LITMIR.BIZ

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shook her head. “None of it matters.”

      “It does to me. Go on.”

      “I told Danae about everything you confided in me concerning your relationship with your family, especially your father. She was very sympathetic, but she’s convinced they won’t believe you’re serious about living here for good unless we put a formal announcement of our engagement in the paper.”

      Elated with that response, he said, “I tend to agree with her.”

      Lys looked surprised. “That’s not all,” she murmured, not meeting his eyes.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “She says we’ll have to put a wedding date in the announcement, but the paper won’t publish it if the date is longer than three months away. That’s so soon!”

      A strange sensation shot through Takis. If he believed in such things, he had the feeling Nassos had spoken through Danae. No one could sew up a deal like Nassos, covering all the bases. “What reason did she give?”

      “I was raised in the Greek Orthodox church and so were you. She knows your parents are traditionalists. Because of the scandal that surrounded me after Nassos died, a promise of marriage to me in the writeup will show their friends and neighbors that you never believed the gossip about me.

      “Danae said that in honoring me that way, they’ll see you intend to be a good, loyal husband and they’ll be happy you’ve come home for good. Every parent wants to see his or her child making plans to settle down and have a family. Anything less than a newspaper announcement with a wedding date won’t carry the necessary weight.”

      The woman was brilliant. “Danae’s right. Did she say anything else?”

      After pacing the floor, she came to a halt. “Yes. After knowing your history, she says she likes you and approves of you for my husband. She knows Nassos would approve of you too.”

      That sounded exactly like something Nassos would have said in order to protect Lys. “I’m humbled by her opinion. She’s a true Cretan. The more I think about it, the more I know she’s right about everything she said. How do you feel about it?” The blood hammered in his ears while he waited for her answer.

      “I—I didn’t expect her to be so direct,” she stammered.

      “You still haven’t answered my question. Does it upset you that I’m the first man Danae has ever approved of for you?”

      Her knuckles turned white while her hands clenched the edge of the counter. “I’m not upset.”

      “Then why are you so tense?”

      “We’re not in love! We don’t intend to actually get married—” Lys protested. “It would hurt your family too much to pretend something that won’t happen. I told Danae as much, so we’ll forget the whole idea of an engagement.”

      His eyes narrowed on her features. “I don’t want to forget any of it. The idea of marrying you appeals to me more and more.”

      A quiet gasp escaped her lips. “Please be serious, Takis.”

      “I’ve never been more serious in my life. When I first suggested the idea of getting engaged, my main concern was to fit in with my family again and it seemed the perfect way to do it. But now I find that I want to be married, and Danae is right. Three months will be a perfect amount of time to grow close before we get married.”

      Color filled her cheeks. “We’d probably end up not being able to stand each other!”

      Someone was on his side. Lys hadn’t said no to the whole idea because she loved Danae and listened to her. “That’s the whole point of an engagement, isn’t it? To find out how we really feel? I know how I really feel at this moment.”

      In the next breath, he pulled her into his arms. After kissing her long and hard, he relinquished her mouth. “Do you think you could see yourself living in this house as my wife? I’d give you free reign to furnish it any way you like.”

      “Don’t say any more,” she cried softly and eased away from him. “You told me you want acceptance from your family. I can promise you that won’t happen when they find out I’m the daughter of the man who gave you your first job in New York. I represent everything that took you away from them in the first place.”

      When he’d confided in her at his lowest ebb, she’d taken his pain to heart. Unfortunately, he’d done too good a job and needed to turn this around.

      “Besides the fact that I left Crete of my own free will, keep in mind we didn’t meet until a few weeks ago. When I tell them I’ve found the woman I want to marry, you have nothing to worry about.”

       CHAPTER SIX

      THE WOMAN HE wanted to marry?

      After the intensity of that kiss, Lys was dying to believe him. Deep in her heart she wanted marriage to Takis with every atom in her body, but she was too confused to think.

      Astounded by the strength of her feelings, she said, “It’s getting dark... I need to get back to the hotel.”

      Ignoring him, she put everything in the bag except the bottle of liqueur, which she left on the counter. They walked out of the house and Lys hurried to his car. As she put the bag in the backseat, Takis caught up with her and slid behind the wheel.

      “On the way home I’ll drive you past the Manolis Hotel. It looks like something Cassia would build with her blocks. Two for the bottom floor and one for the top.”

      Several turns brought them to the main street where the buildings sprang from the cement and had grown side by side. Because of his description, she picked it out immediately, painted in yellow with dark-brown-framed windows and matching tiles on the roof. A sign hung over the bottom right entrance.

      He stopped in front, not pressing her to talk about anything. During the last eleven years, she assumed nothing here had changed in all that time. She thought about the eighteen-year-old boy who’d wanted to help expand his father’s hotel business. Instead, he’d ended up in New York thanks to Nassos and her father. Now he’d come full circle and was back for good.

      “What are you thinking?”

      She took a deep breath. “That you’ve accomplished miracles in your life.”

      His features took on a grim cast. “I’ll take the one that hasn’t happened yet.”

      She presumed he was talking about his relationship with his father. Her heart ached for what he was going through.

      He started driving again and they headed for Heraklion. “Since you know where I’ll be living and how I’m spending my time, I’ll leave it up to you to decide when you want to get together to talk business.”

      Nassos couldn’t have known his will would put them in such a difficult position. In Italy Takis had told Cesare he didn’t want the hotel, let alone the complication of it being tied to Lys.

      “Takis? Are you worried that if we don’t get engaged, somehow word will reach your father that there’s another reason you’re tied to the hotel when we’re seen together?”

      “Anything’s possible, but I’ll deal with it by Skyping with you on the computer when you feel the need for a meeting.”

      “I still wouldn’t do that in the office where Giorgos or one of the staff could walk in.”

      “Then we’ll do it from your hotel room.”

      By the time he’d driven up in front of the hotel, she was in torment. He got out and came around to open her door. “I’ll be working on my house for the next week. If anything comes up, give me a call. Kalinikta, Lys.”

      “Good night,” she whispered. “Thank

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