Xenakis's Convenient Bride(25)

As relaxing as it was for her, Stavros kept working, drawing his  grandfather into several conversations about this or that initiative.

"You always make Edward sound like such a hard case, but he seemed  really supportive of all the things you're planning," she remarked as  they drove back to the city.

"Things were a lot different when I was younger. Even a year ago." His  expression was difficult to read behind his sunglasses, but she had the  impression he was somewhere between perplexed and concerned. "I guess  he's retiring from riding my ass along with the rest."

She snickered, but he didn't.

"Why did he tell me to bring you back in one piece from Oxfordshire?"

He scratched his cheek, saying drily, "He might have had reason to ride  my ass. Sending me to Greece is one of the tamer things Sebastien has  goaded me into."

That made her curious, but now she was thinking about the trip itself. "England seems a long way away," she murmured.

"Norma knows to call if something turns up with Dorian."

The way he spoke her son's name as if he was a real person and not some  dirty secret turned her inside out all over again. It made her all the  more susceptible to him. She reminded herself daily that he was only  holding up his side of their bargain by hiring Norma, but she couldn't  help wondering if it was a signal he was growing to care for her.

It had been two weeks since she'd told him, and she jumped every time  her phone buzzed with a text or he took a call in front of her. She  agreed to the anniversary party simply because she needed the  distraction of another weekend away.

Waldenbrook, the two-hundred-acre estate in Oxfordshire, was certainly a  distraction. She nervously double-checked her appearance in the mirror  behind the visor as the car slowed to amble up the long drive toward  Sebastien's majestic estate house. It was right out of a period drama,  lovingly maintained since its erection in Georgian times, and  scrupulously groomed for a weekend celebration of their hosts' first  wedding anniversary.

"I'm nervous," she admitted as he parked before the waiting footmen.

"Why? It's a garden party with a few friends." He set the brake and turned off the engine.

She bit back a blurted "Pah!" because her door opened.

This particular "garden" would host five hundred "friends" tomorrow  night. Of course she was intimidated. The feeling grew worse as they  were shown to the suite of rooms that Stavros said he always used,  pointing out the ones reserved for Antonio and Alejandro, bringing their  bride and fiancée respectively.

Flowers and a basket of wine, fruit, cheese and crackers put the  finishing touch on a beautifully decorated apartment with a balcony  overlooking the pool and a huge four-poster bed beneath a pair of  Gauguins.

"He doesn't greet me like this," Stavros said, handing her the envelope from the flowers.

Calli opened it to read their hostess's elegant script.

Calli,

I hope you will join me in the Rose Room for breakfast at eight tomorrow  morning. I've invited Cecily and Sadie. I'd like to take this  opportunity to get to know all of you better.

Monika

"Don't they know our marriage isn't...?" Real. Forever. She handed him the note and gripped her elbows.

"It's only breakfast. If you don't want to go-"

"She's the hostess. Of course I'll go. I just feel like I'm misleading  her. It doesn't matter," she insisted, snapping into unpacking her few  things. "This is the role I agreed to."



Stavros didn't know what their roles were anymore. When he had first  begun parading Calli on his arm, he had experienced simple pride in  having such a beautiful woman at his side. She carried herself well and  he had enjoyed the lack of politics. She didn't fish for compliments or  act possessive. They were already married, so there was no fishing for  that, either. It was easy.         

     



 

Now he knew the pain she hid behind her quick wit and unassuming  demeanor. There wasn't a mercenary bone in her, and playing the role of  his wife plagued her conscience. It left him seeing her as far more  human than he had at first credited her as being. In fact he saw her as  quite fragile, which shifted him into the role of protector.

The last thing his friends would call him was anyone's knight in shining armor.

Still, as they moved downstairs and onto the terrace for cocktails with  the guests, Stavros stayed close to his wife. She had already introduced  herself to Antonio and Sadie, when she had run downstairs in search of  the phone she had misplaced.

Sadie was a stunning blonde with eyes that tracked back to her husband  as though magnetized, and Antonio gave her the same close attention when  she spoke. His friend was in love?

The obvious chemistry surprised Stavros. He had understood the marriage  to be a convenience so Antonio could have access to his three-year-old  son.

"You were right," Sadie assured Calli as they chatted. "I checked in with the nanny and Leo is fine. I'm worrying for nothing."

"You're a mother. It's your job to worry," Calli said with a reassuring smile.

All of Stavros's defensive hackles rose. He started to make an excuse to  draw her away, but Alejandro arrived with his fiancée. Cecily was a  leggy blonde and Stavros couldn't fault his friend's taste. No wonder  they had been necking in the hallway when Stavros had brought Calli  down. They still wore a glow.

Their arrival defused his tension until he overheard Alejandro murmur  something to the waiter about bringing Cecily a sparkling cider. Cecily  was pregnant? She wasn't showing, but it explained his friend's sudden  desire to marry.

In another life, Stavros would be pleased for his friends and hopeful  that all their wives could become as close as they were. As it was, he  was too intent on shielding Calli from further heartache. He drew her  into a quiet corner.

"I didn't mean to do that to you."

She frowned with incomprehension. "What?"

"It must be hard for you. Talking to women with children. I didn't mean to set you up for that."

"People have kids," she dismissed, sweeping her lashes down to hide her  gaze, but he saw her flinch. "Envy doesn't change my situation. They can  talk about them and I can be happy for them. That's just life."

Stavros was still worried and was relieved to go back to a familiar  dynamic when she turned in early. He retired to the snooker room with  the usual suspects, where Sebastien toasted their successful completion  of their recent challenge.

Their friend seemed determined to be smug about having "won," even  though he was now committed to giving away five billion dollars.

Stavros dodged Sebastien's attempts to make them admit what they had  "learned" from their challenge and muttered, "I think your real  intention was to get us married off so you're not the only one wearing a  ring."

"And I managed it."

"How is yours working out? With your grandfather?" Antonio asked Stavros.

"Most of the handoff is completed," Stavros replied as he circled the  table, planning his next shots. "He's officially retiring at the end of  the month, staying on the board in an advisory role."

His grandfather was surprisingly comfortable with all the changes, the  marriage included. He must know it was a ruse. The old man wasn't  stupid, but he had actually asked if Calli was pregnant the last time  they'd spoken, saying, "She looks pale."

Since she was on the Pill and they'd only just stopped using condoms,  Stavros would have to be superhuman to have gotten her pregnant, but his  grandfather had seemed genuinely disappointed to hear she wasn't.

And even though he had long decided his sisters could continue the  Xenakis dynasty in his stead, Stavros had felt like he'd let the old man  down. Again.

Sebastien was topping up drinks and Stavros heard Antonio say something about being grateful to have found his son.

"I always assumed my grandfather was the fallback if anything happened  to me," Stavros admitted. "He kept such an iron grip, I thought the  company would be his forever. Now I see why he was so determined to whip  me into shape." He sipped, inhaling the oaky bite into the back of his  throat. "And why he held back letting me have control."

The other men smirked, well aware that Stavros had been a loose cannon in his youth.

Stavros was seeing the old man's heavy-handedness in a new light,  though. Over the years, Edward had railed on about how people would  depend on Stavros for their livelihood and, given the types of drugs  they manufactured, even their lives. It had sounded like rhetoric, but  as Stavros took his grandfather's chair, he was seeing the old man's  perspective more clearly.         

     



 

All the responsibility was his and it was enormous.

He wasn't one to entrust such responsibility to others without due  regard, either. He could appreciate why his grandfather had been so  determined that Stavros's father come home to help him run it, and that  his grandson prove his dedication.