Her Greek Romance aka Greek Encounter (17 page)

No, they couldn’t continue to play with love. Not him. He came from a family who deeply believed in honor and commitment.

“Ashley.” His husky voice surprised him, and her too, as she turned her head toward him and raised her eyebrows.

“What’s wrong? You look strange.”

He scowled, lowered his head.
Help me, Yaya
. His lips pursed to a straight line. He stared at the beautiful woman sitting so close to him.

“Stefano, are you in pain?” She cupped his cheeks. “Tell me.”

“Not in pain. In love.”

“Pardon?”

It was his turn to cradle her face. “I love you, my Ashley.” His grimace eased into a smile.

“You lo...” Her hands dropped to her lap and her eyes widened with surprise and confusion. “Are you serious?”

He nodded vigorously. “Very serious.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’ll tell you a secret. I didn’t think I would say this to a woman for a long time. Especially not the American lawyer who was determined to attack me.”

“Oh, Stefano.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, a tender kiss that turned passionate.

He pulled her on his lap and invaded her mouth. His hands caressed her nape, stroked her back, and squeezed her buttocks as she squirmed against him. He knew it. God, he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist her. Why even try?

****

Ashley pulled away to breathe. “Please, say it again. I want to be sure I’m not dreaming.”

He chuckled. “Wait.” He moved her off his lap to the couch.

 Was he having second thoughts? A lump formed in her throat while she watched him sprint to the small room. Her fingers laced in her lap. Dear Lord, let him say it again. Frozen in place, unable to move or breathe, she pressed her knuckles. Let it be true.

A few minutes later, he came back holding an envelope. “Open this letter.” He handed it to her.

Anxiety burned her stomach. “What’s that?”

Rocking on his heels, he shot her a bone-melting smile. “Just another letter you
have
to read.”

She sucked in a big gulp of air and tore the side of the envelope to pull free a blue sheet with a new handwriting. Her eyes flew to the signature. Dimitri Stefano Alexios Kostapoulos. His whole complicated name. She glanced up from the letter. “What does it mean?”

“Just read, please.”

She did and her eyes filled with tears.

My beloved Ashley,

I LOVE YOU. Yes, I love you and I want to be your special Greek.

Would you marry me and make me a very happy man?

Dimitri Stefano Alexios Kostapoulos, who will always adore you.

“Oh my God, oh my God. It’s true then.”

“Yes, my love. I wanted you to have your own letter.”

“I’ll keep it forever. Stefano, I love you so much.”

“But you haven’t answered the question?”

“The question?”

“There’s a question waiting to be answered in this letter.”

“Oh. “ She chuckled as she took a pen and wrote in capital letters:
I LOVE YOU AND WILL MARRY YOU.

He gathered her in his arms. “Ashley, my love, I have another question. More of an invitation. I want to take you out for dinner. On the
Athena
. What do you say?”

“Yes, let’s go build more lovely memories.” She untangled herself from his arms and started rearranging the letters. “We need to clean up the mess we made.”

“Not now. We have more urgent things to do.” He winked at her with that smile that had her heart fluttering. “Besides, it will take us a few more days to finish reading all the letters.”

Taking her hand, he urged her to the door. “I’ll ask Mikhali to have a gardener clean the yard today. Careful about the thorns.”

At the gate, Stefano stopped and opened the mailbox. “There is another letter. I’ve never bothered to check after Yaya’s death.” He extracted a blue envelope. They both glanced at the handwriting.

“It’s from Grandpa. His last letter. That’s so sad.”

“Then don’t open it now. I don’t want you crying when we’re supposed to be happy. Just put it in your purse for tomorrow.” He held the door of his Ferrari for her.

Ashley shoved the envelope in her purse, determined not to let anything cloud her perfect time on the
Athena
.

Stefano called Mikhali, gave him a few orders, and then drove away. “I thought we were going to the harbor.” She recognized the downtown of Mykonos and the Kostapoulos building.

“I need to stop by my apartment for a minute.” He parked against the curb, brushed her lips with a kiss, and slid out of his car. “One little minute to pick up something.”

She wished he’d invited her to come upstairs. God, how she wanted to visit the place where he lived, and learn more about his tastes. But hadn’t he said that he practically lived on his yacht? Strange. Maybe he simply wanted to change? In that case she’d ask him to stop by her hotel for a minute too. She chuckled. It would take her more time than that to change.

“I’m back. I hope I didn’t make you wait long.” He was still wearing his brown pants and the beige button down shirt he favored at the office. “Off we go. Directly to the
Athena
,” he added with a devilish smile that made her blush. Forget changing dresses. Ashley checked the green printed cotton slip-on she was wearing with a quick glance. With its straps and short hem, it was perfect for a boat outing.

The Ferrari smoothly took the road again. Ashley closed her eyes, savoring the moment, wondering if it could get better.

“In a moment we’ll be at the harbor,” Stefano said, his tone as tender and pleased as if he’d take her to the moon and back.

“I can’t wait for our next cruise.”

“We won’t go far. Just have dinner and...relax on the deck, under the stars.”

Relax? Her pulse raced as she anticipated a new type of relaxation in his arms. “Lovely.”

Mikhali waited for them aboard a little motor boat. Both men helped her into the tender and boarded after her. Mikhali revved the engine at full speed until they came close to the
Athena
. Stefano jumped aboard first and pulled her up. The sailor tied the little boat to the side of the yacht and joined them on board.

“Mikhali, take us to
Agios Ioannis
.” Turning toward Ashley, he explained, “We passed it the first time you cruised on the
Athena
.” He ushered her to the upper deck.

The late afternoon sun bathed the sky in hues of pink, orange, and mauve. “I’m glad we’ll watch the sunset from the yacht. It was beautiful last time.”

“I’ll make sure it’s even more beautiful this time.” He gave her a strange smile, and walked to the side bar, where his steward had set glasses and a few bottles. “Let’s have an ouzo.” He filled a drink for her and another for him. “
Yia mas
.” He clinked his glass against hers.

“Cheers. I mean
yia mas
.”

“Much better. I’m surprised your grandfather never taught you Greek.” He sipped his ouzo, but his gaze never wavered from her face.

“Grandpa tried. I can manage a few sentences. But my mother and grandmother did their best to discourage him.”

“Greek didn’t meet their approval, right? My family, too, hated anything that came with an American label. I put up a fight to convince my father to let me study at Harvard.”

“You’ve never mentioned your parents. Are they...” She hesitated, afraid to continue.

“They live in Athens. My father retired from his construction business a few years ago. He’d like to come back to Mykonos, but my mother wants to be close to my sisters. In summer, they spend a month in a resort, on one of the beaches.”

“Your sisters?” Good God, she’d agreed to marry him, but she didn’t know much about him, beyond what she read in Elena’s letters. “How many sisters?”

“Three. Don’t worry, my
kookla
. I’ll introduce you to the whole family soon.”

“How big a family? As big as the one in the movie,
My
Big, Fat Greek Wedding
?” She chuckled, and hoped he didn’t hear her heartbeat bang against her ribs.

“Bigger.” He burst out laughing at her horrified expression.

“Sorry,” she hastened to say. “I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. You’ll meet them soon enough. My older sisters Olympia and Catherina married wonderful men that my mother introduced them to.”

“You mean they agreed to arranged marriage? I didn’t know marriages of convenience still existed here,” she added with a grimace.

Stefano burst out laughing. “Don’t look so distressed. My sisters knew their pretenders since a young age, and were delighted with Mama’s choices for them. They are both very happy. Olympia has three kids, two teenage boys and a sweet nine-year old girl. Catherina has adorable twin girls and one toddler boy. Maria is a doctor. She’s engaged to a young man she met two years ago.”

“Wow. Your mother had her hands full with so many kids. Three girls and one boy.”

“Two boys. I have a younger brother, Filipo, who’s determined to stay a bachelor, although our mother is introducing him to a new
right
girl every month. She gave up on me.” He added with a chuckle.

Good God, would they accept an American among them? The granddaughter of their former enemy?

“Maybe we should think carefully before rushing into—”

A passionate kiss silenced her protest and befuddled her mind. When she was able to breathe again, he nuzzled her throat. “My
kookla
, I love you. Don’t think about anything else. I’ll take care of my family and the details.”

“But—”

“Come here next to the railing. It’s almost sunset. As soon as the sun dips under water, make a wish.”

He held her in his arms while they eagerly watched the ball of fire sink at the horizon. “Now,” Stefano ordered.

She closed her eyes. “Please, make it true. I want my special Greek.”

Her special Greek released her. Immediately anxious, she spun toward him. Shoving his hand into his pocket, he brought out a small velvet box and opened it.

“Oh my God.” Her hand flew to her throat as she stared at the blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. “It’s so beautiful with its antique setting.”

“Ashley, my love, this is the ring my grandfather gave Yaya, after ten years of marriage. I want you to wear it until we choose your engagement diamond.” He slipped the gorgeous ring on her left finger.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming, please.” She contemplated the ring on her finger.

“You’re not dreaming, my darling. But we can start dreaming together.” Stefano bowed over her hand and kissed her fingers. “I love you.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she locked her lips to his.

Could kisses improve with time and practice? Definitely. Although ten days ago, she’d thought Stefano’s kisses deserved a special rating. “Love you,” she whispered when his lips glided to her jaw and neck.

“Love you,” he groaned back. “Always,” he added as he scooped her into his arms. Lacing her fingers around his neck, she didn’t even protest.

Around them, the sky had turned into a palette of flames that matched the riot in their hearts. “Oh Stefano, what a beautiful sunset.”

“The most beautiful I’ve ever watched,” he said, gazing in her eyes.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Sweetheart.” Stefano carefully cradled Ashley as he climbed down the stairwell to his room. “We’re supposed to have dinner, but our food can wait in the warmer. We can’t. We’ve been waiting long enough, right?”

“Right.” She offered him a lovely smile and trailed kisses along his throat.

“Glad we have only a few stairs.” He twisted to open the doorknob of his room without dropping her and set her in the middle of the bed. “You recognize this room?”