Stay With Me (18 page)

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I had longed for him to put up an argument. For him to beg me not to leave.

Another stupid tear slipped from the corner of my eye. Quickly wiping it away, I forced a smile.

“Goodbye, Thano.”

The trooper started for his truck as I followed.

By the time I got to the car, I lost all control of my emotions and began crying. When the trooper opened the door to the back seat, he lightly took a hold of my arm. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

I nodded. “The only thing that’s wrong is I was foolish enough to open my heart up again. He didn’t do anything to hurt me, I swear.”

He didn’t say a word. Just a small head nod as he held the door open for me to slip in.

The trip down the mountain was nerve wracking and probably the longest drive of my life. By the time I got home, a small amount of snow covered the streets. With the streets empty and the lights shining on it, it almost looked magical.

“Are you okay, Kilyn?”

During our drive, I made friends with Trooper Joe. He was married, with three boys, all under five. His wife was his best friend and they had been high school sweethearts.

“I am. Thank you so much, Joe. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

He walked me up to the door and flashed me an adorable smile. “Nonsense. It’s my job to help people.”

My phone vibrated in my hand, but I didn’t dare look at it.

Joe nodded and turned to leave as I unlocked the main door to my apartment building.

“Hey, Kilyn?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I asked, “Yes?”

“Give him a chance to explain. He looked like his whole world collapsed when you walked out of his house.”

I doubt it.

With a forced smile, I nodded. “I will. Night, Joe.”

“Good night, Kilyn. Good luck with everything.”

I watched as he walked back to his Chevy Tahoe. “Be careful!” I called out. Not really caring that it was almost five thirty in the morning and I was yelling out.

When my phone vibrated again, I lifted it to see Thano’s number. My finger hovered over the answer button. When it stopped ringing, I slipped it into my back pocket and made my way into the building.

I
STARED OUT
the window while my mother went on and on about someone coming over for dinner. It had been almost a week since I’d talked to Kilyn. She had emailed me the plans she drew up for the cabin. When I called her office, Kasey told me Kilyn had taken a few days off and wouldn’t be in until next week. If I needed anything, Claire should be able to help.

“You’re a million miles away, Athanasios.”

Lifting my head up, I smiled at the sight of my grandmother. “Yiayia, look how beautiful you look.”

She made a spat sound three times on herself before reaching her arms out for me. “When am I going to get some great-grandchildren? I’ll be dead soon, I’d like to meet them, you know.”

I held back a smile and kissed her on the forehead.

“You see, Mama, I told you. He is stubborn. He wants to see me suffer.”

Rolling my eyes, I glanced outside to see Thad walking up with a group of people. “Who is that with Thad?”

My mother clapped her hands and cried out, “They’re here! Quickly, Athanasios, walk your Yiayia into the dining room and help her get seated.”

My grandmother pulled her arm from mine and shot my mother a dirty look. “I’m not dead yet. I can walk myself to the food.”

Turning to me, she asked, “Have you been eating? You look too thin. Come to me tomorrow, I’ll make you a good old-fashioned Greek dinner.” Leaning in closer, she whispered, “Your Mitera doesn’t cook as well as I do.”

Peeking over to my mother, she hadn’t heard her mother dissing her. Deciding to go along with her, I nodded. “Sounds good, Yiayia.”

We both walked into the dining room as everyone else was piling in. Thad caught my eye and I swear he looked like someone had kicked him in the balls.

He walked up to me and said, “Mom’s friends. From Greece. I just picked them up at the airport. Heads up, the one in red . . . she’s your betrothed.”

My head jerked back. “What the fuck?”

Everyone turned and looked at me. I swear, if my mother was able to shoot daggers from her eyes, I’d be dead right now.

“Athanasios, your mouth. Do I need to wash it out with soap?”

The girl in red looked at me and smiled. She was pretty. Very pretty, but I wasn’t the least bit interested in her.

“Sit, sit! Let’s eat!” my mother called out as the group didn’t even have a chance to be introduced.

By the time the food was served, I was introduced to my mother’s best friend’s family. Seeing as this was the first time I’d ever heard of this best friend, needless to say, I was a bit surprised to learn that her youngest daughter, Karen, and I used to play endlessly when we were younger.

“So you lived here in the States until moving to Greece ten years ago?” I asked.

Agatha nodded. “Yes. When my father-in-law needed help with the family’s restaurant, my husband was quick to move us all back to Greece.”

Nicholaus looked bored out of his mind and kept looking at his watch. “Got somewhere to be, Nicholaus?” I asked with a smirk.

Before he could answer, my mother replied, “Nonsense. He is looking forward to tonight with you, Athanasios.”

Nicholaus and I both sat up straighter and said together, “Tonight?”

My mother smiled as she glanced over to my father. He looked like he would rather be sitting in front of the TV watching football. “Did you not talk to the boys?”

He rolled his eyes. “For the love of all things good, can you let them be?”

I stole a look over to Thad. He shrugged but smiled. He had finally brought Phoebe home to meet my parents the other day. I knew he only did it to get our mother off his back. Strut a pretty Greek girl in front of our mother and she was satisfied, for the time being.

“Nonsense. I want my boys to find happiness.”

“Oh, shit,” Nicholaus mumbled.

I couldn’t help but notice how Karen was staring at me. I wonder if she got the memo this wasn’t the late eighteen hundreds and marriages were no longer fixed. Leaning over to Nicholaus, I whispered, “If you can cause a distraction, I’ll grab my truck and we can hightail it the hell out of here.”

He chuckled and whispered, “Okay, but is it bad that I am actually attracted to Hadley? It’s been a while since I’ve gotten fucked.”

Turning to him, I shook my head. “Are you kidding me?”

“No. I’m not. She’s pretty, Mom is throwing her at my feet, and I’m tired of jacking off in the shower.”

“You’ll lead her on, asshole. What happens when Mom starts talking marriage?”

Nicholaus laughed. “Jesus, Thano. I’m talking about fucking the girl for one night. What in the hell are you doing talking marriage?”

“You can’t take Mom’s best friend’s daughter out and then fuck her and expect she is going to be okay with that.”

“Who? Mom?”

Rolling my eyes, I hit him on the leg. “No! Hadley. She’s the one who isn’t going to be okay with it.”

Nicholaus reached for his glass of wine and took a drink, but not before he winked at Hadley and she blushed. “Oh, trust me. She’s going to be fine with it. So will her little sister, Karen. You can practically smell the horniness coming off of both of them.”

I fell back into my seat as I pushed my hand through my hair. When I looked across the table at Karen, her eyes were lit up while she ran her tongue slowly over her lips.

I quickly looked away.
Oh, shit. I’m so screwed.

The music felt like it was pounding inside my head. Nicholaus and Hadley had hit it off almost immediately. Of course, they also made out in the backseat of the truck the entire ride over to the club. At one point, I swore they were fucking with the way she was sitting on his lap.

“Will you dance with me, Thano?” Karen asked with a pout.

My muscles tensed. “Maybe in a bit.”

She looked disappointed. “I really don’t want my sister to have all the fun tonight.”

I could easily take this girl back to my apartment and fuck the shit out of her.

The problem was, I had zero interest in her. The only way to cut to the chase was to ask her what she wanted from me.

“What exactly are you wanting from me, Karen?”

She tilted her head and pressed her lips together. Walking up to me closer, she ran her finger across my chest. “Sex. Lots and lots of sex while I’m here before my mother drags me back to Greece.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Then you’re with the wrong Drivas brother. You should have gone out with Thad.”

Her smile dropped and was replaced with a look of anger. “I knew it. My mother said you probably weren’t over your fiancée dying, and she was right. What a waste of time. The only reason I went along with this is because all my mother does is tell me I need to find a good Greek boy to marry. Ugh. I just want to get laid. Maybe Hadley will share Nicholaus.”

My eyes widened in surprise.

Well, okay, then.

Laughing, I used my hand and made a sweep across the crowd. “Well, if you want to get laid, there ya go. Have at it.”

Turning, I walked up to Nicholaus and shoved my keys into his hand. “If you’re into threesomes, Karen is open for it.”

My brother’s face lit up. “Fuck yeah. Where in the hell are you going?”

“I’ll take a cab home. I’m over this shit.”