Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 178200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 713(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 178200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 713(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
“Mairi, oh my God, look!”
Velvet’s excited voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she unthinkingly hurried to her friend's side. “What is—-” She made a face when she realized what Velvet was pointing to – the newest Harlequin titles were on the shelves now.
Heart squeezing, she managed to lift her chin and said snippily, “I don’t read those now.”
“Are you suuuuuuuuuure?” Velvet teased.
Mairi put her hands behind her back, just to be sure the temptation wouldn’t get to her. “Yes.”
“But, Mairi...there’s the newest one by Julia James...”
Oh, Mandy and her horribly good memory, Mairi thought even as she kept her gaze straight ahead, never dipping down to where the books were.
“...and look, a Greek billionaire novel by Lynne Graham!”
She still wasn’t going to look, Mairi told herself. So her favorite Harlequin author had written another Greek billionaire romance. Big deal. It wasn’t—-
Velvet wagged the book in front of Mairi.
Her control broke. “Oh, fine, if you insist!” Mairi grabbed the book. It really was about another Greek billionaire by Lynne Graham, she mused wonderingly as she started to walk back towards the counter, where she could check the book out. If she read this, she could pretend she was the heroine and—-
“Another Harlequin novel?” The librarian, Carrie, teased.
“Yeah.” She was red-faced with embarrassment even though she knew no one in school except for her friends were aware of what went on between Mairi and her own Greek billionaire.
As she waited for Carrie to input the book’s details in her library account, her gaze strayed around the newspapers and magazines on display next to the counter. There was one already half open, showing a full-page spread of what seemed like a party—-
Her heart stuttered to a stop when she realized what she was looking at. Slowly, she walked towards the newspaper stand, feeling like she was walking the Green Mile as she did.
Mairi picked up the newspaper.
“That’s one of our student’s brothers,” Carrie said helpfully from behind. “Two-thirds of Greece’s female population is heartbroken now because he’s finally picked a date for the wedding. The remaining one-third can’t confess to being sad since they’re all married.”
The photo wasn’t grainy at all like most other black-and-white newspaper photos. The Leventis money at work, she thought dully as her eyes glossed past Damen’s face, not wanting to really look at him.
The caption was direct to the point. Kokinos heiress, presenting Damen Leventis with his own engagement ring, possibly starting a new tradition in Greek high society.
Memories burned her mind, of herself in the arms of the man who now belonged to another woman – who had always belonged to another woman, even when he had taken her virginity.
She returned the newspaper to its stand, taking her time because with the way her hands were shaking, she might end up dropping it – or tearing it into pieces.
“I don’t think I’m going to borrow that after all, Carrie,” she heard herself saying faintly.
“Oh? Why not?”
“I think...I’m in the mood for some Stephen King instead. Or maybe some Romeo and Juliet. Anything where somebody dies please.”
Chapter 2
To trust a Greek billionaire, one must remember that he is the type to always go after you.
She said: And most times, it’s to remind a girl that she’s “lucky” to have them.
He said: I am a changed man now, matakia mou. These days, I am willing to wait until you admit it is so.
DAMEN NODDED HIS THANKS to the principal before walking past her, doing his best to keep his stride at a regular pace even though his heart was beating a little faster. He told himself it was just his imagination, but he knew it wasn’t.
No one looking at him would know he was uneasy. Everyone would have thought he was cool and collected, no different from how he typically appeared on TV or print.
He was also dressed exquisitely, his Italian suit handmade and somehow making him sexier than a guy in swimming trunks. There was just something about a man capable of carrying a ten-thousand-dollar suit without any difficulty that was infinitely appealing, breathlessly so if the gasps of the teachers and students who spotted him were anything to go by.
Again, he relied on his GPS to search for his sister, and it took him out of the school building and into an old but picturesque stone path that led to a greenhouse. As he came closer, its glass walls revealed its occupants, which were Diana and...
“YOU DON’T SAY...yay anymore.”
Mairi glanced up, startled, and then she was tempted to look away again when she realized it was Damen’s younger sister talking to her. Diana strongly resembled Damen in looks – strong enough that it made her remember what she had been trying for so many sleepless nights to forget.
The dark-haired girl had an uncertain smile on her face, forcing Mairi to muster a smile of her own. Diana’s shyness came from having an unsupportive mother, and having met Esther Leventis herself, Mairi could certainly relate.