The billionaire she learns to love...

When Lys Theron inherits a hotel in Crete, her life is changed forever! Especially as she has to share ownership with gorgeous Greek billionaire Takis Manolis.

Instantly attracted to stunning Lys, Takis can see only one way to protect both his family and his reputation—make her his temporary fiancée! But the more time he spends with her, the more Takis knows he’s living a lie. He’s falling for her—hard! Can he persuade Lys that their temporary engagement should be more permanent?

The Billionaire’s Club

Meet the world’s most eligible bachelors…

by Rebecca Winters

For tycoons Vincenzo Gagliardi, Takis Manolis and Cesare Donati, transforming the Castello di Lombardi into one of Europe’s most highly sought-after hotels will be more than just a business venture—it’s a challenge to be relished!

But these three men, bound by a friendship as strong as blood, are about to discover that the chase is only half the fun as three women conquer their hearts and change their lives for ever…

Available now!

Return of Her Italian Duke

Bound to Her Greek Billionaire

And look out for Cesare’s story coming soon!

Bound to Her Greek Billionaire

Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk

REBECCA WINTERS lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite holiday spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels—because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website at www.cleanromances.com.

To my first editor and friend, Paula Eykelhof, who believed in my writing and helped me find a happy home at Mills & Boon Romance. I’ve been there ever since. How blessed could an author be?

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

The Billionaires Club

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

LYS THERON ARRIVED ahead of time for her appointment with the detective at the prefecture in Heraklion, Crete. The officer at the desk looked her over in a way she found insulting and hurtful.

From her early teens she’d had to get used to men young and old staring at her. But his scrutiny was different because the unexpected and unexplained death a month ago of Nassos Rodino, the Greek multimillionaire hotelier on Crete, continued to be under police investigation and she was one of several people still being questioned.

The well-known, forty-nine-year-old owner of the Rodino Luxury Hotel and Resort in Heraklion had died too young. Nassos had always been an object of fascination in the news. But since the divorce from his wife, Danae, four months ago, there’d been rumors that he’d been having an affair with twenty-six-year-old Lys, his former ward who’d lived in their household since the age of seventeen.

While Lys struggled with her grief over his death, and many people lamented his demise, the media had done their best to sensationalize it, developing a story that had played every night in the television news cycle. Had Lys conducted a secret affair with the famous hotelier for several years? Questions had been raised as to what had actually caused the divorce and his ultimate death.

Without answers, speculation grew that foul play might have been involved. Rumor that Lys might have caused his death to gain access to part of his money had caught hold. Though the detective conducting the investigation hadn’t put the blame on anyone, the reason for Nassos’s death still hadn’t been declared and a cloud hung over her. Lys’s heart shuddered over the cruel gossip. Nassos was the man she’d loved like a father since childhood.

At seventeen, her millionaire Greek father, Kristos Theron, owner of a successful hotel in New York City, had been killed in a small plane accident. He’d left a will with a legal stipulation. If he died before she was of age, his best friend and former business partner, Nassos Rodino, would become her legal guardian.

Nassos had come to New York often throughout her early childhood and she had seen him as part of her extended family. When her father died, it was no hardship to travel to Greece with him.

But the moment Nassos had brought her to his home, she’d discovered that he and his wife had been living in a troublesome marriage.

Lys had never known the reason for their struggles, but it grieved her because she’d sensed that deep down they loved each other. It was all very complicated and she’d tried not to add to their problems. But in that regard she felt she’d failed when she’d started dating men neither of them approved of.

Nassos called them rich men’s playboy sons. Danae saw them as opportunists with no substance, adding to Lys’s insecurity that somehow she didn’t have the ability to attract the right kind of man. None of her relationships developed into anything serious because she sensed her adoptive parents’ disapproval.

Since coming to live with them, the paparazzi had followed her around, never missing a chance to exploit her private life by filming her accompanied by any rich man she may have been seen with in public. Unfortunately in her work at Nassos’s exclusive hotel chain, wealthy people made up her world. She’d never known anything else.

If she’d met and fallen in love with a poor fisherman, would they have approved of her choice? She didn’t have an answer to that question, nor to the many others that she often thought of as Lys suffered from a lack of confidence. Having lost her mother at the age of nine hadn’t helped.

Their disapproval hurt her terribly because she’d loved Nassos and his wife so much and wanted their acceptance. Lys’s father had entrusted her to Nassos. Right now she felt like she’d let down three of the most important people in her life, but not on purpose.

Though he and Danae had suffered marital difficulties, they’d been wonderful to Lys and had made life beautiful at their villa on Kasos Island while she’d dealt with her sorrow. They’d helped her through those difficult years and had made it possible for her to go to college on the mainland.

Nassos was the kindest, dearest man Lys had ever known in her life next to her own father. The two men had been born on Kasos and had always been best friends. Early in their lives they’d gone into the fishing business together and had slowly amassed their fortunes. Kristos had ended up in New York, while Nassos stayed on Heraklion and had eventually married.

For Lys, the underlying strife during their divorce had been devastating. Since then she and Danae had been estranged. It tore her heart out. At this point Lys didn’t know how to overcome her pain except to pour herself into work at the hotel, and avoid the press as much as possible.

Deep in tortured thoughts, she heard a voice. “Kyria Theron?” She lifted her head to see another officer in the doorway. “Thank you for coming. Detective Vlassis will see you now.”

Hopefully this meeting would provide the answer that let her out of proverbial jail and allowed the funeral to take place. She walked inside.

“Sit down, Kyria Theron.”

Lys found a chair opposite his desk.

“Coffee? Tea?”

“Neither, thank you.”

The somber detective sat back in his chair tapping the tips of his long fingers together. “I have good news for you. The medical examiner has turned over his findings to my office. We know the truth and foul play has been ruled out.”

“You’re serious?” Her voice shook. The rumor that she might have poisoned Nassos with some invisible drug in his penthouse apartment in order for her to get a portion of his money had been devastating for her.

“It’s been determined he died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage probably caused from an earlier head injury.”

“Why did it take so long?” she cried.

“Unfortunately the bleeding went undetected. The reason it was difficult to find the first time was because it’s not unusual for SAH to be initially misdiagnosed as a migraine.”

“So the doctor didn’t catch it.”

“Not at first. A human mistake. It caused a delay in obtaining a CT scan.”

A small gasp escaped her lips. “After he’d hit his head on the kitchen cupboard several months ago, I thought he must have suffered a concussion. I told him I wanted to talk to his doctor about it, but Nassos told me to stop fussing because the pain went away. That must be why he had a stroke.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thank heaven he can now be laid to rest.”

“This has been a very stressful time for you, but it’s over. The press has been informed. I’m sorry for your loss and wish you well in the future.”

Another miracle. “Thank you. Have you told his ex-wife?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Now Danae could make the funeral arrangements. “You’ll never know what this means to me.”

Lys jumped up from the chair. “Thank you.” She couldn’t leave the police station fast enough and rushed past the officer posted at the front desk without glancing at him. She couldn’t endure one more smirk.

Once outside, Lys hurried to her car, running past the usual news people stalking her movements to take pictures. She got into her car and drove back to the Rodino Luxury Hotel where she had her own suite. She’d been living there and working in the accounts department for Nassos since graduating from business college in Heraklion four years ago.

The moment she reached her room on the third floor, she flung herself across the bed and sobbed. It was over at last. But with Nassos’s death and Lys’s unwanted estrangement with his ex-wife, there was no one to pick up the emotional pieces.

The couple’s tragic divorce had fragmented Lys. If they’d been going to end their marriage, why hadn’t it happened years before now? She simply didn’t understand. And then had come the shocking news of his death... The loss was almost more than she could bear.

They’d worked together at the hotel. He’d taught her everything about the business. He’d been her friend, confidant, mentor. How was she going to be able to go on without him?

For Nassos not to be there anymore was killing her and she missed Danae terribly. Until the police had closed the case, Lys had been in limbo, trying to do her usual job, but her mind and heart hadn’t been there. When she did have to leave the hotel for any reason, she’d felt accusatory stares coming in all directions and avoided any publicity if she could help it.

Thankfully this was over and there’d be an end to the malicious talk that he’d been murdered. Hopefully everything would die down, but where did she go from here? Lys felt like she’d been driving her car when the steering wheel had suddenly disappeared, leaving her to plunge over a cliff. She was so heartbroken she could hardly think.

While in this state, the phone rang. Lys turned over to look at the caller ID. It was Xander Pappas, Nassos’s attorney. She picked up and learned that he’d be in Nassos’s private office at the hotel in a half hour to talk to her. The detective had already been in touch with him.

“I have something important to give you.”

She sat up in surprise. “Will Danae be meeting with us?” Lys longed to talk to her.

“No. We’ve already spoken and I’ve read her the will. She’ll be calling you about the funeral.”

“I see.”

Stabbed with fresh pain, Lys thanked him and hung up. If there hadn’t been a divorce, she and Danae would have planned his funeral together. Now everything had changed. More tears gushed down her cheeks before she got off the bed to freshen up.

Of course she hadn’t expected to be present at the reading of the will and hadn’t wanted to be. Danae had been married to Nassos for twenty-four years. That business was between the two of them.

A few minutes later she left for the corporate office downstairs. On the way, she couldn’t help but wonder what Xander wanted to give her. Nassos couldn’t have known when he would die, so she couldn’t imagine what it was.

After nodding to Giorgos, the annoying general manager of the hotel, she walked in to Nassos’s private office. The attorney greeted her and told her to sit down.

“I have two items to give you. Both envelopes are sealed. You’ll know what to do after you open the envelope marked Letter first. Nassos wrote to you at the time he divorced Danae.” He put both envelopes on the desk.

She swallowed hard. Nassos had written something that recently? “Have you read it?”

“No. He gave me instructions to give them both to you upon his death, whenever that would be. Who would have imagined he’d die this early in his life? I’ll miss him too and am so sorry since I know how close you two were. I’ll leave now. If you have any questions, call me at my office.”

After he left the room, Lys reached for the envelope and pulled out the letter with a trembling hand. She knew Nassos’s handwriting. He wrote with a certain panache that was unmistakable.

My dearest little Lysette,

Immediately her eyes filled with more tears.

I’ll always think of you that way, no matter how old you are when you read this letter. You’re the daughter I never had. Danae and I couldn’t have children. The problem was mine. I found out early in our marriage that I was infertile. It came as a great shock, but I’d dreamed of having children, so I wanted to adopt. She didn’t, and I could never talk her into it. I decided she didn’t love me enough or she would have agreed to try because I wanted children more than anything.

Six months ago, Xander let me know that he knew of a baby we could adopt. I went to Danae and begged her. It could be our last chance, but she still said no. In my anger I divorced the woman I loved and always will. Now I’m paying for it dearly because I don’t believe she’ll forgive me.

You need to know that you were never the reason for our marital troubles. I ruined things at the beginning of our marriage by making an issue that she stay at home. I insisted she quit her job because I was raised with old-fashioned ideas. I was wrong to impose them on Danae. She’s very much a modern woman and a part of me resented the fact that she couldn’t be happy at home.

Please realize that your coming to us helped keep our marriage together and deep down she knows it. I’m afraid it was because of my damnable pride—my greatest flaw—nothing more, that made me divorce her, so never ever blame yourself. If I was hard on you because of the men you dated, it was only because of my desperate fear you might end up in a bad marriage with a man who didn’t value you enough. Danae felt the same way.

Forgive us if we hurt you in any way.

“Oh, Nassos—” Lys cried out in relief and anguish.

You have a massive inheritance from your father that will be given to you on your twenty-seventh birthday. He dictated that specific time in his will to make sure you’d be mature enough when you came into your money.

Lys was incredulous. She’d thought it had all been incorporated into the Rodino empire. Nassos would have deserved every euro of it.

Again, I have no idea how old you are now that I’m dead. I suspect you’re a very wealthy woman, hopefully married with children, maybe even grandchildren. And happy!

As you will have found out from Danae, she inherited everything with one exception...the hotel is your inheritance from me to own and run as you will.

Lys reeled physically and clung to the arms of the chair.

No. It wasn’t possible. The hotel should have been given to Danae, who understood the hotel business very well. It was Nassos who’d hired her away from another hotelier to come and work for him twenty-four years ago. How sad that even after his death, Nassos couldn’t allow her to continue in a career she’d enjoyed.

Lys’s eyes closed tightly for a moment.

Danae hadn’t contacted Lys yet. There hadn’t been time. How could Nassos have done this to the woman he’d loved? Wiping her eyes, she went on reading.

But you’re not the sole owner, Lys.

What? The shocks just kept coming.

Before you take possession, you must give the sealed envelope to Takis Manolis. You’ve heard me and Danae talk about him often enough. When he came to Crete periodically, we’d discuss business on my yacht where we could be private. I never did believe in mixing my business matters with my personal life. The two don’t go together.

You’ll know where to find him when the time comes. The two of you will share ownership for six months. After that time period, you’ll both be free to make any decisions you want.

By the time you read this, he’s probably married with children and grandchildren too. I’ve thought of him as the son I never had.

It was my thrill and privilege to be your guardian, friend and adoptive father for the child of my best friend Kristos.

Love always,

Nassos.

* * *

You can’t go home again.

Whoever coined the phrase was wrong. Yes, you could go home again.

In the last eleven years, Takis Manolis had made four trips a year to Crete and nothing had changed... Not the pain, not the landscape, not his family.

Naturally they were all a little older each time he flew here from New York and later from Italy, but everything had stayed the same if you looked at the inner vessel.

The village of Tylissos where he’d been born was still situated on the northeastern mountainside of Psiloritis near the sea. Time hadn’t altered it a whit.

Nor had it altered the views of Takis’s father or his elder brother, Lukios, who helped their father run the old ten-room hotel.

His family followed the philotimo creed for all Cretans to maintain their unflappable dignity even if their existence bordered on poverty when the hotel didn’t fill. They respected the rich and didn’t try to become something greater than they were. Takis was baffled that they didn’t mind being poor and accepted it as their lot in life.

Until recent years there’d been very little inherited wealth in Greece. Most of the Greek millionaires were self-made, but envy wasn’t part of his brother’s or his father’s makeup.

Takis’s older sister, Kori, married to a cook at one of the village restaurants where she worked, didn’t have to tell him that she and her husband, Deimos, struggled to make a decent living.

They had a little girl, Cassia, now three years old, who’d been in and out of the hospital after her birth because of chronic asthma and needed a lot of medical care. He was thankful that at least Kori kept the cash he’d given her for a belated birthday present, knowing she’d use it for bills.

Though the family accepted the gifts he brought whenever he came, pride prevented his father from taking any monetary help. Lukios was the same. Being a married man with a wife and two children, who were now four and five, he would never look to Takis for assistance to make life a little easier for his family and in-laws.

This centuries-old pride thwarted Takis’s heartfelt need and desire to shower his family with all the things of which they’d been deprived and caused him deep grief.

Early in life he’d known he was different from the rest of them, never going along with their family’s status quo. Though he’d never openly fought with his father or brother, he’d struggled to conform.

His mother knew how he felt, but all she could do was urge Takis to keep the peace. When he’d told her of his dreams to go to college to better himself, she’d said it was impossible. They didn’t have the money. None of the Manolis family had ever gone for a higher education.

Takis just couldn’t understand why neither his father nor brother didn’t want to expand and grow the small hotel that had been handed down from an earlier generation. He could see nothing wrong with trying to build it into something bigger and better. To be ambitious didn’t make you dishonorable, but his father and brother weren’t risk takers and refused to change their ways.

There were times when he wondered if he really was his parents’ birth child. Except that his physical features and build proclaimed him a Manolis through and through.

By his midteens, Takis had feared that if he stayed on Crete, he would turn into his brother, who was a clone of the Manolis men before him, each having so little to show for all their hard work. More and more his ideas clashed with his father’s over how to bring in more clients and build another couple of floors on the hotel.

Takis had worked out all his ideas in detail. One day he’d approached his father in all seriousness, wanting to talk to him man-to-man. But when he made his proposals, his father said something that stopped him cold.

Your ideas do you credit, my son, but they don’t reflect my vision for our family business. One day you’ll be a man and you’ll understand.

Understand what?

Pierced by his father’s comment, Takis took it to mean his ideas weren’t good enough and never would be, even when he became a man.

At that moment something snapped inside Takis. He determined to go to college despite what his mother had said.

So he bought a secondhand bike and after helping his father during the week on a regular basis, he rode the few kilometers to his second job at the famous Rodino hotel and resort in Heraklion on weekends to earn extra money. The manager was soon impressed with Takis’s drive. In time he introduced him to the owner of the hotel, Nassos Rodino, who had several talks with Takis about his financial situation.

One day the unimaginable had happened. Kyrie Rodino called him to his office and helped him apply for a work visa and permit to travel to New York. His best friend, Kristos Theron, the owner of a successful hotel in New York City, would let Takis work for him. He could make a lot more money there and go to the kind of college that would help him get ahead in the business world. He’d improve his English too.

Takis couldn’t believe anyone would do something so fantastic for him and returned home to tell his parents about the opportunity.

His mother kept quiet. As for his father, he listened and nodded. If this is what you want to do, then you must do it.

But how do you feel about it, Baba? Takis had still wanted his father’s approval.

His father shrugged his shoulders. Does it matter? You’re eighteen years old now and are in charge of your own destiny. At eighteen a man can leave his father and make his own way.

That isn’t the answer I was hoping for. His father hadn’t given him his blessing and probably resented Nassos Rodino for making any of this possible.

If you’re a man, then you don’t need an answer.

Takis had felt rebuked. His mother remained silent as he left the room with a hurt too deep to express. After the talk with his father, he’d had the feeling his parent had already felt abandoned before he’d even approached him.

Combined with the pain of having recently lost his girlfriend, who’d been killed in a bus accident, he finally made the decision to leave home. She’d been the one he could confide in about his dreams.

After all their talks, she’d known he’d been afraid to leave his family in case they thought he was letting them down. But she’d encouraged him and told him to spread his wings. They’d talked about her joining him in New York at a later date.

With her gone, he’d had no one who understood everything going on inside him. Her compassion had made her such an exceptional person, and he’d never found that incredible quality in the women he’d met since leaving Crete.

In the end, he’d made the decision to go after the opportunity that would enrich his life and he vowed, one day, that he would return and help his family in every capacity possible.

That was a long time ago.

On this cool March day, he held in the tears as he embraced his mother one more time. On this trip he noticed she’d aged and hadn’t exhibited her usual energy. That troubled him. “I promise I’ll be back soon.”

“Why don’t you come home to live? You can afford it. We miss you so much.” Her tears tugged at his heart.

His father didn’t weep, but Takis detected a new sorrow in his eyes. Why was it there? Why didn’t his parent speak the words of love and acceptance he longed to hear?

“Do what you have to do.” Those were similar to the words he’d said to Takis before he’d left for New York eleven years ago. “Be safe, my son.”

But his father still hadn’t been the one to ask him to come home or tell him he’d like him to work at the hotel with the family again. Had Takis done irreparable damage to their relationship?

“You too, Baba.” His throat had swollen with emotion. “Stay well.”

He turned to his mother once more. Was the sorrow he’d seen in his father’s eyes over concern for his wife? Was there something wrong with her? With his father? Something no one in the family was telling him?

This visit had troubled him with thoughts he didn’t want to entertain. He hugged everyone and kissed his nieces and nephews. Then he climbed into the taxi in front of the family-owned hotel that needed refurbishing. Heaven knew it needed everything. They needed everything.

His eyes clung to his mother’s once more. Had she been trying to tell him something? He blew her a kiss.

The flight to Athens would be leaving from Heraklion airport in four hours. First he would attend the funeral services for Nassos Rodino at the Greek Orthodox church in the heart of Heraklion. The recently divorced hotel owner, rumored to have a mistress, had suffered a stroke in the prime of his life—a stroke that had preceded his death. This had shocked Takis, who’d met with the man, who had given him so much, on his yacht to talk business when Takis had last come to Crete.

Most important to Takis was that he owed the hotelier a debt that bordered on love. His gratitude to the older man knew no bounds.

In truth he couldn’t think of another successful man who would have gone to such lengths to give Takis the chance to better himself, even to go as far as sponsoring him in the United States.

Once the funeral was over, he’d fly to Athens. From there he’d take another flight to Milan, Italy, where he was part owner, and manager of the five-star Castello Supremo Hotel and Ristorante di Lombardi.

But all the way to the church his mother’s words rang in his ears. Why don’t you come home to live. You can afford it. His mother had never been so outspoken in her thoughts before.

Yes, he could afford it. In the eleven years he’d been away, he’d made millions while his family continued to eke out their existence.

Was she telling him something without coming right out and saying it? Was she ill? Or his father? Death with dignity? Never saying a word? Damn that pride of theirs if it was true!

Neither Kori nor Lukios had said anything, but maybe his siblings had been kept in the dark. Then again maybe nothing was wrong and his mother, who was getting older, was simply letting him know how much they’d missed him.

He missed them too. Of course he’d come back in an instant if they needed him. But to come home for good? Even if his two business partners were in agreement and bought him out—even if he sold his hotel chain in New York, would his father allow him to work alongside him? What if he refused Takis’s help? What would Takis do for the rest of his life? Build a new hotel conglomerate on Crete?

His eyes closed tightly. He could never do that to his father and use the Manolis name. A son honored his father and showed him respect by never taking anything away from him.

Two years ago Takis had built a children’s hospital in his hometown village of Tylissos on Crete in order that his niece Cassia would get the kind of skilled medical help she needed. The hospital gave free medical care with no child turned away.

He’d kept his dealings anonymous, using local people who had no idea Takis had funded everything including the doctors’ salaries. It helped him to know he was doing something for his family, even if they weren’t aware of it.

Long ago Takis had lost hope that one day his father might be proud of him for trying to make something of his life in order to help them. His parent had never been anything but kind to him, but deep in his heart lived the fear that his family had always compared him to their ever faithful Lukios and would never see Takis in the same light.

In his pain he needed to get back to Italy and ask advice from his partners, who were as close to him as brothers.

“Kyrie?” The taxi driver broke in on his tormented thoughts by telling him they’d arrived at the corner of the square.

Takis had been in a daze. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll be back in an hour.” He handed him some bills and got out to join a crowd of people entering the church, where the covered coffin faced east.

Once he found a seat, he listened to the white-robed priest who conducted the service. After leading them in hymns and scriptures, the priest asked God to give Nassos rest and forgive all his sins. As far as Takis was concerned, the man had no sins. Because of him, Takis had been given a precious gift that had changed his life completely. But at what price?

Soon the bereaved, dressed in black, started down the aisle to go to the cemetery. One dark-haired woman in a black veil appeared particularly overcome with sorrow. Nassos’s ex-wife? Takis had never met her. Nassos had kept their few meetings totally private.

Because he’d arrived late, he’d taken a seat on the aisle at the back. While he waited for everyone to pass, his gaze happened to fasten on probably the most gorgeous young dark-blonde woman he’d ever seen in his life.

Her two-piece black suit provided the perfect foil for her stunning classic features only rivaled by violet eyes. Their color reminded him of the Chaste plant belonging to the verbena family that grew all over Crete. They peered out of dark lashes that took his breath. But he could see she was grief stricken. Who was she?

He turned his head to watch her walk out the rear of the church. If he weren’t going to be late to catch his flight, he’d drive to the cemetery and find out her name. Hers was a face and figure he would never forget, not in a lifetime.

CHAPTER TWO

FIVE DAYS AFTER the funeral, Lys left Giorgos, the manager of the Rodino Hotel, in charge. The paparazzi took pictures as she climbed in the limo taking her to the airport for her flight to Athens. It connected to another flight to Milan, Italy. Her destination was the Castello Supremo Hotel and Ristorante di Lombardi.

In the year before her father’s death, she’d heard her father and Nassos talking about a new employee at her father’s hotel named Takis Manolis. Nassos had made it possible for the younger man from Crete to get a work visa and go to college in the United States while working at her father’s hotel in New York. Lys’s understanding was that he was exceptional and showed real promise in the hotel industry.

Their interest had piqued her interest, but she’d never met him since she and her father had lived in their own home in the city. She’d rarely gone to the hotel for any reason.

After her father’s death, and the move to Crete to Nassos and Danae’s villa on Kasos, the name of Takis came up again. Nassos spoke fondly of him and she learned more about him. The Manolis teen had come from Tylissos and had needed help to escape a life that was close to the poverty line.

When Lys asked Nassos why he cared so much, he’d told her the young man had reminded him of himself at that age. Nassos, who’d gotten little help from his ailing grandfather, had to fish from a row boat and sell his catch at the market to support them. Lys’s father, Kristos, also dirt-poor, started fishing with him.

Both men had wanted more out of life and had gone after it. In time they built businesses that grew until Kristos decided to travel to New York and take over a hotel there.

Nassos was able to buy property in Heraklion and build a hotel on Crete. He’d made it into a huge success story. Nassos had seen that same hunger in Takis, who he said was brilliant and had vision in a way that separated him from the masses. Both men wanted Takis to realize his dream. That’s why Nassos had made it possible for Takis to travel to New York and work at the hotel Lys’s father had owned. Their hunch had paid off in a huge way.

Later on, through Nassos, Lys learned more about the enterprising Takis. His chain of hotels and stock market investments had turned him into a billionaire. She found herself fantasizing about him, and loved Nassos for his goodness. He was a saint who’d become the father she’d lost. Imagine making such a thing possible for the younger man, who was a homegrown Cretan like himself!

Though she couldn’t imagine how Takis Manolis would feel when he heard the news that he was the new half owner of the Rodino Hotel, she was excited to be able to carry out Nassos’s final wish. In truth she couldn’t wait to meet this twenty-nine-year-old man she’d heard talked about for so long.

She’d endowed him with her idea of what the perfect Cretan man looked like. It was very silly of her, but she couldn’t help it. Both her father and Nassos had made him out to be someone so unique and fascinating, she’d wouldn’t be human if her imagination hadn’t taken over.

As for her being the other half owner, she didn’t know how she felt about it yet. Everything depended on today’s meeting.

It was midmorning as Lys left her hotel in Milan dressed in a heavy black Ralph Lauren shirt dress she could wear without a coat. After setting out on her mission, she gave the limo driver directions to the castello outside the city. Then she sat back to take in the fabulous scenery of farms and villas lined with the tall narrow cypress trees indigenous to the region.

Mid-March felt like Heraklion, a cool fifty-eight degrees under cloudy skies. The only difference was that Milan wasn’t by the sea. According to Nassos, this refurbished Italian monument built on top of a hill in the thirteen hundreds—originally the home of the first Duc di Lombardi—was a triumph that Takis shared with two business partners. It had become the showplace of Europe.

Lys had come to Italy without letting anyone know where she was going, or why, only that she’d be out of the country for an indefinite period. It was heaven to escape Crete for a little while where few people would recognize her. If anyone knew her reason for coming here, it would make more headlines she didn’t want and would do anything to avoid.

Hopefully the press would leave her alone from now on. Though sorrow weighed her down, she intended to ignore any further publicity and carry on as Nassos had expected her to do.

The driver let her out at the base of steps leading to the front entrance. During her climb, she marveled at the trees and flowers surrounding the building. This was a magnificent edifice, high up where she could see the landscape in the far distance. No wonder the Duc di Lombardi found this the perfect place to rule his kingdom.

Inside the entry she was struck by the palatial grandeur with its sweeping corridor of glass doors and chandeliers. The exquisite furniture and paintings of a former time created a matchless tapestry of beauty in the Italian tradition.

A few hotel guests came out of the dining room area. Others walked down the hallway toward the front desk. A lovely woman at the counter, maybe thirty, smiled at her. “May I help you?” she asked in Italian.

Lys answered in English because she could only speak a few words in Italian. “I’m here to see Mr. Manolis, if that’s possible.”

“Do you have an appointment?” Her switch to excellent English was impressive.

“No. I just flew in to Milan. If he’s not available, I’ll make an appointment and come back because this is vitally important to me.”

“Are you a tour guide?”

“No.”

The woman studied her briefly before she said, “What’s your name?”

“Ms. Theron.”

“If you’ll take a seat, I’ll see if I can locate him.”

Wonderful. He was here somewhere. She’d been prepared to fly to New York to see him if necessary. By coming here first, she’d saved herself a long overseas flight.

This close now to meeting the man her father and Nassos had cared so much about, she felt an attachment to him difficult to explain. Apparently if she’d met this Takis in Heraklion and had started dating him, Nassos would have given his wholehearted approval.

Lys was dying to know what he looked like. As Nassos had explained in his letter to her, he never liked mixing business with his personal life, so she could only guess. Neither he nor Danae had ever mentioned that aspect of him. With a heightened sense of excitement, she turned and sat on one of the beautiful upholstered chairs with the distinctive Duc di Lombardi logo. Her heart pounded hard while she waited to meet Takis.

* * *

Midmorning Takis sat with his partners in the private dining room on the second floor of the castello. This was the first time he’d had a chance to speak to them after returning from Crete. So far he was no closer to knowing what to do about his worry over his parents and he wanted their opinions. Vincenzo had asked that breakfast be brought up from the kitchen, but Takis had lost his appetite and only wanted coffee.

“You don’t have to make any kind of a rash decision right now,” his friend counseled. “Rather than just a weekend visit, why don’t you simply go back to Tylissos for a couple of weeks? We’ll be fine without you. Stay with your family, see what you can do to help out. Surely if there’s something wrong with either of your parents, you’ll pick up on it and go from there.”

As usual, Vincenzo, the present-day Duc di Lombardi, made sense.

Cesare Donati, whose oversight of the restaurant had turned the hotel into the place to dine in all of Europe, eyed him over his cup of coffee. “What would be wrong by going home and asking them outright if there’s a problem they don’t want you to know about? Do it in front of the whole family so if anyone squirms, you’ll see it.”

That was good advice too. Cesare wasn’t one to hold back. He acted on instincts, thus the reason he was the best restaurateur on five continents.

“I’m listening, guys, and am taking both ideas under consideration.” Two weeks with his family would give him enough time to get the truth out of them. While he was there he could also track down the woman he’d seen at the funeral whose image wouldn’t leave his mind.

While he was deep in thought, his phone rang. Takis checked the caller ID. It was the front desk. He clicked on. “Yes, Sofia?” The woman was Swiss-born and spoke six languages.

“Sorry to bother you when I know you’re in a meeting, but a woman I don’t recognize has flown to Milan and come to the castello to see you. She’s not a tour guide and says it’s of vital importance, but she didn’t explain the nature of her business. She had no card. Her last name is something like Tierrun.”

“What’s her nationality?”

“She sounds American to me.” Maybe she’d been sent from his headquarters in New York for a special reason, but Takis found it strange that his assistant hadn’t said anything. “Do you wish to meet with her, or shall I make an appointment?”

Takis had no idea what this was all about, but he might as well take care of it now. “I’ll be right there. Take her back to my office.” He rang off and glanced at his friends. “I’ve got to meet someone downstairs. Thanks for the much needed advice. I’ll talk to you later.”

* * *

Lys followed the concierge down a hall lined with several doors. She opened the one on the right. “Mr. Takis will be with you in a minute. Make yourself comfortable. Would you care for coffee or tea while you wait?”

“Nothing, thank you.”

After the woman left, Lys sat down near the desk. On the top of it were several little framed snapshots of what she assumed were family photos. Some she surmised were of his parents, some were his siblings and small children. Along with those pictures was a small statue of King Minos, the mythological leader of the great Minoan civilization on Crete, who was clothed in mythology.

As she continued to look around the uncluttered room, a cry escaped her lips. Hanging on the wall across from her was a large framed picture of a younger Nassos with a lot of black hair, standing on the deck of his yacht in a sport shirt and trousers. Takis must have taken it with a camera and had sent the photo to be enlarged. There were no other pictures.

With pounding heart she jumped up from the chair and walked over to get a closer look. Nassos’s signature was in the bottom right hand corner. He’d personalized it. Bravo, Takis. He signed everything with a flourish.

Seeing him so alive and vital in the picture brought tears to her eyes. He would be thrilled if he knew his autographed photo hung in the office of his unofficial protégé in the most prominent spot. The fact that this man had honored Nassos this way told her a lot about his character and she knew he was deserving of the gift he was about to receive.

Lys heard a little rap on the open door and whirled around.

She hadn’t known what she’d expected to see. Only her imagination could have provided that. But it wasn’t the tall, hard-muscled male so striking in a rugged way who’d just walked in his office...an olive-complexioned man come to life from ancient Crete though he was dressed in a stone-colored business suit and tie.

“Oh—” she cried softly because the sight of him caused her thoughts to reel.

Those penetrating hazel eyes of his put her in mind of one of those heroic dark-blond warriors depicted in frescos on the walls of temples and museums. She studied his arresting features, remembering one prince who could have been his double. The five o’clock shadow on his firm jaw gave him a sensual appeal she hadn’t been prepared for.

While she continued to stare at him, she realized he’d been examining her the way someone did who couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He gave her a slight nod. “The woman at the desk thought you were American, but didn’t quite get your name.” The man spoke English with a heavy accent she found exciting.

“I’m Lys Theron,” she said in Greek.

A look of astonishment crossed over his face. “Wait,” he said, as if sorting out a puzzle. “Theron... Kristos Theron. He was your father?”

“Yes.”

Clearly her answer shocked him.

“He was a wonderful man. It came as a terrible blow when I heard about the plane crash. He’d been very kind to me. I’m so sorry you lost him.”

“So am I.”

The second she’d spoken, silence enveloped the room’s interior. His eyes seemed to go dark from some unnamed emotion. A hand went to the back of his neck, as if he were questioning what he’d just heard. “I saw you at Nassos’s funeral last weekend,” he murmured in Greek.

His admission shook her to the core. “You were there?”

“That’s right. I wouldn’t have missed it. Aside from my father, Nassos Rodino was the finest man I ever knew. His death came as a great shock to me.”

He’d been at the church! No wonder he’d stared so hard at her, but she hadn’t seen him. Her pain had been too great.

She took a deep breath. “To know you flew to Heraklion to honor him, and that you have his photograph hanging in this office, would have meant the world to him.”

A strange sound came out of him. “You’re a relation of his?”

“I was seventeen when my father died. Nassos was his best friend and became my guardian. He took me back to Crete where I lived with him and his wife.”

He shook his head. “I can’t credit it. You and I never met, yet your father and Nassos are the reason I have a life here.”

“I’ve heard about you for years and have been wanting to meet you. You’re the brilliant son of Nikanor Manolis from Tylissos. Nassos’s belief in you was clearly deserved.”

His chest rose and fell visibly. “His support was nothing short of a miracle,” he whispered.

“A miracle couldn’t work if the seeds of greatness weren’t already there.”

Another unearthly quiet emanated from him, prompting her to speak. “I was sixteen when I first learned about you. Nassos came to visit often and asked my father if he’d give you a job at the hotel in New York. I thought it was so wonderful that they wanted to help you so you could go to college. They really believed in you!”

He moved closer. “Your father’s close friendship with Nassos made it possible for me to work and go to school. He was very good to me.”

“To me too.” She smiled. “It was hard to lose him when I did.”

She felt his compassionate gaze. “I can only imagine your feelings right now. I’m sorry you’ve suffered so many losses.”

“Death comes to us all at some point.” She sucked in her breath, still dazed by his striking looks, in fact by the whole situation. “To be honest, I’ve always wanted to meet the famous Takis Manolis. The last time Nassos spoke of you, he said you were already a living legend before you were thirty.”

His dark brows furrowed as if in utter disbelief over those words, revealing a humility she found admirable.

“Please. Sit down.” While she did his bidding, he paced the floor looking shaken, then he stopped. “Can I get you anything? Have you had breakfast?”

“Thank you, but I ate before I left the hotel in Milan several hours ago. I should have contacted you for an appointment ahead of time, but decided to take my chances and fly here first. I haven’t taken a real trip in a long time. I love getting away from everything for a little while.”

“I don’t blame you. I saw what was written about you in the paper while I was in Crete. The press manages to find a way if they’re looking for a story.” By the tone of disgust in his voice, she imagined he’d had to deal with his share of unwanted invasions. She could relate to his feelings, making it easier to confide in him.

“Nassos’s unexplained, unexpected death wasn’t solved until a week ago when the medical examiner said he’d died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Over the last month while everything was up in the air, the press labeled me everything from a murderer who’d poisoned him, to an opportunistic floozy. You could add adulteress, narcissistic liar and evil spawn of Satan in some of the more sordid tabloids. The list goes on and on.”

Their eyes met. “Is that all?” he teased unexpectedly, catching her off guard. His bone-melting charm, not to mention his refreshing humor was so welcome, she felt a great release and laughter bubbled out of her.

She could easily understand why Nassos had found him an extraordinary human being in ways other than his business acumen. After reading Nassos’s letter, she knew Nassos hadn’t talked to him about her or Danae. Nassos had always been a very private person.

“I came to see you for a very specific reason, but if this isn’t a good time to talk, please say so. I can return to Milan and wait until I hear from you. Or I’ll fly back to Crete and come another time when it’s more convenient.”

His eyes narrowed on her features. “The daughter whom Nassos helped raise for his best friend has my full, undivided attention. Tell me what’s on your mind. Obviously it’s very important to you, otherwise you wouldn’t have flown all this distance during your bereavement. I’d do anything for him, so that translates I’d do anything for you. Just name it.”

Lys felt his sincerity sink deep into her psyche. “Thank you for saying that. I guess I don’t have to tell you what this means to me.”

Takis sat on the corner of his desk. “How can I help you?” he asked in a quiet tone, drawing her attention to his powerful legs beneath his trousers. She couldn’t stop noticing every exciting male trait about him.

“It concerns the hotel in Heraklion.”

One of his brows lifted in query. “Go on.”

She got up from the chair, struggling with how to approach him. “In his will, every possession and asset of his except the hotel was left to his ex-wife, Danae.”

The man listening to her didn’t move a muscle, but she saw a quickening in his eyes, not knowing what it meant.

“That was as it should be,” she continued. “Danae was his devoted wife for twenty-four years. When they divorced, he left her with everything she would need. Now that she has received the full inheritance he left her, I know she’ll be well provided for all of her life.”

“So I’m presuming the hotel is now yours.”

Lys shook her head. “I only have half ownership and didn’t want the half he left me.”

Lines marred his features before he got to his feet. “That’s very strange, but what does any of it have to do with me?” Confusion was written all over his handsome face.

Lys had tried to present this the right way, but she wasn’t getting through to him. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Nassos hoped to leave a lasting legacy. Since none of us knows when we’re going to die, he took precautions early to preserve that legacy when the time came, whenever that was.”

“I still can’t believe he’s gone.” His mournful comment touched her heart.

“Neither can I. Because he didn’t have children, it meant putting the hotel in the hands of someone who understands and shares his vision.”

Takis was listening. “That was you.”

She took a deep breath. “I worked for him, yes. But I think this decision was made because he’d been my guardian and was always protective of me. He probably felt I needed someone to share the responsibility so I wouldn’t make a serious mistake.”

His brows dipped. “Mistake?”

“Yes. He loved the myth of King Minos, who forgot to rule wisely. Because of his mistake, he was killed by the daughters of King Cocalus, who poured boiling water over him while he was taking a bath. I notice you have a little statue of him.”

“The story of King Minos intrigued me as a youth too.”

Lys smiled sadly. “It proves you and Nassos had minds that thought alike. More than ever I’m convinced there was only one other person he could think of who would honor what he’d built.”

She opened her handbag and pulled out the sealed envelope she handed to him. “That person is you, Kyrie Manolis. His attorney instructed me to give this to you. Any explanations are inside. I don’t know the contents.”

If Nassos had another flaw besides his pride, it was his secrecy, which had left Lys at a loss.

After clearing her throat she said, “In case you’re not aware, it made Nassos happier than you could ever imagine to know that the little help he gave you in the beginning was the only thing you needed to go all the way. It means a lot to me to have met you after all this time. Not everyone could accomplish what you’ve done in so short a time. I’m truly impressed.”

She moved to the door while he stood there in a trancelike state. “I have to get back to Crete. Please don’t take long to let me know your plans. I wrote my private cell phone number on the back of that envelope. I live at the hotel and will meet with you at your convenience. Now I must get going. My limo is waiting in the front courtyard. Kalimera.”

She hurried down the hall. To stay in that room with him any longer wasn’t a good idea. They’d only just met, yet she’d felt a strong, immediate attraction to Takis that had rocked her world. It had gotten its start in the long-ago conversations between her father and Nassos, and the impression she’d created of the younger man who’d been hungry to better his life.

She knew she had to get away from him and leave the castello before she didn’t want to leave. Lys had never felt these kinds of initial feelings about any man in her life.

Those playboys who’d passed in and out of her life couldn’t touch this extraordinary man, who’d earned the highest praise from her father and Nassos. The intense way he was looking at her, the emotions he’d aroused, had caused her bones to melt.

CHAPTER THREE

TAKIS KNEW HE HADN’T dreamed up this meeting with the woman Nassos had helped raise. When she left his office, her flowery fragrance lingered, providing proof she’d been in here.

He’d seen tears in her eyes when she’d heard him enter the room. She’d just been looking at Nassos’s picture. The exquisite woman who’d walked down the aisle at the funeral had been his ward at one time. Shame on Takis for wondering if she could have been the mistress talked about in the news.

How old was Lys Theron? Twenty-five, twenty-six? And now she was half owner of the hotel, with Takis owning the other half.

Several emotions bombarded him, not the least of which was the attraction to her he’d felt at the funeral. He looked at the envelope his hand had squeezed without his being aware of it. According to her, this was Nassos’s gift to him.

Utterly incredulous, he opened it and pulled out a letter and a deed. To his shock it was official all right, signed with Nassos’s distinctive signature, stamped and dated. There it was in bold letters.

Takis Manolis, half owner of the Rodino Hotel in Heraklion.

The letter indicated he should get in touch with the attorney Xander as soon as possible. Once Takis returned to Heraklion, he could sign the deed in front of witnesses so it could be recorded and filed for the court.

He read more. Neither owner would be free to do what they wanted with the hotel until six months had passed.

Aghast, he shook his head. What on earth had possessed Nassos to do such a thing?

Once Takis’s hotels in New York had started making money, he’d paid the older hotelier for the help he’d given him. No amount could really be enough. How did you assign goodness a monetary value? He’d tried, but to his chagrin Nassos was now gone and there’d be no last time to thank him for everything.

This unimaginable development had thrown him.

For Nassos to turn around and simply give him half the hotel in Heraklion made no sense whatsoever. Takis didn’t want the hotel! He’d paid him back generously.

What in the hell was Nassos thinking? Now that he’d passed away, there was no way to confront him about this. The inconceivable gesture made him feel as if he’d always be the boy who’d come from near poverty. The thought hurt him in a way that went soul deep.

To add to the hurt, this deed had been delivered by special messenger in the form of Nassos’s beautiful former ward. Why would he force Takis’s hand by making him a co-owner with her?

She was too damn beautiful. The kind of woman he never imagined to meet. Didn’t want to meet. Only one other woman had touched his heart and she’d died. He didn’t want to experience those kinds of feelings again. Yet a few minutes with this woman and a fire had been lit.

How did she feel about being half owner with a stranger, even if she knew a lot about him from Nassos and her father?

His thoughts centered on what she’d told him about the way the press had labeled her in the cruelest of ways. With her kind of unforgettable looks, she was an easy target. Was Nassos’s divorce the result of his taking on Kristos’s lovely teenage daughter to raise?

What business is it of yours to care, Manolis?

Unfortunately it was his business until he could fly to Crete and clear up this whole mess with the attorney of record.

Adrenaline surged through his veins. He wished to hell none of this had happened. He still couldn’t believe Nassos was gone. Worse, he didn’t want to know anything about her. Takis wished he’d never laid eyes on her. He didn’t want this kind of a complication in his life. Loving a woman made you vulnerable.

A violent epithet flew from his lips. In his rage he tossed the deed across the room. It hit Cesare in the chest as he walked inside Takis’s office.

With great calm his friend picked it up and put it on the desk. He shot Takis a questioning glance. “I take it this had something to do with the drop-dead-gorgeous woman I saw leaving the hotel a minute ago. Where on earth did she come from?”

Takis had trouble getting his emotions under control. “You don’t want to know.”

“Yes I do. You’ve been with several women over the years, but I’ve never seen you turned inside out by one before.”

“It’s not just the woman. It’s everything!” His voice shook. “I feel like my world has been blown to smithereens and I don’t know where I am anymore.”

Takis should never have left his parents’ home. He should have stayed on Crete and worked alongside his brother. He’d been so certain he’d had all the answers to help his family. But in the end he’d accepted the help of a wealthy man.

The thought of the deeded gift sickened him. That kind of gift might be given to a son, but Takis hadn’t been Nassos’s son. He was the son of Nikanor, who after all these years still didn’t want his money. Neither did his brother. Worse, one of his parents was probably ill and Takis didn’t have a clue because he’d been living out of the country for years. He was the ingrate of all time.

“What’s the point of anything, Cesare?”

Worry lines darkened the features of his Italian friend. “Hold on, Takis. Come with me. We’re going for a ride. My car is parked in the rear lot of the castello.”

“You don’t want to be with me.”

“Well, I refuse to leave you here alone. It wouldn’t do for Sofia to find you in this condition.” Cesare was right about that. He didn’t want his assistant privy to his personal life. “Whatever trouble you’re in, we’re going to talk about it. Let’s go.”

Takis grabbed the papers and stuffed them inside his suit jacket. They walked swiftly through the corridors past some of the guests to the outside. Cesare started up his sports car. He followed the road around from the back of the castello and they drove down the hill to the little village of Sopri. Before long he parked in front of a sports bar on the outskirts that didn’t look crowded this time of day.

They went inside and found a quiet spot in a corner. Cesare ordered appetizers and their favorite Peroni, a pale lager from the brewery that had been founded in Lombardi. Once they’d been served rolls along with a hot plate of grigliata mista di carne, he eyed Takis.

“You didn’t eat breakfast, which might explain the state you were in. You need lunch, amico, and you’ve got me for an audience. Now start talking and don’t stop.”

Cesare knew Takis’s weakness for their grilled sausage, lamb and steak mix. Combined with the lager, it did taste good and he could feel his strength returning.

He pulled the deed out of his pocket and pushed it toward Cesare. “As you know, I attended Nassos Rodino’s funeral while I was in Crete. Would you believe in his will he gave half the Hotel Rodino in Heraklion to me as a gift? The other half was given to that woman you saw. She was the courier who delivered it.”

His friend studied it. “Who is she?”

“Lys Theron, the daughter of Kristos Theron, the hotel owner in New York who gave me my first job after I reached the States. You remember me talking about him. When he died, his best friend, Nassos, Rodino became her guardian and brought her back to Crete to raise.”

A low whistle came out of Cesare. But Takis didn’t want to talk about the beautiful woman who’d robbed him of breath the moment he’d laid eyes on her. She was another problem altogether.

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