‘I’m sorry.’
‘Please don’t be,’ she said with a shake of her head and a slightly tremulous smile. ‘If you’re going to feel sorry for me, feel sorry for me because my dad never wanted to know me or because my mom is in a coma, or because I had a credit-card debt the size of Mount Everest until you entered the picture. I can live without friends.’
He slowed his dancing once more, thinking again how similar they were, how independent, how determined t
o show that they were okay with being on their own.
‘I’m sorry for those things, too.’ He stared down at her, wondering at the twists and turns life had served this woman, at the reality she’d been forced to live, and sympathy tore through him.
But she smiled, and even if it didn’t reach her eyes, it totally changed her face.
‘It’s our wedding day,’ she reminded him. ‘We should look happy, not glum.’
Before he could reply, they were interrupted by the arrival of Kosta Carinedes.
‘Thanos,’ he said with a nod, his eyes shifting to Alice’s with obvious interest. ‘Miss Smart.’
‘Mrs Stathakis,’ Alice corrected without missing a beat, tilting her face towards Thanos’s and smiling in a way that was now a perfect imitation of a woman madly in love. And even though she was simply pretending, something like warmth spread through Thanos, starting at his chest and radiating out through his body in waves.
‘Of course.’ Kosta still seemed as if he was waiting for the punchline. He looked from one to the other with a sense of bemusement.
‘We’re so glad you could join us,’ Alice enthused, going over the top of his doubts with a truly gifted performance. ‘I felt quite bad the other day, when you came to the office and we didn’t confess the truth.’
Thanos’s eyes narrowed.
‘So this was going on then?’
Alice arched a brow teasingly. ‘We just got married,’ she pointed out. ‘Of course it was going on then.’
‘So you’ve been an item for some time?’
Thanos stroked Alice’s side without realising he was doing it. ‘We wanted to keep things quiet for as long as possible. You know, privacy concerns.’
‘Naturally.’ Kosta’s eyes narrowed. ‘How long have you been dating?’ he prompted, like a dog with a bone, refusing to give up on his inquisition.
Thanos ground his teeth together, pushing his impatience aside. ‘It feels like a very long time ago that I first saw Alice and lost my heart.’
Alice’s expression showed surprise as she looked at him, so he stroked her side, and slowly she smiled, turning back to Kosta. ‘I understand your concerns about my husband, Mr Carinedes. But it’s important to remember that newspapers will write a story about just about anything.’
Kosta considered this for a moment. ‘That is true, m’dear. Very true.’
They were quiet for a moment, and Thanos had to bite back an impulse to ask the older man when he intended to sign the company over to him—surely his last objection had been dealt with?
‘You’re having a honeymoon?’ Kosta asked, and Thanos could tell he’d surprised Alice when he nodded in the affirmative.
‘That is the norm, is it not?’ Thanos prompted.
‘Of course. Where will you go?’
Thanos turned to Alice, a smile on his face. ‘It’s a surprise, for my bride.’
‘Ah.’ This appeared to please the old man. He clapped his hands together and offered the first genuine smile Thanos had seen from him in a long time. ‘Well, when it’s over, why don’t you two join me in Port D’Angelo for an evening?’
‘Port D’Angelo?’ Alice prompted.
‘A small town on the southern coast of Kalatheros—my home is there. Come—see the ocean, eat galaktoboureko and drink wine. I would enjoy getting to know you better, Alice.’
Thanos smiled, but he read the subtext. This would be a test. A ‘throwing down of the gauntlet’ to make sure their marriage was the real deal. He couldn’t blame the older man for taking the precaution. The circumstances were highly suspicious—and with good reason.