situation. You’ve won her devotion.” Takis had a rare potent male charm that had made mincemeat of Lys.
“It was my pleasure. Elias can be very intimidating. That’s why he’s in his particular position. Between us I think he makes the president of the country nervous.”
Lys chuckled. “By tomorrow morning Magda will tell everyone that my fiancé is on first-name terms with a top-level Greek government official. You’ll have elevated me to new heights in our staff’s opinion.”
His eyes narrowed on her mouth, sending darts of awareness through her. “Didn’t you know it’s the other way around? Elias insists on being invited to our wedding. He has a worse case on you than Basil. I didn’t think that was possible.”
She chuckled despite her out-of-control desire for him. “Don’t be silly.”
“Do you still have work to do, or shall I walk you to your hotel room?”
Lys wanted to be alone with him. She was bursting with feelings she was dying to share. “I’d like that.” She grabbed her purse and left the room, turning out the light. They nodded to Magda and walked down the hall to the elevator. By the time they reached her suite, her heart was jumping all over the place.
Lys unlocked the door. “Come in.”
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
She swung around in surprise. “Do you have to go right now?”
“Yes.” Lines darkened his face.
“Why? Is something wrong at home?”
“No. The only problem is the way I feel about you. If I come in now, I’ll make you my wife tonight and forget the ceremony. As it is, if I thought you’d say yes, I’d ask the priest to marry us in three weeks instead of three months’ time.”
Those words brought her close to a faint.
“Think about it and give me your answer tomorrow when I come to get you.” In the next breath, he walked down the hall to the elevator, leaving her totally bereft.
She didn’t want him to go. “Takis?”
He turned.
“Please don’t leave yet.”
“You’d better think hard about what you’re asking. If I cross over your threshold, I won’t leave till morning. Is that what you want after everything Nassos did to protect you from moments like this?”
For once in her life she was going to be honest and throw caution aside. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because—because I need you and don’t want to be alone tonight.”
He moved closer, causing her heart to leap. “I need you too, but that’s not a good enough reason to break all the rules.”
“We’ve already broken several.”
“But not the most important one.”
“In my office earlier you said you wanted to be with me day and night.”
“I do, once we’re married.”
His moral strength astonished her. “Nassos is no longer alive.”
“Which leaves me to watch out for you. Weren’t you the one who told me he probably gave me half ownership of the hotel to help keep you from making a mistake?”
“He didn’t mean the kind of mistake we’re talking about right now and you know it!” Her cheeks had grown warm. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you.”
“Say what?” he murmured. “That you love me? That you can’t live without me?”
The blood pounded in her ears. “You’re a man who didn’t plan to marry right away. I wonder what you’d do if I said those words to you.”
His eyes gleamed an intense green. “Why don’t we find out?”
He was toying with her, not helping her out. If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t be so cruel. “To hear them would scare the living daylights out of you.”
Takis cocked his head. “If you don’t say them, we’ll never know.”
You’re a fool, Lys. He was the most aggravating, incredible, beautiful man alive. “So you’re really going to leave.”
“It’s your call. I dare you to sleep tonight, agape mou.”
Two words that meant beloved. Was she his beloved?
“Kalinikta, Lys.”
“Good night!” she snapped at him in English.
She heard his chuckle clear down the hall until he disappeared. He was driving her crazy.
Takis, feeling pure joy, headed for the garage to get his car.
After saying good-night to Elias, he’d waited another couple of minutes outside Lys’s office until she’d hung up from her phone call. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but it had been clear she’d been talking to Danae. That’s when he’d heard the truth come from her own lips.
I love him so much.
Tomorrow evening they’d be with family and the answers to all questions would come straight from their hearts. There’d be no deception, no regrets.
* * *
Early Friday morning Lys’s phone rang. Excited because she knew who it was, she reached for her cell on the bedside table. “Takis?”
“No, Lys. It’s Danae.”
She sat up in bed. “What’s wrong? You sound worried.”
“If you haven’t seen a newspaper or turned on television, then don’t.”
Alarmed by her words, Lys slid off the bed and got to her feet. “Tell me.”
“The paparazzi have taken pictures of you and Takis together. One of the write-ups reads: ‘Lys Theron, heiress to the Rodino fortune, sets her sights on marrying billionaire New York hotelier Takis Manolis. Is there nothing this gold digger won’t do for money?’”
Lys’s thoughts reeled. Though she’d been used to this kind of coverage after Nassos’s death, she hadn’t imagined that it would continue. How had the press discovered their relationship? Could it have been that car she had seen following her a couple of times. It must have been! But what concerned her was the impact it would have on Takis’s parents.
“Thank you for telling me. I love you and am indebted to you. Now I’ve got to phone Takis and warn him in case he hasn’t seen the paper yet.” She hung up and rang him. Pick up. Please pick up.
To her chagrin the call went to his voice messaging. She left the message for him to call her
