with hers again. “But what? They don’t really match? You can’t tell me those two aren’t dying to jump into bed.”
Dareios frowned. “I can’t believe you’re talking about your brother’s sex life. Maybe it’s just wedding jitters that has them both...both acting a little weird.”
“If by weird you mean acting like they can’t look at each other, but also can’t help but look—and like each of them is an explosive they don’t dare touch—you’re right about that. I thought...well, Antonio could be a lot more attentive to Claire.
Swinging his legs out of the pool, Dareios pushed to his feet. He stared down at her. “They’re getting married next week. If Antonio’s set the date, that’s that. He’s already sent in the newspaper announcement, and had me get Claire to get her birth certificate here. He’s even rushing the American Consulate to get all the paperwork done in record time. That sounds pretty serious to me.”
Alexandra parted her lips and was about to tell Dareios about the conditions for Antonio to inherit. She closed her mouth again. Antonio had either told his friend—or he hadn’t. It wasn’t up to her to question that. She pushed to her feet as well and faced Dareios. “I think you’re being about as unromantic as Antonio.”
“And I think you’re pushing into your brother’s business. He’s a grown man. Let him handle this.” Dareios strode away, grabbing his towel as he left.
She watched him, admiring the view. But she wasn’t about to admit that he was right. There was a spark between Claire and Antonio—she was going to have to talk to Eva about that. And she and Eva were going to have to see if they couldn’t fan that flame a little. Her brother might think he was getting married just to inherit—but there was a reason their father had left Villa Livia to Claire. And now Alexandra was starting to think her father had been smarter than anyone ever knew.
But how could she and Eva make the very stubborn Antonio admit that he needed Claire to be more than a wife for a month?
Chapter Eleven
A lexandra and Eva planned the ambush so they caught Antonio coming back from the city two nights later. They’d already exhausted Claire with a day walking Athens—now they waited for Antonio and pulled him into the drawing room.
“Well?” Alexandra asked.
“Well, what?”
Eva rolled her eyes. “What about the wedding? What about a ring? What about the cake? Are you going to marry Claire with her in jeans?” Heading to the bar, Antonio poured himself a glass of ouzo. Eva sat up. “Pour me one, too.”
He glanced at her. “You can have lemonade. I’ll ask Gaia to bring some.”
Eva wrinkled her nose. “Never mind.”
Alexandra plopped down on the sofa. “Antonio, let us help you.”
“I took Claire shopping already,” Antonio said. He took a sip of the liquor. He remembered how he could smell Claire on his fingers all that day. They hadn’t found a wedding dress for her—and he hadn’t been able to lure her into any more private dressing rooms.
With a wave of her hand, Alexandra dismissed Antonio’s efforts. “She doesn’t have a dress. And you don’t have a ring.”
“I’ve ordered one. It will be ready.”
“Do you have favors for the wedding guests? Candied almonds for luck? And what about blessing your wedding bed? Aren’t you going to hold with any traditions?” Eva asked.
Antonio frowned. Alexandra knew they could only push their brother so far—and then he would go even more stubborn than father ever had. Smiling, she said, “Let us help, Antonio. We have nothing else to do. Eva doesn’t start school for three months yet, and I...well, I’m at loose ends.”
He sat on the couch arm. “You could come into the city with me.”
She shook her head. “I am not getting a job in the family business just because I am family.”
Sitting up, Eva said, “Antonio, have you thought where you are going for your honeymoon?”
He