THERE HAD BEEN so much to see.
And they’d hardly covered much of the Mediterranean island, even though they’d set off first thing in the morning. It was now late in the day.
They’d joined a guided tour that took them to one of the island’s picturesque beaches. They didn’t tarry long as they moved on to the Royal Palace, also known as the Museum of Asian Art, with its stunning collection of artifacts from China, Japan and India.
From there they’d visited Corfu’s old town, with its narrow roads and older homes. It was like an archaeological treasure trove.
And Stasia’s feet were sore from all of the walking. “That was beautiful.”
“Yes, you are.” Roberto smiled at her.
Stasia couldn’t help but laugh at his very obvious flirting. He had been the perfect date today. He’d been fun, distracting, and most of all, he hadn’t treated her like she was fragile, like her brother and friends did. While touring Corfu, she hadn’t thought about all the things that had been weighing on her mind. The museum was interesting and the artifacts were definitely worth a closer look.
But now with evening approaching, they boarded the ship with the other tourists. Stasia was exhausted from all the walking, but she didn’t regret a moment of it. Who knew Roberto had such a relaxed side to him? In his short sleeves and khaki shorts, he looked like a laid-back tourist. At this particular moment, he was the exact opposite of the serious businessman who she’d gotten to know over the years.
Once on the deck, Stasia moved off to the side and turned to Roberto. “Thank you for today.”
He was still smiling. “So you’re not mad that I practically twisted your arm to go?”
“Not at all.” And just so he knew she meant it, she lifted up on her tiptoes to give him a hug.
At first, he didn’t move. And she wondered if she’d overstepped in their friendship. But then his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. She breathed in his masculine scent mixed with a light whiff of spicy cologne. She longed to lean in closer to inhale the intoxicating combination—
“Hello, Roberto.”
The woman’s voice had Stasia jerking back out of his embrace. Heat swirled in her chest and raced to her cheeks as she turned to face the person. The older woman’s silver hair was trimmed short and not a strand was out of place. Diamond earrings adorned her ears. And her face was made up. But it was her gray-blue eyes that caught and held Stasia’s attention. They were the exact same shade as Roberto’s. She didn’t have to be told. This was his grandmother.
“Yaya, what are you doing here?” Roberto asked.
“Why, dear, this is a ship. And I was out for a stroll.” Her gaze moved between him and Stasia. “Maybe I should be asking the questions. What is going on here? You have a dinner date with Marissa.”
“We already ate while we were ashore,” Roberto said.
His grandmother’s eyes darkened. “You knew you had obligations.”
Stasia couldn’t believe his grandmother was really going to push her agenda, even in front of her. Stasia’s heart went out to Roberto. At least Xander wasn’t pushing her into some man’s arms to get her out of his hair. In fact, Xander would probably do the opposite and keep her away from any men.
But she just couldn’t stand there and let Roberto’s grandmother push him to do things he didn’t want to do. And he loved his grandmother too much to stand up to her and cause a rift. So that left Stasia. She could fix this problem. But did she dare?
Catching sight of a beautiful woman headed in their direction with her gaze set on Roberto, Stasia slipped her hand in his. Roberto turned a surprised look at Stasia.
“You might as well go ahead and tell your grandmother,” Stasia said.
“Tell me what?” His grandmother’s gaze moved between the two of them.
Roberto’s eyes reflected his confusion. He stared deep into Stasia’s eyes, searching for answers. She hadn’t thought this was going to be so stunning for him. Perhaps she needed to help him a bit.
“Go ahead and tell her about us.” Was it her imagination or had his complexion lost a bit of its color?
He shook his head. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Roberto, tell me what is going on,” his grandmother demanded.
Roberto was still staring into Stasia’s eyes. “You’re sure about this?”
She sent him a reassuring smile and nodded.
He turned to his grandmother. “Stasia and I are involved.”
“You are a couple?” His grandmother’s gaze narrowed. When they both reluctantly nodded, his grandmother asked, “Then why did you tell me that you weren’t involved when I asked before?”
Stasia tightened her grip on his hand, sensing the tension coursing through his grandmother’s inquisition. Stasia had never done anything like this before, but she’d never met anyone quite so pushy. What was Roberto going to tell the woman?
Roberto cleared his throat. “Stasia is my friend’s sister. I don’t think Xander will be happy to know we’re involved. In fact, I’m quite certain he’ll be anything but happy. So, you see, it’s for the best that we keep this quiet.”
The beautiful young woman stepped up next to Roberto’s grandmother. “Is it time?”
“Not now, dear.” Roberto’s grandmother never took her gaze off Stasia and Roberto long enough to look at the young woman. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
The young woman frowned. “But I thought—”
“I’ll explain later. Now go.” His grandmother’s voice brooked no room for argument.
With a dark look at Stasia, the young woman turned on her stilettos and strode away. It was then that Stasia wondered if she’d helped or hindered Roberto. After all, that young lady was amazingly beautiful.
The older woman’s eyes held a glint of skepticism. She narrowed her view in on Stasia. “Is this true? Are you seeing my grandson?”
“Yes.”
“Hmpf...” The woman’s gaze moved from her to Roberto. “We’ll talk more about this later.” And with that, his grandmother strode away.
When the woman was out of earshot, Stasia asked, “Do you think she believed me?”
“I don’t know. It’s tough to get anything past her.”
“I feel bad about deceiving her.”
“So do I, but it wouldn’t be necessary if she’d give up on trying to find me a wife.” His gaze met hers. “She isn’t the only one to worry about. If your brother finds out, he truly isn’t going to be happy.”
“You’re right. If he ever found out, he would be furious with both of us. He can be so protective. Did you know that when I got married we had to elope because Xander didn’t approve of Lukos?”
Now, why had she gone and dredged up that memory? Perhaps because Lukos was such a big part of her life and pretending otherwise was impossible.
Their wedding had been simple but romantic in a small rustic chapel in the rolling hills of Tuscany. She’d worn a simple white dress while holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Lukos had worn a dark suit and tie while wearing a huge smile that lit up the whole world. Stasia stifled a resigned sigh.
She should have known then that something was wrong with him. But she explained away his symptoms as being stress over fighting with her brother and then the wedding. How was she supposed to have known—known that he was dying? Still, she should have suspected that it was something more.
Stasia drew in an unsteady breath as she slammed the door on her memories. And the pain, she tucked away deep inside her heart.
Roberto studied her with a frown on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I... I’m fine.” She said the words, trying to convince herself as much as him. “It’s just sometimes I wish I could go back and do things differently.”
“I knew back then there was some trouble between you and Xander. I just didn’t know the details.”
“Xander later apologized, saying he’d misjudged Lukos. But in the beginning, you could slice the tension in the room with a knife.” She shook her head, chasing away the unhappy memories. “I know Xander loves me and only wants the best for me, but I wish he’d trust me to figure that out on my own. My whole life, it’s felt like he’s been smothering me with his overprotectiveness. He’d scare off the guys when I was in school. I used to have to sneak around to date.”
“As I recall, you did some butting into his romance with Lea.”
Roberto was right, but she’d had her reasons. “That was different. He didn’t even know her all that long and all of a sudden he’s moving to Infinity Island.”
“He didn’t move there in the beginning—”
“It sure seemed like it. How was I to know if Lea was telling the truth about being pregnant? And it being his child?”
“But it wasn’t up to you to know the truth. That was his situation to settle for himself.”
Stasia frowned. Roberto was right. She had done exactly what she’d accused her brother of doing—butting in. “So, what do we do about Xander?”
“We don’t tell him about our little shipboard arrangement.”
“I don’t want to lie to him.”
“You won’t be. It’s not like we’re actually involved. What my grandmother makes up in her own mind is all up to her.”
Stasia’s mind was still stuck on them pretending to be romantically involved and what all that would entail. “We’ll be a couple for the voyage and then what?”
“We break up. It isn’t that far-fetched. Couples do it all of the time.”
“But why would we break up?” She was having a hard time imagining why any woman would walk away from Roberto.
“I work too much. I’m too much of a neat freak. I’m no fun.”
“As for the first one, that could be changed with enough encouragement.” She smiled at him.
He smiled back. “Perhaps with the right person.”
As he continued to look directly at her, her heart raced. Surely he didn’t mean she was the right person. Of course not. Right?
She averted her gaze. It was the only way she could string words together. “As for the second reason, I admire a man who cleans up after himself.”
“Oh, so that’s a positive quality.”
“Very much so.” She was having fun with the flirty banter. It’d been so long since she’d felt like a desirable woman and not like a nursemaid or a fragile widow. “As for the last reason, well, that is obviously not true. I had a lot of fun today. And I’m looking forward to more excursions.”
“I must admit that when I first suggested the tour of Corfu, I wasn’t so sure about it. You’re the one who made it fun.”
“I think we made it entertaining together. So when do we arrive in Venice?”
“Not for a few days.”
And then she came to a stop outside her cabin. “Can you believe I’ve never been to Venice?”
“Really? I would have thought you’d have visited the beautiful city at least once.”
“I’ve always meant to. But for one reason or another, I’ve never been there.”
He smiled at her. “I’m honored that your first visit will be with me.”
She gazed into his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. Again, she was swept up in the desire to lift up on her tiptoes, press her hands to his broad shoulders and touch her lips to his. Stasia stifled a sigh.
At the very least, it would be nice to invite him into her cabin for a nightcap. She knew what would happen if she did. This pretend relationship would take on a very real tone. And she knew that would not only jeopardize Roberto’s relationship with Xander, but it would also gravely injure her brother-sister relationship. That was a lot to risk for a shipboard romance that would end as soon as they returned to Athens.
Left with no reasonable option to prolong their time together, her gaze lifted to his. “Good night.”
“Night.”
She remained right there in her doorway as he turned and walked away. Her gaze lingered on him. He looked just as fine going as he did coming. Mighty fine indeed.