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Chapter Twenty-One
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CaraI last twenty minutes alone in his sitting room before I start snooping.I try to justify myself as I go through his medicine cabinet. I'm just trying to learn more about the man I'm going to fake-marry—or real-marry, or pretend-real-marry, or whatever this is—so it's not immoral to look at all his stuff.Razor, shaving cream, Band-Aids, toothbrush, nothing interesting.I'm not really sure what the hell we're doing, but I'm drifting along like a log on a wave lost in the current, and Eros is the entire ocean.His closet is better. Enormous and filled with expensive, custom-tailored suits, racks of designer jeans and shoes and shirts, and a hundred ties in black and dark blue. There's a shelf covered in glittering, no-doubt priceless watches, lit with custom bulbs so the whole display glows like a storefront window.Eros doesn't strike me as the type of man obsessed with the way he looks, but his closet suggests otherwise.And his comment from earlier flits through my mind: in thi
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Cara"You get one night to acclimate," Eros says before we go to bed. "One night, asteraki mu, and then we are sleeping in my bed together, like husband and wife.""Enjoy the couch." I slam the door in his face and crawl under the covers, curling up like a tiny ball, lost in the middle of the mattress.I don't sleep very much. At first, I toss and turn, thinking about Eros outside the door sleeping in the sitting area. That asshole accused me of being aspy—me, of all people, a woman that hates the Pavone Famiglia more than anyone else in the world. What's he thinking? He can't really believe I've been lying to him this whole time.And yet can I blame him for being paranoid? We're strangers and he's doing a lot to help me, and he's trying to come to grips with our situation as much as I am. Still, it doesn't matter, I'd never in my life spy for my ex-husband, let alone for his stupid mafia family, and it drives me insane that the idea would even occur to Eros.Does he really think I'm
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CaraI stand behind the counter in the Demetrios Diner and wipe down a mug. I'm in a pair of tights and Phel's extra uniform. It's scratchy and a little too big, but I don't care about anything right now.I just want to be busy.Eros didn't want to let me go, but I didn't ask his permission. I stormed out of that house, ignoring him when he told me to stop, and approached one of the maids I recognized from the day before. I ordered her to find me a car and a driver, and she stared in terror until Eros told her to obey my demands."We will speak about this later," he said as I slammed the car door and his driver pulled out.Now I'm just trying to get myself together. I know they were only shoes—but they're also so much more than shoes.I lost everything. My life was ruined the moment I ran out on Christopher, and I did it anyway, because I knew that staying would be even worse.But now I have no family, no life, no friends, nothing.Those shoes were all I kept.Now they're gone."You s
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CaraI follow Eros back into the house, up the central staircase, and into his wing of the mansion. Lycus remains behind with the car and obnoxiously reminds Eros about their upcoming meeting."What's so important he keeps talking about it?" I ask as Eros pauses outside of his office door."We're in the middle of replacing the business we lost when you threw money in the face of the dockworkers' union reps," he says mildly.I clear my throat and try not to turn red. "Right. Sorry about that.""No, you're not. Come." He walks into his office and I follow.On the desk is a cardboard box. It's out of place in the otherwise pristine room. Big bookshelves with leather bound volumes flank either wall, and a huge window overlooks the grounds and the city beyond. A full bar covers the back wall with a wide selection of brown liquor."You pulled me from work just to look at a box?" I ask."Among other things." He hands me a phone, the newest Apple model, and I arch an eyebrow at it. "I had one
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ErosThe meeting with the freight company goes well. I head back into the house, feeling decent for the first time in days. I'm solving my shipping problem, I found the damn shoes, and Cara didn't fight me about wearing the ring.I feel good as I step into my room and spot her standing out on the balcony.She's wearing a black, lace cocktail dress with a modest neckline and a fitted waist that shows off her lovely curves. I stand and stare at her, heart racing with surprise as she holds the ring up to the dying evening light and watches it glitter. That's my fiancée, and my guts twist with excitement, and my heart flutters in my chest, and I'm having a reaction I've never felt before—It's desire, but it's also joy, pure and unbridled excitement. Cara looks incredible, absolutely fucking stunning, with understated makeup and her hair in a simple twist, and she's wearing my ring.Myring.She turns and catches my eye—and grins at me.That's when I look down and notice the shoes.The fuc
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Eros"Well, with her gone, let's eat, shall we?" Anissa gestures for everyone to sit.I take the head of the table with Cara on my left. Helen sits on my right, with Lycus next to Cara, and Sophia and Anissa next to Helen. The tension is so thick and horrifying that all I can do is drink wine and glare at my cousin and my aunt as they whisper to each other, grinning and looking at Cara, acting like two catty high school cheerleaders.Which isn't so bad, all things considered.At least they're not trying to kill anyone.Lycus talks to Cara about the diner and Helen gets involved. "I like Demetrios," Helen says. "Very respectful man. Makes a great lamb gyro too.""They're nice people," Cara says, smiling. "They really welcomed me into their business and they've been good to me.""Old school Greek hospitality," Lycus says nodding. "Helps that you're attached to the lord here.""Easy," I grumble."Demetrios is basically Eros's biggest fan," Cara says with a massive grin. "You should've se
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ErosGareth lights his cigar and takes a few puffs. My close friend and lawyer grins at me through the smoke and sighs as he leans back in his chair. We're hidden away in a private room at an upscale club in the heart of Chicago, a location loyal to my family.Though I wonder how long. News about Cara is spreading, and there's already a lot of grumbling."I'll be honest, Eros, when I got the call about setting up marriage paperwork, I thought it was a joke." Gareth peers at me over the glowing end of his cigar.He laughs quietly to himself. Gareth's tall and handsome for a lawyer, with broad shoulders and sparkling blue eyes, but I don't let his boyish looks fool me for one second. The man has the heart of a lion and the morals of a killer, though I'd trust him with my life if it came to that. I've known him since college where we were a part of a club called the Atlas Group, and our little organization has remained tight ever since. We're spread out across the United States, though m
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Eros"Sorry to tell you, but it'll have to be." Gareth's smile is apologetic as he puffs on his cigar. "For now, at least. If you want to marry her sooner, you could always kill her ex-husband." He grins at me like he's joking, but I stare back at him, not smiling."I will gladly end that fucker's life. Murder is certainly not off the table."He sighs and shakes his head. "Well, if you get caught, give me a call.""Find a loophole, Gareth. Find a way for me to make her my wife tomorrow. Find me something."He ashes his cigar and considers me for a moment. "Eros, if this is just about making sure your family will accept her, do you really need to make it legal? Go through with the ceremony. Sign the papers. Do everything except, you know, actually file with the state. The moment her divorce goes through, you can get the legalities squared away, but what does a guy like you give a shit about the law? Besides, by the time she's officially back on the market, I bet your little problem wil
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