She should have known it’d come round to this. “I can’t. I have a job to do.”
“But we’re going to lose our home.” There was an awkward pause. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m all alone.”
“Don’t worry.” Kyra may not agree with everything her mother said and did, but she still loved her. And her mother didn’t deserve to lose her home—no one did. “You won’t lose your home. I’ll help you.”
Kyra, realizing that she’d said too much in front of Cristo, wound up the phone conversation. She promised to call her mother back soon.
Not sure how much Cristo had overheard, her body tensed. Her mother always did have the most amazing timing. Still, there was no undoing what had been done.
She turned to him. He was staring at her with questions reflected in his eyes. She couldn’t blame him. If the roles had been reversed, she would have been curious, as well. “Sorry. That was my mother.”
“I take it there’s a problem.”
Kyra really didn’t want to get into this with him. “There is, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.”
He arched a dark brow. “Are you sure about that? I mean, if you have to leave Greece, it’s best that we end our arrangement now—”
“No. That won’t be necessary.” And she didn’t add that the money he’d been willing to pay her for her time would be a huge help with her mother’s plight. Her doubts about whether she really wanted to move forward with this plan had just been overturned. She owed this to her mother. “I’m all yours—so to speak.”
KYRA WAS ALL HIS.
Cristo couldn’t deny that he liked the sound of those words. In fact, that wasn’t the only thing he could imagine passing by that tempting mouth.
Cristo gave himself a mental shake. What was he doing daydreaming about this woman? He knew better than to think of romance. He’d witnessed firsthand what happened when the romance turned cold. His parents were like the king and queen of Frostville. He got frostbite every time they were in the same room. He refused to end up unhappy like them.
Cristo cleared his throat. “Maybe we should start this relationship over.” He held out his hand to her. “Hi. I’m Cristo.”
She slipped her slender hand in his. He immediately noticed the coolness of her skin. She was undeniably nervous. That was good because he was, too.
Her fingers tightened around his hand. “Hi. My name’s Kyra. I have the feeling this is going to be quite an adventure.”
He had the same feeling but for other reasons, none that he wanted to delve into at the moment. “Let me know whatever you’ll need to make this arrangement as pleasant as possible.”
As she pulled her hand away, surprise reflected in her eyes. “You make it sound like I’ve just released the genie from the magic lantern.”
“Not exactly. But I do want you to be comfortable during our time together.” Cristo knew how thorough Stravos was with his background checks of potential business associates. “I need this engagement to be as authentic as possible. Don’t spare any detail or expense.”
“What expense?”
“For our wedding.”
“You’re serious? You really want me to plan a wedding that’s never going to happen?”
He nodded. “You have no idea what type of man I’m dealing with. Nikolaos Stravos is sharp and thorough.”
“But if people know about this engagement, how are you going to explain it when we break up?”
“I thought about it and we’ll handle it just like everyone else who calls off their wedding. We’ll tell people it’s an amicable split and we’d appreciate everyone respecting our privacy during this difficult time.”
“That may be fine for the public but not for close friends and relatives.”
“I’ve thought of that, too.” He smiled, liking having all of the answers. “We’ll tell them we couldn’t agree on kids. You want a couple and I want none.”
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “It’s a legitimate reason with no associated scandal. We won’t be the first couple to break up over the subject.”
She paused as though giving the subject serious consideration. “I suppose it’ll work.”
He cleared his throat. “It’s the truth, at least partially. I’m too busy for a family.” That wasn’t the only reason he’d written off being a father, but it was all he was willing to share at the moment. “If we’re going to do this, we have to make the relationship authentic to hold up under scrutiny. Starting with you moving in here.”
“But...but I can’t. I told you I’m not sleeping with you.”
“And I don’t expect you to. But if people are supposed to believe we’re getting married, then they’ll expect us to be intimate.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up his hand silencing her. “We only have to give people the impression. Nothing more. Is that going to be a problem?”
Her worried gaze met his. He couldn’t blame her for hesitating. He knew he was asking a lot of her. But he was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. She’d been a really good sport, until now.
He had to give her an out. He owed her that much. “It’s okay if you want to back out. I will totally understand.”
For a moment, he thought she had indeed changed her mind—that she was going to head for the door and never look back. His body tensed. He didn’t have a plan B. He’d only devised this plan, such as it was, on the spur of the moment.
When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly calm and held a note of certainty. “You’re right. People will grow suspicious if we don’t act like a normal engaged couple. But won’t people talk about me being a maid?”
He shook his head. “You’ve only been on the job for two days, and I’m guessing you haven’t met many guests.”
“No. Not really.”
“Good. I wouldn’t worry.” She glanced around the suite as though trying to decide how they would coexist. He could ease her mind. “Don’t worry. There’s a guest room with a lock on the door. But I’m sure you probably already know that.”
She nodded. “When do you want me to move in?”
“Now. I’ll send someone to gather your stuff. It’ll be less obvious if you aren’t lugging around your suitcases. Are you staying in the employee accommodations?”
She gave him the unit number. “But I...I need to tell my friend.”
“Remember, this arrangement has to be kept strictly between us. You can’t tell anyone about it or it’ll never work. Nikolaos Stravos has contacts everywhere.”
“Understood.”
“Good. You stay here and I’ll have your luggage delivered to you.” Her mouth opened, then closed. “Is there a problem?”
She shook her head. “I’ll have Sofia toss my things together.”
“Good. Because we have big plans tonight.”
* * *
Was this really happening?
Dressed in a maroon designer dress from the overpriced boutique in the lobby, Kyra held on to Cristo’s arm.