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After an evening spent over a long dinner, Cleo’s phone buzzed as she climbed into bed at midnight, and she answered it, surprised that it was Ari.Oh, my goodness.He wasn’t getting cold feet, was he? She came out in a cold sweat of horror at the suspicion.
‘I thought you were with your friends tonight,’ she said tightly.
‘I am, but I don’t want a hangover tomorrow, so no wild partying for me. I know it’s late, but I want to see you—’
‘It’s bad luck for us to see each other before the wedding,’ she told him gently.
‘You can’t be that superstitious,’ Ari censured.
Cleo winced. ‘I am...and I want a good night’s sleep.’
‘Okay,’ Ari conceded, although she knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t okay with him, but then Ari was not accustomed to refusal.
‘I want you back in my bed where you belong,’ Ari admitted in a roughened undertone.
Cleo flushed and felt heat surge in her pelvis. ‘Tomorrow night... My mum is enjoying having me here with her.’
She lay back on the bed, perspiration on her upper lip and a wrenched feeling tugging at her loyalties. She knew exactly what would have transpired had she met up with Ari. As her face burned, the ache between her thighs intensified. He had transformed her into a wanton hussy. And there was nothing wrong with that, she reminded herself, as long as she didn’t get carried away and start advertising what a pushover she was for him. In her opinion, Ari didn’t value anything that came to him too easily and she still needed to offer him an occasional hint of challenge.
Flying in that afternoon, Cleo had noticed the imposing Greek Orthodox church built on the hill above the village. It was a much larger and more elaborate building than one would have expected to find on a small Greek island. Apparently, Ari’s grandfather had built the church to commemorate his wife’s passing.
The following morning, as the car that had collected her mother and her from the resort drew up outside the church, Cleo breathed in deep and stepped out into the sunlight. She shook free her dress. The iridescent beaded and intricately embroidered bodice shaped her full breasts. It rejoiced in a vee neckline, bell sleeves and a layered and tiered tulle skirt, which flowed softly round her feet. Worn with a short veil, the gown had a romantic bohemian vibe, which she had fallen in love with. On her head she wore the superb sapphire-and-diamond tiara that Ari had had delivered to her the night before.
‘You look like a princess today,’ her mother had sighed in contentment.
A loud buzz of voices carried from inside the church. By the sound of it, the interior was packed. Ari had said most of the guests were business acquaintances and friends, with only a handful of his distant cousins sprinkled through the mix. Cleo, on the other hand, only had her stepfamily and a couple of old schoolfriends who had elected to come but who hadn’t arrived until late the night before.
Now as she walked down the aisle with her mother she was insanely conscious of the number of heads turning to look at her, and her first impression was that there was an inordinate number of very beautiful women in the pews, all staring at her so intently that a veil of colour turned her pale cheeks a soft pink. And there was Ari waiting for her at the altar. He looked amazing in a formal morning suit, very tall and dark and extravagantly handsome, his spectacular eyes locked to her with unhidden appreciation.
And that was that for Cleo. Evidently, Ari liked how she looked, and a cast of thousands in the pews couldn’t have daunted her from that point on. He didn’t need to speak. His brilliant and attentive gaze told her everything she needed to know.
‘You look like a fairy queen,’ he murmured softly, his breath fanning her cheek, and a ripple of powerful awareness shimmied through her taut body. ‘Or like you belong in a field of wildflowers.’
A narrow platinum band studded with diamonds eased onto her finger some minutes later and the short and sweet ceremony was done. She was Ari’s wife now, for better or for worse, she reflected headily.
The reception was being staged at the hotel at the centre of the resort. Gathering her skirts, Cleo settled into the SUV that would take them there along the island’s single road, which wound along the sandy shore. ‘It’s gorgeous here. How long has the island been in the family?’
‘My great-grandfather bought it for peanuts in the days when such acquisitions were not considered desirable. Ironically, he did it to prevent tourist development. He didn’t have an eye for the future or the people who live here and need employment.’
‘But your father built the resort,’ Cleo recalled.
‘Yes. The family home used to stand where the hotel now is in the bay. After my sister died, my father demolished the house, had the resort built and built a new house at the far end of the island, but my parents only ever made fleeting visits here after that. Losing Alexia here on the island devastated them and they never got over that. My mother was heartbroken because she had always wanted a daughter. I know that they tried to have another child because my mother went into hospital with a miscarriage a couple of years later. I think she had a breakdown after that.’
‘That was really tragic after they had lost your sister.’ Cleo sighed with sympathy. ‘The last thing your parents needed was another hard blow.’
‘I know.’ Ari compressed his sensual mouth.
‘You’ve never told me how your sister drowned.’ Cleo almost whispered the reminder.
Ari tensed. ‘We were very close. Alexia was a tomboy, the perfect playmate for me. On the day that it happened, she dived into the pool and struck her head on the side. I tried to get her out of the water, but I’m afraid she was too heavy for me to lift.’ Tiny muscles pulled his strong profile taut with the regret he couldn’t hide. ‘Sadly, I hadn’t had lessons in life-saving either. By the time help came, it was too late... Alexia had gone—’
‘So, the two of you were playing without supervision in the pool?’ Cleo gathered in some surprise at the idea.
‘Yes, we both swam like fish and it was assumed to be safe. But we were only six years old. My parents’ guilt over that decision probably made it worse for them afterwards.’
‘The trauma of that loss may also be why your father got involved with another woman in the first place,’ Cleo suggested with a wince. ‘Grief doesn’t always pull people together. Just as often, it pushes them apart.’
Ari was frowning at that comment. ‘The dates would tally with that possibility,’ he conceded reluctantly. ‘I haven’t looked at the situation in that light before.’
