Only You (Sweet Torment 2)

“It was okay,” I said semihonestly.

It was nice to see Hazel, but it was also tough to hear about Jane and realize what was going on with Roman and Amy, aka, not wanting to be around me. Then there was Leo’s visit, which had many adjectives to describe it and okay wasn’t amongst them.

“How was your evening?” I said.

“Okay as well. It is nice getting to see several of my cousins while I’m here. I was at Regan’s last night for a while. I was expecting to hear from Leandro about his first date. We were supposed to meet up at the Main House and discuss.”

I frowned. “Discuss?”

The distaste in my voice was obvious, because was this what Leo did? Was this what men did? Go out with a woman then discuss her like a conquest. Something sick rose in my throat. Would he discuss me?

Kyros didn’t seem to understand the disdain in my voice. “Well, yes, we must discuss if she is a woman he wishes to pursue, or whether he should continue down the list.”

Here I thought Kyros was a pretty decent guy, but he was talking about women the way you’d order something on a menu. And he looked truly innocent about it. Like it was normal.

“When Leo gave me that list, I thought it was a joke at first, but this?” I waved my hand in Kyros’s direction. “This little boys’ club you have where you discuss women and plow through them like a grocery list is disgusting.”

Kyros’s eyes shot wide. “Oh, no, Paige you misunderstand. Leo is okay with this. So are the women. This was all prearranged by our families.”

“What?”

Kyros nodded. “These women want to marry Leandro and our families are setting this up. It’s common in Greece.”

“Family? Like you and Regan?” Leo had once told me his family liked to involve themselves in his personal affairs. I hadn’t realized exactly what involved meant.

“Regan is the lead, if you will, on this endeavor of finding Leandro someone. She is the oldest and cares about him, we all do, and we just want to help him move on from the past and focus on the future.”

I took a breath to say something, then all my thoughts left. Information overload. I had a lot to sift through quickly. Like families having a say and setting up arranged marriages so to speak. I knew it still happened but I wasn’t expecting this. One little tidbit stuck out, though.

“So, Leo is looking for a wife?”

Kyros nodded, but his brow furrowed. “Yes and no. He wants to settle down and have a family. He almost did a few years ago but it didn’t work out.” Kyros glanced away and moved quickly past that admission before I could ask more. “So our family has stepped in and Leandro is onboard.”

And by family, he meant mostly Regan. I thought of her nice smile and mama-bear demeanor. The Savas family, from what I had been able to tell, was close. I knew having a family was important to Leo. I didn’t rea

lize just how important, and apparently time sensitive it was.

Suddenly the cool breeze pricked my skin more painfully than it had a moment ago. Mostly because it was the same skin Leo had kissed and touched, only now it was chillier than before.

“I apologize,” I said around a dry throat. “I wasn’t aware of this process or goals for the list.”

Jesus. Just saying it made my stomach hurt. There was literally a list of women who wanted to marry Leo. A list that started with supermodels and ended with God knew what. A list of women Regan approved of. A list I had no shot in hell of ever being on, even if that was a personal goal of mine.

The same feeling I got when I thought about impressing Leo’s family and coming up short gathered in the base of my neck and pricked hard. Once again, I was blindsided with how out of my league he was.

“Forgive me, too, Paige. No explanation was given. I can see how this process would sound off-putting.”

Now that it had sunk in, I felt even worse about my behavior last night. I had pulled a stunt that cost Leo a possible wife? Not just a date? Yes, I felt horrible about that. But for some reason, a sudden ease raced through me. As if Leo not pursing Bepa made me happy. Because there was something about Leo I craved. Wanted for my own. But after this conversation with Kyros, it was clear that our lives were going in very different directions. He wanted a family. I didn’t.

“This marriage is important to Leo?” I asked.

For some reason I needed to hear Kyros admit the truth, because this was the thing I needed to cling to. To get over Leo. I wasn’t on that list and it was just another black-and-white reminder of what different worlds we came from. But if this arrangement was important to him, something he wanted, then I wouldn’t stand in the way. Actually, based on my job description, I was technically obliged to assist in this endeavor.

“His union is very important to him and to our entire family.”

“Of course,” I whispered. Savas Shipping was a global empire. An empire that the Savas family wanted to continue. Leo had mentioned this a few times. I just didn’t know specific measures had been taken to make it a reality. Either way, continuing such a lucrative dynasty made sense. “You said he almost married before?”

Kyros’s face went blank, like it had when I pressed the topic at the gala. “Yes, but that was a long time ago and not my place to share. We all just want to see him happy.”