Stergios’s head snapped back. No one discussed Elias Pagonis in this house. In front of him. No one. Stergios had shed his father’s name years ago but he couldn’t rid himself of the memories and the damage Pagonis had created.
Jodie took a step closer as if she wasn’t aware of the emotional grenade she’d just lobbed. “Mairi and my father have been married for ten years and they have grown fond of each other. Is it really outside the realm of possibility that my father can grow to love his only child?”
Stergios struggled to focus as old anger swelled inside him. He wouldn’t allow Jodie to distract him with the mention of Pagonis. “Are you going to buy Gregory’s love with your inheritance and hope it becomes the real thing one day?”
“Do you think that’s the only way I can get love? By paying for it?”
Stergios heard the crack in her voice and the weak sound pulled at him. “Be careful with this plan,” he said roughly as he fought for control over his emotions. “You’ll soon run out of money. And when that happens, Gregory will have no use for you.”
“Why are you giving me advice, Stergios? I can’t believe it’s from the goodness of your black, withered heart. If my father loses interest in me, that will suit your purposes.”
“Because I don’t believe that’s why you’re here.” Rejection was the one thing Jodie Little couldn’t excuse. “You can’t accept that Gregory got rid of you.”
“He didn’t get rid of me.” She leaned forward and he noticed the suspicious moisture in her blue eyes. “He had to make a choice between his wife and his daughter.”
“And he’ll make the same choice over and over again.” Stergios almost missed the flicker of pain before she blinked. “You have money now but it’s nothing compared to what we have. We have more money, influence and power. You can’t compete.”
“I’m not trying to take him away from your mother.” Her voice was rough with annoyance.
“Oxi, it’s worse. You’re trying to become part of this family.” He viewed her plan as an invasion and he would use all of his resources to prevent that. “Do you actually believe we’re going to lower our guard and let you in?”
“No, of course not. It didn’t happen before. Why should it now?” She shook her head as if she was suddenly weary. “I am not the enemy, Stergios. I don’t have the power to hurt anyone.”
Stergios wanted to scoff at that declaration. “I disagree. I’ve seen the damage you cause without even trying.”
Jodie set her mouth into a grim line. “Don’t put all the blame on me.”
“You have always been trouble.” He raked his hand through his hair. “If you weren’t causing me headaches, you were destroying everything important to me. I can’t have you anywhere near Dimos’s wedding.”
Jodie stared at him silently for a moment before she raised her chin. “Sorry to hear nothing is going your way, Stergios,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You better get used to it while I’m around.”
The woman didn’t understand, Stergios decided. His gaze rested on the sway of her hips as she strutted to the music room. Jodie assumed he played fair but when it came to protecting his family, he wasn’t constrained by a gentleman’s code of conduct. He had learned early in life what it took to fight to the death. He followed the law of the jungle and always won. Always.
Stergios wandered into the music room a few minutes later. It had taken some time to purge the thought of Pagonis and rein in his emotions. Jodie had hit her mark and it appeared she had done so without any strategy. It was as though she could see through him however much he tried to dissemble.
He stood by the door as he watched one of the guests, yet another heiress and family friend, play his mother’s favorite sonata on the piano. Everyone seemed spellbound by the display of technical precision but the music didn’t reach him. Rarely did anything pierce through his armor these days. Just Jodie Little. Stergios frowned at that troubling thought.
“Stergios?” He turned and saw Zoi Volakis. He wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there. She was a petite woman with dramatic features who dressed just like every other female in his social circle. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What exactly is Jodie to this family?”
“She is Gregory’s daughter from his first marriage,” Stergios answered. He refused to say she was part of the family. Legally she was a relative but her actions proved otherwise. She wouldn’t think twice about destroying his family.
“She doesn’t look anything like him,” Zoi decided. “And they act like strangers.”
So he wasn’t the only one who noticed that. “They’re Americans. New Yorkers.”
She gave a wry chuckle. “That must explain it. How long does Jodie plan to stay?”
Her casual tone hit a wrong note and Stergios went on alert. “She hasn’t said. Why?”
Zoi hesitated, as if she was reluctant to say anything. “Jodie is very close to Dimos.”
He looked around the music room for his cousin. Frustration and something dark and dangerous bloomed inside him when he saw Dimos and Jodie standing by the windows, apart from the other guests. “They grew up as cousins in the same house.”
Stergios recognized Dimos’s awestruck look. He had seen that expression on his cousin’s face in a picture four years ago. Mairi had sent him a picture of a family event when he had been working on an assignment overseas. It was more than infatuation. He had known at that moment that Dimos wanted to claim Jodie.
And Stergios returned home immediately after seeing that picture. He had done everything in his power to keep Dimos and Jodie from getting together. Stergios could tell himself it was to protect the merger but there had been darker, more primal reasons he hadn’t wanted to explore.
“Is there anything I should know?” Zoi asked.
“No, of course not,” Stergios replied smoothly. “Dimos wants to marry you.”
She nodded her head but she didn’t appear relieved by his answer. “Dimos and I do not have a love match, but I take this commitment seriously,” Zoi said. “I’m getting married because it’s my duty to my family.”
Stergios tensed when he heard the warning underneath Zoi’s polite tone. He didn’t need this. Not now. “Dimos knows how important this merger is for both our families.”
“Good, but I am not as self-sacrificing as you may think.” She cast another glance in Dimos’s direction before she lifted her chin with injured pride. “I had tolerated the delays and setbacks before we got engaged, but I will not be humiliated by my husband’s wandering eye.”
Stergios gritted his teeth as he watched Zoi walk out of the music room. They were so close to getting this merger settled but it could all fall apart in the next few days. He took part of the blame. He had pushed Jodie too far and had hurt her feelings. She retaliated the only way she knew how.
He strode toward his cousin and Jodie. They seemed to be in a world of their own with their heads tilted close to each other. Dimos must have caught a glimpse of him. His forehead was creased with worry as he cautiously approached Stergios. “What’s wrong?”
“Stay away from Jodie,” he warned in a low, fierce tone.
Dimos flushed as he glowered at him. “Why? You can hate her all you want but—”
“She isn’t going to share her body or her bed with you.” Stergios watched with satisfaction as Jodie slipped out of the music room and hurried to the grand staircase. She wouldn’t be a concern for the rest of the night.
His cousin continued to splutter with outrage. “What the—”
“She’s leading