“Yes, it is,” Tristan added. He put the glasses on the small table in the corner of the room and then opened the champagne. “You should know better than to suggest he could cancel, Gui. Ava would be devastated and I think that Ari would probably have a heart attack.”
“Better never to get married than to have to end it later,” Gui said. “You have to agree with that, Tris. Did you have doubts before you married Cecile?”
Tristan turned away and in his posture Christos saw the lingering pain of emptiness left by Cecile’s death. “No. I didn’t have any doubts. I knew that she was the one woman for me.”
Christos put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and squeezed. He wished sometimes that his emotions were as powerful as Tristan’s had been. But since Ava had come back into his life he’d been struggling to contain his emotions, working on not letting the possessiveness and jealousy that were always near the surface swamp him.
Gui raised one eyebrow at him. “What about you?”
He had no idea what he felt for Ava, only knew that she was his and he wanted the world to know it. “I’m not backing out. I’ve given my word.”
“And the word of a Theakis is unbreakable,” Theo said dancing into the room. He looked so cute in his tuxedo, like a Mini Me, Christos thought. Looking at the boy, he realized thatthis was his chance to make up for all the things he’d screwed up. With Theo he could make himself a better person.
“That’s right, Theo.”
“Baba, you look very handsome, just like Mama thought you would.”
“How do you know that?”
“I heard her tell Maria.”
Gui laughed. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Theo. That’s not polite.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Christos ruffled the boy’s hair as Antonio entered the room carrying more champagne glasses. Antonio was dressed in a tuxedo and would also be serving as one of Christos’s groomsmen.
“I think that this time it was okay,” Christos said to Theo.
“I’m sure it was,” Tristan said. “Let’s have a toast to yourbaba, Theo.”
Tristan poured champagne into each of the glasses. Ari entered in time to claim a glass. Seeing his formerly robust father in the wheelchair suddenly gave Christos pause. He struggled to see past the chair and most days was successful—the old man was so cantankerous that it was hard to pity him—but, today, when Stavros’s absence was so palpable, it was harder.
Tristan made some kind of toast and Christos raised his glass and took a sip, but he couldn’t stop looking at his father. He felt Theo’s small hand in his grip and glanced down.
“I don’t like this. Can I have something else to toast with?”
“It’s not a proper toast if you don’t do it with champagne,” Tristan said. Being a Frenchman he had always believed that wine in all its forms was the only thing one should drink. “It’s an acquired taste, Theo. All true gentleman enjoy it.”
“It took me a while to get used to the taste as well.”
“I will get some sparkling water for Theo.” Antonio left the room.
“When did you get used to it,Baba?”
He shrugged. “Over time I think. Not being born French it may have taken me longer than Tristan.”
“Touché,” Tristan said with a mocking nod in his direction.
“Your father was born something better than French,” Ari said.
“Greek?” Theo asked.
“No, a Theakis,” Ari said. Christos met his father’s gaze and for this one moment they were on the same page.
He glanced at Theo and wondered if he’d be happier knowing that the boy was really his son. The doubts were still there, but didn’t change the way he felt for Theo. And today, he was happy to be a Theakis groom going to his bride. Happy to be the son of Ari. Happy that for once he and his father both wanted the same thing.
He pushed his doubts about Ava’s past fidelity out of his mind, just for today.
