The Greek Tycoon's Tarnished Bride (Men of the Zodiac) by Rachel Lyndhurst Page A

tightly clamped jaw. That shut him up.

Chapter Four
    “T his is it, we ’ re here,” Tito murmured so as not to wake Nick who was now fast asleep after his feast. The twenty mile journey had taken very little time at all, and he was impressed with the professionalism the British driver had shown throughout it, considering his expensive vehicle was now covered in buttery crumbs and milk splatters, and his ears were likely sore from all the yelling. “ And we don ’ t even have to wake Nick up as he ’ s settled so well. He can stay sleeping in the car seat if we bring it carefully inside, right?”
    Erica stared impassively out of the window as the car slipped through a pair of enormous wrought iron gates that mysteriously opened as they had approached the country estate. “I believe that ’ s the idea of the handle at the back, yes?” Her fingers twiddled nervously with a toggle on her coat.
    “Sorry, I forgot. You did mention not having a car and therefore no car seat.” He wasn ’ t sorry really. In fact, he wished she ’ d stop being so obtuse and realize that he was only trying to help her, to save her and her son from what potentially was threatening them and fulfill his obligations to his dead friend. Actually, some kind of a thank you might not go amiss, but…whatever, he should be used to women treating him like crap by now.
    And he had pretty much lied about there being suspicious activity outside her house, after all. Those kids in hoodies probably weren ’ t as threatening as all that, but it was a means to an end. He needed to get them both to safety just in case and…one stage nearer to Greece. “You must be tired. I have instructed the staff to make sure everything is ready for you both. You have a suite of private rooms, and there are two police-checked, qualified nannies at your disposal. Twenty-four hour catering, an Olympic-sized, heated swimming pool, and a dedicated butler, naturally.”
    “Naturally,” she drawled and shot him a smile that dripped with sarcasm. “You have some fancy friends, Makris, I ’ ll give you that. Look at the size of that thing.”
    He followed the direction of her gaze to his left as the car followed a meandering gravel drive gently around the trunks of some ancient oak trees sunk into lush green striped, manicured lawns. Beyond a glittering ornamental lake with a gushing fountain in the center, an imposing house came into view. It was three stories tall and eight windows wide not including an adjoining two-story wing covered in ivy. Multiple chimney pots thrust upward from a tile and slate roof, which sloped over old red brick walls and an enormous white portico at the center front of the house. “ Indeed, ” Tito replied. “It has a pleasing symmetrical elevation to the front. I like that.”
    “Are you real?” Her face was riven with incredulity—he ’ d said something she found strange for some reason. “That ’ s the weirdest thing I ’ ve ever heard from someone your age. You are under fifty, presumably?”
    How was he supposed to reply to that? Politely was probably the correct answer, but she was mocking him, and he hated that. Really, really hated that. And to think he was still in the process of persuading this creature to marry him even though they were strangers, he disapproved of her lifestyle, and she clearly didn ’ t like him one bit. It was utter madness, but the worst that could happen would be for her to continue the long tradition of Makris madams who thrived on humiliating their husbands and making their lives a misery.
    He took a deep breath, cast his mind back to Athens, and reminded himself that none of this pettiness mattered—he was on a mission and his goals were distinct. He would not let this woman crush him like his mother crushed his father, because he would never fall in love with her and let her wipe the floor with him. Love and blind devotion were the ultimate weaknesses; he had learned that the hard way