bar. “I know this is rushing things, but I really need to know your answer to my offer.”
“You definitely don’t give a girl much time to weigh her options.”
His voice grew deeper. “Maybe I just don’t want to give you time to find an excuse to back out on me. I can already tell you’re going to make my life interesting. You, my dear, are quite intriguing. And I find that refreshing.”
“Is that all you find attractive?” The flirtatious words slipped over her lips before they registered in her mind.
His eyes lit up as the heat of embarrassment swirled in her chest and rose up her neck. What was she doing? She barely even knew this man. And yet, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but if she wasn’t cautious, she’d get burned.
“It’s definitely not the only attractive aspect of this arrangement. Not even close—”
“The money you offered, is it still part of the deal?”
He nodded.
“And can you pay me weekly?” She wanted to pay down the mortgage as soon as possible.
His brows rose. “If that’s what you’d like.”
“It is.”
She made the mistake of gazing into his eyes and noting that he looked at her with genuine interest. Did she really intrigue him? Her heart fluttered. Would it be so bad to have a gorgeous fiancé for just a bit? After all, you only live once. What did it hurt to have a little adventure?
And aside from the money, he’d mentioned helping her to search for her family roots. Now she had to make certain it was part of the deal. “And you agree to assist me in the search for my extended family?”
“I do.”
She stepped up to him and extended her hand. “You have yourself a fiancée.”
Instead of accepting her hand and shaking it, he lifted it to his lips. His feathery light kiss sent waves of delicious sensations coursing through her body. Much too soon he released her.
“When, um...do we start?” She hoped her voice sounded calmer than she felt at the moment.
“Right now. You have a wedding to plan and we need to get to know each other much better if we are going to convince others that we’re a genuine couple.”
Her phone chimed. It was her mother again. Something was definitely wrong. Kyra couldn’t deny it any longer. “Excuse me for a moment while I answer this.”
He nodded in understanding.
Kyra moved toward the wall of windows that overlooked the white sandy beach and aquamarine water. She pressed the phone to her ear. Before she could utter a word, she heard her mother’s voice.
“Kyra, why didn’t you answer your phone? I didn’t call to talk to your voice mail. Do you even listen to your messages? If you had, you’d know this is important—”
“Mom, stop. Take a breath and then tell me what’s the matter.”
“Everything.”
Her mother had a way of blowing things out of proportion. Please let this be one of those times. “Mom, are you all right? You aren’t in the hospital, are you?”
“The hospital? Why would I be there?”
Kyra exhaled a relieved sigh. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”
“My life. It’s over. You have to come home.”
Not melodramatic at all. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“How would you know? You don’t even know what’s the matter.”
Kyra fully expected this would be another engineered guilt trip. “Mom, just tell me.”
“I would if you’d quit interrupting.”
Keeping her back to Cristo, Kyra rolled her eyes. Why did talking to her mother always have to be an exercise in patience? Her father must have had more patience than a saint. “I’m listening now.”
“They let me go. Can you believe that? After all I did for them. Is there no longer any such thing as loyalty and respect?”
“Who let you go?”
“The cleaning company. They said they lost some contracts and had to downsize. How can they do that? Don’t they know I have bills to pay?” Her mother’s voice cracked with emotion. “Kyra, you have to come home right away. I need you.”
She should have known it’d come round to this. “I can’t. I have a job to do.”
“But we’re going to lose our home.” There was an awkward pause. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m all alone.”
“Don’t worry.” Kyra may not agree with everything her mother said and did, but she still loved her. And her mother didn’t deserve to lose her home—no one did. “You won’t lose your home. I’ll help you.”
Kyra, realizing that she’d said too much in front of Cristo, wound up the phone conversation. She promised to call her mother back soon.
Not sure how much Cristo had overheard, her body tensed. Her mother always did have the most amazing timing. Still, there was no undoing what had been done.
She turned to him. He was staring at her with questions reflected in his eyes. She couldn’t blame him. If the roles had been reversed, she would have been curious, as well. “Sorry. That was my mother.”
“I take it there’s a problem.”
Kyra really didn’t want to get into this with him. “There is, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.”
He arched a dark brow. “Are you sure about that? I mean, if you have to leave Greece, it’s best that we end our arrangement now—”
“No. That won’t be necessary.” And she didn’t add that the money he’d been willing to pay her for her time would be a huge help with her mother’s plight. Her doubts about whether she really wanted to move forward with this plan had just been overturned. She owed this to her mother. “I’m all yours—so to speak.”
KYRA WAS ALL HIS.
Cristo couldn’t deny that he liked the sound of those words. In fact, that wasn’t the only thing he could imagine passing by that tempting mouth.
Cristo gave himself a mental shake. What was he doing daydreaming about this woman? He knew better than to think of romance. He’d witnessed firsthand what happened when the romance turned cold. His parents were like the king and queen of Frostville. He got frostbite every time they were in the same room. He refused to end up unhappy like them.
Cristo cleared his throat.
