I shouldn’t want him. He’s reckless. Cocky. Kat’s. But still… He made me want to trust him, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
A knock broke my thoughts, followed by Kat’s voice. “Tia? Let me in.”
I hesitated, then opened the door. Kat pushed past me into the bathroom.
“What exactly is going on between you and Santo?” she demanded without preamble.
“Nothing,” I said truthfully. “I’ve literally seen him twice. Total. Not exactly soulmate-level bonding.”
Kat studied my face intently, searching for any hint of deception. Finally, her posture relaxed.
“Good,” she said with a smug smile. “Because we had sex last night, and we’re planning to hook up again later.” She fluffed her hair in the mirror. “He said he wants to show me his new car.”
My stomach twisted uncomfortably, though I wasn’t sure why. “The two of you will be married before you know it.”
“I can hardly wait,” she agreed, reapplying her lipstick. “You’ll be my maid-of-honor since Tammy isn’t here to do it. It’s decided.” With a final appraising glance at her reflection, she turned and left.
Drawing a deep breath, I slipped out of the bathroom. Instead of returning to the party, I followed a different corridor, leading to a set of French doors opening onto the gardens.
I stepped outside and inhaled deeply, letting the salty breeze fill my lungs. “Tammy, I wish you were here. At least you’d tell me if I was being stupid.”
4
The evening air hit me like a blessing after the stuffy ballroom, carrying the heady scent of jasmine and salt from the nearby sea. Last night’s unexpected encounter with Katalina in this garden replayed in my mind.
Her desperation to resume our relationship had been pathetic, really. I’d let her try to remind me of what we’d had, but her efforts only proved how meaningless it all was. The memory left my dick limp and disinterested.
Movement near Yiayia’s prized stone fountain caught my eye. Tia. She was kneeling on the grass, her teal dress pooled around herlike water, her hand gently stroking the massive head of my Irish Wolfhound.
“I see Zeus found you,” I said, approaching.
She looked up, and the moonlight caught in her dark eyes, making them shine. “Is he yours? He’s beautiful.”
Zeus, who normally growled at strangers, leaned heavily against her, his eyes half-closed in bliss as she scratched behind his ears.The traitor.
“Why are you outside instead of enjoying the party?” I said, crouching beside them without caring about my tailored trousers on the damp grass.
“Why aren’t you resting instead of out here?”
I laughed in response. “I’m doing better. The aches and pains are duller now.”
My mind wandered briefly to the upcoming racing season. Three major competitions in the next two months, starting with Monaco.
The doctors had cleared me, but my team was still nervous. They wanted me to take it slow, be cautious. But caution had never won championships.
Besides, near-death experiences had a way of making you hunger for speed even more. I needed to prove I wasstill the best.
Tia glanced around the garden. “Well, I was just admiring the architecture.”
I’d expected some sort of polite social lie, like a need for fresh air, or even a confession of boredom. But interest in the architecture? Strange creature, indeed.
Tia looked around, smiling, inhaling deeply. “I just... wanna soak it all in, you know? Like, let it live in my bones for a little while. This place has something to say, and I just wanna listen.”
She was speaking about my home as if it was alive. That wasn’t something I’d heard anyone do before, not even my family, who live here. I found myself listening as she went on, pointing at elements and explaining to me their significance.
“See those columns? That design’s been around for over sixteen hundred years. And that pink marble? Only like two quarries in the whole country produce that exact color. Super rare.”
Her eyes lit up from within as she spoke, and I found myself drawn into their glow. Architecture had never interested me beyond basic appreciation. Buildings served their purpose, beautiful or not. Yet watching her face animate with passion made every word fascinating.
