she looked at him with genuine disappointment, he smiled at her parents before he moved through the crowded room toward the rear of the ballroom. In order to prove he hadn’t told an untruth, he looked for any woman at one of the tables who didn’t have an escort, whom he could ask to dance.
At the round table nearest the rear doors he saw a woman sitting alone. Another couple sat across from her, but it was clear she didn’t have a man with her. Knowing Althea was still watching him, he walked toward the stranger. Maybe she was waiting for someone, but he’d take his chances.
Closer now he could make out classic features beneath hair an incredible light gold with a natural hint of red. He’d only seen hair that color on one other woman. His breath caught. She wore a pale blue silk suit jacket with a small enamel locket hanging around her neck. He imagined she was in her mid-twenties. He saw no rings.
Akis approached her. “Excuse me, thespinis. I see you’re alone for the moment. As best man of this wedding, if you’d permit, I’d like to dance with you.”
Her eyes lifted to his.
Those eyes. They were the same eyes he’d looked into yesterday, but tonight he discovered they were a stunning shade of lavender blue and he found himself lost in them.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t speak Greek.”
Her comment jarred him back to the present. What was this American beauty doing at Theo’s wedding reception? Switching to unpolished English he said, “We passed in the street yesterday.”
“I remember almost bumping into you,” she murmured, averting her eyes. He noticed with satisfaction that a nerve throbbed in her throat above her locket. She was as excited as he was by this unexpected meeting. “I came close to knocking you down because I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
He smiled. “No problem. Just now I asked you to dance, but perhaps you’re waiting for the man who brought you.”
A delicate flush filled her cheeks. “No. I came alone. Thank you for the invitation, but I was just getting ready to leave.”
He wasn’t about to let her go a second time. “Surely you can spare one dance with me? I need rescuing.”
“Where’s your wife?”
“I’ve never had a wife. As for a girlfriend, I haven’t had one in months.” It was the truth.
“Then who was the woman with the long black hair you were dancing with moments ago?”
So she’d noticed. “You’re very observant. She was the maid of honor. It would have been unkind not to dance with her.”
With a twinkle in her eyes, she leaned to the right and retrieved a pair of crutches from the floor. She stood them on end. “Unless you’re prepared for your feet to be impaled by one of these, I’ll do you a favor and exit the room.”
She’d surprised Akis. This had to be a very recent injury. Her legitimate excuse to turn him down only fed his determination to get to know her better. Yesterday he’d wanted to pursue her, but hadn’t dared for fear of alarming her. “Then let me help you.”
Without hesitation he took the crutches from her and waited until she got to her feet. She was probably five foot seven, with enticing curves. The matching suit skirt covered womanly hips and slender legs. His gaze fell lower to the left ankle that had been wrapped. She wore a sandal on her foot and a low-heeled shoe on the other.
“Thank you.” She reached for the crutches and fit them beneath her arms. The delicate fragrance emanating from her assailed him. “Why don’t you ask the other woman at my table to dance? I’m sure her partner won’t mind.”
“I’d rather help you to your room.”
“I’m not staying here.”
That was interesting. He’d helped Theo make arrangements for all their out-of-town guests to stay here. “Then I’ll walk you outside and take you wherever you’d like to go.”
“As long as you’re offering, I wouldn’t say no if you hailed a taxi for me. I’m craving my hotel room so I can elevate my leg.”
“I’ll do better than that.” Akis accompanied her from the ballroom and down the hall to the foyer. The woman at his side managed her crutches with little trouble. En route he phoned his driver and told him to come to the hotel entrance.
As they walked outside, flashes from the cameras of the paparazzi blinded them. Chloe and Theo’s wedding would be the top story making the ten o’clock news on television. Video of prominent guests and the best man attending the reception filmed by TV news crews would be included.
Some of the paparazzi called out questions about the beautiful woman with Akis. He hated the attention though he was used to it, and kept walking her to the smoked-glass limo without answering them. He took her crutches so she could get in, then he followed and shut the door before sitting opposite her. “Are you all right?”
“I am. Are you?”
“I am now. The press is unrelenting. Tell me where you’re staying and I’ll let the driver know.”
“The Diethnes.”
A lot of tourists on a budget frequented two-star hotels like that one. Until he and Vasso had started making money, he could never have afforded to stay at any hotel. Period. Akis gave his driver directions and they pulled away from the Grand Bretagne. “When did you have time to injure your ankle?”
She let out a sound of exasperation. “It happened right after you and I passed on the sidewalk. I had a headache and was on my way to a store for some medicine. While I was inside, I slipped on the wet floor. It was such a stupid accident, totally my fault for not paying attention. The clerk was incredibly kind and called the ambulance for me.”
Akis mulled over her answer. Had she decided it would be easier to attend the reception rather than the wedding because of her injury? If she’d been at the church, he wouldn’t have been able to take his eyes off her during the ceremony.
“Are you in pain?”
“Not really. It’s more a dull ache until I rest it.”
“I’m sorry you had to fall, especially the day before the wedding.”
“Funny about life, isn’t it?” she murmured. “You never know what’s going to happen when you get up in the morning.” The almost haunted tone in her voice intrigued him.
“How true. When I left for the wedding, I didn’t know I was going to meet the lovely stranger who’d passed me on the street yesterday.”
“Or be chased by the maid of honor tonight,” she said in a wry tone. “Am I mistaken, or were you taking flight?”
“You noticed that.”
“It was hard not to.” She chuckled without looking at him. “I would imagine a man with your looks and minus a wedding ring needs rescuing from myriads of females.”
He blinked. “My looks?”
“You
