‘Ican’t believe we’re actually here!’I crowed with delight as I stared up at the marble columns of the Parthenon.
Greece had been number one on my lists of places to visit once Elio and the rest of the pack stabilized the new Amante family and we had finally made it.
It was hot, the early summer sun blazing overhead as the guys took pictures of me and of each other as we climbed the steps to the top of the hill where I just knew the view would be breathtaking.
Back home, the new and improved Amante family was forming as a real estate business, bolstered by the portfolio that Elio and the rest of the pack had been nurturing for the past six years.
Ranieri assured me that it was a strong, impressive portfolio and I took his word for it because I still didn’t know much about money.
My lack of real world skills had been a sobering discovery once things had settled down.
I had some of the best tutors that money could buy growing up, so my math, science, and English skills were top notch, but everything else was a hit or a miss.
The guys had offered to help me enroll in the local university, but being around that many people I didn’t know was daunting, so I was putting it off for a year and instead volunteering at a school for the deaf in the city.
Younger children were much easier to get used to and I felt like I was actually making a difference.
I could go to school for myself later on when I figured out what I really wanted to do with myself, but I was in no rush.
Despite my father’s manipulations to try to get an heir out of me, no baby had been conceived during my heat or any of the times after it.
Dr. Stedmeyer assured me that he saw nothing wrong with my reproductive system and he hypothesized that my body was trying to protect itself while my hormones settled down to more normal levels.
I was actually fine with that. I wanted to have a baby to share with my pack someday, but not yet.
Right now I wanted to explore the world with them and see what it had to offer.
‘Guys stop screwing around,’Elio said as he held a little hand held fan up to his flushed face. He was struggling with the Mediterranean heat the most and it evolved into a generally grumpy mood for the alpha.
Nico and Ranieri who had been trying to get a silly picture in front of the Parthenon stuck their tongues out at him.
‘You’re no fun,’Nico called as he got a picture of Dante standing stone-faced in front of the caryatid statues.
‘It’s too hot for this to be fun,’Elio shot back as he rested his forehead on my shoulder.‘Can we please go and show Cini our surprise now?’
‘Surprise?’I asked, my brows raising. ‘Wasn’t this trip the surprise?’
‘Way to sell us down the river, El,’Ranieri said as he took my hand and threaded our fingers together. Surprisingly the alpha was the most touchy out of the bunch. If we were in the same room together he was usually laying in my lap or asking me to play with his hair.
There was a sense of peace to him now. Before it was like he was constantly looking over his shoulder and wanting a way out and away from us, but now he seemed content.
‘You four need to spill it now,’I told them sternly, knowing my tone would get them to spill the beans. They could never keep anything from me for long, especially since I could see inside of their heads if they weren’t careful.
Nico’s shoulders lifted in a sigh.
‘Come, let’s go get a taxi,’he signed before grabbing my shoulders and steering me back toward the marble steps that would lead down to the ticket sale area.
Forty-five minutes later our taxi was pulling up to the harbor.
‘Are we taking a boat trip?’I asked excitedly. I hadn’t been on a boat since our week at sea and I was eager to do it again.
Nico grinned, helping me out of the car.‘Sort of.’
I narrowed my eyes at his vague explanation but let them lead me down one of the docks to where a sailboat that was nearly twice the size of the one we’d stolen (and eventually returned at my insistence) was docked.
‘Look at the name,peanut,’Elio told me, pointing at the boat.
I followed his finger, my eyes widening as I read the name emblazoned in huge letters on the side.
