reciprocated with a smile of his own. “I’m relieved it’s you instead of the manager. Come in. She’ll be thrilled to see you.”
Danae kissed him on the cheek. “Liar,” she whispered.
Lys came hurrying into the living room and gave Danae a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer the phone earlier.”
“That’s all right. I’m thinking you two need to move up the wedding date. How about three weeks from now? Check with your parents. We’ll have the reception on Kasos.”
Takis had never known this kind of happiness. “You’re a woman after my own heart, Danae. Since you’re here, I’m going to leave.”
Lys darted him a beseeching glance. “Do you have to go?”
This was like déjà vu. Luckily Danae had interrupted them, preventing him from breaking his vow not to make love to her before the wedding.
“Yes.” She knew the reason why. “I’ll be back later to take you and Danae to our engagement party.” He gave her a brief kiss on the mouth before letting himself out.
Three weeks later
THE DAY BEFORE the wedding, Takis’s close friends flew in from Milan. While the men met together, Gemma, Vincenzo’s wife, and Filippa, Dimi’s fiancée, came to Lys’s hotel room to talk. Lys was delighted to get acquainted with the two women, who were best friends and so important in Takis’s life.
It was clear to her they were all going to become close, especially when Gemma announced that she was pregnant.
“Does Vincenzo know?”
She smiled at Lys. “Oh, yes, and now he’s so excited and worried over my morning sickness, he never leaves me alone. The doctor gave me an antiemetic and now it’s under control, but Vincenzo has been driving me crazy. If he behaves like this until the baby is born, I might lose my mind.”
“No, you won’t,” Filippa quipped. “He won’t allow it.”
Lys couldn’t stop laughing. “Do you think your doctor will let you go on in your position as executive pastry chef?”
“I’ve already talked to my ob about that. He’s monitoring me carefully and will tell me when it’s time to quit. Vincenzo and I have already talked to Cesare, who is in the process of looking for a replacement.”
“I don’t know,” Lys murmured. “Takis says you walk on water.”
“She does,” Dimi’s fiancée concurred.
Gemma grinned. “Stop it, you two. There are plenty of great cooks out there and there’s still plenty of time.” She eyed Lys. “I’m so excited for you and Takis. He’s the most gorgeous, wonderful man. He’ll move mountains for you because it’s the way he’s made.”
“I knew that about him before we even met and was halfway in love with him sight unseen.”
“You really never met him when he was working in New York?” Filippa couldn’t believe it.
“No. I was a sixteen-year-old high school student when he first started working for my father and I was hardly ever at the hotel. A year later my father died and Nassos brought me to Crete.”
“Takis’s story is an incredible one. So is yours,” Gemma murmured. “I’m so glad you’ll be spending some time at the castello after your honeymoon. Takis loves it there.”
Gemma nodded. “We can’t wait to all be together. The men have missed him more than you can imagine, Lys. You have to promise you’ll fly to Milan often or life won’t be the same around the place.”
“It’s true,” Filippa said with a smile. “Dimi looks upon him as a brother. They’re all so close.”
“I think it’s very touching,” Lys murmured.
“In case you didn’t know, that man can’t wait to marry you. Dimi says if he has to wait one more day, he’s not going to make it.”
“I feel the same way.”
“We can tell.” Gemma chuckled. “Since we’ve been given our specific instructions, we’d better hurry out to the limo to meet the men.”
“They’re taking us to lunch,” Filippa informed Lys. “We don’t dare be late or Vincenzo will come charging in here to find out what’s wrong with Gemma.”
Laughter broke out as they made their way down to the lobby. Lys hadn’t known what it was like to have a sibling. Now she felt she’d acquired several for life.
* * *
The next day Lys stood before the black-robed priest dressed in floor-length white silk and lace. She carried a sheaf of purple roses that matched the genuine purple sapphire earrings Takis had given her as a prewedding gift.
During their midmorning wedding ceremony at the flower-decked church in Heraklion, surrounded by their families and a few close friends, Lys was in a complete daze.
The sight of Takis, her tall Cretan prince in his dark blue suit and wedding crown, pushed everything else out of her mind. That picture of him would be engraved in her thudding heart forever. He was now her husband, the most wonderful, gorgeous man in the entire world!
As they were led in the walk around the table three times where they drank from the cup, signifying their journey through life together, she prayed you couldn’t die of happiness. By keeping his vow to her, he’d made this sacred moment meaningful in a way nothing else could have done. But now that she was his wife, she couldn’t wait to show him what he meant to her.
They would be spending time on the yacht Danae had offered them, but where they were headed was a secret. Every time she thought about their wedding night and being alone with him, waves of desire swept through her. Once they left the church, she was scarcely cognizant of their helicopter flight to Kasos for the reception.
Danae had outdone herself to make Takis’s family and friends comfortable. She’d arranged for every one of them to stay overnight where they could swim and eat and enjoy this wedding holiday.
What delighted Lys most were the three children who adored their uncle Takis and hung around the two of them. The girls touched her dress and veil and asked dozens of questions.
Deep inside Lys hoped she’d get pregnant soon. When she saw how happy he was teasing them, playing with them, that day couldn’t come soon enough. The second bedroom upstairs would make the perfect nursery when the time came and she knew the color she wanted.
In the midst of the excitement, Takis’s father stood to make a toast. “I’m the proudest of men to see my last remarkable child married to a lovely woman who I hope will do her Cretan duty and provide us with more grandchildren.” He’d read Lys’s mind.
Takis gripped her hand and clung to it.
After Nikanor’s toast, Dimi stood up. “I couldn’t love Takis more if he were my own brother. I’m thrilled he married a woman I already love. Lys has accomplished something no one else could ever do by putting the light in his eyes that was missing.”
“It’s true,” Takis whispered against her ear.
Lukios followed with a toast. “Guess what, Dimi? I am blood and couldn’t be prouder of my remarkable brother, whose greatest achievement is sitting next to him. Welcome to the family, Lys.”
She teared up while other toasts followed. Eventually Cesare raised his glass of champagne. “Here’s to the groom, a man who kept his head even while he lost his heart. I was there at the castello the day he lost it and witnessed the earthshaking event with my own eyes.”
Everyone roared, especially Takis, whose laughter told Lys