Chapter One
Damn!
Ari Katsalos carefully lifted the motorcycle helmet he’d thrown onto wedding planner Grace Bennett’s desk and let out another curse.
Some kind of pastel, head-band thing with flowers sticking up was now a mash of fabric and bits of wire. Stark white ribbon leaned at a drunken angle, and sparkly bits had broken off and fallen onto the floor. Considering how surprised—and probably pissed—Grace was going to be when she found him sitting behind her desk in his parents’ wedding hall, this wasn’t a great start.
As he looked around, the muscles across his shoulders tensed. This might be his family’s comfort zone, and no doubt Grace’s, but it gave him a bad case of wanna-get-the-hell-out.
Marriage and weddings? He hadn’t seen many successful ones, and now he made a business out of catching cheating lovers. Having to spend the next few weeks here wasn’t far short of a nightmare, but sometimes duty called, and here he was, drowning in fluff and fantasies.
Retrieving the mangled decoration, he carefully covered it with a bit of pink lacy fabric and decided to tell Grace about it when the time was better.
She would be making her way across the courtyard from the Palace’s kitchens. He’d left a message saying she was needed urgently in her office, and she’d be walking through that door in about three…two…one…
“Ari, what are you doing here?”
Grace stood at the open door, her delicate fingers gripping the edge, a blush tinting her pale cheeks. “I wasn’t expecting you. I thought your sister would be taking over again. Or maybe even your parents…?”
He pushed the chair back and stood, his gaze trained on her arched neck, her milky skin and the tiny frown crumpling her forehead. It had been a while since he’d last seen Grace Bennett, but each time they’d met, a zap of electricity shot through the room.
Just like one did now.
He swallowed hard. The way she was desperately trying to focus on anything but him, said she felt it, too.
So, if they had such great chemistry, why hadn’t she wanted to go beyond their one and only date?
With her sexy presence and confident smile, Grace was the type of girl guys dreamed of marrying. Yeah, maybe that was it—since he wasn’t into long-term commitments it was probably for the best. Didn’t account for why he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for the last few months, though. And now he was going to do more than think about her. Over the next few weeks, they’d spend a lot more time together than either of them had expected.
He slung a hand in his pocket and got straight to the point. “Yasmin and her fiancé are staying a bit longer in Greece—catching up with my parents for the next month. Have a seat.” He gestured for her to sit at her desk.
She stayed motionless, the floor space a barrier between them as she slowly smiled. “I didn’t think you’d be interested in looking after the Palace for your parents like your brother and sister did.” She tilted her head, playfully. “I can’t imagine you buried in wedding lace and garter belts.”
Zap. The power jolt again.
He grinned. She didn’t seem as put out as he’d expected. “Being the only Katsalos left in Westchester County and having this responsibility isn’t my idea of fun, believe me,” he said. He waved his arm toward her chair again. “Sounds like you’ve got everything pretty much under control, anyway.”
She held his gaze as she moved past a mannequin dressed in a ton of white fabric. Her blond hair swung just beneath her jawbone, the soft fabric of her flowery dress whispering against her legs.
“So,” she said, picking up his helmet and handing it to him. She lifted the lacy pink fabric and a brief cloud crossed her face when she noticed the twisted crown thing, but she carried on. “The first thing you’ll need to know is that I’ll be leaving next Monday. We’ve got two big weddings this weekend but then there’s nothing major booked for the next two weeks, so you should be okay. I’m really sorry the timing’s so bad. I know some great temp planners who could step in ’til your family gets back.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ll help your parents out any way I can.”
He took the helmet and put it on a chair. “Leaving?” He let out a breath, sharper than he’d intended. “Because it’s me who’s in charge? Why don’t I know about this?” Tension rolled up his spine one vertebrae at a time. How in hell could he run this place on his own?
The last time they’d seen each other, his brother Nick was looking after the Palace. But it was only for a minute. The time before that had been much more memorable. They’d been on her doorstep after that first…and last…date when he’d leaned in for a kiss. She’d gotten all flustered and stepped inside so fast he was left standing like a cartoon cat with its head spinning. He’d called the next day, but she’d said she was busy, and…he could take the hint. Maybe Grace Bennett thought she was a cut above a tattooed PI from the city.
She smiled, and it blew away some of the tension in the room. “No, it’s not you. It’s something I’ve been planning for a long time, but as you know, things have been extra busy here in the last few months, and with all your mom and dad’s problems, I didn’t want to throw that into the mix. I’d thought Yasmin and Lane would come back after their trip to Italy, so now seemed a good time to step aside. I’m really sorry but I’ve made plans.”
He rested hands low on his hips. “You figure the best time to leave a sinking ship is when my parents are on the other side of the world trying to save their marriage? You’d walk out and leave everything to a guy who knows nothing about weddings and who doesn’t have anything close to your skill set? Yasmin said you did great together when she was redecorating the place, and Nick said the same when he was making the structural changes. Did you plan on leaving when they were in charge?”
This could not be happening. His parents’ marriage was on the brink of divorce, and the last thing he wanted to do was to destroy their business. He had to fix this.
She took a step back, her lips pressed together.
Of course. She didn’t want to work with him. He’d bet his bike that up until thirty seconds ago, Grace Bennett was happy enough to support his family in this business, and now she wanted out. And that was going to cause a mega-storm of problems, not the least of which would be that he’d be here on his own, actually in charge of brides and weddings. He shuddered and scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “When did you decide to go? Dad never mentioned you leaving.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Ari, no one’s more sorry than I am that your mom and dad are going through a rough time. In the last three years, Mano and Pia have become like family to me, but it’s time I moved on. I’ve found a great site for my own store, and I’ll open within a couple of months. From what your mom said the last time we spoke, she wasn’t even sure she was coming back here.”
He scrubbed a hand across his chin. She already had a plan for what to do when she left? “Leaving’s not an option.” He shook his head, his stomach clenching. “You’re the only person who can help me here. I need you, Grace.”
A flush swept up her neck as she rearranged the pile of fabric on her desk.
“And if that’s not enough, my entire family needs you, too.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip and shook her head. “I’d love to help you out, but the timing’s just all wrong. I’m really sorry.”
He pulled up a chair, turned it backward and straddled it. “I might’ve grown up in this business, but I’ve been a PI for the past six years.” He held her gaze to let her know how serious he was. “Want to know how much I know about wedding dresses and bridezillas these days?” He dragged a finger through the air across his throat. “Nada.” He dropped his voice. “Want to know how much I intend learning about wedding dresses and bridezillas? Double nada. But no decent person would stand by and watch all his parents’ hard work over the last thirty years go down the john. If you leave now, the Aegean Palace is finished. And I’d bet my bike that you don’t want to see that happen.”
She hesitated and emotion blossomed on her face. “I’m sure I could find a temp for you by the time I leave.” She pulled her cell toward her. “Let me give a couple of them a call.”
“I don’t want anyone else.”
He drew in a slow, calming breath and waited until she’d swung her gaze to his again and the air sparked. “I want you.” He crossed his arms on the back of the chair. “Grace, you understand this place. You’re the only reason it’s survived all the craziness, and only you can keep things running smoothly. I can’t call a temp PI. I’ve gotta keep my own business going, so if you’re not here, we’ll be screwed.” He tried a grin. “I’ll beg if it helps.”
She pushed a golden strand of hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Ari. I’d really like to help, but I can’t. You’ll find a replacement for me in no time.”
He rolled the tension from his shoulders. If they lost her, then the whole business would crumble, and there’d be nothing for his father to bring his mother back to. And above everything, he wanted his parents home and back together.
“I understand you’re feeling unsettled without my mom and dad here, but couldn’t you wait until they get back to open your store? Everyone knows you’ve been the best thing to happen to this business in years.”
And I want to see that for myself.
“I’ve put a deposit on a store lease, and I can’t afford to pay rent without it earning for me.” Her hand still rested on the phone, and she tapped her fingers on her chin. Was that hesitation in her voice? “My best friends Lettie and Meg are coming to work for me, and I can’t let them down. I was hoping to start work as soon as possible.”
He held her gaze. “What sort of store?”
“Wedding accessories with a planning service.” She rolled her fingers across a line of sharpened colored pencils on the desk. “I need to spread my wings, and now’s the best time to do it.” For the first time since she’d come into the room, her face was lit, her movements animated.
He rested his chin on his fist and surveyed her. “Maybe, but there’s no time to get someone used to the way things are done around here. You said yourself there are weddings this weekend. What if I thought of a way to help you kick off your new business while you’re still working here?”
She levelled him with her stunning blue-eyed stare. “Like what?”
Now was not the time to get completely and utterly lost in those eyes, but another time, another place…
He stood and held his hands out, palms up, his mind tripping over itself in the rush to come up with a solution. “What if you set up your business but make a commitment to work on contract with us for the rest of this season, just until things are back to normal? It’d mean you keep an income while you have all your set-up costs, and we get a transition back to my family running things. We can put your name and all your new business information on any of our advertising from now on.”
She paused, her head tilted on the slightest of angles. “So, I’d only need to be here for the next month or so, and during that time you’d let me set up my own business and promote myself as an independent service?”
It sounded even better when she said it.
“Yeah, just until one of my family steps back in. But I’d want you to manage the bookings the same way you normally would. You’d be here when you were needed, which could be quite a bit since I’ve got a whole lot of work for my own business.” He pulled a wallet from his jeans pocket, opened it, then handed her a card. “You can call me anytime. I keep some pretty strange hours, but if you ever need me, I’ll be here.” He nodded at the broken crown on her desk and grinned. “And I’ll try not to make a mess of things.”
She put the card on the corner of her desk, sat back in the chair, and her shoulders relaxed. “And you wouldn’t mind if I was working with my own clients while I’m running things here?”
“Why should I? We’d keep you on as a contractor, so you could recommend the Palace as a venue sometimes, and we could all benefit. And maybe your friends could be getting things set up for you in the meantime.”
She slowly nodded, and her face brightened. “Just a month or so? And then you’d take things over?”
Ari laughed. She clearly wasn’t a very good judge of character. If he took over the Palace alone there’d be a helluva lot more broken than a few wedding crowns. If that happened, there wouldn’t be any sort of business here by the time his parents got back. “Hell, no. I’m never going to take things over, and no one in my family would let me. I’m just keeping an eye on things, then I’m out of here. I’ve rented an office in town. But as I said, call me anytime.”
She tapped her fingers on the desk. “It would be good to still base myself here for a couple of weeks until my place is ready. And we are busy this weekend… You know I’ve been living in the apartment out back. Could I stay there for now?”
“Of course.”
He’d make a note to respect her privacy, but it was a good feeling—thinking of her being here full-time.
She rolled her lips together. “I’ve been so focused on the store I haven’t gotten around to organizing a new apartment.”
“That’s settled, then,” Ari said, trying to hide a sigh of relief. “I’ll call Dad tonight and let him know what you’ve decided. From now on, you’re Grace Bennett, independent wedding planner, and you’re going to make sure I don’t screw this place up.”
…
Early the next afternoon, Grace signed her name to the bottom of a flower order and sat back in her chair. Normally at this time of day, she’d be in Pia Katsalos’s kitchen eating Greek honey cookies and talking about fantasy weddings. She missed her real boss, and now she had her third one in the last few months—Pia’s son, Ari, who wore raw masculinity like a well-cut suit. And if only he did wear a suit instead of the black T-shirt that so perfectly defined his chest, and the faded jeans that hugged his strong thighs, maybe then she could concentrate on her work.
She remembered when Pia Katsalos had spoken of her youngest son, there had often been sadness in her voice—as if she didn’t really know him anymore. According to Pia, Ari hadn’t been the star athlete that Nick had been, or the brilliant academic type, like his sister Yazmin. No, when Pia had spoken about Ari it was of a boy who took risks and ran with a different sort of crowd. Someone who was a mystery, especially to those closest to him.
Avoiding him today by finishing work in her office hadn’t been hard, but now she needed to confirm some things with Pavlo, the new chef, and she’d seen Ari walking into the restaurant. She was becoming increasingly unsure about working for him. He didn’t understand a thing about running a wedding hall and seemed to be the type who had pretty strong opinions on things.
And then there were those muscles and that sexy way his mouth moved when he grinned…
Her phone rang—Lettie, her best friend.
“Chick,” Lettie said before Grace had even said hello. “Please tell me you’ve spent all day staring at that Greek god.”
Grace groaned and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “Argh. What am I gonna do, Let? He said he was going to be working from his office in town, but he seems to come and go whenever he feels like it. Maybe I should just tell him that I’ll be fine on my own for now and that he should go back to New York. That way I won’t have to be around him.”
Or stare at that mouth and wonder what it would feel like having those lips pressed against my skin.
“Hot looks, great bod…why not have those in your face twenty-four-seven?” Lettie asked, a laugh in her voice. “It’ll do you good.”
“I dunno,” she said. “It’s like those cop shows.”
“The ones you watched back to back when you were going through your divorce?” Her friend’s voice was softer.
She’d wanted to convince herself then that there were still some good men in the world. Men who wanted to protect their women, men who believed in love and honor, not suspicion and control. The second she’d said, “I do,” her husband Mark had changed from sexy and playful to unpredictable and intense. Slowly, she’d begun to second-guess herself—never able to please him—and by the end of their marriage she’d wondered how she could’ve fallen in love with someone like him.
“You know something?” she said to Lettie. “Ari looks exactly like the cops on those shows.”
Dark eyes verging on black, framed by even darker brows, with pecs that could crack walnuts and biceps that made women drool. No, she would not drag the back of her hand across to check for tell-tale signs she was doing that now.
“Then why not get to know him better?” Lettie asked. “You know his family, his background. That’s the perfect guy to have some fun with.”
“Guys like that are just fantasies, Let. Guys who in olden times would’ve been knights, scooping damsels in distress onto white steeds and galloping off into the sunset—whether the damsel liked it or not.”
“Wouldn’t mind being scooped onto a horse by a guy like that,” Lettie said. “Hell, I’d lie draped over his skateboard if a guy got all knightish on me.”
Grace chuckled. “You and I know that guys like Ari Katsalos are controlling and demanding.” They caused her to make bad decisions for herself, and she wanted nothing more to do with them.
“Okay, hun,” Lettie said. “You keep on telling yourself that you can resist a guy like Ari. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“I’d better go and finish up for the day,” Grace said. “Let’s meet at the shop tomorrow, and we can go over a plan for the week.”
Grace ended the call but sat thinking about what Lettie had said. Whenever she’d been around Ari, she could sense his eyes on her, feel his body calling her name, and although in the old days her body would’ve called right on back before her brain could even register, now she fought those feelings. This time, things would be different.
Marrying someone who, as it had turned out, wanted to control every part of her life had made her swear off the testosterone-plus type like Ari for good.
She and Mark had had incredible chemistry in the beginning, but then the warning signs began to appear. He’d tell her what lipstick to wear, not to cut her hair because it was frumpy, and then he started telling her who she should and shouldn’t be mixing with. When he’d demanded she stop work because it took her attention away from their life together, she’d known their marriage was over for good. She’d been blind to that side of Mark, and it meant she’d need to always be on high alert for people like him—people who had bigger egos than any relationship could sustain, and who’d do what it took to get what they wanted.
Next time around, she needed a soul mate, someone dependable and empathetic. A partner. Someone who’d always have her back and someone who’d give her the freedom to be who she wanted. Next time she’d recognize that chemical connection to a guy as exactly what it was—danger.
She walked out of her office and across the paved courtyard to the restaurant. The late August sun still burned brightly and reflected the brilliant purple of the bougainvillea against the function center’s whitewashed walls.
It was hard to believe they were in Westchester, New York. On a day like this, they could be in Greece, which was just the atmosphere Mano and Pia had wanted to create when they’d built this place decades ago.
She stopped by Monty’s cage and reached into her pocket for a peanut. “Chronia polla,” she said in her best parrot voice. The Greek-speaking bird had become a Palace favorite. On cue, he could say chronia polla—“many happy years”—to the wedding couple as they strolled past, and according to Mano some of the younger guests had even taught him how to cuss.
Chronia polla. Chronia polla. The parrot flew to the side of the cage but didn’t take the nut as he usually would.
“Have those workmen been feeding you again?” she said as she scratched his cheek. He fluffed himself out, and she noticed a scattering of feathers on the ground. She’d get someone to clean his cage in the morning. “Looks like I’ll be seeing a bit more of you after all,” she said as she stroked the bright green of his cheek.
Monty stuck his beak through the bars, and she patted it before heading toward the restaurant.
She opened the door and nearly stepped right back out again. Ari was in the middle of the room amongst tables and chairs.
On a ladder.
Naked from the waist up.
“Hey,” he said, tossing her a grin that shot a bolt of fire through every internal organ. He resumed what he was doing to something on the ceiling. “Finishing up soon?”
Her breath hitched. “Soon,” she managed as she tried to focus on anything but Ari’s perfect abs.
As soon as I can remember my name and how to start breathing again.
“Just a couple more things to do.” She swallowed, her gaze fixed on the bright tattoo completely covering the upper part of his right arm and spreading onto his chest. His biceps flexed as he screwed in a fitting on the ceiling fan, and the images rippled across his skin. What were they of? All she knew was that she had to rip her eyes away.
Now, how to go back out without tripping over anything?
Clearing her throat, she pretended to rearrange some chairs. “I didn’t realize you were here. Theo usually does that sort of thing.”
He pulled a T-shirt from where it had been hooked into his jeans and wiped his face, the muscles across his stomach—God help her—rippling with the movement. “We’re not spending any money we don’t have to. I can fix the fan. How are the weddings for this weekend tracking?”
“I’ll open a window,” she said, grateful for an excuse to cross to the other side of the room. “Everything’s set. I thought you’d be busy at your office downtown.”
“Hardly an office,” he said.
She opened a latch, pushed the window outward, and breathed in fresh air. “What sort of PI work do you do?”
He finished what he was doing, tucked the T-shirt back into his jeans, and moved down the ladder. “Catch people cheating on their spouse. I thought the city was bad, but my phone’s been running red hot since the word got out I’m in town for a while.”
He moved closer, and Grace’s hormones sat up and begged. Her eyes fixed on the tattoo across the right side of his body. There were brilliant reds, yellows, and blues, a detailed series of figures close together. Were they Greek gods?
Don’t drool. Don’t drool.
Sex on legs didn’t come close—he was a walking fantasy.
Mano and Pia hadn’t seen much of their eldest son Nick over the years, and although they talked about Ari a lot, he hadn’t been around much, either, except once when he dropped in while Nick was running the place. The time before that, he’d asked her on a date, and if she’d been sane she’d have said no, but she’d gone through with it. As the evening had gone on, he seemed more and more confident, and her skin became warmer every time he looked at her. She’d cut it short to prevent herself doing something she’d regret—like kiss him and never stop.
This morning’s horoscope flashed in her mind: You’ve worked too hard to be diverted by the charms of temptation. Keep your eyes on the prize. An unexpected disaster will bring endless fortune.
Yes, if Ari Katsalos was one thing, it was a package of Grade-A temptation, and it appeared he’d been thrown into her path to test her resolve to move on from men like him. Well, it would take more than a godlike body and a few lines of sexy charm to get her to stray from her path. If he was the unexpected disaster, then all she needed to concentrate on was the endless fortune that clearly lay ahead.
She stood tall and moved between the tables, already covered with white tablecloths for the weekend, relieved to see him pulling the T-shirt from the back of his jeans again.
“How often will you be here in the next few weeks?” she asked as she picked up a tray of candles, ready to place them in the center of the tables.
He gave a small shrug. “Just when you need me, I guess.” His phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket and answered. “Hey, bro.”
Grace busied herself with the candles while Ari talked to his brother Nick, who was visiting their parents in Greece.
“Yep, everything’s fine here.” He threw a grin.
There was a long silence before Ari said, “Wow, that’s great, but why so soon?”
He nodded to whatever his brother was saying, and Grace moved toward the door to give him some privacy, but he held up a hand to indicate she shouldn’t leave. “Yep, she’s here. Want to talk to her?”
He paused again and winked at her. An actual, old-fashioned wink. Melting into a puddle on the floor was completely possible right now.
“Okay, let me know when your flight gets in, and if there’s anything I can do to help get things organized.” He paused then laughed loudly. “Yeah, you’re right. I was only being polite.”
Grinning, he passed the phone to Grace. When she held it to her ear there was a moment’s silence before Erin O’Malley spoke. They’d gotten to know each other a little when Nick was running the Palace and he and Erin had a wager to win a big contract, but she didn’t know her well enough for a special phone call from Greece.
“I was so excited when Ari called last night and told us your news,” Erin said. “I know you’ll do brilliantly in your own business, and it couldn’t have been more perfect timing for me.”
Grace sighed quietly in relief. She’d been so worried the Katsalos family would feel she’d let them all down with her decision to leave. “Why’s that?”
Ari’s gaze was trained on her face, so she had to focus hard on what Erin was saying. She concentrated on a window in the distance.
“We’ve decided to come home and get married straight away, and I would love it if you could do the planning for me.”
Her heart stopped. Planning the wedding that—because of the much-publicized wager—was going to be the social event of the season? It was almost too much to hope for.
“I…are you sure? I would’ve thought you’d want to organize it yourself,” she heard herself say.
Erin laughed lightly. “The thing is, Nick and I have decided we want to be married as soon as possible, and of course we’ll have to have it at O’Malley’s, so I’m going to need someone on the ground to get things started for me.”
“What sort of date were you thinking?”
There was silence, and for a second Grace wondered if they’d been cut off. “Two weeks from Saturday.”
She swallowed swiftly as Ari grinned back at her.
“You know,” Erin said slowly, “if it’s too much for you I completely under—”
“Erin, I’d love to!”
Could she do it? There were two weddings this weekend, and so much stuff to organize for her new business, and she suspected Ari was going to be only slightly more than useless in the organization department. But it could be just the start her new business needed. All the publicity they’d get from Wedding World, the magazine who’d covered the wager—she couldn’t ask for a better start.
“If I can get Ari to help me around here for the next couple of weeks, then I’m sure we can make things work. Thank you so much for having faith in me.”
“Oh, I’m so pleased and, to be honest, relieved. And Nick will be over the moon. He said it just wouldn’t be the same without you involved. He wants to take me to Rome on the way home to choose my dress, so I think we’ll be home this weekend, but I have all my ideas in an email ready to send to you. My sister Faith will be in touch about a few things, and of course you know Leo really well, so coordinating the food won’t be a problem. Oh, Grace, you don’t know what it means to me.”
After a few more plans and the promise she’d call again tomorrow, Erin said bye and Grace was left standing with the phone in her hand.
“Can you believe it?” she said, her voice breathy. “I knew they were engaged, but I didn’t think they’d get married this quickly.”
Ari shrugged a shoulder. “What can I say? People lose their heads when it comes to love. It’s what keeps bread on my table.”
So cynical. “Do you think that means your mom and dad will come home?” she said to his back as he folded the ladder.
We’re talking. Actual words. And I can do it without drooling or sounding like an idiot.
“My mom would sooner walk over hot coals than miss Nick’s wedding, so absolutely they’ll be here.” He shot her a toe-curling smile.
“You think your parents will be home for good?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. An unexpected wedding to plan is gonna be a lot of extra work for you now, so I’ll try and be around as much as possible ’til everyone gets home.”
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said, switching between panic and elation at the opportunities in front of her. Truthfully, she was starting to wonder how she could manage. Maybe she would need some more help from Ari.
“I can see how important this is, and I want to be here for you,” he said as one of his slow, warm grins lit his face. “I can put a hold on a couple of my cases to spend more time here. Besides, you and me here together? What could possibly go wrong?”