Free The Giannakis Bride by Catherine Spencer Page A

and I were two individuals who happened to look alike, but too many people, including you, seem to believe we were—are—interchangeable.”
    “I soon learned differently. To my cost, I might add.”
    “And that’s another thing! I know better than anyone that Cecily had her faults, but I’m getting sick and tired of hearing other people criticize her. Regardless of what she did or didn’t do, she was still my sister. More to the point, she was Poppy’s mother, and for that reason alone she deserves a modicum of respect, because no child should have to grow up never hearing a kind word about the woman who gave birth to her. You might be glad Cecily’s out of your life, Dimitrios , but I was deeply saddened by her death. Believe it or not, there was a time when she was sweet and kind and loving.”
    “Before Crete, you mean?”
    “No,” Brianna admitted, quelling a sigh. “Her decline began long before then. The pity of it was, I didn’t recognize it soon enough to put a stop to it.”
    He spared her a swift glance. “Just yesterday, you told me not to blame myself for the way she ended up. I suggest you take your own advice. And for the record, I did my best to be a good husband, Brianna, and I would never criticize Cecily to Poppy. I tried to make it work between us, if for no other reason than that I don’t deal well with failure. It’s not in my nature to accept defeat.”
    “Because you’re a control freak,” she said.
    “Maybe I am, but one thing I learned the hard way is that even I can’t control love. I couldn’t conjure it up on command, and in all truth, I’m not sure it would have made any difference if I had been able to. You probably don’t want to hear this either, but the fact is, Cecily wasn’t looking for a husband, she was looking for a meal ticket.”
    “And what were you looking for, Dimitrios ?”
    “You,” he said candidly. “I was looking for you. And by the time I realized the carbon copy didn’t measure up to the original, the damage was done. Now I’m looking for ways to undo it.”
    She wasn’t sure how to respond to that remark, and he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. “Well, at least you have Poppy,” she finally said.
    “And I thank God for that every day. But what do you have, Brianna? Is there someone special in your life?”
    Not about to confess she’d practically lived like a nun since their breakup, she said, “I wouldn’t say ‘special,’ no. My work and the amount of traveling it involves isn’t exactly conducive to a long-term commitment.”
    “So the career does takes precedence over all else.”
    The edge of scorn in his voice was unmistakable. “If it did,” she replied hotly, “I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”
    He shrugged. “Possibly not.”
    “There’s no ‘possibly’ about it! Maybe I couldn’t save my sister from self-destructing, but I’m not about to stand by and watch her daughter die if I can do something to prevent it.”
    “So what are you saying? That you’re here out of guilt or a sense of obligation?”
    “Perhaps in the beginning. But certainly not now.”
    “Why? What’s changed in the past twenty-four hours?”
    “Everything,” she said. “I’ve fallen in love with my niece.”
    “For how long? Until she’s healthy again, at which point you’ll disappear from the canvas and that’ll be the last we see of you?”
    Was this love-hate pendulum what he meant by a truce? If so, she wanted no part of it. “That is not what I said. Stop putting words in my mouth.”
    “Then what, exactly, are your intentions?”
    She gave an involuntary chirp of laughter. “For heaven’s sake, Dimitrios , you’re not interviewing a prospective suitor.”
    His lips twitched in an answering smile. An unfortunate response, she decided, hastily looking away. His mouth was a seduction in itself, and when it came to making love, he knew how to use it. And that was definitely not something she wished to be reminded of,