Xander had his hand in this. She was certain of it. Her brother couldn’t even send her off on a cruise for a birthday gift without feeling the need to send along someone to keep an eye on her.
“What’s Roberto doing here?”
“What?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” She was angry. This was too much. “I’m looking right at him.”
“I bet he’s probably flirting with some beautiful young woman.”
“How did you know?”
“Because that’s Roberto. He’s a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy. If any woman is foolish enough to think he’ll commit himself to her, she’ll just end up getting hurt. But as far as a friend, they don’t come any better than him.”
“Xander, I want to know what he’s doing on this cruise.”
Xander’s voice was muffled as though he had his hand over the phone. “Okay. I’m coming.” He spoke back into the phone. “Sorry, sis. I’ve got to go. Lea needs me.”
“Xander?”
And with that, the phone went dead.
Stasia inwardly groaned in frustration. What had her brother done? Enough was enough. And she wasn’t going to play his game, whatever it was.
This ship was big—big enough for her to avoid Roberto. Which was a shame because she’d always liked Roberto. Even when they were growing up, he’d been kind and thoughtful. And now as an adult, he was the most amazing eye candy. She hadn’t known it was possible for a man to look that good in a suit.
But if he was here to babysit her, then she didn’t have time for him. Stasia turned her back to him and walked in the opposite direction. Wherever he was, she would not be.
* * *
This was the absolute last place in the world he wanted to be.
Why couldn’t a work emergency have come up?
Ding.
Roberto Carrass checked his phone for the ninth time in less than five minutes. The emails were stacking up, each one more important than the last. He didn’t have time for a vacation. There was work to be done.
His fingers moved fluidly over the face of his phone. He composed a response to his assistant about a pending acquisition.
Ding. Ding.
Now that he was a full partner with Xander, their business was taking off. There were no more delays, waiting on approvals. When he spotted a good deal, he could move on it—if he wasn’t stuck on a two-week cruise with his big Greek family.
Roberto sighed, louder than he’d intended. His phone was not the best way to deal with emails. He really needed to go to his cabin and work on his laptop.
His grandmother elbowed him. “Would you put that contraption away?”
“Yaya, it’s a cell phone.” With great reluctance, he slipped it in his pocket. “And if you would quit being so stubborn, I would get you one. They aren’t that hard to use.”
She lifted her chin. “I already have a perfectly good phone at home. I don’t need one when I’m out and about. Whatever people want can wait until I get home. Now stop frowning. We’re here to have fun.” His grandmother smiled brightly. It was so hard to believe she was about to have her eightieth birthday. Most of the time, she acted half her age or younger.
“I’m going to get myself a drink.”
Yaya arched a penciled brow. “Don’t hide in some corner. Or worse, go to your cabin to work. This is a vacation. Look at all these lovely ladies. I’m sure you’ll find someone to spend your time with.”
While wearing a forced smile, he inwardly groaned. He was in so much trouble. They’d just pulled out of the dock and they were to be at sea for two weeks—two weeks of matchmaking torture.
“Yaya, I’m fine. I don’t need to find someone to spend time with.”
His grandmother’s gaze narrowed. “Roberto, is there something you haven’t told me?”
“Yaya, I—” And then out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a young woman he recognized. “I need to go say hello to someone.”
The worry lines on his grandmother’s face eased. “Don’t let me hold you up. I need to go check on your grandfather.”
There was something in the tone of his grandmother’s voice that caught his attention. “Is he feeling all right?”
His grandmother didn’t say anything at first. “I shouldn’t say anything.”
“It’s me. No matter how much he and I argue, I still care. Surely you know that.”
“I wish things were different between you two.” She sighed. “I don’t know what is going on. He won’t talk about it. Every time I bring it up, he tells me not to worry.”
“But you’re still worried?”
She nodded. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
“Don’t worry.” He gave her a brief hug. “I’m sure if it’s serious, he’ll talk to you about it.”
“Maybe you could speak to him.” Her hopeful gaze implored him.
Roberto gave a quick shake of his head. “I don’t think so. It’ll just lead to another argument—”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. It doesn’t matter the subject—eventually it leads back to me abandoning both the company and him. Then an argument ensues.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you two make peace?”
“Tell him. Not me.”
She sighed. “I just wish... Oh, never mind. Go mingle.”
She didn’t have to finish her thought. He knew what she wished—that he was still working with his grandfather. That there was peace in their family.
He leaned over and placed a kiss on his grandmother’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
Yaya patted his arm and smiled before she headed off in the opposite direction.
As Roberto walked away, he couldn’t stop thinking about his grandparents. They were getting on in years. Was his grandfather doing too much?
This was his grandfather. Obviously he was doing too much. And the look on his grandmother’s face said she was more concerned than she let on. With his complicated relationship with his grandfather, he wasn’t sure what he could do to help, but for his grandmother’s sake, he’d give it some thought.
Roberto didn’t waste any time making his way across the deck toward the open-air bar where he’d caught sight of someone who looked quite familiar. Still, the day was quite beautiful with a clear blue sky, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. Even if he didn’t catch up with someone he knew, he might grab a cool drink and find a quiet spot to return a phone call or two before they got too far out to sea and the connection became spotty. He’d been so busy helping Xander spin off a new arm of his real-estate empire, as well as relocating the headquarters to Infinity Island, that he’d forgotten what it was like to have free time. He could once again have a social life.
Roberto intended to stick with his bachelor status—even if some incorrectly labeled him a playboy. But he couldn’t deny his preference for no-strings-attached flings. He didn’t have a lot of them, but he wasn’t exactly a hermit either.
His bachelor status didn’t please his grandparents, who thought he was the age to settle down with a family. All his life there had been expectations set for him. It started back when he