“You must be joking,” she whispers. “I’m a Jersey girl from the trailer park, not some mysterious Greek heiress.”
I shoot her another rueful smile.
“Well, it turns out you can be both simultaneously. So there you have it.”
But Petunia shakes her head, refusing to acknowledge my words.
“So my whole life is a lie? Not only that, but you kept this from me? You’ve known who I am for a long time now, haven’t you, Nico?”
I nod.
“Yes, for years. I was closing in on the truth, and I was probably going to talk to you within the next month. After all, you came to work at Key Largo, which was the perfect setting, but then we stumbled into one another at the pool at Sanctum and things kind of went off the rails after that.”
“Holy shit,” she mutters. “Andreas referred me to the job at Key Largo. So Andreas knows too. He’s known all along.”
I nod.
“Yes, your adoptive father has been aware of your true identity since the very beginning, obviously. Andreas is a loyal vassal of the Christos family, and I think now that the cat’s out of the bag, he’ll be eager to return to Greece. You did say he’s always talking about the old country, right?”
To my surprise, there are tears in Petunia’s eyes as she nods.
“Yes, I did say that,” she whispers, looking away. “I just never guessed it would be because of something like this.”
The broken tone of her voice makes my heart twinge, and I take her small hands in mine.
“Petunia, look at me,” I say. “Nothing has changed.”
She lets out a disbelieving snort then.
“Okay, everything has changed,” I amend in a low tone. “But we’ll figure it okay? Nothing’s lost for good, and I didn’t expect things to happen like this, but it’s okay. You are Persephone Christos, and we are engaged to be married. We’ll figure it out.”
Unfortunately, the beautiful woman stares over my shoulder, refusing to meet my eyes, and my heart drops. Will Petunia forgive me for my role in this deception? Or is our marriage over before it’s actually even begun?
10
PETUNIA
Istare out the window of the private plane as clouds skitter beneath us. It’s crazy that I’m here. I’ve never even left the East Coast, but now, I’m on my way to meet my biological parents in Greece for the first time. Who would have thought?
My head’s still spinning and I swear, my blood pressure must be elevated, but slowly, I’m coming to terms with the fact that not only am I Petunia Pappas, Jersey girl extraordinaire, but I’m also Persephone Christos, scion of the billionaire Christos family. Seriously, my head is beginning to feel light, and that’s when my dad shoots a sharp look my way.
“Are you okay, Petunia?” Andreas asks.
I nod, smiling through my tears.
“I’m fine Daddy. I just … well, this is a lot to take in.”
Andreas nods, his craggy, handsome features drawn.
“You know I’ll always be your father, right Persephone? You will always be Petunia Pappas to me, no matter what happens from here.”
“Yes, I know, and I love you, Andreas. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
The huge man pats my arm then before turning back to his magazine. It’s astonishing to think that he’s so loyal to the Christoses that he literally gave up two decades of his life to live in a trailer park in New Jersey. Yet the proof is right before my eyes, and I know Andreas is eager to return to his homeland.
Yet I keep wondering what my real parents are like. Are Penelope and Stavros rich and snooty or are they humble and down to Earth despite their vast wealth? Do they live in a normal house, or is their home a manor with a full set of staff? Most importantly, do they really want to meet me as much as Nico and Andreas claim, or will they put on fake smiles when I get there and pretend to care about me even though they don’t?
“You’re thinking too hard again,” Andreas’ thick accent breaks in once again. “Just relax, Petunia. We’ll be in Athens soon enough.”