by Leslie North
“No wait.” She caught his arm. “Let’s keep this our secret. I don’t want to overshadow Alexandra’s wedding. And when Gaia gets back from helping her daughter have a baby, she can look after me. Deal?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Only if you promise me to see a doctor this week. I am taking no chances with my precious wife.”
Claire shook her head, but she wrapped her arm around his neck. “I knew telling you about this was going to bring out the overbearing side of you. You know, Eva swears you are worse than your father sometimes.”
He pulled a face and shook his head. “No one was as bad as Matthias.” Brushing a strand of hair from Claire’s face, he admitted, “I worry sometimes…for Eva. Alexandra has Dareios now…and for a time that worried me. But Dareios really seems ready to settle down.”
“But Eva…I know, she’s the baby of the family and she probably hates that. Antonio, you have to let her grow up, you know. She’s able to make her own way. And I think…I think Callum is good for her for a lot of reasons.”
Antonio stared at his wife, his eyes narrowed. “You don’t think…they’re…?”
“What? And no I don’t think, but would that be so terrible.”
“He’s a penniless American!”
Claire laughed. “I wasn’t much more when you fell in love with me! But before you get ready to get your shotgun and go out there, demanding to know, I think Callum is good for Eva because he challenges her. And he’s the only guy I’ve ever seen not melt under that lost puppy look she can give a guy—and, yes, that includes you.”
Antonio stiffened for a moment, but he couldn’t hold his anger. Not in his wife’s arms. He relaxed next to her. “You think I need to give her more room to grow up—make her own mistakes?”
“Yes. You can be close. Help if she asks for it. But you’re soon going to have a baby to worry about. Meaning it’s time for Eva to stop being the baby.”
He ran a hand down her side and rested her palm on her stomach. “I look forward to that.”
“Good.” She tightened her hold on him. “Now come and prove that you still love your wife who is about to become very fat.”
Chapter 8
Between the wedding preparations and her lessons with Callum, Eva knew she was juggling too much. She wanted the flower to be perfect, the cake, and she made Alexandra go over the guest list five times, insisting they could not insult the Rosso cousins by not inviting them, and couldn’t forget any uncles or aunts.
Gaia thankfully came back from her daughter’s with photographs and took control of the kitchen and the food for the wedding, ordering the rest of the staff as if she was a general with an unruly army. Eva had just started getting better with her lessons, but now she knew she had slid backwards, and Callum was getting tense and frowning at her again. She didn’t like that. But she was going to show him—it had become important to her that Callum would not think she was stupid.
At last the wedding day arrived, a beautiful winter day, for winters were never that cold in Greece. The sun hovered in a blue sky and only a hint of clouds in the distance warned that a storm might be coming later. Eva dressed in her silver gown, did her make up and put up her hair, and headed downstairs to make certain everything was ready. She found Gaia already up—and in her best black dress, her silver-gray and black hair pulled back into a bun, and the rest of the staff scurrying around like bees around their queen. Eva poured herself a coffee and shook her head. “Gaia, you should wear your hair down today. Something pretty.”
Gaia waved off the idea. “Pretty is for Alexandra. Today is for me not to be noticed. Go check that the garden is set up. Christo and Timothy were supposed to put out the chairs, but they are too lazy at times.”
With a laugh, Eva headed outside, snagging a slice of honey-walnut cake on the way. Licking the sticky honey from her fingers, Eva surveyed the garden. It looked perfect. White chairs set out on the green lawn. Pale pink, peach and white stargazer lilies in huge bouquets. The breeze ruffled the white ribbons tied around the flowers and draped along the chairs. A wooden dance floor had been set up over the pool—so no one would fall in. The band would set up on a dais that had been erected, and the banquet tables gleamed with china and silver. An awning covered the tables, the sides pulled back. Eva stepped inside.
Will I ever marry?
She thought about that. She wasn’t sure she would. She wanted lots of boyfriends, and to travel. After she finished college—if she ever got in—she would become a famous art restoration expert. Yes, that would be fun. That was her plan. But first she had to get into college—and right now that seemed an impossible challenge. Maybe after the wedding, she could focus on her lessons again. And maybe she could talk Antonio into a trip to America for the upcoming holidays. They all needed a break.
“You look too serious.”
With a start, Eva turned, one hand to her chest and her coffee sloshing. She held the cup away from her so it couldn’t splash her dress, but some fell onto the nearest table, staining the white cloth. “Oh, look what you’ve made me do.”
Of all things, Callum grinned. “Hey, no big deal. Hold on.” He headed over to one of the bars that had been set up and came back with a bottle. He held it up and waggled it at her. “Soda water—best thing ever for stains.” Pulling out a handkerchief, he rubbed at the stain. The coffee came out, leaving a wet spot behind. Callum straightened. “Leave it to dry and it’ll be gone in an hour.”
Frowning at him, she asked, “How do you know that? Do you know everything?”
He shook his head. “Live on your own, you learn a lot. The place looks great.”
Eva glanced around, but she turned back to Callum. “It does. But I think I’m more nervous about this day than Alexandra.” Starting back to the house, Eva fell into step next to Callum. “Have you always lived alone?”
He shook his head. “No, but only kid. Latchkey kid. My folks both worked, so learning to cook was my first priority. Heating up frozen pizza only goes so far. From there it wasn’t a big step to doing my own laundry and moving out early. I didn’t have much reason to stay home.”
“That’s not right. Your parents didn’t want you.”
“Oh, they’re great. But they travel—as in a lot. They always like to see me and then see me gone, too.” He glanced at her and smiled. “What, do you think I’m some kind of orphan—poor Callum with no huge family? My folks are both only kids from small families, so this stuff…” He waved at the two hundred chairs set out—and that was only for close friends and family. “This to me seems like a lot of trouble.”
“Family is never trouble,” Eva said. She glanced at Callum and saw him giving her a lifted eyebrow and a sideways look. “Well, okay, they are a lot of trouble, but they’re also help and comfort and…and I can’t imagine not having them.”
“And yet you’re ready to leave to go to school in a different country. Sounds to me like you want a little more freedom.”
Eva wrinkled her nose and sipped her coffee. “Okay, maybe a little more. Antonio is trying too hard to be like our father—to take his place and look after us.”
“You mean look after you. Alexandra’s getting married, meaning Antonio thinks she’s Dareios’ headache now, and that just leaves you. It’s great you doing so much to help your sister, but you really need to focus on your lessons.”
“So says my tutor.”
He stopped and faced her. “No, so says your friend. Come on, Eva, you know you’ve been ducking lessons—the wedding’s been a great excuse, hasn’t it.”
She let out a sigh and sucked on her thumb, which was still sticky from the honey.
Eyes narrowed, Callum took her hand. “What’s this? Get a thorn in your thumb.”
“No, honey from the treat I stole, which Gaia would say serves me right.”
“Hold out your hand,” he said.
She did as he asked. Opening the soda water, he poured it over her fingers. He capped the empty bottle and pulled o
ut his handkerchief to dry her fingers. He kept hold of her hand as he worked. Eva’s breath quickened and her heart seemed to skip a beat. He was so careful…so gentle. Face hot, she pulled her hand away. “I should go see if Alexandra is up and help her dress.” She ran into the house, but she wasn’t certain if she was running from something or to something.
***
The wedding was nice, but the party after—Callum shook his head. He’d never been to a Greek wedding before, but boy did the Greeks know how to party. Wine and ouzo flowed. Food kept coming out of the kitchen—chicken and lamb and fish dishes. Kebobs and things he couldn’t name.
He recognized a few dishes—stuff made with light, flakey pastry and pita bread and feta cheese the dark, and the briny Greek olives. But a lot of it was just dig in and be amazed at the tastes. The dancing started in the early evening with a rock group, but traditional dances where thrown in there for the older crowd, and the whole thing kept going into the early hours of the next day.
Alexandra and Dareios—both of them grinning—disappeared early, and Callum could guess they were getting a head-start on the honeymoon. The two of them couldn’t keep their hands off each other. And Eva was right—she was more nervous about this whole thing than her sister.
Eva seemed to fuss over everything—checking on the food, on the bars, working the crowd like this was her event. She was easy to spot in that silvery dress that sparkled like stardust and clung to her curves in ways that reminded him she wasn’t the kid that he sometimes liked to think she was. He couldn’t help watching her. Gaia kept frowning at her—Callum caught a few glares—but Eva wouldn’t let up.
Shaking his head, Callum finally went out and caught Eva’s wrist. “Dance with me.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to protest, but he dragged her onto the dance floor and into his arms before she could say anything. The band had slowed the tempo to ballads and some old dance tunes. The crowd was thinning as guests either headed up to the rooms prepped for them in the big house—if they’d come in from out of town—or staggered off to waiting limos to go home if they were locals.
Callum tightened his hold on Eva. She fit against him perfectly, her head just topping his shoulders. He kept one hand on her trim waist and held her hand with his other hand.
Eva pulled back slightly. “You dance! You do know how to do everything!”
He grinned. “Prep school. They figure we’re going to end up dancing with debs so we get to learn to lead each other around a dance floor.”
“Debs?”
“Debutants. Rich girls who are too lazy to use their brains usually—born and bred to marry well and spend money.”
Eva frowned. “So that’s what you think I am?”
He shrugged. “A little. Or I used to. You’ve got a brain—it just works a little differently than most folks. If you don’t know why something works the way it does, you don’t get it. I can see that now.”
“And you don’t need to know why?”
He spun her in a turn. “Nope. I just memorize. You’ve been a good lesson for me.”
She leaned against him, her breasts pressing into his chest. His mouth dried and his pulse quickened. He spun her into another turn so he’d have an excuse for being light headed.
“How have I been a good lesson?” She sounded a little breathless. Callum was going to put that down to the dancing.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I had this great teacher in prep school—an amazing guy. He made me think there’s nothing better than opening up someone’s eyes to a love of learning. But I was ready to teach the way I liked to learn—read and memorize. You…you made me see I have to look at how others need to get inspired. I owe you for that.”
She smiled up at him. The fairy lights overhead and candlelight from the table winked off her dress and sparkled in her eyes—and Callum knew he was in trouble. He dropped her hand and stepped back.
She frowned. “The dance hasn’t ended.”
“Yeah. It did.” He turned and walked away. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he had to remember he wasn’t staying, and she was headed off to college. But dammit, he wanted to keep dancing with her, to kiss her under the moonlight, to sweep her into the garden and start undoing the bows on the back of her dress, to touch her skin and put his hands into her hair, and do everything he shouldn’t. But he was a paid tutor—and he damn well wasn’t taking advantage of an innocent.
Chapter 9
Eva watched Callum walk away, her heart pounding and her stomach knotted. He was walking away! She balled her hands into fists. No one walked away from her. She was a Rosso after all. How dare he…he dance with her like that and leave. Mouth pressed into a line, she headed for the bar, asked for champagne and downed it in one swallow. She stayed there as the party wound down and the band stopped playing and began to pack up. The night had chilled. Eva watched dawn begin to stain the sky and she began to think.
Callum must still think her a child—a spoilt, stupid child. Well, she would show him. Him and Antonio. She would make Callum regret that he had walked away from her.
Heading upstairs she changed, showered, and came right back down to coffee and breakfast. The staff were still up and cleaning up, so she helped herself to coffee and a slice of the flourless almond cake, filled with vanilla custard and fruit, that Gaia had made for the wedding.
She was deep in her books by the time Callum came into the library. She glanced up at him. He’d changed into jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. He looked rumpled still, his hair standing up, and his eyes a little bloodshot. He looked great. She put her focus back on her book—she’d read the same paragraph three times and still didn’t get it. “Coffee’s in the kitchen.”
He left and came back with a steaming mug. Sitting down opposite her, he cleared his throat. “I think we should talk.”
She looked up from her book. “About what?”
Callum sipped his coffee. Her heart thudded and she hoped he couldn’t see that. He had a great mouth with lush lips. She twisted the corner of a page in her book. Callum nodded as if he’d made up his mind about something. “We’re going about this the wrong way. I did some checking and you need to retake your entrance exams, but you’d do better to take them at the university. A trip there would give you time to explore the campus and meet with a counselor.”
“Why do I need that?”
“You’d impress them more in person than anything else. Trust me, you would. And it’d be good to do all of that before January and the new year, meaning we need to plan a trip to the states this December.”
Eva chewed on her lower lip and then said, “I don’t know if Antonio would let me head to America by myself. You’d have to come with me.”
Callum shook his head. “I’ll talk to your brother. I don’t need to be there.”
“You do. I’m going to ask Antonio if you can help me get through my first semester at university.”
“But—”
“You want to teach. So teach me. Your first student needs to be a success—how else are you going to get a recommendation from Antonio that will get you a great teaching position?”
His eyes narrowed. “This sounds a lot like blackmail.”
She shrugged. “No, only a little. You need me—I need you. It’s that simple. I’ll talk to Antonio later today about this plan. You can visit your folks, and get me through my tests, and we’ll all be happy.”
Callum gave her a tight smile. “Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.”
She smiled back. “Oh, I do.” Now she only had to convince her brother, Alexandra, and Dareios.
***
“You want what?” Antonio asked. He strode across the study and back again. Claire was upstairs taking a nap—she’d seemed exhausted by the wedding. Alexandra and Dareios hadn’t come downstairs yet, but had had meals sent up to their room. Eva let out a breath. Antonio was being stubborn.
“Tonio,
you know this is a good idea. I talked it over with Callum. I can go with him to visit the university, and take my entrance exams the very last day they are offered. I have to wait a couple of weeks for the results, and that means Alexandra and Dareios could come visit me. Maybe go skiing?”
Antonio frowned. “I—”
“This is not about you. This is about me.” Eva got up and stood in front of her brother. “Did you ever stop to think that one of the reasons I have so much trouble with math and science is that you’re so good at them. You used to do my homework for me and I let you! And Father used to pat me on the head and tell me not to worry—that a pretty little girl like me didn’t need to bother about things like that. Well, I do need to bother. And I need to focus. That’s hard here. It’s too easy to slip into old habits.”
Stepping closer, she put a hand on Antonio’s arm. “Please. Tonio. I need a chance to prove I can make it on my own. This is my chance. If I fail my exams again, I’ll come home.”
Antonio shook his head. “No. You’re a Rosso. You won’t fail. And…I’ll arrange to buy you house or a condo to live in.”
She shook her head. “How is that me making it on my own?”
Antonio folded his arms. “You can hire your own housekeeper and staff. But I’ll make sure security is in place. And I want Callum with you—I trust him to look after you.”
Eva nodded. “I do, too.” Standing on tip-toe she kissed her brother’s cheek. But she didn’t tell him that so far part one of her plan was working perfectly.
Chapter 10
“Ready to go?” Antonio asked. He stood with Eva in the waiting room of a private airfield at Athens airport. On the tarmac, the Rosso jet sat, engines warming up.
Eva clutched the strap of her purse. Her stomach turned over once. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
Antonio wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a hug, “I’m going to miss you.”
Eva hugged him back and let go. She lifted her chin. “I’m going to see you in a few weeks. For skiing, remember. A holiday for all of us.” But would it be a happy one? Now that she was faced with the reality of her plan she almost wanted to turn back. But she was going to prove to Antonio that she was not a little girl—and she was going to make Callum sorry he’d ever thought she was stupid. She had him now for two weeks all to herself and she was going to make him see she was a woman—a formidable woman!