“And how does he intend to take care of you?”
It was time for Adam to make a decision, but his pride came first. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his business card. “I have my own import/export business, Mr. Kostos. I import Greek wine, olive oil and other Greek products to the United States. Successfully, I might add.”
“Why from Greece? You can get olive oil and wine in Italy, too. Of course—” Kostos huffed his pride “—no one produces virgin olive oil like ours. And my pistachio nuts are the best in the world, too.”
“You’re right, sir,” Adam agreed. Not only because he imported the pistachio nuts, but because he would have agreed to almost anything to end the interview. Before Melina got hurt, he told himself. And, now that he listened to her father, maybe even for his own sake.
“Ah!” Kostos finally nodded approvingly. “It is a good thing you know this. Our women are the most beautiful in the world, too,” he said proudly. “No wonder you want to marry my daughter.”
With Melina’s father’s approval of Adam’s ability to take care of a wife, Adam realized he was getting too close to becoming a married man again. He glanced over at Melina’s mother, Anna. She, to his surprise, was smiling.
“We will talk about a wedding after we have a chance to know you better,” Kostos said expansively. “There is plenty of time. My wife and I were neighbors and knew each other for five years before her father consented to our marriage. Now, tell me. When did you and my daughter meet?” he added as he peered at Adam.
Adam was almost speechless. How could he tell Kostos he’d only met the man’s daughter today? He looked at Melina for help.
“Peter Stakis introduced us when he visited the embassy,” Melina answered, with a fond look at Adam. He knew the look was part of the pretense but it sent his senses spinning anyway. Warning bells rang. “Oh, and by the way, Peter sends you his regards, Papa,” she added. “He said to tell you he will visit you soon.”
Melina’s father appeared to be mollified by the mention of Peter. “Come back for dinner tomorrow, and bring your young man, daughter. We will speak more of this.” He glanced at Melina and heaved a deep sigh. “Since Melina is getting older, maybe I will wait only a month or two to give you my answer…”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Adam said, afraid it was his last chance to back out of a misguided joke. One failed marriage was enough for him. “We won’t be able to come back next Friday. I have to return to the United States next Wednesday.”
“To the United States!” The frown reappeared on Kostos’s forehead. “Where in the United States?”
“My home and my business are in San Francisco. It’s a large city in northern California,” Adam said as he took a step backward at the change that came over the man’s face.
“The wedding is off!” Melina’s father thundered, waving his hands in the air. Before his fists could fly, her mother rushed to grab her husband by the arm.
“Mikis, no!”
“I do not give you my Greek daughter for you to take away halfway across the world,” Kostos said. He glared at Melina. “Of all my children, why is it is you who continues to defy me!”
Because I am the one most like you, she wanted to reply. “I’m not defying you, Papa,” she retorted. “You said you wanted me to marry and I am. Only to a man of my choice!”
“You go too far,” Kostos shouted. “How would I be able to see my grandchildren if you do not live in Greece? Unless,” he peered at her, “you are already expecting a baby and do not want me to know.”
A baby? Grandchildren! Adam paled.
Melina hurriedly placed herself between her father and him. “You are wrong, Papa. It is only that I gave Adam my word I would marry him, and I will. You are welcome to visit us in the United States.”
The expression on her father’s face was clear as he glared at Adam. In the man’s opinion, the world had gone to hell, with Adam leading the parade.
There was nothing left to do but make a graceful exit, Adam thought when he felt Melina’s warmth against his chest. What really burned him was that Kostos believed he had compromised his daughter.
From the shocked look on Melina’s face, Adam sensed there would be no peace for her in her father’s house from now on if he walked away from her.
There was no turning back. Charade or not, he owed Melina for putting her in this position. He took her hand in his. “I’m sorry if you think our cultural differences are that great, Mr. Kostos. And for any wrong ideas you may have about your daughter’s honor. In any case, I want to assure you I will take good care of Melina.”
As Adam defended Melina from a position he’d stupidly put her in, he realized he’d forgotten he’d hoped to get out of his proposal. Instead he’d not only defended Melina’s honor, it looked as if he’d managed to acquire a wife.
Chapter Three
On Saturday, Adam breathed a sigh of relief. He’d spent two days obtaining a temporary visa for Melina and a special wedding license. What had started out to be a joke had ended in a real marriage. The brief, impersonal ceremony performed by the American embassy’s resident chaplain had thankfully ended almost before it began.
The only thing he seemed to recall clearly was the two floral wreaths Melina had produced for them to wear on their heads. According to his new wife, the wreaths, joined together with white ribbons, were part of the Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony meant to symbolize their new life as a married couple.
Adam hadn’t had the heart to remind Melina that this was a marriage in name only—a marriage that could be dissolved as soon as she obtained her green card. Considering the hurried ceremony, he supposed that wearing the wreath was the least he could have done for her.
“Thank you for helping out on such short notice,” Adam said gratefully to his best man, Peter Stakis. Eleni Leontis and Arianna Miscouri, the happy bridesmaids, let out squeals of happiness and rushed forward to hug the blushing bride.
“My pleasure, my friend,” Peter answered, obviously puzzled at the unexpected result of Adam’s meeting with Melina only three days ago, but too much of a gentleman to comment. “But you’ve forgotten something. You have yet to kiss the bride!”
Adam, who had been wondering just how long he would be able to keep his hands off his new wife, glanced at Melina. A kiss to seal their bargain? Why not? According to their agreement, kissing in public was legit. Besides, the undercurrent of sensual attraction between himself and Melina was definitely real even if their marriage was not.
“You’re right. Pardon me, ladies.” Adam pulled his unresisting new bride to his side, put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her. Gently, not only for the benefit of their audience, but because he wasn’t sure about Melina’s reaction. When she gazed up at him with those intriguing lavender eyes, he did what he’d wanted to do for the past three days. He deepened the kiss until Melina’s lips stirred under his.
Their marriage might only be one of convenience, he mused as he gazed down at the surprised look on Melina’s face, but it seemed to him she had enjoyed the kiss as much as he had.
If only he hadn’t been foolish enough to agree to be a hands-off groom to a bride whose lips begged to be kissed. To complicate matters, the way she was gazing back at him was doing a number on his testosterone level.
For a moment he actually felt guilty about taking advantage of Melina, but he didn’t regret the kiss. When she pulled away, he filed the kiss under “unfinished business.”
As he listened to the minister’s small talk, Adam kept an appreciative eye on his bride. She wore a short, white, silk slip of a dress. A matching sheer scarf embroidered with tiny pink roses covered her bare, creamy shoulders. A floral wreath