Buch lesen: «Wearing The Greek Millionaire's Ring»

DAY ONE
Two weeks later... Athens, Greece

“DID YOU MAKE IT to the ship in time?”

“Why would I be late?” Stasia stood on the busy deck. She pressed the phone to her ear, straining to hear her brother over the voices of dozens of excited travelers.

Xander sighed. “Must you answer a question with a question?”

A smile pulled at Stasia’s lips. “Why must you act like the overprotective brother?”

She knew the answer. Xander felt guilty because he was happily married with a baby girl, not to mention living on a private Greek island. And she, well, she was alone now.

Not so long ago, she’d been happy when her college sweetheart had become her husband. Back then, they’d had dreams—lots of dreams. However, it was all cut short when a stomachache turned out to be so much worse than the flu.

From that point, their dreams radically changed. Instead of wishing for exotic vacations, they started wishing for just one more Christmas, one more birthday, one more month, one more day. Stasia halted her thoughts. She pushed away the heart-wrenching memories before she drowned in them.

She’d been on her own for nearly two years now. There had been a lot of tears shed over that time—her first Christmas alone, her first anniversary alone. And when filling out forms, her hand would hover over the married box before ultimately checking single. It hadn’t been easy learning to be a widow—not at all.

Eventually she’d been able to donate Lukos’s clothes, including his tailored suits and silk ties. It took a long time until she could bear to slip off her wedding ring and place it with Lukos’s in the back of her jewelry box.

Her thumb nervously rubbed over her ring finger. It was something she’d started to do when she’d waited in the doctors’ offices and hospital waiting rooms. Feeling the smoothness of her wedding band and knowing the love behind it had somehow bolstered her strength to face the horrible diagnosis Lukos had been given.

She glanced down at her now bare finger.

She was on her own. Each step had taken time. Some steps were big and some were tiny. Each of them had pulled on her heartstrings.

“I... I worry about you.” Xander’s voice cut through her thoughts.

“I know you do.” And she knew it wasn’t easy for him to admit it. Xander had always held his feelings close to his chest. “And I appreciate it. But it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“So you’re on the ship?”

She nodded, and then, realizing he couldn’t see her, she said, “Yes, I am.”

“Good. Now watch out for any smooth-talking men. Don’t fall for their lines. Tell them to push off or else your big brother will take care of them—”

“Xander, I’m not in school anymore. I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”

Her brother sighed. “I know.”

“But you worry.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” How could she reprimand him when she’d done something similar when he’d hooked up with Lea? Stasia had posed as a potential buyer of Infinity Island in order to find out if Lea was a gold digger. In the end, Stasia had learned that Lea had a heart of gold. “But you have to trust me. I can take care of myself.”

“If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away.”

And then a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a tall man with dark hair. Though she could only see the back of him, there was something familiar about the way he held himself and the way he moved with sure, steady strides.

She told herself she shouldn’t stare even if it was from across the deck, but she couldn’t turn away. Or maybe she was using this distraction to keep from thinking about what her brother was saying. Did Xander really think she was incapable of caring for herself?

She knew then and there that she had to prove to him—to herself—that she could stand firmly on her own two feet. She’d thought she’d been doing that ever since Lukos passed, but it seemed that wasn’t so clear to everyone. She promised herself that by the time the cruise ended, she would have a firm life plan for herself.

In the beginning of this horrible nightmare, she’d had her doubts about facing life alone. But one day faded into two, and with each passing day, she’d somehow mustered up the strength and determination to put one foot in front of the other. And now nearly two years later, she was feeling strong and determined. She just needed a direction.

As Xander spoke of the bungalow he could build her on Infinity Island, her gaze focused on that tall, dark man across the way. He was busy speaking with a striking young woman. No doubt it was his girlfriend or wife.

And then the man turned. She was curious to see if his face was as handsome as she’d imagined it to be. And it was, but the surprise didn’t end there. The breath caught in her throat.

It was Roberto.

Her heart stuttered. What was he doing here?

Xander had his hand in this. She was certain of it. Her brother couldn’t even send her off on a cruise for a birthday gift without feeling the need to send along someone to keep an eye on her.

“What’s Roberto doing here?”

“What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” She was angry. This was too much. “I’m looking right at him.”

“I bet he’s probably flirting with some beautiful young woman.”

“How did you know?”

“Because that’s Roberto. He’s a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy. If any woman is foolish enough to think he’ll commit himself to her, she’ll just end up getting hurt. But as far as a friend, they don’t come any better than him.”

“Xander, I want to know what he’s doing on this cruise.”

Xander’s voice was muffled as though he had his hand over the phone. “Okay. I’m coming.” He spoke back into the phone. “Sorry, sis. I’ve got to go. Lea needs me.”

“Xander?”

And with that, the phone went dead.

Stasia inwardly groaned in frustration. What had her brother done? Enough was enough. And she wasn’t going to play his game, whatever it was.

This ship was big—big enough for her to avoid Roberto. Which was a shame because she’d always liked Roberto. Even when they were growing up, he’d been kind and thoughtful. And now as an adult, he was the most amazing eye candy. She hadn’t known it was possible for a man to look that good in a suit.

But if he was here to babysit her, then she didn’t have time for him. Stasia turned her back to him and walked in the opposite direction. Wherever he was, she would not be.

* * *

This was the absolute last place in the world he wanted to be.

Why couldn’t a work emergency have come up?

Ding.

Roberto Carrass checked his phone for the ninth time in less than five minutes. The emails were stacking up, each one more important than the last. He didn’t have time for a vacation. There was work to be done.

His fingers moved fluidly over the face of his phone. He composed a response to his assistant about a pending acquisition.

Ding. Ding.

Now that he was a full partner with Xander, their business was taking off. There were no more delays, waiting on approvals. When he spotted a good deal, he could move on it—if he wasn’t stuck on a two-week cruise with his big Greek family.

Roberto sighed, louder than he’d intended. His phone was not the best way to deal with emails. He really needed to go to his cabin and work on his laptop.

His grandmother elbowed him. “Would you put that contraption away?”

“Yaya, it’s a cell phone.” With great reluctance, he slipped it in his pocket. “And if you would quit being so stubborn, I would get you one. They aren’t that hard to use.”

She lifted her chin. “I already have a perfectly good phone at home. I don’t need one when I’m out and about. Whatever people want can wait until I get home. Now stop frowning. We’re here to have fun.” His grandmother smiled brightly. It was so hard to believe she was about to have her eightieth birthday. Most of the time, she acted half her age or younger.

“I’m going to get myself a drink.”

Yaya arched a penciled brow. “Don’t hide in some corner. Or worse, go to your cabin to work. This is a vacation. Look at all these lovely ladies. I’m sure you’ll find someone to spend your time with.”

While wearing a forced smile, he inwardly groaned. He was in so much trouble. They’d just pulled out of the dock and they were to be at sea for two weeks—two weeks of matchmaking torture.

“Yaya, I’m fine. I don’t need to find someone to spend time with.”

His grandmother’s gaze narrowed. “Roberto, is there something you haven’t told me?”

“Yaya, I—” And then out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a young woman he recognized. “I need to go say hello to someone.”

The worry lines on his grandmother’s face eased. “Don’t let me hold you up. I need to go check on your grandfather.”

There was something in the tone of his grandmother’s voice that caught his attention. “Is he feeling all right?”

His grandmother didn’t say anything at first. “I shouldn’t say anything.”

“It’s me. No matter how much he and I argue, I still care. Surely you know that.”

“I wish things were different between you two.” She sighed. “I don’t know what is going on. He won’t talk about it. Every time I bring it up, he tells me not to worry.”

“But you’re still worried?”

She nodded. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Don’t worry.” He gave her a brief hug. “I’m sure if it’s serious, he’ll talk to you about it.”

“Maybe you could speak to him.” Her hopeful gaze implored him.

Roberto gave a quick shake of his head. “I don’t think so. It’ll just lead to another argument—”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. It doesn’t matter the subject—eventually it leads back to me abandoning both the company and him. Then an argument ensues.”

“Don’t you think it’s time you two make peace?”

“Tell him. Not me.”

She sighed. “I just wish... Oh, never mind. Go mingle.”

She didn’t have to finish her thought. He knew what she wished—that he was still working with his grandfather. That there was peace in their family.

He leaned over and placed a kiss on his grandmother’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Yaya patted his arm and smiled before she headed off in the opposite direction.

As Roberto walked away, he couldn’t stop thinking about his grandparents. They were getting on in years. Was his grandfather doing too much?

This was his grandfather. Obviously he was doing too much. And the look on his grandmother’s face said she was more concerned than she let on. With his complicated relationship with his grandfather, he wasn’t sure what he could do to help, but for his grandmother’s sake, he’d give it some thought.

Roberto didn’t waste any time making his way across the deck toward the open-air bar where he’d caught sight of someone who looked quite familiar. Still, the day was quite beautiful with a clear blue sky, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. Even if he didn’t catch up with someone he knew, he might grab a cool drink and find a quiet spot to return a phone call or two before they got too far out to sea and the connection became spotty. He’d been so busy helping Xander spin off a new arm of his real-estate empire, as well as relocating the headquarters to Infinity Island, that he’d forgotten what it was like to have free time. He could once again have a social life.

Roberto intended to stick with his bachelor status—even if some incorrectly labeled him a playboy. But he couldn’t deny his preference for no-strings-attached flings. He didn’t have a lot of them, but he wasn’t exactly a hermit either.

His bachelor status didn’t please his grandparents, who thought he was the age to settle down with a family. All his life there had been expectations set for him. It started back when he was barely out of diapers. He’d been enrolled in the most prestigious preschool. He had to excel at everything so he could attend the top boarding school. And then he was expected to graduate at the top of his class. As the only grandson, his grandparents had high expectations for him.

It was a lot of pressure to put on a kid. By high school, he resented his family’s expectations. By college, he was interning at the family construction business. When nothing he did lived up to his grandfather’s high standards, Roberto knew he needed to forge a different path—one of his own choosing. And that was what led him to join forces with a childhood friend in the real-estate business, much to his family’s disappointment.

Having lost sight of the elusive woman, he moved to the bar and ordered a drink. While he waited, he glanced around once more. Maybe it was just wishful thinking that he’d recognized someone. Still, it had been a good excuse to get away from his grandmother.

He was on his way to an open table off to the side when he spotted her again. This time he was certain he knew her. It was Stasia Marinakos. No other woman carried herself quite like she did, with her slender shoulders pulled back, her head held high and a warm smile on her face. How she could smile after all that she’d been through was beyond him. But she hadn’t lost her zest for life. And he applauded her.

“Stasia?” he called out. When she paused and looked around, he called out to her again.

At last, their gazes met. Her big brown eyes widened. He waved her over to join him at the empty table. It took her a moment or two to work her way through the crowd of people all eager to enjoy the morning sun.

“It’s so good to see you.” He gave her a brief hug.

Was it wrong that he wanted the hug to last a little longer? Of course it was. Stasia was his best friend’s younger sister. And if that wasn’t enough to discourage any interest, she was a grieving widow. Enough said.

He moved to pull out a chair for her. Once again, her eyes widened with surprise. Was getting her chair for her that unexpected? He mused over this as he returned to his own chair. He supposed that in all of the occasions that they’d spent time together over the years, he hadn’t actually spent one-on-one time with her before. There had always been a group of people with them.

She frowned at him. “You don’t have to act surprised to see me.”

“But I am surprised.”

She studied him for a moment. “My brother didn’t set this up?” She motioned between them. “Being on the same cruise so you can babysit me?”

“If he did, he didn’t mention it to me.”

“Oh.” She still looked perplexed. “He surprised me with the ticket. He said it was my birthday gift.”

“It’s your birthday?”

“Not yet. It’s next week.”

“We’ll have to do something special.”

“You mean more special than taking an extended cruise?” Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

“Maybe not. But we’ll have to mark the occasion.” And then he realized she might not be on the ship alone. After all, she’d been a widow for...what was it? Two years. Maybe she was moving on. “Are you sailing alone?”

“I am. How about you? Are you here with someone?”

He wondered if she’d noticed that the passenger list had an overwhelming number of young, beautiful women who appeared to be alone. “I’m not here with anyone. Not exactly.”

Stasia arched a brow. “You came on this cruise alone?”

Roberto nodded and surprise flickered in her eyes.

Xander had warned him that he was getting a reputation of always having a beautiful woman on his arm. He’d thought Xander was just having some fun at his expense. Maybe Xander had been serious after all.

“You wouldn’t believe that I just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the office?”