Georgios moved first and there was no handshake for me. He gently wrapped me in a hug. “No,ómorfo korítsi. It is lovely for me to finally meet you. You’ve made our Ozias so happy, and we can ask for no greater gift.”
He then gave Ozzi a bigger hug and said something in Greek. I was too busy trying not to cry to listen. Yaya then came over and claimed her husband’s arm. The two smiled at one another. That secret smile which two souls who were one shared.
All I could think of was: cute old couple goals!
Antonis looked at me like he was debating whether to kick me out of his house now or later. He wore a tailored charcoal gray suit. His hair had gray in it, he looked a lot like Ozzi, but his features were flinty and tight.
He finally unclenched his jaw and offered me his hand. “Welcome to my home, Lyla.”
I didn’t know if this was better or worse than I hoped, but I maintained my smile. “Thank you, sir. You have a gorgeoushouse, and you’ve raised an incredible son. I’m so pleased we can finally meet.”
One heartbeat. Two. Three.
“As am I. I’ve seen your business is doing well.”
I blinked and tried not to look surprised. “Yes. I’ve expanded from simply Christmas wear to all of the holidays. We’re in the works to go international this year. It’s incredibly exciting.”
“I would like to offer you the use of my corporate lawyer team. You must protect your rights as it’s different in each country. That way you can concentrate on your designs.” Antonis glanced down at my dress and dipped his head approvingly.
His lawyer team? Holy crap. I hadn’t even thought that each country might be different. There was so much I didn’t know, learning as I went. Miss Eloise was fully recovered, but she didn’t know much more than I did about business, and she was busy with her new Omegas. We still had lunch together every week though. Best housemother ever.
“Thank you so much, sir.”
“Please call me Antonis. We’ll talk more about this later.” Then he smiled, and oh, yeah, he looked like my Ozzi now. If this was any indication of what Ozzi was going to look like in thirty years, yay for me.
Antonis turned to Ozzi. The two stared at each other for a minute that seemed to stretch out decades. Neither of them looked away. Did they even blink?
“Theé mou, Antóni. Ankáliase ton gio sou.” Yaya huffed.
I didn’t know what she said, but I recognized the sound of a mother chastising her son. Antonis exhaled and stepped forward. He and Ozzi embraced, patting each other’s backs in that way men usually do. It was a kind of awkward hug, but the relief on my mate’s face said it was a good one.
“Have I missed something?” A woman’s voice came from the other entrance and a petite lady carrying a silver tray of canapés walked into the room.
This had to be Ozzi’s mom.
And she was wearing the dress I made for her.
What was more, she was wearing it very well.
It was made of the same silky charmeuse that I used for my own design, but her ombre was more subtle. It started as a light olive and became white. It had a V-neck with flared shoulders and a long flowing pleated skirt. She was complete elegance.
Angel hurried over to take the tray from her mom and put it on a table.
“Mama.” Ozzi took my hand and went over, only letting me go to offer her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I would like you to meet my mate, Lyla Berg. Lyla, this is my mother, Rhea.”
“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, and wow, you look so beautiful.” I gripped Ozzi’s hand so tightly so I wouldn’t bounce on my toes. Rhea was wearing my dress!
“That’s thanks to you, dear. Your dress is stunning as well.” Rhea took both of my hands and didn’t really hug me but kissed each of my cheeks. She then gave Ozzi a much warmer hug. “Gios mou, I have missed you.”
The rest of the day went spectacularly. All the anxiety I’d been carrying over the past year immediately vanished. There was no official apology from Antonis, but he insisted on looking after my international business interests and keeping me protected in that manner. Ozzi and Jason were blown away by that, and said that was far better than an apology. It meant Antonis saw me as family, and as the head of the family, he would look out for me.
Yaya snuck Jason enoughouzoshots to get him drunk, and when we left the house that evening, he was leaning on me more than he would if he could walk normally.
“Have I told you how much I love you today?” Jason kissed my neck as I opened the truck’s door. “More importantly, have I told you how much I want to ravage your sexy body?”
“You’ve told me both things, several times.” I giggled and helped him into the back seat.
He tugged me toward him. “Ride with me back here, and let me eat that sweet little pussy. It will drive Ozzi nuts since he has to drive.”
