The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance. Annie West

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СКАЧАТЬ at the door fussed around them but Gio would not even linger long enough to perform an introduction and strode on past, knowing exactly where he was going and clearly determined not to be held back.

      ‘Gio!’ Billie exclaimed, hurrying out of breath in his wake. ‘If we’re going into a crowd, give me Theo. He can be awkward with strangers...’

      His stubborn jaw line clenching, Gio passed their son to Billie, who settled the toddler comfortably on her hip. ‘And smile, for goodness’ sake,’ she urged, troubled by the forbidding cast of his lean, darkly handsome features. ‘It doesn’t matter if your family aren’t too sure about me...you have to give them time...’

      The elegant reception room was in proportion with the house and very big and Billie was disconcerted to peer in the glass doors and see an absolute throng of people, both standing and seated, on the marble floor. Gio had a much bigger family than she had appreciated. As they entered the room every head turned towards them and Billie sucked in her tummy by breathing in deep and slow, striving to steady her nerves.

      ‘I asked you all here today to introduce you to my wife,’ Gio declared in the rushing silence, his dark deep drawl measured and carrying to every corner of the room. ‘This is Billie. We got married yesterday and—’

      A noise erupted from the far corner as an older man stood up and banged his walking cane loudly on the floor. His lined face rigid, he shot a stream of furious Greek at Gio. Gio grated something back and then closed an arm to Billie’s spine to thrust her back in the direction of the door. ‘We are leaving,’ he said curtly.

      ‘Oh, please, don’t go, Gio!’ A tall, shapely brunette was chasing after them. ‘I’m Sofia, Gio’s youngest sister. Gio, why on earth didn’t you tell us that you were getting married?’

      Billie stopped dead and swopped Theo to her other hip because he was getting heavy. ‘He didn’t tell any of you?’ She gasped in disbelief.

      ‘No, he said he had a surprise to share with us and that’s why we’re all here.’

      ‘We’re leaving, Billie,’ Gio reminded her doggedly.

      But Billie spun round before he could open the door and marched back into the room. ‘Gio should have told you that we were getting married. I had no idea—’

      ‘Billie,’ Gio cut in, clamping an imprisoning hand to her shoulder.

      ‘Well, I’m sorry to criticise you in front of your family but you really should have warned them. Obviously everybody’s in shock and people say things they don’t necessarily mean when you shock them,’ Billie pointed out, studying the fuming older man, who she suspected was Gio’s grandfather, Theon Letsos. ‘There’s no sense in storming out in a huff over it.’

      ‘I am not in a huff,’ Gio ground out between clenched teeth, outraged that she was defying his lead and his wishes with his own family.

      ‘Perhaps we could talk about this,’ the old man said gruffly, scanning Billie with astute dark eyes that reminded her strongly of Gio’s. ‘Your wife is correct. I spoke in haste and without thought.’

      ‘He insulted you,’ Gio bit out harshly.

      ‘That’s all right. I can only be offended if you abuse me in English,’ Billie declared forgivingly. ‘I don’t speak a word of Greek!’

      ‘Gio and his sisters attended English schools,’ the older man told her with a sudden smile. ‘Now come and sit down and tell me about yourself. I find it hard to stand for long.’

      In a state of disbelief, Gio found himself in the rare position of being assigned second string within his family as Billie, chattering away to his grandfather as though she had known him for years rather than seconds, walked slowly over to the closest seats available.

      ‘Forgive me for being so remiss in the courtesies,’ Theon murmured. ‘I am Gio’s grandfather, Theon Letsos.’

      ‘I’m Billie. It’s not short for anything.’

      ‘And your son?’

      ‘Our son,’ Gio corrected with pride. ‘Theon Giorgios, your great-grandson, known as Theo.’

      Taken aback by the revelation, the older man studied Theo as he crawled across the floor with all the energy of a toddler kept in restraint for too long. ‘Theo...’ he mused in the crashing silence that had once again engulfed the entire room. ‘And you only married yesterday?’

      ‘Gio only found out that Theo existed very recently,’ Billie cut in hastily. ‘We hadn’t been in contact for a couple of years—’

      Gio gritted his teeth. ‘There is absolutely no need for you to talk about that.’

      ‘Of course there is. I don’t want anyone thinking that I had an on-going affair with a married man,’ Billie declared without hesitation, marvelling at how slow on the uptake Gio could sometimes be because he was totally indifferent to what other people thought of him. But she didn’t want that stigma within the family circle. She might not have liked Calisto, nonetheless she would not have engaged in a relationship with Gio with or without his wife’s knowledge.

      ‘A great-grandson named for me...’ Theon was keen to concentrate on the positive and politely ignore Gio’s brooding protective stance beside Billie’s chair. ‘A fine boy...not shy either!’ he remarked with an appreciative laugh as Theo made his way over to another toddler with a small heap of toys in front of him and snatched at the first colourful item he could reach.

      ‘So, tell me about yourself,’ the older man invited.

      ‘Billie’s not here for an interview,’ Gio incised coolly.

      ‘My goodness, I’m so thirsty. I would really love a drink,’ Billie informed Gio, shooting him an expectant look.

      Of course, Gio simply snapped his fingers like some desert potentate and a uniformed maid materialised.

      Billie met Theon’s amused eyes and her own mouth twitched because her strategy had been lame but she really could have done without Gio standing over her in warrior mode as if she were defenceless in enemy territory. He had never acted that way around her before and the discovery that his reserve was as great within his own family as it had once been with her was a major shock to her expectations. Yet that insight saddened her as well. Gio was such a lone wolf. How had he contrived to become the guarded, unemotional male he was with such a large and, she sensed, loving family?

      Theo crawled back and hauled himself up against Billie’s knees and then clutched at his father’s legs until Gio abandoned his rigid stance, smiled with a sudden brilliance that lit up his lean, strong face and swept his son up in his arms to carry him back to the toys.

      ‘It’s been a long time since I saw Gio smile,’ Theon remarked.

      ‘I don’t have a fancy background or any money. I owned and ran a shop. I’m just an ordinary working woman,’ Billie volunteered before Gio could return to censor the conversation. ‘You might as well know that upfront.’

      ‘In recent years, very recent years, I have learned the unimportance of such distinctions.’ Theon gave an emphatic shrug and relaxed back into his armchair. ‘And I’m afraid I must disagree with you on one point. No СКАЧАТЬ