Greek Billionaire's Blackmailed Bride (The Rosso Family Series, #1) (3 page)

“It’s no wonder I’ve become a serial dater. The man defines the Greek-god type. I swear, sometimes I’m worried that he ruined me for any mere mortals!”

“You didn’t let him know that, did you?”

Claire gave a snort. “I was pretty mad and didn’t really try to hide it. I told him to pretty much stuff it. Oh, and seems I’ve inherited a villa.”

“What! Now that’s great news. A villa in Greece. Honey, you’ve got your vacation home now.”

“No...it’s going to a charity. Brenna, I need you to find me a good charity. Something for kids, maybe. Or other strays. Maybe kids and strays both.”

Brenna gave a laugh. “If you’re going to set up a charity in Greece, you’re going to have to stay there and sort that out. There’s going to be papers to sign.” Claire gave a groan. Brenna’s voice came back cheerful as ever. “Besides, it’ll give you a chance to stick his royal jerkness with some payback. Maybe you can work him out of your system.”

“Brenna! Are you serious? He offered me money to marry him!”

“Really? How much? As your agent, I can negotiate, but I’m taking my ten percent.”

Shaking her head, Claire stopped at a street corner. “I’m not doing it. I am not helping that...that...”

“Royal jerk?”

“Brenna, I know you mean well, but I’m not like you. I can’t stick around, sleep with him a few times, and then move on. I’m not wired that way. I’m coming home as soon as I can.”

“Claire, this is Brenna James, your agent talking. Get the legal stuff done first. You’re there. You’ve got a villa to sort out. Don’t leave that hanging or you know it’s going to be bugging you. And you’re going to be okay. Get yourself checked into the hotel—remember Aegis Studios is footing the bill—”

“I don’t want to take anything from any Rosso!”

“Stop thinking like that and start thinking about sticking a few bills where Rosso has to pay them. You want to simmer down and think this thing through. Okay? Okay. I’ll start hunting up some charities that actually do some good—there’s got to be a site that reviews charities, right? You get some rest and some food and we’ll talk soon. That sound like a good plan? Can do?”

“Okay. Can do. At least the hotel and sleep part.” Claire disconnected the call. She glanced around. She had no idea where she was—but she needed traffic and a taxi.

Just as she thought that, a car pulled up next to her. She glanced at it and saw Antonio in the driver’s seat. She faced him. “Go away and leave me alone!”

“Leave you walking the streets of Athens? Get in.” Leaning over, he opened the passenger door.

Claire stiffened. “Quit telling me what to do.”

“Please...come with me. Please? I can’t leave you wandering around. At least let me take you to your hotel?”

A
ntonio decided it was going to take more to convince Claire to get into his car. He got out and leaned on the BMW’s roof. “Look, our meeting didn’t go well earlier. But I couldn’t stand knowing you were on your own on the streets of Athens. It’s not really a safe place. Come with me. Or at the least let me buy you lunch and if you still insist you can’t stand the sight of me, I will call you a taxi.”

Her shoulders slumped. Her stare also darted to a nearby bistro. The smells coming from the place of roasting lamb and garlic were enough to get his stomach rumbling, too.

“Well, maybe just a soda.”

“Good.” He came around and took her luggage from her. Their fingers brushed and Claire almost jumped. Ah, so she wasn’t as immune to him as she had pretended. Perhaps he had other ways to convince her to do as he wished.

Taking her luggage, he put it in the trunk. He took Claire’s hand.

She waved at his car. “What about...?”

He tossed the keys to a waiter in the bistro. “Park it for me.” He let go of Claire’s hand, peeled off a generous tip for the waiter and then put his hand on the small of Claire’s back to guide her to a table at the back.

“I feel more like my luggage.”

He held out her chair for her. “You’re not in the trunk.”

She sat, her purse on her lap, and glared at him. He smile and took the seat opposite her. “Relax. I don’t bite. Not like Matthias. Now, what would you like to eat?”

She gave a shrug. But she also lifted her face, as if scenting the delicious smells coming from the kitchen.

Antonio thought about arguing with her and decided it wasn’t worth the fight that would likely ensue. Taking matters into his own hand, he ordered them both salad, a bowl of the
fasolada
—a bean soup—a lamb
moussaka
, and
galaktoboureko
—custard in phyllo pastry—for dessert, and a good red wine. He was sure she wouldn’t be able to follow his Greek. Leaning his elbows on the table, he asked, “How was your flight?”

Claire looked at him, head tipped to the side. He was not sure he liked her hair so long—he remembered it curling in his fingers, soft and fine. She put her purse on the floor. “Fine. My flight was fine.”

“Good. And your family? How are they? Your parents love to travel, do I remember that right?”

“They’re good. In Africa on a safari and mission.”

“Mission? Ah, still doing their good works?”

“Yeah, well, they also want to see as much of the world as they can while they can. Are we going to try and do small talk?”

Antonio shrugged. Her green eyes lit when she talked about her parents, and a smile played around her lush lips. But he was not about to forget that she had something he wanted now—his mother’s villa.

“The smaller the talk, the safer it seems.”

The wine came. Claire twisted her glass but didn’t drink. “If we’re doing that, then, how are your sisters? You have two—right?”

“Alexandra finished university last year and is still trying to decide what to do next. Eva begins university in the fall. Growing up with Matthias for a father, how could they be anything but strong. They...they feel his death more than I, I think.

The waitress arrived with
tzatziki,
a cucumber and yoghurt salad. She smiled at Antonio and he smiled back. Claire narrowed her gaze and asked, “You can’t help it, can you? Why don’t you marry her?”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t help but have women flirt with you wherever you go, can you?”

Antonio looked at her for a moment and shook his head. “She’s is just a waitress.”

“Ah...just a regular person. Why didn’t you marry that wealthy heiress your dad must have picked for you?” Claire asked.

Antonio picked up his wine and took a gulp. “Matthias and I did not agree on many things.”

“But you agreed about me. You know, looking back on it, I don’t know what you ever saw in me. I mean, I’m not a super model. I’m not a superstar. I don’t have some amazing trust fund that allows me to jet around the world and party every night of the week.”

“Claire, stop it. Can’t we—”

“Forget the past? Your father hated me. Or that’s how it seemed. But he left me something that matters to you. Why? Because he was facing death? He knew he’d lost control of you, so he was giving in? Or was he really just setting up the ultimate control? Shoving me back at you as one last screw you to the son who wouldn’t do what he wanted?”

The food arrived, but Antonio suddenly couldn’t stand the smell of the lamb. He pushed away his plate. He wanted to defend his late father, but unfortunately, Matthias’s track record didn’t give him any room to argue with Claire’s thinking. His father had been a controlling man his entire life, and he hadn’t liked the idea of Antonio married to a poor American student. He’d done everything to break Antonio’s trust in her—and he had succeeded.

Was it too late to begin again?

He leaned forward. Claire was picking at her food. “How about we declare a truce on this issue? I don’t want to sit here and throw accusations at each other.”

“Fine.” Claire finished eating and threw her napkin on the table. The waitress swept away the plates and brought dessert. Claire took a bite and closed her eyes. “I have to say, Athens really knows how to do dessert right.”

“Tell me about your career. You did an animated film last year, did you not, that did very well at the box office.”

“Been checking up on me?”

“Aegis Studios hires only the best.”

Claire sipped her wine and said, “I’m contracted to do the sequel. It’s fun work and the pay is great.” She tried to hide a yawn.

Antonio thought about ordering coffee, but he knew she was feeling the time difference. He nodded at her unfinished dessert. “Finish your food, and then I will run you home and you can spend the afternoon relaxing.”

“Home?” Claire looked at him. “What about the hotel?”

“We can do the hotel if you want. But the Rosso estate sits empty just now. Except for the staff. If you stay, I will arrange for you to meet with the lawyers in the morning. And you can meet my sisters.”

She bit her lower lip. He wasn’t sure she would agree, but he wanted her close. Very close. He needed time to persuade her to do as he wished.

She finished her wine and smiled. “I suppose it might be fun to see the Rosso estate—maybe I’ll swap you the villa for that estate? Just maybe.”

Antonio smiled as well. But he stood and told himself he was going to put her into bed alone as soon as he could—he would not take advantage of a girl a little tipsy and also more than a little jet lagged. But tomorrow...tomorrow she would not be either of those things.

C
laire watched out the window of the BMW as it sped out of the congested city and into the Grecian countryside. The road wound up dry hills, past vineyards and olive orchards. All too soon, Antonio turned into a wrought iron gate, and everything changed.

Carefully groomed grounds rolled past. Flowering plants rioted under olive trees. She’d never been to the estate, but she couldn’t pull her attention away from the gorgeous man sitting beside her and the way his hands had rested lightly on the steering wheel of his luxury car.

He parked in front of a sprawling mansion that looked to have at least three floors. Columns bracketed both sides of the double front doors and balconies opened up from the upper floors. She glanced up, a little overwhelmed, and got out. Water splashed behind her in a fountain and the fragrance of flowers carried to her.

Antonio got out of the car and strode to the trunk that he’d popped open. “You have your choice from ten bedrooms—well, eight if you leave out my sister’s rooms. We have two swimming pool—one indoor, one outside—a tennis courts, stables, and the staff will see to anything you wish.”

She glanced at him. She hated to ask, but she had to. “And your room?”

“I live in the city.”

She reached for her luggage. He did as well. Their fingers touched and a shiver chased over her skin. She pulled back and tucked her hands under her arms. Glancing at Antonio, she watched him lift out her luggage. Under his white shirt, his shoulders worked, muscles flexing. Her mouth dried.

Turning from him, she looked at the house. “Seems a big place.”

“My father has...had bigger. He loved houses. They were his hobby. This one was a bombed out nightmare that he restored.”

Claire looked at him. She pulled her purse higher up onto her shoulder. Her head was spinning slightly and little dark spots floated across her vision. Before she knew it, Antonio had hold of her elbow. She tried to wave him off. “It’s just jet lag.”

He gave a nod. “Come on. I’ll get you settled. You have time for a nap, but no more. You want to switch to our time as soon as possible so I’ll have a maid wake you for dinner.”

She stiffened and resisted his tug. “There you go again, giving orders.”

Antonio frowned but he let go of her. “Will you please grace us with your company for dinner?”

“Us?”

“My sisters will be home this evening.” He ran up the steps and opened the front door. She followed him and stepped into a massive foyer. A pink marble floor stretched out to a curving staircase. Marble columns reached to the second story. Flowers stood in a massive vase on a round rosewood table.

“Gaia?” Antonio called out.

An older woman—Gaia obviously—came out from a side hall. Gray streaked her black hair, which she wore pulled back. She wore a conservative, black dress, and she gave Claire a measuring look from shrewd, black eyes.

“Gaia, this is Claire Bennett. She’ll be staying with us.”

Eyes narrowing, Gaia offered a tiny smile. Claire had the feeling Gaia had heard of her. She gave a nod, and Gaia turned to Antonio. “She should have the blue room. Your father would have put her there.”

“Dad would have put me outside the front gate,” Claire muttered.

Gaia gave no sign she had heard. She clapped her hands and two strapping young men appeared. Both wore black T-shirts and black trousers. One took Claire’s luggage and the other headed to the front to the car.

Antonio waved him away. “I’m going back to the city, but we’ll be eating in tonight.”

“Very good. Will your sisters be in as well?” Gaia asked.

“They should be.”

“No worries.” Gaia started up the stairs. Claire didn’t see any choice but to follow. She started up, but glanced back down to see Antonio watching her. She stopped and met his stare. What was he thinking?

“I’ll be back by six.” Antonio gave her a smile and strode out of the house.

Claire heard the car engine roar and then fade away. She shivered. She really was tired, but why shouldn’t she get at least a little enjoyment out of this trip. She followed Gaia upstairs to a bedroom painted in pale blue and hung with darker blue drapery. The windows opened out onto the garden, and Claire glimpsed the pool, sparkling in the sunlight.

“Will you take lunch?” Gaia asked.

“No. No. We ate in the city.” She winced. That sounded like she was on good terms with Antonio. Gaia put Claire's bag on the bed and started to open it, but Claire stepped forward. “Please, I can do that.”

Gaia straightened. “And, please, you must allow us to provide for you—that is our job. We have had few guest of late—Mr. Rosso was ill for so long.”

Seeing a chance to get some information, Claire asked, “Was he?”