Alexi choked on his drink and coughed. He set the glass down on the coffee table and sucked in a breath. He glanced at Niko for help.
Niko frowned. He turned toward Alexi. “You will be respectful of Mia. She’s going to be my sister-in-law. She’s in high school. This is not okay. If you care for her, you can wait until you are married, until she is out of college, until she is much older, until—” His words were low and spoken in Greek, but she got most of it.
Dad raised a hand. “English, please.”
“That is not happening,” Niko said. “I will have Hope talk to Mia.”
The French doors that led to the kitchen opened and Hope entered the front room wearing a floating romantic-style dress. “What’s not happening?”
Niko rose immediately, went over and took her hands. He acted as if they’d been apart for months instead of a day. He brushed her cheek with his hand. “I missed you. Come home with me.”
Alexi grimaced.
Hope beamed up at Niko, and she glowed. Dad had to see how happy they were together.
Dad cleared his throat. “Hope knows it’s important to set a good example. Mia’s still a teenager, and she looks up to her big sister.”
Without letting go of Hope’s hands, Niko frowned at Alexi and spoke insistently in Greek. “Birth control fails. Promise me—not while in high school.”
“Yes,” Alexi said.
Hearing her name tossed around was super annoying.
Niko led Hope to the sofa and sat her on the end. “You can trust Alexi.”
Dad gave a pointed look at Hope’s hands, which were clasped on top of her knees. “And when do you plan on formally getting engaged to Hope?”
Mom came in from the kitchen, taking the same route that Hope had and arched her eyebrows. “Evening, everyone. Looks like I’ve walked in on the question of the night.”
Niko’s lips tightened, and his hand tightened on Hope’s arm as if they were trying to physically pull her away from him. Mia watched Niko fight his instincts to just take Hope and leave. There was at least a fifty-fifty chance he would.
“I was thinking you could do a painting or a sketch of me, as an engagement gift for Niko,” Alexi said. This was a supreme sacrifice for him.
Niko looked at him with approval, and his shoulders relaxed. Hope tilted her head this way and that. She got the obsessed painter look on her face. Niko smiled and patted Alexi’s knee.
“Yes, yes, I could do that.” Hope shifted on the cushion to face her parents. “Niko and I are planning on a spring wedding,”
“That’s wonderful, dear.” Mom slipped into the gray high-back chair and shook off Dad’s offer of a drink. “Now, if y’all want to do this right, you can be a June bride. That way, you can live here or at the loft until after Mia’s graduation in May. That would be very proper.”
June was not in the springtime. It was summer. Hope paled.
Niko stiffened. He shook his head. “Not summer, no.”
“Well, autumn is lovely, too. That’s actually a good idea, Niko. It’ll give us a full year to plan the wedding.”
Hope covered her mouth.
Niko could handle any other topic with decisive ruthlessness. How was he losing so much ground with Mom? This was not a good sign for the future. No way Niko would wait a year to be with Hope. Niko touched Hope’s hair. He held her hand and smiled at her then he kissed her hand.
Hope smiled back at him. “I don’t want to wait.”
“Tonight,” Niko said. “Come home with me tonight.”
Eyes brightening, Hope lifted her hand to touch Niko’s face. A yes formed on her lips.
“Out of
the question,” Dad answered for her.