feelings right now. I’m sorry you’ve suffered so many losses.”
“Death comes to us all at some point.” She sucked in her breath, still dazed by his striking looks, in fact by the whole situation. “To be honest, I’ve always wanted to meet the famous Takis Manolis. The last time Nassos spoke of you, he said you were already a living legend before you were thirty.”
His dark brows furrowed as if in utter disbelief over those words, revealing a humility she found admirable.
“Please. Sit down.” While she did his bidding, he paced the floor looking shaken, then he stopped. “Can I get you anything? Have you had breakfast?”
“Thank you, but I ate before I left the hotel in Milan several hours ago. I should have contacted you for an appointment ahead of time, but decided to take my chances and fly here first. I haven’t taken a real trip in a long time. I love getting away from everything for a little while.”
“I don’t blame you. I saw what was written about you in the paper while I was in Crete. The press manages to find a way if they’re looking for a story.” By the tone of disgust in his voice, she imagined he’d had to deal with his share of unwanted invasions. She could relate to his feelings, making it easier to confide in him.
“Nassos’s unexplained, unexpected death wasn’t solved until a week ago when the medical examiner said he’d died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Over the last month while everything was up in the air, the press labeled me everything from a murderer who’d poisoned him, to an opportunistic floozy. You could add adulteress, narcissistic liar and evil spawn of Satan in some of the more sordid tabloids. The list goes on and on.”
Their eyes met. “Is that all?” he teased unexpectedly, catching her off guard. His bone-melting charm, not to mention his refreshing humor was so welcome, she felt a great release and laughter bubbled out of her.
She could easily understand why Nassos had found him an extraordinary human being in ways other than his business acumen. After reading Nassos’s letter, she knew Nassos hadn’t talked to him about her or Danae. Nassos had always been a very private person.
“I came to see you for a very specific reason, but if this isn’t a good time to talk, please say so. I can return to Milan and wait until I hear from you. Or I’ll fly back to Crete and come another time when it’s more convenient.”
His eyes narrowed on her features. “The daughter whom Nassos helped raise for his best friend has my full, undivided attention. Tell me what’s on your mind. Obviously it’s very important to you, otherwise you wouldn’t have flown all this distance during your bereavement. I’d do anything for him, so that translates I’d do anything for you. Just name it.”
Lys felt his sincerity sink deep into her psyche. “Thank you for saying that. I guess I don’t have to tell you what this means to me.”
Takis sat on the corner of his desk. “How can I help you?” he asked in a quiet tone, drawing her attention to his powerful legs beneath his trousers. She couldn’t stop noticing every exciting male trait about him.
“It concerns the hotel in Heraklion.”
One of his brows lifted in query. “Go on.”
She got up from the chair, struggling with how to approach him. “In his will, every possession and asset of his except the hotel was left to his ex-wife, Danae.”
The man listening to her didn’t move a muscle, but she saw a quickening in his eyes, not knowing what it meant.
“That was as it should be,” she continued. “Danae was his devoted wife for twenty-four years. When they divorced, he left her with everything she would need. Now that she has received the full inheritance he left her, I know she’ll be well provided for all of her life.”
“So I’m presuming the hotel is now yours.”
Lys shook her head. “I only have half ownership and didn’t want the half he left me.”
Lines marred his features before he got to his feet. “That’s very strange, but what does any of it have to do with me?” Confusion was written all over his handsome face.
Lys had tried to present this the right way, but she wasn’t getting through to him. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Nassos hoped to leave a lasting legacy. Since none of us knows when we’re going to die, he took precautions early to preserve that legacy when the time came, whenever that was.”
“I still can’t believe he’s gone.” His mournful comment touched her heart.
“Neither can I. Because he didn’t have children, it meant putting the hotel in the hands of someone who understands and shares his vision.”
Takis was listening. “That was you.”
She took a deep breath. “I worked for him, yes. But I think this decision was made because he’d been my guardian and was always protective of me. He probably felt I needed someone to share the responsibility so I wouldn’t make a serious mistake.”
His brows dipped. “Mistake?”
“Yes. He loved the myth of King Minos, who forgot to rule wisely. Because of his mistake, he was killed by the daughters of King Cocalus, who poured boiling water over him while he was taking a bath. I notice you have a little statue of him.”
“The story of King Minos intrigued me as a youth too.”
Lys smiled sadly. “It proves you and Nassos had minds that thought alike. More than ever I’m convinced there was only one other person he could think of who would honor what he’d built.”
She opened her handbag and pulled out the sealed envelope she handed to him. “That person is you, Kyrie Manolis. His attorney instructed me to give this to you. Any explanations are inside. I don’t know the contents.”
If Nassos had another flaw besides his pride, it was his secrecy, which had left Lys at a loss.
After clearing her throat she said, “In case you’re not aware, it made Nassos happier than you could ever imagine to know that the little help he gave you in the beginning was the only thing you needed to go all the way. It means a lot to me to have met you after all this time. Not everyone could accomplish what you’ve done in so short a time. I’m truly impressed.”
She moved to the door while he stood there in a trancelike state. “I have to get back to Crete. Please don’t take long to let me know your plans. I wrote my private cell phone number on the back of that envelope. I live at the hotel and will meet with you at your convenience. Now I must get going. My limo is waiting in the front courtyard. Kalimera.”
She hurried down the hall. To stay in that room with him any longer wasn’t a good idea. They’d only just met, yet she’d felt a strong, immediate attraction to Takis that had rocked her world. It had gotten its start in the long-ago conversations between her father and Nassos, and the impression she’d created of the younger man who’d been hungry to better his life.
She knew she had to get away from him and leave the castello before she didn’t want to leave. Lys had never felt these kinds of initial feelings about any man in her life.
Those playboys who’d passed in and out of her life couldn’t touch this extraordinary man, who’d earned the highest praise from her father and Nassos. The intense way he was looking at her, the emotions he’d aroused, had caused her bones to melt.
TAKIS KNEW HE HADN’T dreamed up this meeting with the woman Nassos had helped raise. When she left his office, her flowery fragrance lingered, providing proof she’d been in here.
He’d seen tears in her eyes when she’d heard him enter the room. She’d just been looking at Nassos’s picture. The exquisite woman who’d walked down the aisle at the funeral had been his ward