Chapter Twenty-Five
Bethany rested her head against Paul’s shoulder as they walked back to where they’d parked the car. “You’re not going to let him drive home because you think you hurt my feelings?”
“No, koukla mou. I’m not looking for such a danger-infused adrenaline rush to soothe my conscience. I’d rather get us back in one piece.”
“Good,” she said, tugging on his arm and stopping at a storefront. “Look.” She pointed at the window display. “It’s a painting of the resort from Christo’s view point. Like the artist was drawing from his terrace.”
She moved closer and traced a finger over the glass. “And there’s our pool. The rays of the sun are reflected in the water.”
Their pool…yes, it was now their pool.
“The artist of this specific piece is a local gentleman that knows every nook and cranny on the island. George’s work is sold in many of the town’s shops.”
“Beautiful,” she said. “And you must admit that the view point from the villa would inspire any artist. It’s heavenly.”
“You’re right,” Paul said. “It does inspire. And once upon a time there had been an artist on Christo’s terrace. She was one of the few women he’s let into his life. Marie was a young British girl that had him signing up for language lessons.”
“What happened?”
“It didn’t work out,” Paul said, recalling how difficult the summer’s events had been on his cousin. “It’s his story to tell though.”
They had enough to discuss.
“I say we head up to the pool and relax before our sunset sail,” he suggested.
* * *
Justin watched Bethany dive into the water, and shook his head at her always-smooth entry.
“You know she swam in high school. She was great at it. Made the all-star and all-academic state teams.”
“Something more I’m learning now,” Paul said.
Justin glanced at him, and saw the yearning behind the Ray Ban lenses. “You’ve fallen for her.”
“Hook, line, and sinker,” Paul admitted, rubbing his hand over his abdomen.
“She’s definitely fall-worthy,” Justin said, swinging his legs to the side of the chaise and facing Paul, feeling only a little smug. “I was counting on it.”
Paul looked at him over the top of his sunglasses. “Counting on it?”
While his body was angled toward Paul, Justin watched Bethany’s fierce arm strokes cut through the water like she was swimming for time trials.
“She’s working out her thoughts in her own way,” he said in a low voice. “Bethy is trying to find her balance.”
“Back to what you were counting on,” Paul redirected.
“It’s simple,” Justin said, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at Paul. “While you’re new to each other, I know you both. So, yes, I have a real advantage over you when it comes to knowing how Bethany is perfect for us.”
Paul chuckled and his chest heaved. “You played us?”
“Nope. I know you. I know her. I know me. And I know that I love you both. And there was never a doubt that we’d end up together if given the chance.” He leaned close and grinned. “You chose to give each other a chance. I stayed out of it until the decision had been made. So once that was done, you were bound to love each other, too. It was inevitable. Even Kosta knows.”
“Theo Kosta?”
“Yes,” Justin said, chuckling as the memory of the older man coming into the office and demanding to know what he was going to do flashed in his mind. “You can say Kosta played us. Played matchmaker. He got us here in order to introduce us and let nature take its course.”
“That sounds like something he would say,” Paul agreed, sitting up and placing his legs beside Justin’s. “But how are we supposed to deal with this? What are we supposed to do?”
Justin shrugged, but was never surer of anything in his life than he was about what he wanted with Bethany and Paul. “Love, I’m in. I want this.”
“You’re willing to change our lives? Leave your carefree bachelorhood behind?”
He laughed and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Don’t fool yourself. There’s no bachelorhood. We may both be men, but we’ve been together and committed to each other for years. Bachelorhood has no commitment.”
They’d been lucky enough to have worked together, and live a life that was free of any responsibilities other than to themselves, but they definitely had each other to consider.
“Okay, so we know my family is good with us, your mother will love it, but what about Bethany’s family? Will they give her a difficult time?”
“Absolutely,” Justin said. “But I knew that coming into this. I don’t give jackshit what Michaels wants or thinks. I just care about her.”
“What happened to her mother?” Paul asked.
“Not sure,” Justin said. “She left when Sheridan was six months old. They don’t keep in touch with her. I don’t believe she’ll be an issue. The woman is nowhere to be found.”
“And Bethany?”
That was the real question. He stood and walked to the deep end of the pool. “We’ll need to work on that one, Paul. Give her a little more time. If she has the support of the men who love her, she won’t care about anyone else’s.”
“That’s another one of Kosta’s ideas, right?”
“Yup.” Justin pushed off the edge and dove into the water just past where Bethany swam. Holding his breath, he turned and wrapped his arms around her legs, bringing her under and against his body. He sealed her mouth in a kiss and didn’t stop until all oxygen was depleted.
With her hands around his waist, she kicked her feet and they came to the surface.
“Silly man. What if you ran out of air down there?”
“It would have been worth spending my last breath on your mouth.”
She laughed, placed her hands on his shoulders, and dunked him.
When he came up and shook out the water from his hair, drops flying in all directions, she wrapped her legs around his waist and lowered her head.
“You make me totally crazy, J. You always have.”
He took her mouth, kissing her until his world spun. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
Smoothing the wayward strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her close, vowing never to miss her again. He wasn’t letting go.
“Are you feeling okay?” Justin asked.
She nodded against his neck, and a content sigh drifted from her lips. “I’m fine. I think I understand why he’s so against Luxury Homes, but that doesn’t make me want to step away. I love this place. Even more so now that I’ve been here. I’m going to find a way to make this happen.”
“That’s what he said.” Justin lifted his head and looked into her face. “Maybe we can come up with something all together. The three of us.”
“The three of us?”
He rested his forehead to hers and smiled. “Yes. The three of us. I like the way that sounds.”
And he did. It would be the three of them, together, making each other happy for years to come.
“Paul and I need to speak with you. Run things by you before anything else is done. You up to it?”
She nodded and brushed her lips over his. “I’m up to it.”
Grinning, Justin set his hands on her waist and turned her toward the stairs.
Paul was gone.
His towel and flip-flops were there, but he was not.
“I don’t know where he went,” he said, feeling her sag against him.
* * *
“What do you mean he’s here?” Paul asked, hurrying beside Christo to Kosta’s office. “He wasn’t due until the day after tomorrow.”
“I know,” Christo said, holding the door open for Paul to enter ahead of him. “We don’t even have a vacant room for him.”
“Put him in Bethany’s room. We moved her stuff out already.”
Christo walked behind the desk and leaned his hands on it. “Seriously? Think he’ll like the neighbors?”
“You can put the three of us up while the dickbag is here,” Paul spat. “We don’t need to remain on the property.”
The farther away the better. He’d be civil for Bethany and his uncle’s sake, but he didn’t need to be neighborly or accommodating. Michaels was not getting the resort.
“So now it’s the three of you?”
“Yes. It’s the three of us,” he said, eager to make it known and permanent. “It’s going to be the three of us from now on.”
“I see,” Christo said, lowering on to the desk chair. “The three of you have discussed this and are all in agreement?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet.” Paul blew out a breath and shook his head. “We haven’t had the chance. Michaels showed too early.”
“His jet landed an hour ago,” Christo said. “I tried calling you, the three of you, but got voice mail. I sent a car to collect him. He should be here in the next ten minutes.”
“We’re not selling to him,” Paul said, hating the fact that Edward Michaels would be tainting the resort with his negative energy, even temporarily.
“I gathered as much,” Christo said, picking up the phone and instructing housekeeping to ready Bethany’s room for a new guest. VIP.
“Fuck the VIP,” Paul growled. “He’s lucky we’re giving him a room.”
“If it’s really the three of you from now on, I suggest you find a way to deal with how you act toward the father of the woman you love,” Christo cautioned. “You don’t want to put her in the position to choose between you. It’s going to tear her apart.”
“I told you what he did to her and Justin. He’s a bastard.”
“He may be a bastard, but he’s her father.”
Paul didn’t want him anywhere near Justin or Bethany. Father or not, he wouldn’t give Michaels the opportunity to hurt them again.
“Where is Theo?”
“I also sent a car to collect him from the kafeneion.”
“We’ll get this straightened out between us first and I’ll speak with Bethany and Justin. Then—”
“Doubtful we’ll have time,” Christo said, lifting his chin and indicating the man in the three-piece suit strutting through the terrace, a briefcase swinging by his thigh. “Looks like it’s showtime.”
Fuck. Not only hadn’t Paul had the chance to discuss things with Bethany and Justin, he hadn’t had the opportunity to run his plan by his uncle. His hands were tied. He had to be cordial to the bastard.
“Mr. Lallas?”
“Yes,” both Paul and Christo replied and stood, drawing a confused look from Michaels and an associate.
“I’m Christo Lallas, General Manager of Vaso’s Dream. This is my cousin, Paul.” Christo offered his hand in greeting.
“Nice to meet you,” Edward Michaels said, shaking their hands and introducing his assistant, Rachel. “I realize we’ve arrived ahead of schedule. I was hoping to meet with the owner, Constantine Lallas, and see if we could finalize the purchase a day or so early. Our representative has filed detailed accounts of the resort and we are looking forward to incorporating Vaso’s Dream in our portfolio of properties. It is a charming getaway.”
Over my dead body, Paul thought, fisting his hands at his sides and stepping back.
“Thank you,” Christo said. “We pride ourselves in keeping the island charm while delivering the luxury our guests require.” He gestured to an empty chair. “Please have a seat, Mr. Michaels.”
“Our representative has done a detailed job of keeping us informed, so we are looking forward to assuming control as soon as would be preferable to the current ownership.”
The representative is your daughter, you jerk. Bethany is so much more than your representative.
“Understood,” Christo said. “However, as you can ascertain from the fact that you’ve caught us in swim trunks, we’re not quite ready to discuss business at this point. My uncle is currently off property and will not be available until dinnertime.”
Michaels checked his watch, and then looked between them.
“European summer dinnertime,” Christo added, in a charismatic tone. “It’s only seven and the sun hasn’t set yet. Perhaps you and Rachel would like to enjoy something on our terrace while the staff prepares your rooms ?”
“That’s generous. We appreciate the hospitality, but if we are causing any inconvenience, we can make arrangements at a different location.”
“No need,” Christo said. “I have a party that is scheduled to depart in…” he made a show of checking the computer screen, “probably within the next half hour. Then housekeeping will need a bit of time to prepare the rooms. Please make yourselves comfortable at the restaurant and enjoy the glory of our sunset in the meantime. The concierge will see that your luggage is delivered to your suites.”
Shit, his cousin was laying it on thick, but it worked for Paul. It gave him the opportunity to inform Justin and Bethany what happened.
“Thank you. That sounds very nice,” Michaels said, extending his hand to Christo. “Please let your uncle know we’re here and would like to meet with him at his earliest convenience.”
“Will do,” Christo said, coming around the desk and motioning for the restaurant host to approach. “Saki, please show Mr. Michaels and Rachel to number fourteen. They’re my guests for dinner, so make sure to tell Katerina to feed them well.”
Paul grinned at the choice of table. Christo had placed them in a romantic and private spot, overlooking the water, in perfect view of the sunset, but limiting their view of the resort.
“By the way, do you know what room our acquisitions rep is in?” Michaels asked. “She’s my daughter.”
About time he remembered that little fact.
“I’ve been trying to reach Bethany since we left Croatia, but she hasn’t answered my calls or texts. Her phone must not be getting good reception on the island.”
Edward Michaels’s gaze narrowed on Paul and searched his features. Paul felt like he was under a microscope. The way Michaels’s eyes shut down made it clear he’d realized something new.
“Possibly,” Christo said, walking back around the desk, fitting a pair of reading glasses on his nose, and once again pretending to look on the computer screen. He glanced at Paul.
“Cell signals are sometimes spotty,” Paul added, giving credence to Christo’s search on a computer that he knew wasn’t powered on.
“I don’t see her name here,” Christo said, looking up. “However, my uncle has several rooms flagged for his guests. I’m assuming she’s in one of those. I’ll ask at reception and let you know what I learn. Would you like me to share your suite location with her if I see her?”
“Of course,” her father said. “Do you know if she’s with any of the staff?”
“I don’t think so,” Christo said, placing the glasses on the desk and coming around again. “I think she may have mentioned an island excursion for today, but I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her this afternoon.”
Nodding, Michaels thanked Christo, didn’t address Paul, and followed the host behind the intricate lattice of jasmine.
Paul squeezed his cousin’s shoulder in approval. “Good choice of table.”
“Yeah, well, get your ass over to your room and then get them up to the villa. This isn’t going to go well.”
“Other than the obvious, why?”
“Because in addition to being her father and a cocky money man, Edward Michaels appears to be a sound businessman. He’s also very perceptive. Seemed to be sizing you up in the end.” Christo lifted his chin, indicating the newcomers. “Go get Bethany settled, and then speak with Theo before Michaels does. I’ll run interference.”
He glanced at Michaels’s table. Rachel had already made use of the free Wi-Fi and was pointing something out to her boss.
Edward Michaels didn’t look amused.