Bride by Day

by Rebecca Winters

  Because of Sam’s collage, Perseus had never returned the phone call Sofia had made to his office in New York. Now that he’d arrived on Serifos, he was a sitting target.

  Sam put down the hairbrush, her fear for Perseus making her heart pound too hard. She could feel it in her throat and coughed to dislodge the throbbing sensation.

  “Kyria Kostopoulos?”

  “Yes, Ariadne?” Sam hurried out of the bathroom to face the housekeeper standing in the doorway leading to the hall.

  “There’s a phone call for Perseus Kostopoulos, but he went for a short walk before lunch. The woman said that since he wasn’t here, she would talk to you.”

  Sam shook her head in consternation. “She didn’t give her name?”

  “No. She only said that it was urgent.”

  Was it Sofia?

  At the thought of talking to her, Sam’s mouth went dry. “I—I don’t. speak any Greek yet, Ariadne.”

  The older woman shrugged her shoulders. “Perhaps she speaks English?”

  Sam’s gaze darted to the phone at the side of the bed. When she’d asked Perseus how she could help, he’d said, “Stay close to me. Never let me out of your sight.”

  But he’d never told her what to do when he’d deliberately gone out of her sight.

  Was it a coincidence that he’d decided to take a walk at the precise moment Sofia called? Or had he purposely left Sam to run interference for him because he knew instinctively that Sofia would call, and he wasn’t ready to face his former fiancée yet?

  Was this Sam’s first major test?

  With fear and trepidation, she approached the bedside table. Saying a little prayer that she wouldn’t let him down, she picked up the receiver.

  “Hello?” She found she had to clear her throat. “This is Mrs. Kostopoulos.”

  “Thank you for taking my call.” The woman spoke in heavily accented English. “My name is Sofia Leonidas. Do you know who I am?”

  Sam clutched the receiver in a death grip.

  What was she supposed to say to this woman? What did Perseus expect her to say?

  “Yes. I’ve heard my husband speak of his extended family. I understand his mother was once married to your father, that at one time you and Perseus were stepbrother and sister.”

  The ominous silence on the other end of the line indicated Sam had hit some kind of a nerve.

  “What Perseus and I shared only comes once in a lifetime, if then...”

  The woman’s fierce avowal of love sent Sam’s heart plummeting to her feet.

  “I tried to reach him in New York, but he never returned my call. After what I did to him so long ago, I don’t blame him for refusing to have anything to do with me.” Her voice shook with such emotion, Sam couldn’t see how it was feigned.

  “But there were life-and-death reasons why I did what I did. Reasons he deserves to hear before anyone else. I’ve been waiting twenty empty years to tell him.”

  The woman talking on the other end of the line didn’t sound at all like the cold, cruel young woman who’d stabbed Perseus before running off where he could never find her. Sofia Leonidas sounded like a woman deeply in love. Someone tormented and desperate.

  “Now that Perseus is back in Serifos, I must talk to him. You see, my father is dying and has asked for him to come. He has many things to say to Perseus. So do I...” Her voice trailed off because she was sobbing.

  “Once again this is a matter of life and death. You are his new bride. For him to finally marry after all these years means you have influence over him.

  “I’m begging you to use that influence to get him to come over to the house. Though he has built himself a villa, this was once his home. For a little while, Papa was a father to him. As for myself, I loved him and still do. In fact I’ll go to my grave with his name on my lips.”

  Sam shivered at the depth of the other woman’s declaration.

  “Would you please convey that message to Perseus? I’ve left the phone number with your housekeeper.”

  Sam took a fortifying breath. “I’ll tell him what you said, but I can’t promise anything else.”

  “Bless you for that much. It’s more than I deserve.”

  The line went dead.

  Sam sank down onto the side of the bed, completely stunned by the woman’s importuning, and worse, her tears.

  Sofia was still in love with Perseus, and something told Sam that when Perseus heard his francée’s explanation —whatever it was—they’d be reunited.

  So deep was her devastation over the probable outcome of their meeting, she didn’t realize Perseus had come into the bedroom. He was in white running shorts and a black T-shirt.

  She swallowed hard at the sight of his virile, masculine frame.

  “Whom have you been talking to? Your face has lost all its color.”

  “That was Sofia.”

  His muscles tautened in reaction. He looked fiercely angry. The hands at his sides formed into fists.

  “Why didn’t you let Ariadne take the message?” he bit out with scarcely bridled fury which was completely uncharacteristic for him.

  “Your housekeeper was the one who came to find me. She said the woman on the phone asked for me.”

  “Sofia didn’t waste any time,” he muttered with a savagery she’d never heard before.

  Sam got up from the bed. “Before you say anything, you need to know that her father is dying and has been asking for you.”

  His head reared back. “Dying?”

  She nodded. “Sofia also said there was a reason why she did what she did to you twenty years ago. She said it was a matter of life and death then, and now she needs to explain everything. She was sobbing, Perseus. I believe her tears were real.”

  His black eyes glittered dangerously. “What else did she say? I might as well hear all of it.”

  Averting her eyes so she wouldn’t see the joy leap into his, Sam murmured, “She said that what you two shared could never be repeated in a lifetime, that after twenty long empty years, she’s still in love with you. She also said that though she knows you could never forgive her, she will go to her grave with your name on her lips.”

  A mask came down over his face so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “I think you should go to her right away.”

  His face looked like thunder. “I have business on Naxos and should have flown there an hour ago, but I’ll be back to take you for a swim after dinner.”

  He disappeared too fast for her to tell him she was sorry she’d offended him by saying something out of turn.

  The rest of the day was pure disaster, and she had trouble eating more than a few bites of food the cook had prepared. She was ready to retire early when Perseus suddenly arrived back at the villa, and insisted that she join him for a swim.

  “Don’t venture too far out,” Perseus called to her a few minutes later from the beach where he was drying off. He’d hunkered down to watch her, his well-shaped head black and sleek in the moonlight. She trembled before such a powerful aura.

  “I’ll stay close to shore. I promise.”

  Sam was still pinching herself because nothing about this night seemed real. Not the warm water, or the enormous grapefruit moon, or the balmy, velvety air.

  The heat radiating off the sand had sent her splashing into the sea. After a vigorous workout, she floated on her back so she could look up at the heavens and still keep an eye on Perseus. Beyond him, the lights of the charming white villa beckoned.

  His anger over Sofia’s call had long since dissipated. Thank heaven that anger hadn’t been directed at her. In fact, he seemed to be in a vastly different frame of mind than he had that morning.

  “Did you enjoy the dinner I asked Maria to prepare for you?”

  “It was wonderful. What was it called?”

  “Boxa, a combination of succulent lamb, greens and a lemon sauce cooked in a special ceramic pot. For dessert I asked her to serve you some of that sweet, creamy Mizithr
a cheese. My favorite.”

  “Everything was delicious and much too fattening. I’m going to have to stay out here all night to work off the extra calories.”

  He chuckled deep in his throat.

  She’d said that as a pretext to keep her distance from him. The image of his superbly muscled frame with its mat of black hair, the fluid grace of his walk, the bronzed skin covering his magnificent physique set her pulse racing.

  Just looking at him heated her own body several degrees. She could almost hear her skin sizzle as she entered the water. She could see the headlines now.

  “Young American wife of Greek Tycoon ignites like a firecracker in front of their villa in the Cyclades, sending spurts of steam 100 feet into the atmosphere.”

  Her fanciful thoughts translated to gentle laughter. To her shock, he suddenly appeared beside her, treading waster while his dark gaze narrowed on her animated features.

  “When you smile that way, you resemble the woman in a painting I have hanging on the wall of my bedroom. I noticed the likeness the moment you first entered my office. Her hair resembles spun gold, as well, but it’s much longer and swirls about her body. She’s chained to a rock.”

  “It must be Andromeda. The woman Perseus rescued from the sea monster and brought home to Serifos.”

  He gave an imperceptible nod of his dark head. “She’s almost as beautiful as you are.”

  Sam slipped beneath the water to hide her blush and resurfaced a few feet away. But in one swift movement he’d reached her side again, a devilish half smile curving the corner of his mouth. Right then he seemed to shed ten years.

  To Sam he was so heartbreakingly handsome, she wanted to reach out and touch him, every beautiful part. Physically, he was perfect to her.

  “Who was the artist?” She had to say something to break the enchantment.

  “Jules Gregory. He wasn’t well known when he came to Serifos to paint. I bought it off him at least sixteen years ago when he was a struggling artist. Now his portraits are sought after by the many art collectors.

  “Personally, I still think the painting I own is his masterpiece. Maybe because he painted it at a time when he was suffering over a love affair which had gone wrong.”

  Sam had to school her features to show no reaction, but inside she was undergoing a near convulsion.

  A frown brought back the worry lines in his face. In a lightning move he clasped her upper arms in a firm grip. “What’s wrong? Did you just feel a cramp?”

  “Yes.” She nodded, grateful for any reason to end their enforced intimacy. “I guess I swam too hard after that huge meal.”

  “Come.”

  He gathered her in his powerful arms and carried her from the water to the villa without so much as a strained breath. By the time he’d deposited her in the bathroom of her suite and had started her shower, she was literally writhing from the heated contact of their bodies separated by nothing more than their bathing suits.

  Hers was a modestly cut blue bikini which he’d picked out for her in New York. Even so, it displayed more flesh than she liked to reveal.

  “Thank you for everything, Perseus.” Her voice wobbled because his eyes were playing over her face and figure. “I’ll be fine now.” She reached for a huge bath towel and covered herself.

  “I’m not so sure,” he said on a solemn note. “Why are there shadows when your face was lit up like the sun a few minutes ago?”

  He had the uncanny knack of seeing beneath the surface. That was part of what made him such a genius in the corporate world.

  “I think jet lag has caught up with me. A good night’s sleep will produce wonders.”

  He still didn’t seem satisfied. “If you don’t feel well and need me in the night, just call out and I’ll come.”

  The temptation to do just that was almost more than she could bear. “You need your sleep, too,” she murmured, needing to get away from him before she betrayed the feelings bursting to escape and find expression in one pair of arms.

  “I’m used to flying. You’re not,” came the swift reply. “I think we’ll postpone an exploration of the island tomorrow and simply lounge around the indoor pool.”

  He seemed totally concerned for her welfare, yet she retained niggling doubts that he might not want to be seen around the island with Sam. Not if he’d been to visit Sofia, and things had changed for him in some way.

  “Tomorrow I’ll have some gardening catalogs flown over from Athens to assist you. We can spend the day talking about our yard, and we won’t have to lift a finger. How does that sound?”

  A pain entered her heart. It sounded very domestic and wonderful. The kind of thing married couples in love tended to do.

  “To be honest, I’m excited to get started.”

  “Then it’s settled. Good night, Samantha. No doubt you prefer the shortened version, but you’re entirely too feminine to go by the name of Sam.” Before she knew how it had happened, he’d brushed her lips with his own in a featherlight caress, then he disappeared from the bathroom.

  Samantha.

  It was the first time he’d ever said her name. With that attractive Greek accent, he made it sound beautiful. While she stood there tingling from his kiss, her mind reeled from the personal comments he’d been making all evening when there’d been no audience to play to.

  But after she’d been standing beneath the shower spray for ten minutes, she reasoned that he was doing everything in his power to make her feel at ease with him. No doubt he was preparing her for those times when they had to appear in public together. Her job was play along with Perseus and convince family and friends who knew Sofia that they were a married couple madly in love.

  By the time she’d slid between the silky sheets, her body was begging for sleep. The only problem was her mind which refused to turn off.

  Tomorrow she’d take a peek in his bedroom and see the painting he’d purchased from her derelict father so many years ago. How strange to think one of his creations hung in this villa. Stranger still was the fact that Perseus had loved it so much, he’d bought it when he was a much younger man and had taken it home with him, rather than display it in his New York or Athens office.

  As she started to drift off, her thoughts came full circle to settle on Sofia. Despite all Perseus’s plans, Sam had no doubts he’d eventually be united with his only true love.

  By the time oblivion finally took over, her pillow was sopping wet and she slept without it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  WHEN she eventually awakened, she could tell the sun was almost overhead. She’d slept twelve hours and now her stomach was making hungry sounds.

  One look in the mirror and she let out a cry. Her eyes were so puffy, they looked like slits. If Perseus saw her like this, he’d know she’d been crying. Maybe he’d heard her muffled sobs through the connecting door last night. Whatever, she’d wear her sunglasses out to the pool on the pretext that the light hurt her eyes.

  After sifting through her new clothes, she found an attractive pair of beige linen shorts and matching sleeveless top trimmed in white. She toned the outfit with brown sandals and caught her hair back, fastening it with a tortoiseshell clip.

  An application of pink frost lipstick, a touch of her favorite lemon cologne, and she felt ready to face the man with whom she had a contract, nothing more.

  In the habit of making her bed, she tidied the room, then slipped out the doors to head for the kitchen. A glass of juice and a roll of some kind sounded good. She’d be able to fix those things herself without disturbing Maria.

  But she hadn’t counted on being intercepted by Perseus who was just coming from his study. He looked breathtakingly masculine in a pair of denim cutoffs and nothing else.

  “Kalimera, Samantha.” Once more she could feel his eyes traveling over her in male admiration.

  “Kadimera, Perseus.”

  Sam swallowed with difficulty and quickly looked away, for fear he’d catch her staring at him.

&nbs
p; “Did you sleep well?”

  “Too well. Any light still hurts my eyes.”

  “You’re a natural blonde. The sun in this part of Greece takes some getting used to. Follow me to the pool and we’ll enjoy brunch together.”

  His delivery was so smooth, she had no way of telling if he knew the true reason for the sunglasses or not.

  “And I presume you’ve already put in the work of seven men,” she quipped as they made their way to the side of the villa where the enclosed rectangular pool joined the patio through a series of glass doors.

  “Only seven?” came the teasing rejoinder.

  Sam chuckled before helping herself to a veritable feast of fresh fruit, honey glazed ham, melt-in-your-mouth pastry, omelets, and juice.

  She took one of everything before sitting down at the poolside table with him. “If I stay here much longer, you’re going to have to fire Maria and put me to work in the kitchen. We’ll both lose weight in a big hurry.”

  Now it was Perseus’s turn to laugh. A low-pitched, full bodied sound that said she’d truly amused him.

  “Luckily I’ve already hired you to put in my yard.”

  After popping another huge grape in her mouth she said, “I can’t wait to get at it.” And she meant it.

  He eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup. “You already know what you’re going to do. I saw it in your eyes yesterday. Are you going to let me in on it now, or do I have to wait for the finished product?”

  “This is your villa, and as suc—”

  “Our villa,” he corrected her, looking lazily indolent stretched out on the lounger.

  She wished he’d stop saying things like that. “Yes, well, I’d like to talk over my main ideas with you, but I do have plans for a very special garden which I’d love to be a surprise. The only problem is, you’d have to walk around blindfolded till it’s completed and growing.”

  More laughter rumbled out of him. “I promise not to look too hard.”