KristoI woke up on that Tuesday morning with a pounding headache and a woman in my bed. It would have been déjà vu, were it not for the fact that I could actually remember the night before and was happy to see this woman lying next to me. I brushed my fingers over her back, grinning, remembering what we’d gotten up to the night before. She might not have been as wild as me yet, but she was sure as hell getting there. And I was more than happy to be her guide on her path to complete debauchery.Her eyes fluttered open, and her gaze met mine. Then, she grinned and snuggled into the sheets.“Hey,” she greeted me, and I planted a kiss on her temple.“Hey,” I replied. She moved toward me and cuddled into my chest, holding me tight.“It’s so nice to wake up next to you,” she confessed as though she was sharing a dirty secret, as though the two of us hadn’t swapped “I love yous” for the first time the night before.“It really is,” I agreed. “I mean, for you. I can’t imagine how nice it is t
Kristo“Go ahead,” I replied, and a moment later, a very contrite-looking Cleo stepped around the corner. I wanted to shove her straight out the door, but I restrained myself.“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” I demanded, and she held her hands up as I got to my feet to close the door behind her.“I’m here to apologize,” she told me. “Really. I know I fucked up, I did, but—”“You nearly sank this whole thing with Amaya.” I shook my head. “Do you know that? You almost ruined everything with your big mouth.”“I know.” She lowered her gaze to the ground. It was the least sassy I had ever seen her as an adult, and it was almost a little sad—or it would have been, had I not known what she had pulled.“You know that Nonna came to the apartment yesterday, right?” I got to my feet and planted my hands on my waist, staring down at her. “And she basically took pieces out of me until I promised her she could plan the wedding?”“Huh?” Cleo furrowed her brow. “What are you talking ab
AmayaI made it to work on time, but it was a close thing. I barreled through the door three minutes before my shift was due to start, but they couldn’t mark me down as late, so I would count that as a win for the time being. I hurried to my office where I found Darla waiting for me. She grinned as she saw me come around the corner, that broad, slightly crooked smile that seemed to light up her whole face.“Hey,” she greeted me, and she looked me up and down. “Late night?”“Shit, is it that obvious?” I asked, pulling a face as I unlocked the door and gestured for her to go inside.“You want the truth or the nicety?” she asked.“The truth.”“It’s obvious,” she replied with a chuckle, and I glanced at myself in my reflection in the glass in the door. It was clear to anyone who cared to notice that I had been up late last night and maybe had a little too much to drink on top of it. Then, I remembered what Kristo and I had gotten up to, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. It was wort
AmayaI tried not to let questions about our married life stick in my brain too long. Even if things did take a turn for the normal after we got married—and I hoped they did because my lazy-ass self couldn’t deal with all this drama in my personal life day after day—it was for the best. I wanted an easy life, a normal one or as close to normal as I could get, given who Kristo was and what his family was like and the enormous fortune they had access to. I hoped he wanted the same thing too. I hoped my life wasn’t going to be a source of gossip forever, that eventually things would even out and we could just enjoy being together once again. I remembered how it had been those first few weeks when we had been getting to know each other, peeling away our layers and falling slowly but surely in love. That was what I wanted for the long term. Long nights sitting up drinking beer and eating ice cream and talking about everything and nothing. That, I could live with.I finished up my work and
Kristo“Hey,” she greeted me as soon as she picked up the phone, and I could hear that sultry smile in her voice at once. I grinned. God, I wished she was here with me right now. This desk was getting a little boring, and I knew she’d do something to liven it up if I gave her the chance.“Hey,” I replied after a long pause, realizing I’d been sitting in silence imagining Amaya on this desk in front of me, butt naked. “Can you get out of work early today?”She sighed heavily, the rush of static making my ear tingle.“I can,” she replied, and there was a warning tone to her voice. “But I don’t want to make a habit of this, all right? I’m the one in charge, but I don’t want everyone to hate me for exploiting that.”“Don’t worry, I won’t be doing this again,” I promised her. “I just have something I want to show you in town, all right? I want to meet you there.”“Fine,” she replied, and despite herself, I could hear the little buzz of excitement at the back of her voice. “Where am I meeti
Kristo“I’m pretty exhausted,” Amaya admitted. “I could do with getting home and having something to eat. If that’s all right with you?”“Sure, it is.” I planted a kiss on her cheek. “Come on, let’s get home.”“I think I have a chain I could put the other ring on,” she murmured, as she looked down at her hand again. “You’re going to have to stop getting me these, you know. I’m going to run out of room.”“A girlfriend actually asking for less jewelry?” I teased her. “Could it be true?”“Hey, watch it, or I’ll make you go back and buy me everything in that store,” she teased, and she looped her arm through mine, the bag with Jolene’s gift swinging happily in her other hand.We made our way back to my place, chatting about the days we’d had as we went. She told me a little about Darla on the way over, some new girl who’d started work at the library who she felt like she was already clicking with. I was glad for her. She didn’t seem to have many friends, perhaps not finding the time until
Amaya“Amaya, are you all right?” Jolene asked, and she cocked her head at me. I could see I wasn’t going to be able to keep the truth from her much longer. I shifted in my seat and glanced around the small room. I had something to distract her for the time being, at least, and Kristo had promised to give us as much time as we needed to deal with the situation at hand.“Kristo got you something.” I dipped my hand into my bag and pulled out the small box that contained the charm bracelet Kristo had helped pick out for my sister. Her eyes lit up as soon as she caught sight of the fancy brand name printed on the box, and she grinned up at me, the thrill evident in her eyes.“Are you serious?” she squealed, and she reached out for the box, popping it open. She gasped when she saw what was waiting for her inside. The bracelet looked even more delicate now than it had in the box. I bit my lip and smiled as I watched her slip it on over her wrist and twist it this way and that, admiring the
Amaya“There’s something else as well,” I continued, and her face dropped again.“Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding a whole niece or nephew from me as well?” she exclaimed, glancing around the room as though she expected the secret child to come sprinting out from behind the bed. I shook my head.“Nothing like that,” I promised her, chuckling. “That’s a long way down the line. But we wanted to ask you …”I hesitated for a moment. Should I give her some time to process everything I’d just dumped on her head? Or should I just get it all out there now and let her make her own decision? All of this was happening so quickly, and I didn’t want my baby sister to be left out of a single thing.“We wanted to ask you if you would consider living with us.” I grinned, and she stared at me again, silent, as though she was waiting for me to tell her I was just fooling and not to get so excited. I didn’t contradict myself. Her eyebrows shot up.“You’re serious?” she shrieked, and I nodded. I leaned o
KristoI went to the window and stretched, running my hand through my hair and grinning. I couldn’t believe we were actually in Greece. We were supposed to be arriving right about now, but I couldn’t wait that long to get her alone and was glad I’d incurred the extra expense to fly us out here at the last minute. It was worth it, so we could just be together after the hectic chaos of the wedding.I had called Cleo when we’d arrived, and she’d told me everyone had an amazing time. Nonna had a little too much to drink that night and had held court with stories about her young adulthood in Greece. Everyone had found it hilarious. And it seemed like Cleo and Darla were officially together, judging by the fact that I could hear Amaya’s friend in the background of the call long after they’d gone to bed.Amaya wasn’t awake yet, and I was glad for that. I still needed a little time to come to terms with the fact that I was actually married to the woman fast asleep in the bed behind me. My rin
AmayaOnce I had changed into something more party-worthy, the reception began, and at last, I could really relax and enjoy myself. Jolene and I spent a good hour dancing together before Kristo cut in to get his hands on me, holding me close and swaying with me as the band played a slow song. He kissed my neck softly, and I felt that burning desire for my husband pick up intensity. I couldn’t wait to get him alone, but we weren’t leaving for our honeymoon to Greece until the next day, so I had a while to wait yet.The food was amazing. There was even baklava, which Nonna had insisted on making herself. It wasn’t quite as good as Kristo’s, but I didn’t say a word of that to her. She would never let me hear the end of it. I ate and drank nonalcoholic cocktails, danced, and watched my guests do the same. I couldn’t believe how perfect this was. Darla and Cleo spent the night basically glued to each other’s sides, and I couldn’t help but coo internally over how cute they were.When I fina
AmayaI couldn’t even put into words how nervous I’d been that entire morning. My mind was taken up with questions about whether everything was going to go right. In my head, I was certain something was going to happen, that Kristo’s dad was going to squirm out of it at the last second and let us down, that the flowers weren’t going to arrive, that the dress wasn’t going to fit, that something was going to throw off this whole perfect day we had put so much time and effort into putting together.Then, I was sitting there in the room they had set up for me to get ready in, and I was staring at myself in the mirror, wearing the dress I had fallen in love with from the moment I’d laid eyes on it the week before. Jolene had picked well. She knew blue was my favorite color, and when I had slipped into the dress, even though it barely fit, I’d known this was the one for me. Sitting in front of the mirror, it was hard to believe this was really me, and this was really happening. How long had
KristoDarla, who had stepped in last-minute as a bridesmaid, followed her a minute later. She was wearing a dress in a delicate mint shade, and I could feel Cleo shift next to me when she emerged from the house.“Easy, tiger,” I murmured to her, and she nudged me playfully and straightened up again. I had a smile on my face, and I was beginning to relax. Then, I saw my bride walking toward me down the aisle, and I could hardly keep the tension out of my body.She looked incredible. No doubt about that. She’d told me she had only really looked at one dress, and I could see why. She looked unbelievable in it. It was cut to just below her knees, a flowing skirt that faded from cream to a pale blue color. The bodice hugged her body perfectly, and she was wearing the sweetest veil that covered her face as she made her way toward me. Even through the fabric, I could see the huge smile on her face, as though she couldn’t believe this was really happening. I knew exactly how she felt.It see
KristoI stared at myself in the mirror, wearing the tuxedo Amaya had picked out for me. I had seen myself in it before, of course, in the hurried fitting earlier in the week, but I felt as though I was looking at myself in it for the very first time. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long moment and pressed my lips together. Why the fuck was I even nervous? I had done this all before with Amaya. And yet, here I was on my wedding day, scared a little bit shitless.There was a knock at the door, and I spun around at once. In my head, I was sure that somehow this was all going to go wrong, that Amaya was going to back out of it before I got her up the aisle, that the speed this had all happened was going to scare her off in the end. Instead, my lawyer entered, and I rolled my eyes.“What is it?” I demanded. He stood there in the door wringing his hands with a panicked look on his face and wearing a slightly rumpled suit.“I just wanted to let you know there’s still time to get a pr
AmayaBefore he could say a word more to me, I leaned forward and took him into my mouth. He tasted so good, even better than normal, the sweetness of the gel lingering on his body. I could taste that hint of vanilla, just a touch, making him taste like the pastry he had spent all day baking. Guiding him as far into my mouth as I could manage, I wrapped my hand around his base and began to stroke him, taking him deep into my mouth and listening to those appreciative little noises he kept on coming out with. I slipped a hand around his thigh, gripping him tightly, letting him know I would have made him come right here and now if he wanted to. I sank my nails into his skin, wanting to leave marks on his body, to remind him who he belonged to and who belonged to him.I wasn’t sure how long I was there on my knees in front of him, the water running over my body and down my back. I could have stayed there all day, but after a while, it became clear he didn’t want to come like that. He want
AmayaWhen I arrived back at the house, I caught the scent of heaven floating through the room at once. I closed my eyes as I stepped through the door, inhaling deeply—cinnamon, sweetness, a little sharpness. Whatever it was, even if it made me sick, I had to have it right there and then.“Hey, where are you guys?” I called into the house, looking around for Jolene or her nurse. She had arrived today, and Kristo had offered to help her settle in, which I was glad for, as I wanted to get as far ahead on my work at the library as I possibly could before the baby came along.“In the kitchen,” Jolene called back, and I crossed the room to the kitchen. All three of them were there, and Kristo was carefully cutting up some pastries that were still in a steaming-hot pan.“We made baklava!” Jolene exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the pan Kristo was maneuvering his knife around.“I can see that.” I inhaled deeply again and smiled my greeting at Pamela. “And what exactly is that?”“It’s a Greek
KristoI took a deep breath, planted my hands on the desk, and tried to center myself. There was no point getting upset about this. At the end of the day, either he was going to make the effort and come to my wedding or he wasn’t, and there was very little I could do to change his mind if he didn’t want to. Short of flying out to Greece and dragging him by his collar back to Nonna’s house to be there for the ceremony, if he wanted to skip it, he would. And I had a feeling he was going to. Amaya wouldn’t want this to be a stressful time for me. She wanted our wedding to be full of joy, peace, happiness, not me yelling into a phone to my father from half a globe away.I focused on the voices outside the room. Well, they weren’t saying anything, but they were laughing, and that was enough to get me feeling a little better. After a slight delay, Jolene’s nurse Pamela had arrived this morning, and the two of them were getting to know each other. I had offered to stay at home that day to wo
Kristo“Malaka,” I muttered to myself, forgetting for a moment that my dad was the one on the other end of the line, and he could well understand I had just called him an—“Did you just call me an asshole?” he snapped at me. I rolled my eyes, tempted to point out that the word didn’t have a specific English translation, but playing the smart-ass was only going to land me in a heap more trouble. As if it wasn’t bad enough as it was.“No,” I lied swiftly. “Look, are you sure you can’t get back sooner than that? You need to be here, Dad. It’s my wedding.”“I know,” he replied tersely. “You think I don’t know that? I’m as annoyed about it as you are.”“Then why won’t you just make the effort and actually come back home?” I pointed out. “This is ridiculous, Dad. Even you must be able to see that.”“I didn’t plan it this way,” he snapped back, but I didn’t believe him. I knew my dad well enough to know he had everything in his life carefully planned out. If he was stuck in Greece right now,