Dreaming Of... Greece. Rebecca Winters
it a reciprocal arrangement?”
“Yes. After graduation I was supposed to spend the next year with her family, but too many things at the time prevented me from coming here to live with them.”
Needing some space to gather her composure before he asked her any more questions, she sat up and swung her legs to the ground. He anticipated her movements and handed her the crutches lying by the side of the lounger. “Thank you,” she said, tucking them beneath her arms. “If you’ll excuse me, please, I need to use the restroom.”
“Of course.”
Raina could see in his eyes she hadn’t fooled him, but what did it matter. She hurried through the mansion to her suite of rooms. The fabulous Milonis estate had been built along neoclassical lines in its purest architectural form. So different from the home where she’d been raised in Carmel.
When she eventually returned to the patio, she discovered Akis in the swimming pool. Their lunch had been brought out to the patio table. While he was doing laps at tremendous speed, she sat down in one of the chairs around the table and dug into the salad filled with delicious chicken, feta cheese and olives.
Chloe’s parents were nowhere in sight. Raina had hoped they’d come out to provide a buffer against his questions, but no such luck. Chloe’s parents were a very hip couple she adored. Raina could see why. Too bad they thought they were aiding a romantic situation by staying away.
As her eyes looked out at the pool, Akis suddenly raised his head. The wet black hair was swept back from his forehead to reveal his extraordinary male features. The moment he saw her, he levered himself from the aquamarine water and reached for a towel, giving her more than a glimpse of his splendid body. He must have borrowed someone’s black trunks. They hung low on his hips.
“Last night you resembled one of your disgruntled gods,” she teased to fight her attraction. “Today you’ve morphed into Poseidon.”
Akis finished drying himself off before he sat down in a chair opposite her and plucked a big olive from the salad his white teeth bit into with relish. Between his olive skin and black hair, he was a work of art if there was such a label to describe a beautiful man. To her consternation, everything he said and did intrigued her.
“Oddly enough you haven’t changed since last night,” he remarked. “The concierge said you resembled Aphrodite, a description that fits you in every detail except for your crutches.”
She laughed to let him know she didn’t take him seriously. To believe him would be a huge mistake. “Careful,” she cautioned. “You might just turn my head if you keep up that malarkey.”
One dark brow lifted. “Malarkey?”
“An English expression for nonsense.”
His jet-black eyes came alive. “You mean my methods are working?” By now he’d devoured a roll and most of his salad.
“Absolutely. But since I won’t be in Greece long, maybe your time would be better spent talking to someone of your own kind and background.”
In an instant his jaw hardened. Uh-oh. She must have struck a nerve.
“My own kind?” The words came out more like a soft hiss.
She choked on her iced tea. What had she said to provoke such a reaction? “Surely you must realize I meant no offense. Perhaps the maid of honor wasn’t to your liking last night, but I saw a lot of lovely Greek women at the reception—women who live here and would enjoy your attention.”
Akis sat back in the chair. “Meaning you don’t?”
“I didn’t say that!” Their conversation had taken a strange twist.
“Let’s start over again.” He cocked his head. “We weren’t formally introduced. My name is Akis Giannopoulos as you already know. What’s yours?”
She took a deep breath. “Raina.”
“Ah. Raina what?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Does it matter when we’ll never see each other again?”
“That’s the second time you’ve used the same excuse not to tell me.”
“I simply don’t see the point.” He grew on her with every moment they spent together. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
An ominous silence surrounded them. “Obviously not. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change clothes in the cabana.”
She’d made him angry. Good. Raina wanted him to leave her alone. But as she watched him stride to the other side of the pool, she experienced a strange sense of loss totally at odds with her determination to separate herself from him.
Raina wanted to escape any more involvement because she had a premonition this man had the power to hurt her in a way not even Byron had done. Akis made her feel things she didn’t want to feel. To give in to her desire to be with him could bring her joy, but for how long? When the excitement wore off for him, would he find someone else? Raina was afraid to trust what she was feeling. She quickly grabbed her crutches and hurried to find Chloe’s mother who was in the kitchen.
“Thank you for the delicious lunch, Nora. Now if you don’t mind, my ankle has started to ache again. I’m going to go to my room and lie down for a while. Please say goodbye to Mr. Giannopoulos for me. He came over to your home to visit with you and is still out in the pool.”
Her eyes widened. “Of course. Can I get you anything?”
“Not a thing. You’ve done too much for me already. I just need to rest my leg for a while.”
“Then go on.” The two women hugged and she left the kitchen for her suite of rooms. In truth Raina needed to get her mind off Akis. Since she hadn’t had family around for a long time, it felt wonderful to be spoiled by two people who showed her so much love. Hopefully when Raina went back outside later, she’d find Akis gone.
With Chloe and Theo touring the fjords in Norway for the next two weeks, she hoped Akis wouldn’t drop by until after the couple had returned from their honeymoon. After a few days’ reunion in order to meet Theo, Raina would fly back to Monterey.
* * *
Akis took his time dressing. He knew instinctively Raina had said and done things to discourage him. Why? One of her stiletto-like jabs had worked its way under his skin and had taken hold.
How much did she know about him? Had she been insinuating that he wasn’t good enough for her? Was it something Chloe had told her about his roots?
His own kind and background? Was he being paranoid?
Raina had rushed to explain what she’d meant when she’d told him he’d be better off spending time with his own kind and background instead of an American who’d be leaving soon. Even if he’d felt her sincerity and were willing to believe her explanation, the words had sunk deep in that vulnerable spot inside him and wouldn’t go away.
He and Vasso were the brothers who’d climbed out of poverty without the benefit of formalized education. No college, no university degrees to hang on the wall. Akis wasn’t well read or well traveled. He came out of that class of poor people who didn’t have that kind of money, nor the sophistication. Whatever he and his brother had achieved had come through hard work.
No matter how much money he made now, it didn’t give him the polish of someone like Theo who’d attended the finest university to become a banker like his father and grandfather before him. Akis could hold his own, but he was aware of certain inadequacies that would never change.
By now he got along fine in English, but being with her made him realize how much he didn’t know about her language. He wasn’t like Theo, who’d spent a year in England and spoke English with only a trace of accent.
Chloe could answer a lot of his questions, but she wasn’t available and wouldn’t be home for a fortnight. That