Page 139 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

Greek banking heir Antonio Rosso is shocked when his late father leaves the beloved family villa to the one woman he never wanted to see again: his ex, Claire Bennett.To hang on to the home that meant so much to his mother, Antonio will have to convince Claire to marry him—a woman who doesn’t need or want anything from him. Except maybe his all-too-willing body…

Greek Billionaire's Forbidden Lover

Billionaire Greek playboy Dareios Anaganos wants the one woman he can never touch: his best friend’s sister, Alexandra Rosso. Suddenly, all he can see are her perfect curves and gorgeous smile.When sparks fly between them at a masquerade party, they decide to take their blazing attraction to the next level. It’ll be their little secret…

Greek Billionaire's Uncontrollable Attraction

Eighteen-year-old Greek banking heiress Eva Rosso has her heart set on attending college in the US, but she’s struggling to even pass the entrance exam. When her brother hires cocky and too good-looking American Callum Woods as her tutor, Eva wants him gone. But her game to force him out turns when she realizes she just may have met her match…

Grab your copy ofRosso Billionaires

Available December 14, 2023

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EXCERPT

Chapter One

Antonio

“You're stalling, Petrakis. Get on with it,” I said when the attorney paused again while reading Matthias Rosso's will. I didn't miss the way Petrakis's eyes went to the open boardroom door. “Or are you expecting someone?”

Rather than answering, Petrakis cleared his throat and focused on the will in front of him, flipping pages as if attempting to find his place.

“You were listing the properties our father owned,” Alexandra said. My sister's tone was kind, with just a hint of humor. In that, and in her dark beauty, she was so much like our mother had been. Whenever she spoke, I could almost hear my mother cajoling me to eat my vegetables or leave my stinky shoes outside at our villa on Kato Antikeri.

She'd been gone for years, and now my father was, too. Gone a month. His death was shocking in its suddenness, but Matthias Rosso had never been one to take his time or ease into things. When he wanted something, he barreled through any obstacles to get it. And then, as soon as he was done with it, he dropped it like a bad habit. I could almost picture him deciding he was done with life and then dropping dead on the spot. If anyone had that kind of sheer, stubborn willpower, it was my father.

And now the man was gone—all that power and authority snuffed out for good. There was nothing left for me and my siblings but to get through this reading of the will and learn how Matthias had chosen to divvy up everything he'd left behind.

“Eva, would you pour me a glass of water?” Petrakis directed his request to the youngest of us, probably assuming she'd readily do it.

“Here you go.” Eva only nudged the pitcher and a glass closer, not directly calling him out but still making it clear that she wasn't his assistant.

I gave Eva a subtle nod of approval, getting a wink in exchange. Then I turned back to the lawyer. I was enough my father's son to have no patience with stalling tactics. “What does our father's will leave us?” I leaned across the table. “Spell it out. Now.”

Petrakis gulped nervously but began to read. “'To my daughters Alexandra and Eva, I leave each a trust fund of fifty million US dollars to be administered by their older brother, Antonio, until each of my daughters reaches the age of twenty-five. If either of my daughters should marry before the age of twenty-five, I leave it up to my son to release the trust or to continue to manage it.'“

Irritation tightened my jaw, and my low growl made Petrakis glance at me. “Your father was concerned about fortune hunters.”

“Obviously. He must have forgotten that my sisters are intelligent women able to make their own choices about men and money,” I said.

“It is the twenty-first century,” Alexandra added dryly.

“Yes, well, Matthias wanted you all to find the right partners in life.”

What Father wanted was to do the finding himself. He never approved of our choices.

There had been one time, just one, when I had lost my head when it came to love. I'd gotten so tangled up in an American student studying in Greece that I hadn't known which way was up. My father had been horrified, convinced that the girl was a gold digger. He'd thrown money at a private investigator who'd delivered a stack of suspicious pictures and a whole trove of nasty insinuations. The next time the girl had come to see me, Father had been there, eager to let her know exactly what he thought of her trying to get her hooks into his son.

The girl had fled, crying, and she'd never returned. Father had said it was because she was embarrassed at getting caught out in her schemes. Maybe that was true. Or maybe she'd been hurt and upset because she'd been innocent of all those accusations, and Matthias had been the schemer, bribing the investigator to make up lies about her so that I would let her go. I'd never been sure. But I'd certainly been a lot less willing to trust after that. Any woman could be a gold digger, looking to use me. And anything my father said could be a lie. It had created a strain between father and son that had never fully healed. And it had made Father even more determined to ensure that his children chose their partners wisely. Which was how my sisters ended up with absurd conditions like this tied to their inheritances. I barely managed to bite back a growl.

“Continue,” I said.

“'I leave this world with a heavy heart for the wrongs I have done to my son, Antonio. There was a time when Antonio found it easy to trust others. But that changed, and I blame myself for that.'“ I felt my sisters' questioning eyes on me as the lawyer read. “'To make up for this, I leave the rest of my estate to him, with the exception of the Villa Livia on Kato Antikeri…which goes to Claire Bennett.'“

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