did now, not when she had been eighteen. “I know the power I have over all men,” she said loftily. “Dimos is more susceptible than most.”
“And why do you think that is?”
No doubt he saw it as her fault. “I haven’t encouraged him at all, but warn me off again,” she said in a growl as she glared at him, “and all bets are off.”
Stergios braced his legs as if he was preparing for battle. “You dare to threaten me?”
“There is very little I wouldn’t dare,” she told him boldly as her legs shook. “I am here to be with my father. If you block that in any way, I will do everything in my power to stop the Antoniou-Volakis merger.”
His expression went blank. There was no anger or repulsion. It was like a mask and that unsettled Jodie more than his cold fury.
“It wouldn’t take much.” She knew she had to stop talking and yet she pursed her lips and made a show of looking around the party. “All I have to do is crook my finger and Dimos will—”
“You have always been a destructive force.” His voice was just a rasp. “But I won’t allow you to destroy this family.”
“I don’t care about the Antonious.” The family was simply an obstacle to her goal. She had to play nice with them if she wanted even a tenuous bond with her father.
Stergios set his hands on his lean hips. “You need to leave and never return.”
Jodie regretted saying anything to Stergios. He could prevent her from getting what she wanted. She wished she had planned a better strategy to meet with her father. She had been too impulsive, too impatient and too scared of getting rejected again. But she couldn’t show her uncertainty or Stergios would use it against her. She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “That is out of your control.”
His smile chilled her to the bone. “It’s foolish of you to think that.”
Dread trickled down Jodie’s spine. It was foolish for her to go toe to toe with Stergios. He was a dangerous animal who lashed out if he felt threatened or cornered. “I have every right to be here.”
“And I have a right—a duty—to protect my family at all cost.”
She’d always known that. It was one of his traits she had admired and it used to hurt that his protection hadn’t included her. “According to Dimos, I am family.”
Stergios’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I have never considered you family.”
Those words would have slayed her when she was fifteen but now they slid right off her. “It’s easier for you to think that, isn’t it?” Jodie leaned closer, refusing to show how his words, his presence, had shaken her. “Helps you sleep better at night.”
The mask fell away and exposed Stergios’s wrath. A ruddy color seeped beneath his golden skin. His eyes glittered as he hunched his shoulders, ready to pounce. Jodie’s chest seized as she watched his upper lip curl, pulling tightly at his scar.
“After all—” her voice trembled “—the great and virtuous Stergios Antoniou is supposed to be trustworthy and do what is right. He strives for excellence and discipline. Why, he would never have sex with a virgin without marrying her.”
His jaw clenched and she knew his restraint was slipping. She had just made her most dangerous enemy very angry. She knew she should retreat and hide—no, she should beg for mercy, but the words kept spilling from her mouth.
“He would never have sex with his eighteen-year-old stepsister, right? And then walk away without a backward glance.” The rejection had swamped her that night but she didn’t stumble over the words now. “Discard her and throw her to the wolves.”
She saw the pure hate glowing from his eyes and she wanted to recoil. Did he hate her for reminding him of his moment of weakness? Or was it something more? Did he hate her because she continued to show him what kind of man he truly was?
“But I know the real Stergios Antoniou,” she confessed, driven to finish what she’d started. “I saw it that night four years ago. You’re like every other man I’ve met. Threaten me all you want, stepbrother dear, but I’ll take my chances.”
“JODIE, WOULD YOU care for some more coffee?” Mairi Antoniou asked.
“No, thank you,” she replied as she studied her father and stepmother from across the breakfast table. What should have been an intimate meal was more of a grueling interview. She had been prepared for that. Jodie wished she could spend some time with her father in private but getting him alone was proving difficult.
She was, however, making progress. Jodie couldn’t believe she was back in the Antoniou family home. She’d never considered it a possibility. Yet, two days after she had been invited to Dimos’s housewarming party, she was eating a late breakfast with her father and stepmother while a maid was unpacking her suitcases.
She should be celebrating. Relieved that the reunion with her father was going this smoothly, this quickly. Her instincts told her not to trust it and Jodie tried to ignore the negative voice in her head.
Looking around the breakfast room, Jodie noticed it was still fussy and formal. She always found the ivory chairs uncomfortable and the large white floral arrangements overwhelming. She studied one of the many portraits of Mairi’s ancestors that covered the sea-foam-green walls. Once again, she decided that Stergios did not get his stunning masculine beauty from his mother’s side.
Jodie’s gaze rested on a portrait of her stepmother. She wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by family and tradition. Some of the younger Antoniou generation found the family customs constricting but she would have found comfort and privilege in continuing traditions.
Jodie looked down at her gold-rimmed china plate that had been passed down from generation to generation. Only a guest unfamiliar with the Antoniou household would think the breakfast had been planned as a feast to celebrate the return of the prodigal stepdaughter. But the family always had pastries, olives, cheese and tiganites in the morning. The small pancakes had been her favorite and she would often drown them with grape molasses, much to her stepmother’s horror. Today she avoided the tiganites and had been the epitome of good behavior.
“I hope you will find your room satisfactory,” Mairi said.
“Thank you.” It was the same room she had stayed in years ago. In the corner on a separate floor from the rest of the family. But that didn’t matter. She was going to accept what was offered and pass every test they gave. She would win the approval and love of her only living relative.
“What are your plans for today?” her father asked as he set down his paper and rose from his chair.
“I need to find a wedding present for Dimos and Zoi.” It had to be appropriate but impersonal. She didn’t want her gift to cause any speculation or a lecture from Stergios. Jodie winced. She wasn’t going to allow her stepbrother to influence her in any way.
“And perhaps some clothes for the wedding?” Mairi suggested as she gave a pointed glance to Jodie’s bright green dress. “It will be very...conservative.”
Jodie
