The excitement was in her eyes. He could see she’d actually found something to be passionate about.
‘That sounds perfect.’ He spoke cautiously, wondering what that meant for them.
She nodded slowly. ‘But I only want to do it if we can be together. I don’t want to be at the other side of the world from you. I love you, Leo. I want to be with you. If I take that job it will mean lots of travel, all over the US and overseas. But the truth is I don’t really want us to be apart.’
His heart swelled in his chest. It was just what he wanted to hear. He pulled her towards him and put his lips on hers. She returned his kisses passionately, wrapping her arms around his neck. ‘It’s just as well, then, that I own a private jet and can take you, and follow you, to the ends of the earth. When you need to go overseas, I can come with you—if you want me to—and work from there. When you’re in the US, we can base ourselves here, in New York. We can make this work, Anissa. I know we can.’
‘I thought I’d been a fool,’ she whispered. ‘I thought I’d lost you.’
‘Ditto,’ he whispered, then he pulled back a little and laughed. Having Anissa back in his arms felt so right.
It was almost as if his head had finally started to clear. Realising he loved Anissa was just the starting point. ‘I might have done something that would surprise you last night.’
She tilted her head to one side. ‘What?’
‘I phoned Sebastian again.’ He stopped for a second and tried the words again. ‘I phoned my brother.’
She pulled back, her eyes wide. ‘You did?’
He nodded. ‘I did.’
‘What on earth did you say to him?’
‘I told him I’d brought the woman I loved to New York and I’d messed up. I told him that I’d asked her stay with me and she’d run away.’
‘What did he say?’ Anissa asked cautiously.
Leo gave an amused nod. ‘I think it took him a few moments to get over the shock that I’d called—and that I’d told him all that.’
‘And then?’
‘And then he told me to take a deep breath. He said if I loved you, I had to give you space. I had to respect your decision. He said I should wait and let you come back to me—if you wanted to.’
Anissa looked a little surprised. ‘He didn’t tell you try a big gesture, or to hunt the city for me?’
Leo shook his head. ‘No. Because that’s exactly what I wanted to do. He told me I’d made the big gesture and I had to let love decide what happened next.’
She slid her arms around his waist. ‘Wow. From a guy who hated you to a brother who gives advice.’
Leo nodded slowly as he looked out over New York. He sighed. ‘I love this place. But I need to get to know Sebastian and Noemi. I don’t want to be part of the jewellery business, but I need to find my place in my family. It scares me, Anissa. It scares me more than you can know.’
She gave his waist a squeeze. ‘But I do get it, Leo. More than you can understand. I had to make a decision. I had to be brave. Twice. I had to decide to walk away from the only career I had known. And I had to decide to give my heart to someone.’ She stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, ‘And once you do it...it’s not that hard. The thought is actually a lot scarier than the process.’ She winked at him. ‘And you’ve already done one.’
A slow smile came over him as a warm sensation swept over his body. She was right. He knew she was right. Exposing his heart to Anissa had been his first step. The first step to forming real relationships in his life. Maybe, with her help, he could take the next step.
He pulled her backwards with him and sat in one of the big chairs, pulling her onto his lap. ‘The beauty of a private jet means that you can more or less go anywhere you want, anytime. So, if I asked the woman I love to come with me—to come back with me to Mont Coeur to meet my family—what would she say?’
Anissa wound her hands back around his neck as she settled in his lap. Her eyes were shining brightly. ‘I would say try and stop me.’
And then she kissed him and made him forget about everything else.
* * *
Welcome to The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles trilogy.
If you enjoyed this story, look out for the next two books
Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell
by Jennifer Faye
CEO’s Marriage Miracle
by Sophie Pembroke
Coming soon!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Wedding the Greek Billionaire by Rebecca Winters.
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Wedding the Greek Billionaire
by Rebecca Winters
CHAPTER ONE
THE END OF May had brought glorious seventy-degree weather to Greece, but the morning traffic in Patras was as bad as in Athens. Zoe Perkins, who’d been in Greece since January, doing research on the renowned British poet Lord Byron, was on her way to the dock in a taxi. The ferry to Ithaca would be leaving soon and she couldn’t be late.
“Can’t you go any faster?” she called to the driver again. She’d phoned for a taxi from her one bedroom apartment in downtown Patras, thinking she had plenty of time.
“I am hurrying,” he replied in English over his shoulder.
She looked out the window, frustrated it was taking so long. Suddenly she saw a truck turn into their path from the intersection. “Stop! He’s going to hit—”
They collided before she could say us. The impact shot her forward, but the seat belt kept her from going flying. While she tried to get her heart to calm down, she noticed the driver slumped over the steering wheel. Blood dribbled down the side of his face.
“Oh, no! Are you all right?” she cried out, horrified. He didn’t make a sound. It was her fault for urging him to drive faster. The police hadn’t arrived yet and a crowd had surrounded them. The accident had caused a terrible traffic jam.
Galvanized into action, Zoe undid the seat belt, wanting to get out of the car to help the driver. But as she opened the rear door, she was blocked by a man with a rock-hard physique saying something to her in Greek.
“Please let me out.”
“I’m sorry, kyria, but you might need medical attention. Help is coming.” The man’s deep cultured voice spoken in accented English was disturbingly attractive.
“Thank you, but I’m fine. Honestly! The driver is the one who’s hurt. I tried talking to him, but he isn’t saying anything!”
When he lowere
d his head, she found herself staring at the most striking, olive-skinned Greek male she’d ever seen in her life. Beneath raven-black hair and brows, his eyes, dark as midnight, studied her features as if to verify she’d spoken the truth.
The thirty-plus-looking male was dressed in an elegant tan silk suit and tie. She assumed he had to be on his way to an important meeting.
“Why don’t we let the paramedics decide.” He didn’t move, and spoke in a tone of authority he probably wasn’t even aware of.
“The poor man.”
“He’s already sitting up, kyria, and has likely broken his nose, nothing else.”
“I—I shouldn’t have told him to drive so fast.” Shock was setting in, causing her to chatter. “I was afraid I’d miss the f-ferry for Ithaca.”
“Was someone going to meet you when you arrived?”
“No, it’s just I was on a tight schedule and there won’t be another one until tomorrow. But it doesn’t matter now because the driver is hurt. He needs help.”
“He’ll be fine. Just try to relax.”
At that moment she heard a siren and the paramedics arrived. They appeared to recognize the stranger immediately. He spoke to them briefly, then moved aside so one of them could talk to her in English. The medic checked her vital signs while the taxi driver received help and was transported to the ambulance.
Determining that she seemed to be all right, the medic helped her out of the taxi. All that time, the stranger stayed beside her. Zoe hadn’t realized he was so tall, at least six feet two inches of male virility. Maybe the accident had affected her sight, because to her eyes he looked like a Greek god come to life. Her legs felt like mush.
The medic took her information and said he would summon another taxi for her. Before she could answer him, the stranger said, “I’ll drive her to her destination.”
“Efkaristo, Kyrie Gavras.”
Gavras? She’d passed the entrance of a hotel downtown called Gavras House, Patras, many times. Was he that Gavras? Zoe had also seen the name in the news and everywhere she’d been in western Greece during her time here.
“You and I haven’t been officially introduced, Kyria Perkins.” The mention of her name meant he’d heard the information she’d given to the medic. “My name is Andreas Gavras. If you’ll allow me, I’ll take you where you need to go. My limo is waiting.”
“Thank you, but you don’t owe me anything.”
“My driver was right behind the truck that collided with your taxi. I’m the one who called for assistance and would like to be of help. Wouldn’t you do the same for me if our positions were reversed? Where can I take you?”
Think, Zoe. “Maybe back to my apartment. It’s only a few blocks away.”
He reached inside for her purse and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She’d forgotten she’d left it on the seat.
“The limo is parked just over there.” He cupped her elbow to steady her as they walked through the stalled cars and he helped her into the back of the elegant black limo. “Do you feel ill?”
“Not sick, just shaken.”
“Of course. What you need is a drink.” He said something in Greek to his driver through a speaker, and the limo began to move. The next thing she knew they’d rounded a corner and pulled up in front of a sidewalk café.
“Stay right here, kyria. I’ll be back.”
In a lithe male movement, he got out of the limo and went inside. Before long he came back out with two drinks in paper cups. “This is lemonade.”
Her hand trembled as she took the cup from him. “Thank you so much,” she said before drinking thirstily. When she’d drained all of it, he took the cup from her and put it in a receptacle. He’d finished his drink, as well.
“I’ve never tasted anything so good.”
“I’m glad it appealed. Feel a little better now?” he asked solicitously.
“Much.” He was the proverbial white knight, but dressed in a stunning modern silk suit, who’d come out of nowhere to save her.
“Forgive me for a minute while I call my office, then we’ll find a pleasant place to have lunch.”
“You’ve been very kind, but you look like you’re on your way to an important meeting. Please don’t let me keep you.”
He slanted her a heart-stopping glance. “I’m glad you’re the reason I can’t make the board meeting I usually sleep through.” She didn’t believe that for a second. “Besides, I have to eat since I didn’t stop for breakfast this morning. Did you?”
“Actually I didn’t. I thought I’d eat on the ferry.”
“Well, I know a place where the food will be much better. Just give me a minute.”
By the time he’d gotten off the phone, she felt her more normal self. Once again the limo joined the mainstream of traffic and drove them out of the city to the coast ten miles away.
“I’m in the mood for fish. How about you?”
“That sounds wonderful.” But she didn’t feel hungry.
“When we get there, shall I order for you?”
“Please. I haven’t mastered your menus yet.”
He spoke to his driver again and they pulled up to one of those seaside places you read about in a brochure for this century’s jet set, exclusive and expensive. The restaurant was full, but a table had been reserved for them. He must have called ahead when he’d bought the lemonade.
Zoe knew she wasn’t dreaming, but it felt like she was in one. He helped her to her seat and sat across from her at the cloth-covered table with flowers. After the waiter took their order, his black eyes studied her features.
“Why were you going to Ithaca?”
“Since January, I’ve been doing research in Greece on the life of George Gordon Noel Byron, the Sixth Baron Byron, known as Lord Byron. I’ve visited many places and been to many sites, but there are still regions I have yet to see and learn about.”
To her surprise, his expression grew more animated. “Why him particularly?”
“He spent some time in and around Ithaca. I want to go there and talk to some of the local historians who will give me their insights about him.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m studying for my doctorate at UCLA, and I teach classes on the romance writers of the early nineteenth century. Last Christmas a famous female movie director in Hollywood named Magda Collier started making her most important film to date and chose Lord Byron for the subject. She needed new eyes for fresh research to make the script authentic.”
“And you were picked?”
“Two other women from Stanford and San Jose State University, Ginger and Abby, plus myself, were chosen to gather material. Magda’s idea was to show him as a genius whose spiritual side had so much to give the world and emphasize the greatness in him. I applauded her dream and was thrilled to be part of her team.”
“That’s quite an honor.”
“In a way, it is. Before Christmas we met in Los Angeles for a week with the screenwriters and learned from her what she wanted. I’ve been sending information to her for months, as have my friends. But the time is coming when I’ll have to return to the US, so I’m trying to make the most of it.”
“It sounds like you were an expert on him to begin with.”
“I’ve studied his works for years and have learned incredible things about his life while he spent time here in Greece.”
“How long have you been in Patras?”
“About six weeks.”
Their food came and it looked delicious, whetting her appetite. She ended up feasting on a plate of all sorts of fish and rice in a divine cream sauce.
“This is delicious, but I feel guilty that the poor taxi driver is probably at the hospital in pain. If he has a family, they must be so upset this happened.”
“Your compassion is commendab
le.”
“I’m sure you’d feel the same way. Do you think it was his fault?”
“I’m not sure, but I can find out what hospital he was taken to. Maybe then we might learn details.”
“Would you do that? If I could, I’d like to tell him how sorry I am for what happened. I’ve relied on taxis all through Greece. The drivers have always been wonderful and I’ve been so lucky. It astounds me how well they speak English. If I had to drive a Greek person around, I wouldn’t be able to communicate. It’s shameful that I only know a few words after all these months.”
“Not everyone is as appreciative as you. I’m impressed, kyria, and I’ll see what I can do on our way back to Patras.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you care for dessert?”
“I couldn’t manage one, but please order for yourself if you want to.”
“I’d rather drive you back to Patras while we find out about your taxi driver so you can relax.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. An accident that was out of your hands would unnerve anyone.”
He summoned the waiter and they left the restaurant for the limo. They sat across from each other as they’d done before. On the way into town he got on his cell phone and made a series of calls. Zoe knew that if anyone could pull strings to find out private information, he would be the one.
“I have good news,” he said after hanging up on his last call. “The driver received a cut on his eyebrow that was stitched up. He’s already been released from the hospital.”
“That’s a great relief to me. I’m glad it wasn’t his nose.”
Her knight chuckled. “The driver of the truck wasn’t injured. He was given the citation for not being careful.”
“I can’t thank you enough for finding out that information for me. I’ll sleep much better tonight.”
By this time the limo had pulled up in front of her apartment without needing directions. When the stranger had heard her give the police her information, he’d clearly remembered the address.
Cinderella's New York Christmas Page 17