Modern Romance February Books 5-8. Heidi Rice
a wonderful honeymoon! You deserve every bit of your happiness!”
Belle was right, Letty reflected numbly as the limo pulled away from her friend still beaming and waving on the sidewalk. She’d get all the happiness she deserved after abandoning her father to marry Darius: none.
Letty stared out at the gray rain. Darius sat beside her silently for the hour and a half it took to drive through the evening rush-hour traffic to the small airport outside the city. As they boarded his private jet, he continued to ignore her.
Fine. Letty didn’t care. She felt exhausted and miserable. Walking to the separate bedroom in the back of the jet, she shut the door behind her. Climbing into bed, she pulled the blanket up to her forehead, struggling to hold back tears. She closed her eyes.
And woke up in a different world.
Letty sat up with an intake of breath.
She was no longer on the jet. She found herself in a big, bright bedroom, empty except for a king-size wrought-iron bed.
Brilliant sunlight came through the open windows, leaving warm patterns against the white walls and red tiled floor. She heard laughter outside and conversation in an exotic language and the sweet singing of birds.
She looked down at the soft blanket and cotton sheets. Where was she? And—her lips parted in a gasp. She was wearing only her bra and panties! Someone had undressed her while she was asleep! The thought horrified her.
How had she gotten into this bed?
The flight across the Atlantic had been lonely and dark. She remembered crying herself to sleep on the plane. After her sleepless night before their wedding, she’d slept deeply.
She dimly remembered Darius carrying her, the warmth of his chest, the comforting rumble of his voice.
“So you’re awake.”
Looking up with an intake of breath, Letty saw her husband now standing in the open doorway, dressed more casually than she’d ever seen him, in a snug black T-shirt and long cargo shorts. Sunlight lit him from behind, leaving his expression in shadow.
“Where are we?”
“The island of Heraklios. My villa.”
“I barely remember arriving.”
“You were exhausted. Overwhelmed from the happiness of marrying me,” he said sardonically.
“What time is it?”
“Here? Almost two in the afternoon.” He motioned to a nearby door. “There’s an en suite bathroom if you’d like a shower.” He indicated a large walk-in closet. “Your clothes have already been unpacked.”
“Are you the one who took off my clothes?”
“Just so you’d sleep more comfortably.”
She bit her lip as she looked down at the bed. “Um. And did you...did we...uh, share this bed?”
His shoulders tensed. “If you’re asking if I took advantage of you in your sleep, the answer is no.”
She took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean...”
“Get dressed and come out on the terrace when you’re ready. My family is here to meet you.”
Letty stared at the empty doorway in dismay, then slowly rose out of bed. Her body felt stiff from sleeping so long.
Going into the elegant marble bathroom, she took a hot shower, which refreshed her. Wrapping herself in a towel, she wiped the steam off the mirror. Her face looked pale and sad.
A fine thing, she thought. When she was about to meet his family. They’d take one look at Letty’s face and assume, as Santiago Velazquez had, that she and Darius had gotten married only because of her pregnancy. Why else would someone as handsome and powerful as Darius Kyrillos ever choose a penniless, ordinary-looking woman like her?
He was taking a risk even bringing her to meet them. She could embarrass him, treat them disrespectfully. She could even explain how he’d blackmailed her into marriage.
Letty looked at her eyes in the mirror. She didn’t want to hurt Darius. She just wanted him to forgive her dad.
Maybe she could start by treating his family with the same respect she wanted for her father.
Letty dressed quickly and carefully, blow-drying her long dark hair and brushing it till it shone. She put on lipstick, and chose a pretty new sundress and sandals from the closet. Her knees shook as she went down the hallway. A maid directed her toward the terrace.
With a deep breath, she went outside into the sunshine.
Bright pink bougainvillea climbed the whitewashed walls of the Greek villa, above a wide terrace overlooking the mountainous slopes of the island jutting out of the Ionian Sea.
Against the blue horizon, she saw the shaded forest green of a distant island. The whole world seemed bright with color: blue and white buildings, sea and sky, pink flowers, brown earth and green olive, fig and pomegranate trees.
She felt the warm sun against her skin, and pleasure seeped through her body. Then she saw the group of people sitting at a long wooden table.
Darius rose abruptly from the table. Silence fell as the others followed his gaze.
Wordlessly, he came over to her. His dark eyes glowed as he lowered his head to kiss her cheek. Turning back to the others, he said in English, “This is Letty. My wife.”
An elderly woman got up from the table. Standing on her tiptoes, she squinted, carefully looking Letty over from her blushing face to her pregnant belly. Then she smiled. Reaching up, she patted Letty on the cheek and said something in Greek that she didn’t understand.
“My great-aunt says you look happy now,” Darius translated. “Like a beautiful bride.”
“How sweet... Did she see me before?” Letty asked.
“When I brought you in. She said you looked like death warmed over.”
She stared at him in horror, then narrowed her eyes accusingly. “She never said that.”
He gave a sudden grin. “She says our island has obviously revived you, all our sun and sea air. Plus, clearly—” he quirked a dark eyebrow “—marriage to me.”
The elderly woman said something quickly behind him. He glanced back with an indulgent smile. “Nai, Theia Ioanna.”
“What did she say?”
Darius turned back to Letty. “She said marriage to you seems to agree with me, as well.” Looking down at her, he hesitated. “Our wedding was...”
“Horrible.”
“Not good,” he agreed. His dark eyes caressed her face, and he leaned forward to whisper, “But something tells me our honeymoon will make up for it.”
Letty felt his breath against her hair, the brush of his lips against her earlobe, and electricity pulsed through her at the untold delights promised by a honeymoon in the Greek villa. In that enormous bed.
She tried not to think about that as he introduced her to the other people around the table, aunts and uncles and innumerable cousins. She smiled shyly, wishing she could speak Greek as one Kyrillos family member after another hugged her, their faces alight with welcome and approval.
One of the younger women grabbed her arm, motioning for her to take the best seat at the table. On learning she was hungry, other relatives dished her out a lunch from the tempting dishes on the table. Tangy olives, salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and feta, vine leaves stuffed with rice, grilled meats on skewers, fresh seafood and finally the lightest, flakiest honey pastries imaginable. After sleeping so long, and having no appetite yesterday, Letty was ravenous and gobbled it all up as fast as she could get it.
The women around her exclaimed approvingly in Greek. Darius sat