Page 28 of Husband for the Holidays

Konstantin had asked his assistant to track down the retired trustee, Cyrus, but discreetly, so it was taking time.

The car stopped in front of a quiet fountain. A butler hurried out with an umbrella, even though the rain was barely spitting.

Konstantin came around and took it, tempted to set his hand in Eloise’s lower back, but he couldn’t trust himself to keep his touch bolstering rather than a caress of appreciation. He was determined to be her bodyguard right now. Her wingman. Nothing more.

But he’d always found her naturally attractive with her eyes looking green in some light and gold in others. Her features had lovely symmetry and the corners of her mouth tilted upward in an appealing way, even when she was somber, as she was now.

When he’d entered the shop a short while ago, he’d been spellbound by her. Her mood had been light, her pose cheeky. She’d been carefree and so beautiful he’d instantly been awash in want.

Goddid he want her. He’d spent the hours apart from her trying not to think of the way she’d reached for him this morning, only to shudder with orgasm. He’d barely touched her! It was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced and he damned well wanted more. He’d been fighting that craving, but as they’d stood in the shop, he hadn’t been able to resist asking whom she had been dreaming of.

Her look of guilt had punched straight into his groin. He’d nearly shouted to clear the store so he could take her right then and there. His desire for her had been so obvious the stylist had recognized it in an instant and tried to excuse herself.

Pay attention, he ordered himself as they entered a foyer where a curved staircase swept to the upper floor and a domed ceiling held a sparkling chandelier.

“Eloise!” Lilja rushed toward them from a door to their left. She barely glanced at him, too anxious to embrace her daughter.

Lilja was a little taller than Eloise, but not much. Her blond hair had turned to silver since Konstantin had seen her last, but otherwise she was the same classic beauty she had always been. She was slender and elegant and closed her eyes as she held onto Eloise and drew in a savoring breath.

“I’vemissedyou.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Mom. But—” Eloise rubbed her mother’s back “—did you see who I brought with me?”

“Hmm? Oh, I presumed this was your driver.Konstantin!” Lilja laughed into her hand. “I’m so sorry. Goodness, look at you!” She set her light hands on his arms and offered her cheeks for his kiss.

“I’ve been called worse,” he said with genuine amusement. “How are you, Lilja? When Eloise told me she was seeing you, I insisted on coming along.”

“I’m so glad,” she said with misty sincerity, but sent a disconcerted look toward the door she’d come through. “You’ll stay for lunch, of course. Tell the kitchen we’re five, please, Marcel,” she said to the hovering butler before looping her arm through both of theirs. “Come say hello. Have you met my husband, Konstantin? I don’t think so.”

Her smile seemed forced as she escorted them into a high-ceilinged parlor where the view beyond the windows looked to the horizon of the Med.

A pair of men rose from their armchairs. One was white-haired and slightly paunchy beneath his bespoke suit. The other was closer to Konstantin’s age, clean-shaven and might be called boyishly handsome. He struck Konstantin as cocksure in his trendy plaid trousers, his thick cardigan pushed up to his elbows and his button shirt open at his throat.

Both men eyed him with keen yet somewhat hostile interest.

“Antoine, you’ll never guess who Eloise has brought with her today.”

“I’m sure I won’t since I didn’t expect her to bring anyone.” There was a subtle edge to Antoine’s tone that Konstantin immediately disliked.

“It’s nice to see you,” Eloise said weakly, stepping away from Lilja and moving so her stepfather could kiss her cheeks. “This is Konstantin Galanis. He was one of Ilias’s closest friends. I’m sure Mom must have mentioned him.”

She stepped aside so Konstantin could shake Antoine’s hand. They took each other’s measure with one succinct pump.

“Edoardo Ricci is also a good friend of the family,” Lilja said.

The other man stepped forward. “It’s so good to see you again, Eloise.” Edoardo’s hands came up as though to take hold of Eloise’s upper arms.

Her recoil was only slight, but Konstantin reacted reflexively. He locked his arm across her back and splayed possessive fingers on her hip, tucking her into his side.

Edoardo’s expression blanked. He dropped his hands and offered Konstantin a limp shake with a weak, “KýrieGalanis. I’m familiar with your name and organization. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Konstantin nodded, always willing to let silence do his talking.

For a stalled moment, there was only the crackle of the fire in the fireplace and the imagined crackle of animosity coming off Antoine toward him.

“Sit. Tell us how you came to deliver Eloise to us today,” Antoine invited, then waved his empty glass at the butler. “More cognac. Mimosas for the girls.”

Konstantin waited while Eloise sat on the sofa before he lowered beside her. He hitched his pant leg as he crossed his legs and extended his arm along the back of the sofa behind her, angling himself more to Lilja than his host. Deliberately.

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