LITMIR.BIZ

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at him as he turned to face her. ‘The caterers arrived an hour ago and everything seems to be going smoothly.’

      He pushed at a braid that had flown over her face when she finally let go of him, and smiled. ‘Of course, Em. What choice did I have?’

      ‘Ha,’ she said, poking him in the stomach. Then her eyes moved to Piper and softened. ‘Piper! It’s so lovely to see you!’

      Emma went to hug her future sister-in-law. Caleb expected Piper to wince. To put distance between her and his affectionate—sometimes overly so—sister. But she opened her arms and squeezed Emma tight. His heart squeezed, too. He ignored the sensation.

      ‘Em, you look beautiful,’ Piper said when she leaned back.

      Emma beamed at her, smoothing the strapless blue dress she wore before flipping her hair over her shoulder. ‘I still have to have these styled,’ she said, lifting a free braid.

      ‘And I have to have the whole of this styled,’ Piper replied, waving a hand down her body.

      Emma laughed.

      ‘Em, it’s less than an hour before the party starts,’ Caleb said. ‘You need to get your hair done and leave. Your guests will start to arrive soon and you and Liam have to be there.’

      ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Emma said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. ‘It’s not like my hair is going to take long.’

      ‘Is Jada doing it?’ Caleb asked, thinking of his baby sister.

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Then you need as much time as you can get.’

      Emma’s expression turned thoughtful. ‘True.’ She kissed Piper on the cheek before doing the same to Caleb. ‘Show her to her room, please, Caleb. Liam’s already at the beach, welcoming guests.’

      She stuck her tongue out before Caleb could say anything, leaving behind a restlessness in the silence.

      ‘You should probably show me to my room,’ Piper said eventually.

      He acquiesced without reply.

      He heard her intake of breath when they walked onto the Pleasure Villas property. It was like when she’d seen the view of the ocean, the island of Mykonos earlier. A gasp at the beauty. So simple, too, as if she hadn’t seen something like it before. Or perhaps as if she could still appreciate beauty like it, despite seeing it in her home, as she’d claimed.

      But even he, jaded as he was when it came to beautiful places, appreciated Pleasure Villas. Tall white buildings with blue shutters surrounded a bright blue pool. At almost each of the assortment of buildings, green leaves and pink flowers pressed against the white paint. Some crept up, along pillars. Others stretched over from one building to another. The greenery around the pool created an oasis he’d never had the opportunity to enjoy, too concerned with privacy than to strive for relaxation.

      He wondered if that would be the case for Piper. She seemed closed off, private, though her tongue was sharp. But then he thought of how eagerly she’d opened her arms to his sister, how she didn’t seem to be hesitant or resistant with Emma, and he didn’t know. His first impression of her was challenged by almost every other moment he spent with her. As someone who prided himself on reading people quickly and efficiently, he didn’t like that she was such an enigma.

      Then again, he wasn’t buying property from her as he did in his business. That was where he relied on his people-reading skills. Perhaps he needed to calm down. Not that thinking that helped him to calm down.

      ‘Here you go,’ he said, taking the key from on top of the door frame and opening the door.

      ‘You left the key there?’

      ‘It’s safe.’

      ‘Hmm.’

      It was the only comment she made as she pulled her bag into the house.

      There was another gasp when she was inside, and he felt a strong sense of satisfaction. He’d done some work on the inside of the villas when he’d bought them. Not enough to change the feel of them, but enough that he could be proud when someone liked them.

      It had been no small feat to get Adrian Anagnos to sell this place to him. In Mykonos, businesses remained locally owned for the most part. There were none of the fast food places that had taken over most of Europe. Most of the restaurants and properties were family owned. It was how Mykonos had survived the recession, a fact they were quite proud of.

      When he’d learnt of this, Caleb had been determined to get a foot in the door. He’d worked with Adrian when the man had come to South Africa, interested in investing in property. Their relationship had been purely professional until, one day, Adrian’s daughter had been robbed in Cape Town. Adrian had been in America on business. With no one else to assist her, Adrian had called Caleb, who hadn’t given it a second thought.

      Things changed then. Adrian invited Caleb on a boat trip one day in Cape Town to thank him. Dinner became more frequent, and Adrian became a mentor. Caleb didn’t use that term lightly—it felt like a betrayal to his father, whose business Caleb had taken over when Chad Martin had died thirteen years ago. But Caleb had grown to like and respect Adrian. The older man felt the same about Caleb.

      When Adrian had invited Caleb to Greece for his daughter’s wedding, Caleb had stayed at this very property. It was one of several Adrian owned on the island. Caleb had liked it so much he’d enquired about purchasing it. It had taken two years before he’d finally worn Adrian down. Eventually, the man had stopped laughing at Caleb; now, Caleb was the owner. It was a deep disappointment that Adrian couldn’t make Emma’s wedding.

      ‘This is... Wow,’ Piper said, drawing him from his thoughts.

      ‘Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first saw it.’

      Piper ran a hand over the couch, looking from the cobbled tiling up to the sea-themed décor. She took the two steps up to the open-plan kitchen, walked out to the small courtyard at the back, then into the main bedroom with its en-suite bathroom. With wide eyes she walked out and stared at him.

      ‘Are all the rooms in the villa like this?’

      ‘Pretty much, yeah.’

      ‘Wow,’ she said again, setting her hands on the small blue table in the kitchen. ‘How could you afford to rent this place?’

      His lips twitched. ‘I didn’t rent it.’

      She gave him a look. ‘Liam told me you arranged for accommodation.’

      ‘Technically true, although I didn’t have to arrange much. I simply didn’t hire it out for this week.’

      ‘You didn’t...’

      He could see her brain working as she trailed off. Enjoyed that brief moment of shock when she realised what he meant.

      ‘You own this place?’

      She spoke in a whisper. He smiled.

      ‘I do.’

      ‘Holy cow.’ She blinked. Repeated the action in rapid movements. ‘I...guess I understand why Emma went so extravagant with the wedding now.’

      ‘Liam wanted the wedding to be big, too,’ Caleb reminded her, as if he had to defend his younger sister.

      ‘Yeah, but Liam wanted it because Emma wanted it.’

      ‘Why do you sound so judgemental?’

      ‘I’m not judging anyone,’ she said, straightening her spine. ‘I’m only saying that if I had access to literal paradise—’ she lifted a hand, gestured around them ‘—I’d want to have a big destination wedding, too.’

      ‘You’re definitely judging her.’

      She met his eyes. ‘If you tell me you’ve never once judged Liam because of his choices, personal or professional, I’ll tell you the

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