Page 80 of The Boss

Why did I have a feeling he’d already locked away what was left of his heart?

CHAPTER 20

Willow

“I think I’d like to get married right here,” I said quietly. Dimitrios was behind me; I wasn’t certain he heard me at all. He’d been on the phone for over an hour, ensuring everything in his world was as it should be.

He’d been deep in thought most of the time after what had occurred on the beach. He wasn’t angry, acting fairly unemotional. I dared not ask him about the studio again.

But I wanted to.

Another almost two days had passed and they were strangely some of the best I’d ever experienced. The guilt for thinking and feeling that way remained, but I was relaxed, at peace with myself and the world that I’d been brought into.

How was that possible?

He’d acted the part, like the way we’d been the first day, but there was a distinctive chill in the air.

We’d spent hours walking the beach, and had dinners that had seemed to bring us closer together. Yet we were still locked in our own personal prisons. But it was the nights and mornings of passion that had kept me thrilled and eager for the rest of my life.

Yet that wasn’t going to happen. Weeks, I believed. Months, maybe. Not years.

No, I wasn’t entirely prepared for what we were preparing to do, but with Leandro’s funeral the next day, the world Dimitrios had taken over and promised to keep intact would be front and center once again.

Including in the news.

Even his brothers had called, commenting on the pictures they’d seen online of the two of us. Dancing. Walking on the beach near a restaurant. Eating a fucking ice cream cone upon my insistence. Who didn’t know there was a budding romance? What hadn’t been mentioned was our ‘engagement.’ If you could call what we were doing anything traditional.

I glanced at my ring finger, laughing softly to myself. Would there be a glorious diamond the size of a walnut to convince people we were truly in love? I had a feeling there would be. The game. Following through with pretenses. Baiting the lure.

When I heard his footsteps behind me, I stiffened. Why this time when I hadn’t since the first night at dinner?

Dimitrios placed his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently. “My parents will want a traditional church ceremony.” Sadly, his bland voice didn’t match his gentle gesture.

“Do you always do what your parents tell you?”

He chuckled. “I’m a son of tradition like my father and grandfather before him. We are a very close family. You haven’t met my cousins. They are so damn old school it’s annoying.”

I adored his laugh, the deep baritone always sending sparks throughout my system. “That’s fine. Since I have no one attending I have no real say.”

His exhale was full of anxiety as he turned me around to face him. “You have no friends?”

“A best friend, but she’s not in a position to travel and after paying for the plane tickets for my parents, I’m not sure I can swing it for her and a room.” I hated that. I wanted to work, to have a fulfilling profession and not be some arm candy he used for whatever length of time the contract was in place. I was daydreaming if I thought this was anything more than a temporary arrangement. Still, earning a master’s in business administration didn’t have employers beating down my door.

“I’ll make the arrangements. You can lean on me for anything you need.”

“I pay my own way. I work for everything I get. No big trust fund for this girl and no allowance from a husband either.”

He shook his head. “You are a different woman than any I’ve met.”

“Why? Because I’m not completely enamored by your money or your lifestyle?”

“Yes. That’s part of it, Willow. Women think of me as a great catch first for the money in my bank accounts. As you might imagine, they hold no interest for me.”

Well, I could pat myself on the back. I’d risen to the ranks of being ‘different.’ “When are we leaving?”

“In half an hour. I have one additional phone call to make. We’ll take the scenic route.”

I was surprised when he remained behind me.

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