LITMIR.BIZ

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around the hotel. Maybe I’ll be able to break my parents down enough so they’ll start confiding in me.”

      Lys moistened her lips nervously. “I’m sure things will get better for you, but I’m afraid you haven’t thought out your proposition carefully enough where I’m concerned.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “If you were to tell them we’re engaged, it could make things a lot worse for you. I’ve been in the news recently. Have you thought they might not approve of me?”

      His brows furrowed. “If you’re the woman I’ve chosen, they won’t say anything no matter their personal feelings. I know that if my mother heard your whole story, she’d be thrilled. Besides, deep down she’s had a fear I’d end up with some foreigner and as you’re half Cretan, she’ll be overjoyed.”

      “I am part foreigner,” Lys murmured. “How would you explain our meeting?”

      “That’s simple. We met at the castello hotel in Italy while you were on vacation a while ago. It was love at first sight and we’ve been together ever since.”

      His words sank deep in her psyche. It might not have been love at first sight, but a powerful emotion had shaken her to the core when he’d walked in his office to find her there. That emotion continued to grow stronger until she knew he was the man she’d been waiting for all her adult life.

      Lys looked away from him. “How will you explain it when we break up in six months and call off the engagement?”

      “I don’t know. Right now I’m trying to navigate through new waters because of what Nassos has done to us. This situation could have happened forty years from now, but it didn’t. You and I are both vulnerable for a variety of reasons and we need to think this through carefully if we’re going to do it right.”

      “I agree.”

      “Isn’t it interesting to realize Nassos had no way of knowing that he’d done me a favor when he deeded me half the hotel. It has forced me to come home and try to make a difference for my family, something I should have done a long time ago.”

      Lys could feel his pain. “I’m sorry you have the worry of their health on your mind.”

      “I’ve been living with it for a while. Maybe I’ve been wrong and misread what I thought about mother. Just because she has aged a little doesn’t mean she’s ill.”

      “That’s probably all it is.”

      “Cesare has accused me of leaping to conclusions. Still, if one of them is ill, I need to find that out. But they’re so closed up, it’ll take time to pry them open if they’re keeping a secret from me. Nothing else is as important to me right now.”

      “I can relate,” her voice trembled. “After Nassos hit his head, he pretended that everything was fine, but I could tell he wasn’t himself and it gnawed at me. So I can understand how disturbed you are by your mother’s plea that you move back here.”

      He flicked her an all-encompassing glance. “No matter what, it’s my worry. The decision of our getting engaged is up to you. If I see one problem, it’s how Danae would feel about it. If neither of you is comfortable with the idea, then we’ll figure out another way to proceed.”

      After Lys’s conversation at the villa with Danae earlier in the day, she had no clue how the other woman would react over such an unorthodox idea. But you couldn’t compare Takis in the same breath with any other man. Even Danae had admitted as much.

      “I—I don’t know what Danae will say...” Her voice faltered.

      “I realize you love and respect her, and you are uncertain with good reason. Even if Danae could see some value in it, she would probably tell you no. Six months of being engaged to me will prevent you from meeting a man you might want to marry. It will rob you of an important chunk of time out of your life.”

      “And yours!”

      “Let’s not worry about that. What matters most to me is to be back with my family where I’m able to make a contribution any way I can and still be a sounding board for you without anyone knowing.”

      Lys was so confused she couldn’t think straight. He’d brought up some valid points that went straight to the heart of their individual dilemmas. But she needed to sort out her thoughts and would have to talk to Danae.

      He sat back and turned on the engine. “I need to get home, so I’m going to drive you back to the hotel. I’m in no hurry for a decision. There’s no deadline. I’ll leave it up to you to contact me when you want to discuss hotel business.”

      Before long he pulled up in front of the hotel. Lys could tell he was anxious to leave. “We’ll talk soon, Takis. Take care.”

      “Just a minute.” He leaned across and kissed her briefly on the mouth. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. “I needed that,” he whispered before she opened the door and got out.

      Her heart thudding, she rushed past Leon without acknowledging him. Her only desire was to get to her room where she could react to his kiss in private. After what he’d just done, the thought of a fake engagement to Takis had caused her heart to pound to a feverish pitch. She feared she was already running a temperature. When she could gather her wits, Lys would phone Danae. They needed to talk.

      * * *

      Takis drove to Tylissos, still savoring the taste of Lys, whose succulent mouth was a revelation. He’d never be the same again.

      Before long he stopped by the children’s hospital. After phoning his mother to find out if she needed him to do any errands for her, he discovered that Kori had taken Cassia to the doctor because of another asthma attack. It meant she’d been forced to leave her part-time work at the restaurant. Takis told his mother he’d look in on them.

      He found his older sister holding his niece in her arms while she recovered after the medication they’d given her.

      “Tak-Tak,” his little niece cried when she saw him enter the room and held out her arms. Takis gathered her to him and gave her a gentle hug, kissing her neck.

      “Do you feel better now?”

      “Nay. Go home.”

      Takis looked at his sister, who had the same dark auburn hair as her daughter, the color of cassia cinnamon. “Did the doctor say she could leave?”

      “Yes, but I have to wait until Deimos goes off shift to pick us up.”

      “But that won’t be until nine thirty tonight. Tell you what. I’m going to slip out and buy an infant seat for my car. Then I’ll drive you to work.”

      “You have a car?”

      “I bought one this morning. I need transportation now that I’m back for good.”

      She stared hard at him. “You’re really going to live here again?”

      He nodded. “I never planned to be gone this long. Now that I’m home, I’m staying put.” Just being here to help his sister let him know he’d done the right thing to come back to Greece for good.

      Takis handed a protesting Cassia to her mother. “This won’t take me long. When I get back, I’ll run you by the restaurant and take her to the hotel with me.” His mother tended Cassia when Kori had to go to work.

      Her face looked tired but her light gray eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”

      “There’s nothing I’d love more.” He leaned over to give them both a kiss on the cheek. “See you in a few minutes.”

      Takis hurried out of the hospital and drove to a local store, where he bought a rear-facing and two forward-facing car seats. That way he could take all his nieces and nephews to the park at once.

      Within a half hour he was back and had fastened Cassia in her new seat. He would put in the other seats when

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