Page 53 of Husband for the Holidays

“Then he should say that, shouldn’t he?” Konstantin was no longer the lover she’d been pre-honeymooning with on Crete. He was crisp-voiced and hardened as he changed into a suit of charcoal armor.

“I was thinking of booking a massage after my fitting.” She’d had a limited selection for wedding outfits since she was marrying so quickly, but Ghaliya had found her an elegant skirt suit that only needed a tuck and hemming. The seamstress would be here soon. “I could ask for a his-and-hers session this afternoon?”

“No. I hate people touching me.”

She blinked, shocked as much by his blunt, vehement tone as the words.

He checked himself and a curl of irony arrived on the line of his stern mouth.

“I mean strangers, obviously. I’m addicted to your touch.” He came across to set a hand on her hip and drop a tender kiss on her mouth. “I have meetings with Nemo all day, anyway. Book something for yourself if you want to.”

“Maybe I can talk Mom into joining me at a spa for a few hours. I don’t know how else to pry Antoine away from her.” He was like a lamprey.

“I’ll send the car back so it’s here for you if you decide to go out.”

“Thank you.”

Konstantin left and Eloise sighed in loss, finding this return to reality very jarring. Life was so much simpler when they made love, then made coffee. He worked off his laptop while she played piano. Maybe they walked after lunch or drove around the island before returning home to make love again. It had been bliss.

It had been impossible to have doubts about their future when she was with him all the time, drinking in his attention and affection.

She called her mother and wasn’t surprised when the call was not picked up. She texted her an invitation to the spa and received a reply that had to be from Antoine.

Going to the bank today.

To get the ring from Petros? Eloise wondered. She could only imagine how that was sitting with Antoine.

Purely to let him know she wasn’t fooled, she texted back.

Are you taking her or are you meeting with Konstantin?

He left her on Read, the jerk. He probably deleted it on that end, too, so her mother wouldn’t see it. Eloise had lost her ability to give him the benefit of the doubt and was starting to think she would have to have a more serious chat with her mother.

What a dreadful thought. She’d wait until the wedding was out of the way, she decided. Not only would her mother have that happy memory, but Eloise would feel more secure in her own position and ability to support her.

The seamstress arrived and Eloise was tied up for the next hour. She was about to settle in for a relaxing hour of playing piano when Konstantin called to snap, “The car is waiting downstairs for you. I need you to meet me at your mother’s.”

“Is she okay? I thought Antoine was taking her to the bank.”

“They’re going to thebank? When? Which one?” He swore and told someone to, “Get that notice to all of those institutions. Immediately. I’m sure your mother is fine,” he told Eloise, but his voice was steely and cold. “I’ll find out where they’re going and have the car bring you to me there. Leave as soon as you can.”

“O—” he’d already hung up “—kay.”

What on earth had he found out?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KONSTANTIN’SINNERWARRIORwas already agitated. Seeing Eloise enter the lobby of the bank only riled his inner protector more. He wanted to shout and clatter his shield in warning against anyone who might dare to threaten her.

He wanted to kill the man who had.

Despite her worried expression, Eloise was her beautiful self. Her dark hair bounced in waves that framed her face as she moved with purpose toward him, looking confident in her double-breasted coatdress over heeled boots.

She had blossomed in this short time with him, not only reverting to the cheeky young woman he’d known in the past, but growing past her into a sophisticated woman who made his insides twist with admiration and pride.

In this moment, however, all he could see was the thin ill-fitting elf suit she’d been wearing when she’d been scraping by in New York—thanks to Antoine’s machinations.

“The manager put them in a VIP lounge next to the vault,” Konstantin said, nodding curtly at their escort to take them there.

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