Chloe had phoned her from Athens yesterday to exclaim over the gorgeous seventy-eight-degree temperature, perfect for her June wedding that would take place tomorrow. Considering the prominence of the Milonis and Chiotis families, it promised to be one of the country’s major society events of the summer.
Raina, a strawberry blonde with wavy hair cut neck length, looked at the clear blue Greek sky, a good omen for the impending festivities. Chloe was the sweetest girl in the world. Raina hoped she was marrying an honorable man who’d be true to her.
Raina hadn’t been so lucky in that department, but four years had passed since the divorce and she refused to let any remaining clouds dampen the excitement for her friend. Every woman went into marriage praying it would last forever. A woman had that right, didn’t she?
Once she’d been shown to her room and had unpacked, Raina went back downstairs for directions to the nearest pharmacy for headache medicine. The concierge told her there was a convenience store in the next block many of the American tourists frequented.
Raina thanked him and made her way down the street.
* * *
Akis Giannopoulos smiled at his best friend. “Are you ready to take the big plunge?”
Theo grinned. “You already know the answer to that question. If I’d had my way, I would have kidnapped Chloe and married her in private several months ago. But her mother and mine have had an agenda since the engagement. Wouldn’t you know the guest list includes a cast of thousands?”
“You’re a lucky man.” Akis was happy for him. Theo and Chloe seemed to be a perfect match. “Can I do any last-minute service for you before you become a married man?”
“You did more than enough helping me make all the hotel arrangements for our out-of-town guests. I suggest you go back to the penthouse. I need my best man relaxed before the big day tomorrow. Will your brother be there?”
“Vasso phoned me earlier. He’ll make it to the wedding, but then he has to get back to the grand opening so he’ll miss the reception.”
“Understood. So, I’ll see you at the church in the morning?”
Akis hugged him. “Try to keep me away.”
The two men had been friends for a long time. Naturally Akis was thrilled for Theo, but he was surprised to discover just how much he would miss the camaraderie they’d shared as bachelors. Having done so many things together, Akis was feeling a real sense of loss.
Theo’s life would now be swept up with Chloe’s. Falling in love with her had changed his friend. He was excited for this marriage. Akis marveled that Theo wanted it so much.
How could he feel so certain that marrying Chloe was the right thing for him?
Marriage meant a lifelong commitment. The woman would have to be so sensational. Akis couldn’t fathom finding such a woman.
Aware he was in a despondent mood that wasn’t like him, he left the bank Theo’s family had owned for several decades and decided to walk to the penthouse in order to shake it off. After the wedding rehearsal that had taken place this morning, exercise was what he needed.
Tourists had flooded into Athens. He saw every kind and description as he made his way to the Giannopoulos complex. After turning a corner, he almost bumped into a beautiful female in a T-shirt and jeans coming in his direction.
“Me seen xo rees, thespinis,” he apologized, getting out of her way just in time.
She murmured something he didn’t quite hear. For a moment their eyes locked. He felt like he’d suddenly come in contact with an electric current. She must have felt it, too, because he saw little bursts of violet coming from those velvety depths before she walked on. By the way she moved, she had a definite destination in mind. The last thing he saw was her blondish-red hair gleaming in the sun before she rounded the corner behind him.
* * *
Raina slowed down, shocked by what had just happened. Maybe it was her bad headache that had caused her to almost walk into the most gorgeous male she’d ever seen in her life. Not in her wildest dreams could she have conjured such a man.
She needed medicine fast!
Luckily the sign for the convenience store was in Greek and English. Alpha/Omega 24. Translation—everything from A to Z. That was a clever name for the store. Its interior looked like “everywhere USA.” There was a caution sign saying Wet Floor in both languages as you walked in.
She tiptoed over the newly mopped floor in her sandals to the counter. The male clerk, probably college age, helped her find the over-the-counter medicine section for headaches.
After picking it out plus a bottle of water, she followed him back to the counter to pay for the items with some euros. While she waited, she opened the water and took two pills. On her way out, the clerk asked her where she was staying. Raina told him she was just passing through and started for the exit. But somehow, she didn’t know how, she slipped and fell.
“Whoa—” Pain radiated from her ankle. The clerk rushed from behind the counter to help her get up. When she tried to stand, it really hurt. Hopefully the medicine would help tamp down the pain.
He hurried into a back room and brought out a chair so she could sit down. “I’m calling the hospital.”
“I don’t think there’s a need for that.”
He ignored her. “This is the store’s fault. You stay there.”
She felt the fool sitting there while there were customers coming in and out. The other clerk who’d mopped the floor waited on them. In a few minutes an ambulance drove up in front. By then she’d answered a few questions the clerk had asked in order to fill out an incident form.
Because she was incognito, she gave her grandmother’s name with her information so no one would pick up on her name. To her dismay there was a small crowd standing around as she was helped outside. Great! Exactly what she didn’t want.
“Thank you,” she said to the clerk before being helped into the back by one of the attendants. “You’ve been very kind and I appreciate it.”
Two hours later her sprain had been wrapped. She needed to put ice on it and elevate her leg to cut down the swelling. The ER doctor fitted her with crutches and sent them with her in the taxi, letting her know the bill would be taken care of by the store where she’d fallen.
After the wedding reception, Raina would make certain her insurance company would reimburse the store. After all, the accident was her fault.
For the time being, she needed to lie down and call room service for her meals and ice. How crazy was it that she would have to go to the reception tomorrow evening on crutches. No matter what, she refused to miss her dear friend’s celebration.
After flying all this way, how even crazier was it that all she could think about was the man she’d come close to colliding with earlier in the day. She’d never experienced anything like that before. The streets of Athens were crowded with hundreds of people. How was it that one man could rob her of breath just looking at him?
* * *
With a champagne glass in hand, Akis stood at the head table to toast the bride and groom. “It was a great honor Theo Chiotis bestowed on me when he asked me to be his best man. No man has had a better friend.” Except for Vasso, of course. “After meeting and getting to know Chloe, I can say without reservation that no man could have married a sweeter woman. To Theo and Chloe. May you always be as happy as you are today.”
After the crowd applauded, other friends of the bridal couple made their toasts. Akis was thankful his part in the long wedding-day festivities was officially over. When he felt a decent interval of time had passed, he would slip out of the luxurious Grand Bretagne Hotel ballroom unnoticed and leave for the penthouse.
To love a woman enough to