Wedding the Greek Billionaire (Holiday with a Billionaire 2)

With a subtle smile, he gave the order to the waiter. In a minute they were served Greek frappe known as iced coffee. “This is the ideal drink for a hot night. Try it.”

She did his bidding. “This is delicious.”

He put down his half-empty glass and sat forward. “Just so there’s no question, I’ve developed feelings for you, too. In time I intend to act on them, but not yet. That’s what I was anxious to tell you before you left for Venice.”

Her heart could hardly take it.

“Since you’ve come back to Patras and we’ve established détente, would you be willing to tell me your plans now?”

She moistened her lips nervously. “Abby and Raoul have invited me to spend some time at their vineyard until I need to return to America.”

“Could you put that off for a while? I was hoping you’d consider flying to Athens with me the day after tomorrow. It’s my time for visitation. I’d like you to meet Ari. If you went with me, you could give him that gift yourself.”

A tiny gasp escaped. She was incredulous over what he’d just proposed. He wanted her to meet his son? Her heart thudded from anxiety and excitement all at once.

Abby had urged her to return to Patras and hear what Andreas had to say, but this was the last thing she’d expected. Before she could answer, the waiter returned to pour them some white wine. This was followed by plates of sizzling salmon filets and a side dish of mouthwatering fried mashed potatoes stuffed with anthotyro cheese and spinach.

“Does your silence mean you’d rather not postpone your plans to stay with your friends?” he asked after the waiter walked away.

She’d probably offended him again when it was the last thing she ever wanted to do. “It isn’t that, Andreas. If I didn’t say anything, it’s because I’m so surprised at your suggestion.”

He cocked his dark head. “I’ve wanted to take you before now, but I didn’t want my plans to interfere with your work while you were finishing up your research. That’s why it was a shock to me when you left Patras so abruptly. I hadn’t realized that day had come and you were ready to move on.”

Abby had been right about everything.

“Now you know why I left the way I did.” She took a drink of wine. “Don’t you think it might upset Ari if I’m with you?”

“If you’ll come with me, we’ll find out.”

Andreas...

They both started to eat. “I’ll arrange a room in the same hotel for you where I stay. There’s a garden and a pond where he plays, not to mention the children’s zoo and Happy Train.”

“Is that the red one I saw on the streets of Athens?”

“Yes. It visits all the important places. Ari loves to ride on it. We’ll be gone two days and nights. Is that something you’d like to do? If not, I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll understand.”

When she’d finished all she could eat, she eyed him directly. “If you don’t think Ari will be upset that you brought a visitor with you, then I’d be very happy to meet him.”

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I’m glad you said that because there’s something else I’d like to ask you. Tomorrow I must fly to Lakithra for the grand opening of our latest hotel. I won’t have to be there long. How would you like to come with me? We’ll have lunch at the hotel and test out the menu before we return to Patras.”

She blinked. “You’re talking about the village on Kefalonia?” He nodded. “Where I went to see the Rock of Byron?”

“The very one. The property for the hotel was in our family.”

“You’re kidding—”

“It’s all true.” His faint smile set her pulse racing. “The family decided to erect a hotel to honor Lord Byron and three of our ancestors living there who fought in the war for independence against the Turks.”

“That’s the reason you know so much about him. Do you have any old records?”

“If you’re referring to diaries, no, otherwise I would have shown them to you. But our ancestors were part of the group funded by Lord Byron, who sold his estate in Scotland and raised twenty thousand pounds sterling toward that effort. We’ve named it Gavras House, Lakithra—Lord Byron.”

She sat back. “What an absolutely fantastic thing for you to do!”

Andreas finished his wine. “When were you there?”

“In March.”