light gaze locked with hers and he stared intently into her eyes. “So what do I need, then, Little Miss Know-It-All?”
“Maybe just how to be happy?”
“Because you’re so happy?”
“I’m happier than I have been in a very long time.”
“Because you’re away from your family.”
“Because I’m with you.”
He made an incredulous sound and climbed off the bed. “Now you’re playing me for a fool.”
She sat up, drawing the light crisp sheet with her to cover herself. “Why can’t I like you?”
“Because we don’t have that kind of marriage. This is not a love marriage—”
“I know. And I said like, not love,” she flashed irritably as he yanked on his clothes, first his shorts and then his shirt. “And right now, you’re being ridiculous but that doesn’t mean I don’t still find you likable.”
“That is not part of our agreement.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, why are you smiling?”
“Maybe because you look really handsome right now.”
He growled his frustration. “I’m not handsome right now, and I’m not likable, and we don’t have that kind of marriage, either.”
“What kind is that?”
“The kind where everybody is happy and dreams come true.” He turned and gave her a dark, tortured look. “You’re a smart woman. You of all people should know that happiness is a myth and dreams are just that. Dreams.”
HE’D SPENT ALL day with Kassiani today. Damen couldn’t remember when he’d last spent four hours with anyone, never mind a woman.
And he’d enjoyed almost every minute. The only minutes he hadn’t enjoyed were the minutes where she’d tried to convince him he was a good person, when he knew the truth about himself.
Kassiani. She was something of a revelation.
He’d known very little about her before their wedding, other than she was the youngest daughter, and a rather mysterious figure in her family, one her father had portrayed as eccentric, which was apparently why she didn’t travel with them, and wasn’t paraded about like Barnabas and Elexis. But now Damen could see that Kassiani had been forgotten and ignored by her family because she wasn’t like them—she wasn’t shallow and superficial. She didn’t take advantage of people. She didn’t use others. She actually thought of others.
Thank God her family hadn’t corrupted her, but at the same time, she’d deserved so much better from her family. A great disservice had been done to Kassiani all these years. She actually believed she was fat and unattractive. Unworthy.
It was wrong.
And now he was handling her wrong, too, but Damen didn’t know how to be a better husband. He wasn’t accustomed to being patient or kind. So maybe that was the first step. Practicing patience. And maybe a little bit of kindness.
If Kass was surprised to see him on deck before dinner, she gave no indication. She was standing at one of the railings on the upper deck, and she turned her head to smile at him. “Good evening.”
“Good evening to you. Have you been up here long?”
“Fifteen or twenty minutes. It’s such a gorgeous night. The view is spectacular. The island ahead of us sparkles with light.”
“That’s Mykonos.”
Her brow creased. “Weren’t you and Elexis supposed to visit Mykonos?”
“We were, yes.”
“Are we?”
“No.” He saw the searching look she gave him. He shrugged. “I don’t want to take you where I was going to take Elexis. It seems wrong somehow.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been there. It’s fine, but it’s not my favorite island.”
“Which is your favorite island? Wait, let me guess. Santorini.”
She grinned. “It’s everyone’s favorite, isn’t it?”
“It’s certainly picturesque.” He turned from the view of Mykonos to face her. “How did you know about the honeymoon plans?”
“Elexis asked me to read through the itinerary and make sure she would like it.”
His jaw dropped slightly. “And did you?”
Her shoulders twisted. “It gave me something to do.”
“And you like to be helpful.”
“I like having a sense of purpose, yes. It’s frustrating to me that I’ve gone to school and have a degree and yet my father refuses to allow me to work outside the home.”
“So you’ve never held a job?”
“Charity work. That’s about it.”
“And your brother and sister?”
“The same. Although Barnabas was supposed to work with Dad once he finished university, only he never finished university because his grades were so bad.”
“How does he get his money?”
“Dad transfers money each month into Barnabas’s bank account.”
“Why?”
“I guess it’s like an allowance.”
“Your brother is twenty-eight years old. Isn’t that a little old to be getting an allowance?”
“Dad is afraid that if he cuts Barnabas and Elexis off financially, they’ll cut him out of their lives. And he couldn’t bear that, so he gives them whatever they want.”
“So you get an allowance, too?”
“No.” Her voice was sharp and her smile brief. “I get nothing other than a roof over my head and the food I eat.”
“Why the double standard?”
“Barnabas and Elexis tell Dad what he wants to hear. I don’t.”
“What do you tell him instead?”
“That the company needs more leadership, and the family shouldn’t be sponging off the company. Dukas Shipping isn’t there to be the personal bank
