Her heart swelled. “You won’t have to wait long because I already love you.”
A smile lit up Roberto’s face as he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. The kiss was short but it left no doubt in her mind that there would be more to follow soon.
When he pulled back, he said, “I think I have something that belongs to you.” He pulled the engagement ring from his pocket. He bent down on one knee.
Her heart lodged in her throat. She had never expected this. His gaze held hers. When her gaze blurred from happy tears, she blinked repeatedly.
“I know I did this once before, but I want to do it over again, the right way.” He took her hand in his and held the ring at the end of her finger. “Stasia, you’ve shown me what true love is. You’ve shown me that some risks are worth taking. I want us to walk through life side by side with no one in the lead. If you give me the chance, I’ll be your biggest cheerleader. I believe you’re capable of anything you set your mind to.” He stared deep into her eyes. “Stasia, I love you with all my heart. Will you be my partner in life?”
“Yes. Oh, yes.” Happy tears splashed onto her cheeks as he slid the ring on her finger.
After Roberto stood and kissed her again, they turned to Xander, waiting for his reaction.
“What’s everyone looking at me for?” Xander’s stony expression burst into a big smile. “I couldn’t be happier for either of you.” He hugged each of them.
And then Roberto’s grandparents stepped forward. She’d forgotten they were still there. A puzzled expression was written over his grandfather’s face. “I don’t understand. I thought you were already engaged.”
Everyone started to laugh. Roberto promised to fill his grandfather in later, but right now he had plans with his fiancée. They had wedding plans to make because August wasn’t that far off.
EPILOGUE
August... Infinity Island, Greece
THEY’D PASSED THE TEST.
Stasia smiled. Not that she ever had any doubt about their compatibility. Still, not everyone passed the wedding test issued by Infinity Island. They were meant to be.
She stood in what used to be Popi’s bungalow. But now that she had married the love of her life, Apollo, and moved to the Drakos estate, where she had started her own wedding business, this bungalow had been designated the bridal suite. It was where the brides came and stayed until the big day.
Stasia had been here for a week. Not only did she want to take part in the wedding preparations, but she also wanted to spend some time with her family before Roberto swept her off on a monthlong honeymoon in Alaska, of all places. He said they had sun and sand whenever they wanted, but snowy peaks and cozy fires were for snuggling. She had a distinct impression that they’d be doing a lot more than snuggling in the luxury cabin that he’d reserved for them.
Roberto had been tying things up at the office all week and she couldn’t wait to see him. Now that he had taken over the family business, he had been working long hours to undo the damage the former accounts manager had done. The authorities had arrested the man and were still working on tracking down the funds that had been meticulously siphoned from the company.
But in the end, Roberto’s grandfather was able to retire in peace. He knew the company was in good hands. And with the safeguards Roberto had implemented since taking the reins, the likelihood of anything like this ever happening again had been greatly reduced.
And Roberto’s grandfather was so thrilled that they were tying the knot that he had agreed to step back in and run the company while Roberto enjoyed a nice long honeymoon. Stasia was thrilled to see the two men drawn back together.
Roberto’s parents, on the other hand, were coming to the wedding, separately. Though some things changed, others stayed the same. At least Roberto had accepted that marriage and love didn’t have to be as complicated as his parents’ relationship with each other and with him.
Knock. Knock.
“Stasia, are you in there?”
Her heart leaped with joy. It was Roberto, at last.
She rushed to the door and swung it wide open. “You arrived just in time.”
“What? Did you think I’d be late for my own wedding?”
The thought had crossed her mind. She knew how wrapped up he could get when he was working, but she also knew he could be just as devoted to his family. And that was something she loved about him, his passion for the things that mattered most to him.
“You did?” He glanced at her with an astonished look on his face. “You really thought I’d forget our big day?”
“No, of course not.” When he arched a disbelieving brow, she said, “But I know how distracted you can get in your work.”
“Not enough to forget you.” He leaned forward and kissed her. Not a brief peck, but a long deep thorough kiss to prove to her just how much she mattered to him.
When he finally pulled away, her heart was hammering in her chest. And the news she had to share with him had somehow escaped her.
Not wanting to stay inside on such a beautiful day, she said, “Let’s take a walk.”
Hand in hand, they made their way to the beach. This was where their wedding was to take place. White chairs were already set up on either side of the sandy aisle that would be lined with white rose petals just before the service began.
And at the end of the aisle stood an arch draped in white tulle. It would have small blue flowers alongside white roses adorning the arch. Both Lea and Popi had come together once more to make this a very special wedding. And they had outdone themselves. It was everything Stasia had been hoping for and more.
“Do you think we should be here?” Roberto asked.
“Why not? After all, it is our wedding.”
And wait until he saw the strapless dress she’d chosen for the big day. Her hair would be pulled back in a loose braid with small flowers inserted. On her feet would be sandals with beaded lace over the tops of her feet.
Roberto smiled at her. “Does this mean you’ll stop worrying now?” When she nodded, he said, “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere. And in just a couple of hours we’re going to be husband and wife.” He studied her face for a moment. “You still have something on your mind. What can I say to convince you that absolutely nothing is going to go wrong today?”
“I’m not worried. Honest.”
“There is something on your mind—I can see it in your eyes.”
And then it came back to her, the big news she had to share with him. She just hoped that he was as excited about it as she was.
“I have some stuff to discuss with you and I didn’t want to do it over the phone.”
His dark brows drew together in a worried line as he reached out and took her hands in his. “What is it?”
“First, the paperwork for the foundation has come through. We’re all approved and everyone I invited to be on the board has accepted.”
Relief eased the worry lines on his face, and in their place, a smile lifted his lips. “That’s wonderful.” He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss. “I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do anything you set your mind on.” He paused. “You said the first thing—that implies you have more news.”
“I... I do.” She gazed into his eyes, finding the added strength she needed to put the words out there. “Roberto, I have something to tell you that I hope you will find as exciting as I do.”
A guarded look crossed his handsome face. “And this news, would it have anything to do with expanding our family?”
Her mouth gaped. “How...how did you know?”
A smile covered his face and lit up his eyes. “Call it wishful thinking.”
“Call it whatever you want, but the doctor says in seven months and one week, we’re going to be calling you Daddy.”
“Woo-hoo!” He picked her up in his arms and swung her around. Wh
en he settled her feet back on the ground, he said, “I didn’t think it was possible to make this day any better, but somehow you found a way. Thank you for making me see that life can be more than I ever imagined. I am truly living a dream.”
“You are my dream too. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
* * *
If you missed the previous stories in the Greek Island Brides trilogy, look out for
Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby
Claiming the Drakos Heir
And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Jennifer Faye
Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell
Miss White and the Seventh Heir
Beauty and Her Boss
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from A Secret, a Safari, a Second Chance by Liz Fielding.
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A Secret, a Safari, a Second Chance
by Liz Fielding
PROLOGUE
‘ARE YOU COLD, RED?’
Eve was shivering, but the Nantucket evening was balmy; the cold was coming from inside.
She’d been cajoled into joining this beach party by the older women in her family, who were worried about her and thought she needed to get out, assuring her kindly that some young company would ‘cheer her up’.
Her cousins, given no choice in the matter, had done their best to include her, but these teenagers had known one another all their lives. She was twenty-one, in her last year at university; they all seemed so young, and her novelty value as ‘the English cousin’ was outweighed by the awkwardness of the fact that her mother had just died.
Bit of a downer, that.
She’d taken pity on them, pleading a headache to move away from the music and the bonfire to sit in the quiet shadow of the dunes, welcoming the chance to be on her own for a while, without having family fussing around her. Counting down the time until her grandmother would be in bed and she could slip back into the house, so that she wouldn’t have to pretend to have had a good time.
So that her grandmother wouldn’t have to pretend to care.
The last thing she needed was for someone to hit on her.
‘If I lend you my sweater can I join your escape party?’ She managed to stuff the little soft elephant she’d been cradling for comfort out of sight in her bag but, before she could tell the guy to get lost, he had draped a soft cashmere sweater across her shoulders and flopped down beside her on the sand. The sweater smelled not of woodsmoke but of the sea and, as her body relaxed into its soft warmth, she didn’t shake it off but pulled it around her.
‘Hi,’ he said, offering a large, square hand. ‘I’m Kit.’ Years at an English boarding school had drummed in the automatic ‘politeness’ response but as she reached up to take it, her own name died in her throat.
She might only be an occasional summer visitor to her mother’s birthplace, but everyone knew Kit Merchant. An island legend, he’d been a teenager when he’d brought home sailing gold from London and had been collecting trophies ever since.
Now in his mid-twenties, he was too old, and a lot too glamorous, to be hanging out at a teenage beach party.
‘This isn’t a party,’ she said, but curiosity beat her irritation that he’d called her Red. Her hair, a gift from her mother’s Scottish ancestors, had been an unending source of nicknames ever since she’d gone to school and it had got old. ‘What are you escaping from?’
Without taking his eyes off her, or letting go of her hand, he waved in the general direction of the fun on the beach. ‘It’s my kid sister’s birthday and I’ve been appointed the responsible adult.’
‘Oh, bad luck.’
‘Not that bad if I can sit it out with you?’
He had to be kidding but the guy was not only a legend, he was over-the-top gorgeous from his tousled hair to his long, bare feet. Suddenly, being on her own felt overrated.
‘Is that what a responsible adult would do?’ she asked.
‘I’ve given them the “no booze, no sex” talk and, since they were polite enough not to laugh, I thought I’d retreat to a safe distance so that they can enjoy themselves.’
The flames of the bonfire were reflected in his eyes, dancing off his cheeks, adding golden highlights to his sun-silvered hair and she felt warmed, not just by his sweater, but his smile.
‘In other words, no.’
‘My responsibility extends to all my sister’s guests, especially the ones sitting on their own looking sad. So, who are you? And why are you hiding out over here when you could be having fun drinking soda and toasting marshmallows?’
Despite the smile, there was an edge to ‘having fun’ that suggested he was having a bad evening, too. That neither of them wanted to be here.
‘I hate soda,’ she said, ‘and my marshmallows always fall into the fire.’
Her name she kept to herself. Her mother’s memorial service had been all over the local papers and if she told him that she was Genevieve Bliss, the flirtatious mood would shatter.
It felt like a lifetime since she’d smiled, since she’d been treated with anything other than kid gloves, let alone flirted with and, choosing not to be that ‘poor girl’ whose mother had died of a fever in a Central American jungle, she took her cue from him.
‘Red is good enough and, like you, I’m too old for this party.’
He looked at her for a moment then with what might have been a shrug said, ‘In that case, Red, can I tempt you to a decent bottle of wine and I’m sure to have something a little more substantial than marshmallows in the fridge?’
‘You have a fridge?’ She lifted a disbelieving brow and he laughed.
‘I not only have a fridge,’ he said, ‘I have a cabin just down the beach.’
‘What about the party?’
He looked across at the young people sitting around in groups, chatting, drinking soda. One or two were dancing to music that reached them as little more than a bass beat. He hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘If they need me, they know where to find me.’
Could this be real? She was being invited by a world-famous yachtsman, a man whose face and ripped body had appeared on countless magazine covers, to have supper with him in a cabin on the beach?
Sensing her own hesitation, he said, ‘I’m not hitting on you, Scout’s honour.’
He sounded serious, but his eyes were telling a different story, his mouth was tempting
ly close and she was overwhelmed by a reckless need to be held, to be warm again.
‘How disappointing,’ she said, and his sweater slipped from her shoulders as she hooked her free hand around the back of his head. For a moment neither of them moved and then, as she closed her eyes, he kissed her.
Copyright © 2019 by Liz Fielding
ISBN-13: 9781488043840
Wearing the Greek Millionaire’s Ring
First North American publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer F. Stroka
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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