While she stood there near the edge, deep in thought, she saw a pickup truck turn the corner and pull up behind her car. All kinds of equipment filled the bed. Her pulse raced as she saw two men get out. The taller of the two, an Adonis dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, looked up and waved to her.
“Yassou, Lys! I’ll be in as soon as I unload the truck!”
“Let me help!”
Excited he’d come, she hurried downstairs and opened the front door. His brother—it couldn’t be anyone else with those features—had red tinges in his dark blond hair. He brought in a ladder and some paint cans. Takis followed, carrying other paint equipment and drop cloths.
His eyes, that marvelous hazel green, played over her. “I’m glad you’re here.” His deep velvety voice wound its way through her body, igniting her senses. He put everything down in the living room. “Lukios? I’d like you to meet Lys Theron. Lys? This is Lukios Manolis.”
Takis had told her that Lukios hadn’t been friendly the other day. Lys had hoped for his sake that his brother would warm up. It appeared they were getting along better now and that knowledge made her happy.
“You’re the wonderful brother he’s told me about. It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve been anxious to meet Takis’s family.” She smiled and put out her hand.
The other man shook it. “How do you do,” he said in a subdued voice. His eyes swerved back and forth at the two of them, trying to figure things out. She had no doubt he’d seen her in the news.
“I thought Takis might be hungry while he worked, so I brought lunch. It’s in the kitchen. He has such a big appetite, I bought enough for half a dozen people. Please feel welcome to eat with us if you’d like.”
He looked taken back. “Thank you. Have you known each other long?”
Without giving Takis a chance to answer, she said, “Quite a while. We met in Italy while I was on vacation. Those were your children in the photos I saw on his desk at work? Both yours and your sister, Kori’s. They are adorable. Your parents must be crazy about their grandchildren.”
“They are,” he murmured.
“In case you didn’t know yet, Takis asked me to marry him yesterday and brought me here to see where we’re going to live.”
Lukios blinked. “I had no idea.”
“He surprised me too.” She smiled at him. “Since he told me I could decorate it any way I want, I decided to start with a housewarming present by offering my services to help with the painting.”
“How come I’m so lucky?” Takis interjected, as if they had no audience. His eyes gleamed.
She knew what her response had meant to him and heat swept through her body. By throwing herself into his suggestion for an engagement, she had no choice but to be a hundred percent committed and go all the way.
“This is such a cozy house, I’m anxious to see how we can bring it to life.”
Takis moved closer. “All I brought with me today is the primer for the walls. After we’ve put it on, we’ll go to the paint store and decide on the best color for the rooms.”
Lys had really done it now! She’d taken him by complete surprise, but it hadn’t thrown him. Nothing did. Takis was always several steps ahead no matter the situation. His responses since coming in the house had to have convinced his brother that their relationship was all but sealed.
“Come in the kitchen, Lukios. Let me serve you while you tell me about your family. What is your wife’s name? I’m sure Takis told me, but I can’t remember.”
“It’s Doris.”
“That’s it. I had a friend in school named Doris too! I understand your two children are older than Cassia.”
He blinked, as if he were surprised she knew so much. “Paulos and Ava. They’re four and five.”
“What a blessing. I always wanted siblings, but my mother died when I was little. My father never remarried, so it was just me.”
“That must have been hard.”
“Yes, but I had a father I adored.”
While she served him on a paper plate, Takis helped himself and stayed in the background of the conversation. She took it that he didn’t mind that she’d more or less taken over and was chatting away.
“Is Doris a stay-at-home mother?”
“No. She works with me at the hotel.”
“How terrific for both of you.” She handed him some tangerines.
He peeled one and ate the whole thing at once, reminding her of Takis’s eating habits. “You think that’s a good idea?”
Ah. He was coming to life. “If I loved my husband, I’d want to be with him as much as possible. She’s a lucky woman.” Poor Danae would have loved to work with Nassos like that...
Lukios darted Takis a glance, but she pretended not to notice. “Do you want a Pepsi? It’s the only soda I could find.”
“Thank you.”
She turned to Takis. “What about you?”
“I’ll drink one later. Why don’t you sit and I’ll wait on you?”
Their gazes met. “I’d love it.”
After she finished eating, Lukios got up from his chair and put his empty plate on the table. “Thank you for the lunch. It was very nice to meet you, Kyria Theron.”
“I’m thrilled I got to be introduced to you at last.”
“It was my pleasure. Now I’m afraid I have to get Baba’s truck back to the hotel. Work is waiting.”
Takis put down his soda. “I’ll see you out, Lukios.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Don’t go away,” he whispered. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked out of the kitchen, leaving her trembling. She was a fool to be this happy when it wasn’t a real engagement, but she couldn’t help it. There was no one like Takis.
* * *
A few minutes later Takis came back in the kitchen and found Lys cleaning up. “You’re a sight I never expected to see in here after leaving you in front of the hotel last evening.”
She looked up at him. “I’m sure you didn’t. But I couldn’t sleep during the night because of worry over your secret getting out. I remembered back to that day in your office in Italy. When you saw the deed, the shock on your face stunned me.”
He stared at her. It wasn’t just the deed, Lys Theron.
“Later, after your return to Heraklion, we talked about what Nassos had done by giving you co-ownership of the hotel. That’s when I realized why you worried it could be damaging to your relationship with your father if he knew.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything to you about that.”
“I’m glad you did. I—I want you to be able to preserve that precious bond with your father,” she stammered from emotion. “I loved mine so much.”
He leaned against the doorjamb with his strong arms folded. “So you’ve decided to be the sacrificial lamb.”
“I don’t think of my decision that way and hope you don’t either.”
“Be honest. You’d do anything for Nassos and Danae.”
She threw her head back. “I guess I would.”
And now she was willing to help preserve his father’s love by entering into an engagement of convenience. If Lys knew the depth of Takis’s feelings for her, would she admit she couldn’t live without him either and toss the pretense away? He cocked his head. “You realize my brother swallowed your act so completely, he gave me a hug for luck before getting in the truck.”
Luck? Her heart leaped.
“He isn’t the hugging type?” she teased.
“After what I told you about him, you know he isn’t. The last time it happened, my girlfriend had just died.”
“Oh, Takis—how awful that must have been. Is it still too hard to talk about?”
“No. I remember there was pain, but I don’t feel it anymore.”
“What happened to her?”
“I was working at the hotel in Heraklion the day Gaia took a bus trip with her friends. It was the high school’s year-end retreat. They went to the Samaria Gorge.”
“I’ve heard of it but have never been there,” Lys murmured.
“It’s a place in the White Mountains where it’s possible to hike down along the gorge floor past streams, wild goats, deserted settlements and steep cliffs. The plan was for them to reach the village of Agia Roumeli and take a boat back to the bus for the return trip to Tylissos.
“The tragedy occurred when a tourist drifted across the road and hit the bus, causing it to roll over and down the side of the gorge. There were thirty students on the bus. Three of them died. One of them was Gaia.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“Her death prompted me to accept Nassos’s offer to leave for the States and go to work for the man whom I now know was your father. After her funeral, the move to New York helped me get over it.”
Lys nodded and wiped her eyes. “Had you been close for a long time?”
“From the age of fifteen.”
“How terrible.” She shook her head. “Does her family still live here?”
“Yes.”
“Do you visit them?”
“Only once, the first time I came back to be with my parents. They didn’t need to see me as a reminder. One look at the framed picture of her on the end table was enough to prevent me from dropping in on them again.”
“What about the latest woman in your life now? Will news of your engagement hurt her?”
He strolled toward her. “I’ve had several short-lived relationships, none of them earthshaking, as the Americans have a way of saying. For the last three years I’ve been consumed with earning a living and haven’t allowed any serious entanglements to get in the way.”
Her purple gaze fused with his. “And there you were, minding your own business at the castello when destiny dropped in to change your life yet again.”
Obeying a strong impulse, he put his hands on her shoulders. Takis could feel her heartbeat through her soft cashmere sweater.
“I watched you walk out of the church at the funeral and thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life. If I hadn’t had to catch a plane for Athens right then, I would have gone to the cemetery in order to meet you and learn your name.”
“I had no idea,” she murmured.
“You’ll never know my wonder when I entered my office and discovered the daughter of Kristos Theron standing in front of Nassos’s photograph with tears in her eyes. That was my first shock, followed by another one in the form of the deed that bound you and me together in an almost mystical way. Today I received a third shock to find you here waiting for me.”
“I shouldn’t have come in, but you left the door unlocked. I hope you didn’t mind.”
“Mind?” His hands slid to her upper arms and squeezed them. “To convince Lukios is half the battle. You did something for me in front of my brother I couldn’t have done for myself. After my years abroad, he’s in shock I’ve found my soul mate in Crete, when he didn’t think it was possible.”
Takis hadn’t thought it could ever happen either.
“Had you mentioned me to him before today?”
“Never.”
“What about your sister?”
“She’s always on my side. Just so you know, when I walked him out to the truck, he brought up nothing about you. If he recognized you from the newspaper, he didn’t mention it. That should tell you a lot.”
Her eyes glistened with moisture. “Then I’m glad.”
“Glad enough to come with me and get your engagement ring? When I introduce you to my parents, I want it on your finger.”
He could see her throat working. “I thought you were going to paint today.”
“I’m getting things ready, but will have to wait until tomorrow morning. The water and electricity won’t be turned on until then. Since we’ve eaten, let’s drive into Heraklion.”
Without her saying anything, she walked with him to his car. After they headed for the city she turned to him. “You mustn’t buy me anything that stands out.”
“I’ve already bought it.”
A slight gasp escaped her throat.
He smiled. “The ring does have unique significance, but don’t worry. It’s not a ten-carat blue-white diamond from Tiffany’s worth three million dollars.”
“When did you get it?”
“The day I suggested the engagement. Once I visualize an idea, I act on it. I’m afraid it’s the way I’m made.”
“You’re one amazing man.”
“Amazing as in crazy, insane, exasperating? What?”
“All three and more.”
He chuckled. “I don’t want to hear the rest. Admit you like me a little.”
She looked away.
“Why don’t you pull out your phone and we’ll compose an engagement announcement for the newspaper. The sooner it gets in, the better.”
“Danae will want to check it over first.” She pressed the note app. He watched her get started. “I think it should begin with something like Kyria Danae Rodino is pleased to announce the engagement of Lys Theron to Takis Manolis, son of Nikanor and—” She paused and turned to him. “What’s your mother’s name?”
“Hestia.”
“Goddess of the hearth. What a lovely name.” She typed it in and finished with, “Son of Nikanor and Hestia Manolis of Tylissos, Crete.”
His hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “You need to add Lys Theron, daughter of Kristos and Anna Theron.”
A small cry escaped. “I didn’t know you knew my mother’s name.”
“Someone at the hotel told me after I started working there. As for the rest of the announcement, we can figure out the June date after you talk to Danae. Then end it with saying that the wedding will take place in the Greek Orthodox church in Heraklion.”
“Which one were your parents married in?”
“Agios Titos. That’s where we’ll take our vows.”
He was living for it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
TAKIS DROVE TO a specialty shop called Basil. It was located next to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion that sold Minoan replicas the tourists could afford. He parked the car and walked her inside.
“I love this place! When I first came to Crete, Danae brought me in here every time we took visiting friends of theirs through the museum. We’d always buy a few trinkets.”
He guided her past clusters of people to the counter where he asked one of the clerks to get the owner. “Basil is holding a ring for me.” Takis couldn’t wait to slide it on her finger. He wanted her in his arms and his life forever.
“A moment, please.”
“Look at this, Takis!” Lys walked over to a fresco hanging on the wall representing a Minoan prince. He stood in his horse-drawn chariot holding the reins. A warrior on the road handed him a drink from a golden cup. “I’ve seen this in the museum. It’s a splendid replica. Can’t you see it hanging over your fireplace?”
“Don’t you mean ours?”
“Yes. This is all still new to me.”
He hugged her around the waist. Her interest intrigued him. “Why do you like it so much?”
“The plain with those trees where he’s riding reminds me of th
e view from your terrace. Danae once took me out to the Tylissos archaeological site not far from your village. You have Cretan blood in your veins and live in a Cretan historical spot that’s over seven thousand years old.”
He smiled. “You were born in New York, which dates back ten thousand years.”
“Except that I’m half-Cretan and I don’t have part Native American blood. My mother was American through and through. Somehow it doesn’t seem the same.”
A chuckle escaped his lips, enjoying their conversation more than she would ever know. “Touché.” He gave her a brief kiss on the mouth, unable to resist tasting her whenever he could.
“Kyrie Manolis!” He turned around to see the owner come up to him.
“Kalispera, Basil.”
The older man stared in wonder at Lys like most men did, unable to help it. “You’ve brought your beautiful fiancée. Now I understand your choice of stone. Come with me.”
Takis guided her over to another counter. Basil went around behind. On the glass he set a small gold box with a B on it and took off the lid. Takis heard her sharp intake of breath when the owner handed the ring to Lys.
“This is incredible.” Her voice shook.
Takis had hoped for that reaction.
“It’s a replica of old Minoan jewelry,” Basil explained.
“I know. I’ve seen one like it in the museum.”
“Look closely. The three-quarter-inch band is intricately linked by twelve layers of tiny gold ropes, some braided, some mesh. The middle one represents the snake of the snake goddess, known for being gracious, sophisticated and intelligent.
“This ring would be identical to the one you saw in the museum, but your fiancé wanted a cut glass purple stone instead of the red garnet in the center. Put it on and we’ll see if it fits.”
After she slid it on to her ring finger, her eyes flew to Takis. He’d never seen them glow before. “This is too much. Thank you.” She kissed him on the side of his jaw.
Basil laughed. “If the ring was authentic, he would be paying over five million euros at auction. But the beauty of shopping with Basil is that it didn’t cost that much.”
“It looks like the real thing.”
Bound to Her Greek Billionaire Page 9
