The Antonides Marriage Deal

by Anne McAllister

  In fact, the door was closed to Elias’s office and she didn’t hear any shouting, which she hoped was a good thing.

  Rosie said, “They went to meet a publicist.”

  Tallie’s brows went up. “Publicist?”

  Rosie nodded. “Someone Mark knew from his races. Said he thought the guy could do an ad campaign for the pleasure-craft line.”

  “Really?” It was better than she’d dared hope. After she’d told Elias she’d hired Mark, she’d tried to explain her reasoning.

  “Having him work for the company, as long as he’s willing, will give Cristina the sense that you accept him, that you have faith in him.”

  “I’m letting her marry him, damn it!” Elias had snarled.

  Not that he could have stopped her, Tallie thought. But she forwent to pointing this out. She’d just nodded. “But this way you show you have confidence in him.”

  “And not that I just want to keep an eye on him?” Elias raised a brow.

  Tallie had smiled. “Well, that, too,” she agreed. “But he has things to offer. He’s a racer. A proven winner.”

  “A playboy.”

  “A man who’s attractive to women,” she’d corrected.

  “Who’s marrying my sister,” Elias retorted through his teeth.

  “Who is in love and wants to spend the rest of his life with one woman. It’s very romantic,” Tallie revised.

  Elias had given her a hard look.

  “Look, we have a speedboat division in the pleasure-craft side. It’s basic, not the luxury stuff your dad was doing. But it’s there. And it’s pretty stagnant from what I can see. It can be developed. It should be developed. Mark’s handsome. Charming—”

  Elias had contributed a couple more unprintable adjectives or two which Tallie determinedly ignored.

  “—and he could be an excellent spokesman. It’s worth considering.”

  He had grunted and left, unconvinced.

  But apparently, against all odds, Mark had convinced him. It was cause for hope. And Elias not being there made it easier to get through the morning.

  She wasn’t used to waking up in mens’ apartments. For that matter, she wasn’t used to going to bed with them. She hadn’t made love with anyone but Brian. She’d almost resigned herself to never sleeping with anyone again.

  And now she had.

  With Elias Antonides of all people.

  Undoubtedly a colossal mistake. She’d mixed business and pleasure. She’d slept with a man who clearly didn’t want a relationship. And even knowing that, she knew she would do it again.

  Was this how affairs started?

  Tallie had never seen herself as the sort who had affairs. But probably, she thought honestly, most women didn’t. They found themselves in situations and they responded. The way she had responded to Elias last night. The way she would probably respond if he walked into her office right now.

  So it was a shock when there was a brisk rap on the door and before she could do more than look up a black-haired pirate strode in.

  “Theo?” She stared, astonished and then delighted at the sight of her oldest brother. “Theo!” She leapt out of her chair, forgetting her cast, and nearly fell over the desk. Righting herself she waited for him to come to her. “What are you doing here?”

  It had been months since she’d seen him. Theo Savas was as footloose as their father was tied down.

  He kicked the door shut and crossed the room to haul her into his arms and give her a hug. “On my way to Newport. Testing a new boat there. Sailing her to Spain if I decide she’s good. I called the old man from the airport but he was out wheeling and dealing, so I asked for you. Figured you might have finally wormed your way into the company.”

  “Not quite.” Tallie smiled ruefully and shook her head.

  “His secretary told me you were here.” Theo frowned. “What the hell are you doing here of all places?” Then he glanced down, spotted her cast and demanded, “And what have you done to yourself now?”

  “Lost a crosswalk to a truck?”

  Theo looked at her, appalled. “You could have been killed!” It jolted how much he sounded like Elias.

  “Well, I wasn’t. Come sit down. I’ll get some coffee. Tell me what you’re doing here. You hate the city.”

  She would have gone down the hall, but Theo picked up her phone and asked Rosie to please bring some in. Then he hung up and caught the surprise on Tallie’s face, and shrugged. “It’s her job. She works for you,” he said.

  “I know that, but—when did you get so corporate?”

  Theo grinned. “I can delegate when I have to. I don’t haul all those sails myself.” He waited for her to sit down, then dropped into one of the chairs and regarded the skyscrapers of Manhattan across the river. “Hell of a view, Tal.”

  “I owe it all to you.”

  “Me?” He raised a quizzical brow.

  “My job. You won a boat race,” she reminded him, “against Aeolus Antonides. For which you won a house…for the moment, anyway, and I got to be president of Antonides Marine.”

  “The son of a gun got you a presidency?” Theo shook his head, amazed. Then his mouth twisted. “Well, something good came out of it, anyway.”

  “You won the race,” Tallie reminded him.

  “Yeah.”

  She expected him to grin, relishing his triumph. But he just looked grim.

  “Something wrong with that?” she asked. She was used to Theo looking a bit ragged and tired. The sea and the sun did that to a man. But she could see now that he looked agitated, too.

  “Should’ve thrown it,” he said unexpectedly. “Wish I’d never seen the damn thing.”

  “What thing?”

  “The house on Santorini.”

  Tallie’s eyes widened. “You’ve been there?”

  Theo raked a hand through unruly black hair. “Yeah.”

  “I, um, thought it was supposed to be beautiful. Elias, the managing director, Elias Antonides,” she clarified, doing her best to sound professional, “says his family is very fond of it.”

  “They are.” Theo’s voice was grim. He stood abruptly and began pacing the confines of her office like a panther trapped in a suitcase.

  Tallie watched, fascinated. Theo was, except when it came to sailing, the most easygoing of men. She’d never seen anything ruffle Theo—not even her overbearing father—but something was definitely ruffling Theo now.

  There was a tap on the door and Rosie appeared with coffee and bagels. She set the tray on the desk. And while she was doing it, she took a long and appreciative look at Theo. All women did.

  And ordinarily Theo returned the compliment. Today, though, Theo just scowled out the window, not paying the least bit of attention. Rosie sighed and left, shutting the door behind her.

  Tallie went back to the subject at hand. “What’s wrong with the house?”

  “Not what,” Theo snapped. “Who!”

  “Like there’s a ghost in it?”

  “Don’t be an idiot!” Theo cracked his knuckles. “There’s no ghost. There’s a girl.”

  “You mean, like, a little girl?”

  Maybe the housekeeper had a pesky daughter. Tallie could envision—remotely—a five-year-old would be impervious to Theo’s charms. But it wouldn’t last. And she didn’t imagine a five-year-old would be living there alone.

  Theo glared. “No, I don’t mean a little girl.”

  “Well then,” Tallie grinned, “you certainly ought to be able to handle her. Use the legendary Savas charm.”

  Theo snorted. He cracked his knuckles again. He paced.

  Tallie was curious beyond belief. “Don’t tell me she’s impervious.” She giggled at her brother’s discomfiture. “Come on, Theo. Tell all!”

  “No. It doesn’t matter. Besides, when I get back she’ll be gone.” He turned to stare out across the river, shoulders hunched. “She damned well better be,” he muttered more to himself than to her.

  Tallie had often stud
ied Theo’s back as he’d stood onboard a sailboat staring out at the horizon. She’d always thought how strong and determined he looked, the captain of his ship, master of his destiny.

  Today she thought he looked as if he were about to walk the plank.

  It was not easy to contemplate. Theo, as the oldest of her brothers, had always been her protector, not teasers and tormenters, like Yiannis, Demetrios and George. She had hero worshiped Theo since she’d been old enough to trail around after him. He had always had the answer to all the world’s problems—or he had been able to assure her that the problem she was obsessing about didn’t really matter.

  And now?

  “Are you okay, Theo?” she asked him, concerned now.

  “Swell.” He flung himself back down in the chair and stared morosely at his hands.

  “No,” Tallie decided. “You’re not. You need to do something fun.”

  Theo dragged his palms down his face. “What I need is to sleep. I’ve had a hell of a week. I just got off a plane from Athens. I’ve got to pick up a car to drive to Newport tonight so I can meet a crew there and test a new boat.”

  “Okay. You can take a nap at my place,” Tallie decided, “and then we’ll figure things out from there.”

  It was the distraction she needed. Elias was going to Cristina and Mark’s wedding this afternoon. She was not. She had declined when Cristina had invited her, saying that she didn’t think it was a good idea. And that was before she’d slept with Elias.

  Thank God, she’d had a little bit of sense.

  “Come on,” she said to her brother and led the way down the hall. “We’re going out for a while,” she told Rosie.

  Rosie nodded and eyed Theo again, then grinned broadly and said, “Have fun,” in a knowing way.

  This time Theo flashed his dimples and his grin and winked. “We will.”

  While Theo slept—or tried to—she baked a poppy seed cake and kolaches to take into work tomorrow. And while she baked, she made every effort to think about something other than Elias, which was well-nigh impossible.

  It was a relief when Theo finally got up. He still looked tired and distracted. But any questions from her just made him scowl and tell her to mind her own business.

  After being told that, she didn’t much feel like asking his advice about hers. Besides, if Theo couldn’t handle his relationships, which were far less complicated than hers, she could hardly expect him to help her figure things out.

  She did ask him what he did to clear his head, though.

  “Go sailing,” he said promptly.

  “No boat,” she said just as promptly.

  “Or sometimes, when I can’t sail, I run.”

  Tallie looked at the cast on her ankle and sighed. “Well, that’s out, too.”

  “What’s the problem?” Theo was perched on a bar stool in her kitchen, eating a kolache, but studying her intently at the same time.

  Aware of his scrutiny, Tallie turned away and concentrated on drying the dishes. “Nothing much. I’m all right.” She shrugged lightly. “Just trying to figure things out. You know, new job and all.”

  Theo grinned. “You’re the president now. You can do what you want.”

  “If only it were that simple.”

  “Old Man Antonides giving you problems?”

  “Not really. He was a figurehead. His son runs—ran—” She shut her mouth.

  “He’s giving you trouble?” Theo looked as if he might punch Elias out.

  “No, not really,” Tallie said quickly. “We get along pretty, um, well now. It’s just…complicated.” And it was making her cheeks burn.

  Theo looked at her narrowly. “Complicated how?”

  “Never mind.” She finished drying the dishes and hung the towel neatly on the rack with far more attention to getting its corners square than was entirely necessary.

  When she turned back, Theo was still staring at her. Tallie met his gaze defiantly.

  He looked away first. But his mouth twisted and he shook his head.

  “We need a boat,” he decided. “Let’s go get some fresh air. But, kid, I’ll tell you one thing—the old man has a lot to answer for.”

  Theo, being Theo, found a boat—not a sailboat, of course. But he took her rowing in Central Park.

  It was the best he could do, he said ruefully, on short notice.

  Tallie had never been rowing in Central Park. She nearly fell into the water trying to negotiate the dock and the tipping boat with the cast on her leg. But once she got in and settled, sitting there in the boat while Theo rowed them over the water was surprisingly soothing. With the late afternoon sun on her face, the blue sky overhead and the traffic and noise of the city at a distance, she felt calmer, more in control.

  The emotion generated by her night with Elias seemed less acute. The problem, she could see now, was coming to terms with her expectations.

  She had no right to expectations. They were two consenting adults who had shared a night of intimacy. And yes, she liked him. She wouldn’t have gone to bed with him if she hadn’t.

  But she could deal with it. She wasn’t going to throw herself at him—or off a bridge—no matter what. She was simply grateful to him for waking her up again, for making her feel alive again.

  He had proved to her that there was life after Brian. She would find it. She was determined now to find it.

  It just wouldn’t be with him.

  The realization settled her down. She caught Theo’s eye and smiled across at him. “You’re right. It helps.”

  “Does it?” he said wryly.

  And then each of them went back to their own thoughts without a word being spoken.

  They spent an hour on the small lake, then they had dinner at a little German place in Yorkville, and finally she accompanied him to pick up the hired car he’d arranged to drive out to Newport.

  “I’ll take you home on my way,” he told her.

  “No. You go on. It’s a long drive. You don’t need to mess with Brooklyn traffic, too.” He looked as though he would have argued, but Tallie insisted. “I’ll get a cab. Don’t worry. And thank you. It was fun.” She gave him a kiss and got a bone-crushing hug in return.

  “Take care of yourself. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Theo winked at her.

  Tallie laughed. “License for everything, in other words.” But she was all right now. Steady, balanced, sensible.

  She had her equilibrium back—until the elevator door opened in front of her apartment and she saw Elias standing there.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “WHERE the hell have you been?”

  It wasn’t the way to start the conversation. Elias knew that. But it was nearly ten o’clock, for God’s sake. She’d been gone for hours.

  According to Dyson and the temp—Laura or Cora or something—who were still in the office when Elias came in from putting Cristina and bloody Mark on a plane to Bermuda, Tallie had left with a man in the middle of the afternoon.

  “What man?” he’d demanded. “You mean Martin?”

  The temp had giggled. “Oh, no. A real man.”

  “Not Martin,” Dyson had concurred. “Some dark-haired stud. I didn’t talk to him.”

  What stud?

  Dyson hadn’t known. “Never seem him before.”

  And there was no one else around to ask.

  Not that it was any of his business, of course. Tallie had every right to go out with any stud she wanted.

  But not in the middle of the day. Not when she was supposed to be working, being the bloody president of Antonides Marine! If she wasn’t going to do her job, she ought to be fired.

  When he’d stomped up to his apartment, he’d called her to find out, in an offhand way, what exactly was going on. But all he’d got was her answering machine.

  Five times!

  He had gone back down to the office to get her cell phone number from Rosie’s phone book. But her cell phone was switched off.

  Where the hell was the
consummate businesswoman now?

  Was she all right? he worried, concerned for her welfare. That was what sent him round to her apartment. He’d just wanted to make sure she was all right, that she hadn’t been attacked by any dark-haired studly stranger.

  But she wasn’t there.

  So he waited. And waited. For two damn hours—all the while imagining the worst!

  And now here she was, looking wild and windblown, sunburned and gorgeous. Not to mention astonished to see him.

  “Elias?”

  “No, the big bad wolf,” he snarled. “Where have you been? Dyson said you left the office in the middle of the afternoon!”

  “I told Rosie. Was there a problem?” She looked genuinely concerned as she fumbled to get her key out of her purse.

  Elias’s jaw bunched. “There damned well could have been.”

  She stopped and looked at him. “But there wasn’t?”

  “No.” He clipped off the word. He knew he was making way too much out of this. “So, who was the stud?”

  Tallie goggled. “Stud?”

  Elias’s teeth ground together. “The dark-haired stud—to quote Laura the temp—that you ran off with.”

  Tallie laughed. “Maura,” she corrected him. “Her name is Maura.”

  He didn’t care if her name was Rumplestiltskin, damn it! “Who was he?”

  Tallie turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. “Theo,” she said. “My brother.”

  “Theo?” He didn’t understand why his knees suddenly wobbled. “Your brother?”

  “Yes He was on his way to Newport. From Athens. Apparently he was at your house in Santorini.” Tallie said this last as if she were reluctant to admit it, but Elias didn’t give a damn about that. He didn’t give a damn about anything other than that the dark-haired stud was her brother.

  “Some girl there was giving him fits.”

  “Girl?” Elias echoed vaguely.

  Tallie shrugged. “I don’t know anything more than that. He muttered a bunch of stuff about a girl, but he wouldn’t say any more. Maybe she lives in the village?”

  “Maybe.” Who cared? Not him. He followed her into her apartment. She looked a little surprised, a little curious, a little wary. She kicked off her shoes and tossed her bag on the little table next to the door. “Do you know her?” she asked.