Chapter Four

Elaina

E laina McAllister.

The first time she’d kissed Duncan—on his birthday more than three years ago—Elaina Tripoli had said the name to herself. Silently, of course, because admitting to such a thought would have meant betraying her trademark Greek stoicism, and lovesick puppy she was not. At least not in public.

Never mind that the boy in the skirt, the Scotsman who never hid how he felt, probably didn’t remember that first kiss, thanks to enough whisky and pints to sedate a highland bull.

But Elaina hadn’t forgotten, not the kiss nor the sound of her future name echoing between her ears, the name that would be hers before tomorrow was done.

“Elaina, eísai xýpnios?”

The door swung open before Elaina had a chance to reveal that she was, in fact, awake.

She rolled her eyes. “Eláte se, Theodora.”

Come in.

Thea waved a hand in her cousin’s face and pushed her down in the chair in front of the vanity.

“Look at you, exádelfos. You didn’t sleep last night?”

Thea swiped a thumb under Elaina’s eye, proving the purple tint to her skin had nothing to do with smudged makeup.

Elaina huffed. “Everyone is supposed to speak English today…tomorrow. The McAllister family does not know Greek.”

Again with the waving, as if Elaina were an annoying mosquito Thea merely had to swat out of the way rather than a bride-to-be who didn’t need reminding about the bags under her eyes.

“Exádelfos. Cousin. Why does this matter when the McAllisters aren’t in the room?”

Elaina’s face broke into a smile that surprised even her.

Thea looked her up and down. “You have gone soft, Elaina.”

On instinct, Elaina’s hand wrapped around her torso, and her stomach muscles contracted. It was her father’s fault, really. His and his assistant chef’s. They always made too much food, but that was what happened when your father owned a restaurant. And when they left her all the extras in the refrigerator, well? A belly was bound to go a little soft.

You need to sample, Elaina. Taste before the guests do. Make sure everything is nóstima.

“Not soft there,” Thea said, pointing to Elaina’s belly. “Here.” Thea’s finger rested above Elaina’s heart, and the bride-to-be couldn’t contain her grin.

Elaina sighed. “You are right. But if you tell him, I will hunt you down and kill you.”

Her cousin laughed. “Your secret is safe with me. All the world will still fear you; only I will know you have a marshmallow heart.”

Elaina’s eyes narrowed at Thea, but she had lost the battle—if there ever was one. Duncan was so much more than she’d ever expected. He was everything she never knew she wanted, and now he was on his way to Greece. To marry her. And leave his home for hers.

As Thea opened her makeup bag to begin work on her cousin’s almost-married face, something caught in Elaina’s throat, and she tried to swallow it back down.

“What?” Thea asked, makeup brush poised to sweep powder across Elaina’s nose.

“It is nothing,” Elaina said, with all the conviction of a child swallowing a spoonful of medicine.

Thea dropped to the bed next to her chair and let the powder brush fall to her lap.

“What?” she asked again, making it clear that she was not going to help Elaina get ready for the pre-wedding celebration until she spilled her always-guarded thoughts.

Elaina looked down, an attempt to hide the first tear that fell. Thea’s hand covered hers, and she decided it was time to let it all out.

“He’s giving up so much,” Elaina said.

“Your papa gave him a good job managing the restaurant,” Thea countered.

“He is leaving his home.”

“For a new one with you.” This time Thea squeezed Elaina’s hand, eliciting a weak smile from her. “Come. Let’s get you ready. Papa already left to pick up the McAllisters. He does not want them eating hotel food, so he has galatopita waiting downstairs in the restaurant’s private room. When does Duncan’s plane land?”

Elaina swiped a finger under each eye, collecting herself to greet her guests—her new family. This might be the room she grew up in, part of the apartment over the restaurant she shared with her parents and grandmother, but today it felt foreign. New. Tonight would be the last night she slept in the bed on which Thea sat, the one meant only for her. Tomorrow would be the hotel suite, and after the honeymoon, the new apartment she’d share with Duncan. Her husband.

Elaina’s phone sat on the table in front of her, and she woke the screen and saw she’d missed a text message.

Her eyes grew wide, and she beamed as she held the phone up for Thea to see. No need to worry about travel plans when she had all of Duncan’s information at her fingertips.

Thea shook her head and pursed her lips. “Please explain this text,” she said, squinting at the screen. “Flight 2342 from Athens to Thessaloniki: Landed. Seat 17D: Vacant.”

Elaina rolled her eyes. Did she have to spell it out for her cousin?

“It is an app for the phone.” Thea raised a brow. “Yes, I know how to use my phone. It is an app with Duncan’s flight information, and it gives me all the updates on his trip. See? It says his plane has landed and that his seat is…”

Elaina looked at the phone again. She scrolled through earlier notifications from Duncan’s flight from England to Athens.

Flight 2091 from England to Athens: Landed. Seat 23B: Occupied.

“He didn’t get on the second plane,” she said, her voice flat. Then a sense of panic kicked in. “What if something happened to him?”

Thea put her hand over Elaina’s, the one that gripped her phone like a vise.

“How long was his layover? He must have just missed his connecting flight. He’ll be on the next one out.” Thea grabbed both of Elaina’s hands. “There is a flight almost every hour from Athens to here.”

Elaina loosened her grip, swiped the lock from her phone screen, and began scrolling through her contacts.

“What are you doing?” Thea asked, but she didn’t answer. She found his name and pressed call.

It rang four times before voicemail picked up, which meant the phone was in range, an indication of being on land rather than in the air.

“It’s Duncan. I’m no’ answerin’ because I’m on mah way to marry Elaina. So if you’re no’ at the wedding, then piss off for a bit while I’m with mah lady. I’ll ring ya next week.”

Elaina took a deep breath and a smile crossed her lips. This was a good sign, his outgoing message. He was looking forward to marrying her. Of course he was giving up a lot to be with her, but he had wanted this. He had chosen a life with her in Greece.

Then her phone buzzed with another notification. When she looked at the screen, her heart sank.

Duncan: Forgive me. I couldn’t get on the second plane.

She waited, sure there would be more after those nine words.

One minute. Two. Three. The silence screamed as her heart sank. Then the floor dropped out from under her, and for a moment she swore she was falling. I couldn’t get on the second plane.

Duncan was okay. He just wasn’t coming to Greece, which meant…what? There was a problem with customs? He forgot something in Scotland? Or…dread weighted her stomach as she arrived at the most obvious explanation… He didn’t want to marry her.

She could have made herself believe he hadn’t heard the phone ring, that maybe he was waiting for better reception, or maybe he had lost his phone. But silent as it was, the text came through loud and clear.

She couldn’t let Thea see her falter, couldn’t let anyone see her fall apart. She had to save face and then figure out what came next. So she did what she did best and let the anger swallow the hurt.