Page 15 of The Greek Billionaire's Email Bride

"Always the gentleman." Princess's expression shifted, vulnerability briefly replacing calculation. "That's why I loved you, you know. Even when you had nothing, you acted like you owned the world."

Loved,she said. She said she had loved him, and he used to believe that was true. But now? He was truly starting to question whether love had been present at all...for either of them.

"Let's leave the past where it should be," he said finally. "We've both moved on."

"Have we?" She slid from the barstool, closing the distance he'd carefully established. "Because it feels like we've been circling back to each other for twenty-five years."

"I'm married," he reminded her, the golden band on his finger suddenly heavier than before.

"You barely know her," Princess sneered.

She was clearly talking about the length of time he had been with Hope. But Colin realized that time was not everything.

Sometimes, you just knew.

And that was how it was with his wife. Even though they had been together for less than a month, he already knew Hope as if he had known her for a lifetime. He knew about his wife's quiet strength and gentleness. He knew about her desire to see the best in people—even when there seemed no goodness in them to be found. Or at least that was how it seemed to him. But Hope somehow managed to prove him wrong each time.

The urge to see his wife seized him out of the blue, and he was at once restless and impatient. Colin signaled to the female attendant now waiting discreetly nearby and placed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. A much-deserved tip, with how the woman would soon have her hands full with Princess.

Colin turned to leave, but Princess's fingers tightened around his arm, surprisingly strong despite her intoxication. She pulled herself toward him, rising on tiptoes as her free hand caught the back of his neck.

He saw her intention a second before she moved, turning his face just enough that her lips landed clumsily at the corner of his mouth rather than fully on target. The near-miss sent a jolt of alarm through him, not because he was tempted, but because of how instinctively he had recoiled.

Colin stepped back firmly, steadying her with hands on her shoulders, maintaining clear distance. "That's enough."

Hurt flashed in her eyes, quickly masked by drunken bravado. "Your loss."

He guided her gently toward the waiting attendant. "Please make sure Ms. Halstead reaches her room safely," he instructed, pressing a folded bill into the young woman's hand.

"Of course, sir."

As the attendant led Princess away, Colin remained rooted in place, watching them disappear into the elevator. He knew alcohol had lowered her inhibitions, exposed desires she might have otherwise kept hidden. Princess wasn't entirely to blame.

He was.

He should not have been alone with her in the first place. And only now was he starting to realize how all of his actions in the past few days must have brought his wife shame. How the hell had he been so blind?

Colin took the next elevator up, watching floor numbers illuminate in sequence, each bringing him closer to a confrontation he wasn't prepared for. It disturbed him to remember how Princess' attempt to kiss her had left him cold...while he only had to remember the taste of Hope's lips, and he would have a sudden need for a cold shower.

This wasn't proceeding according to plan. Hope was supposed to be a means to an end: revenge, closure, perhaps a business-like companionship. Not someone who made him question decisions made over martinis with a woman he'd once believed was his future.

He would make it up to her,Colin thought grimly as the elevator doors slid open on their floor. He would find the right time to apologize. Acknowledge that he had been an ass. He owed her that much.

And after that...

Chapter Five

Lala's outfit for the gala on Day 3 was a crimson gown with a deep V-neckline that Hope was starting to lose hope on, pun not intended. It hadn't seemed this deep on their first and second fitting. But now, it was making her feel a little too exposed.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door, and she asked Colin to come in. "What do you think?" she asked worriedly as he entered. "Is it too much?"

"You look breathtaking in it."

"But?" She totally heard a 'but' coming.

Colin's lips tightened. "It's nothing."

"I could just change—-"

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