The Greek's Forgotten Wife (Boarding School #1) (14 page)

Prologue

Three Years Ago….

Sierra Warner forced yet another smile of greeting as one more guest congratulated her.  “Thank you.  It is indeed very exciting,” she lied. 

Lie?  Sierra tilted her head as the person said something, but her thoughts dwelled on her state of mind.  Why did she think accepting congratulations was a lie?  She was getting married!  She should be excited. 

Oh, it wasn’t that she was indifferent.  She supposed, in a strange way, she was thrilled to be marrying Evan.  He was handsome and intelligent – an up and coming investment broker with her father’s firm – everything she should want in a husband.  At least, that’s what her mother told her.  All the time.  Every time she crossed paths with her mother, Sierra heard how lucky she was to be marrying so well and that Evan was going to be a very good provider, an excellent husband. 

So why was she avoiding her mother lately?   And why did the thought of Evan touching any part of her body make her…nauseous?

That was ridiculous, she told herself firmly.  Evan was a good man.  A kind man.  If the sparks were missing any time he touched her or kissed her, well, perhaps the romance novels she loved so much had set unrealistic expectations for her. 

Sierra sighed and forced her mind to focus on the current conversation.  Evan was one of the good guys, she reminded herself.  He treated her with great respect, and was very attentive to all of her wishes.  If she even hinted that she wanted something, he went out and bought it for her.  It had gotten so bad lately that she’d learned to be careful with her words, not wanting him to buy her any more trinkets. 

She glanced down at the diamond ring on her finger, noting how the light sparkled against the enormous center stone.  It was an extremely large diamond.  Not really her style, but she supposed she would get used to it.  It felt very heavy, she thought, and everyone seemed to be dazzled by the stone.  Sierra felt like she was being ridiculous to be wishing for a smaller diamond, perhaps something a bit less…ostentatious.  She was just being silly.  Diamonds were…a status symbol, she thought and quickly smothered her spurt of resentment.  This diamond was not a reflection of Evan’s love for her, she suddenly realized.  The man couldn’t love her.  He didn’t even know her!  This ridiculously large and pretentious diamond ring was a symbol of his power, or what he hoped his power would be, she thought. 

And at the same time, why should she feel slighted or even indignant?  She didn’t really know Evan either.  They were basically strangers who had gone out on a few dates and, strangely, ended up engaged. 

So why was she marrying the man?  Why was she standing here in her parents’ elegantly decorated living room, surrounded by her father’s friends, coworkers and clients, listening to their congratulations? 

Sierra had no idea!  She had no idea what she was doing and, even more pathetically, she didn’t know why she was marrying a man she didn’t truly know or love. 

She sighed as she smiled yet again and showed one more person her engagement ring, acting as if the thoughts running through her mind weren’t rebellious and crazy.  Yes, she was happy.  Yes, she was thrilled to be marrying someone with such a great future.  Yes, Evan was very intelligent.  Yes…she continued to agree with everything everyone said about Evan. 

As he stood next to her and held his arm around her waist, Sierra looked up at the man swimming through her mind and smothered her recent thoughts.  Of course this would be a solid marriage, she told herself.  She was just going through normal doubts about her decision to marry.  These were just nerves.  She felt an affection for Evan.  He was a good man.  He was kind and considerate.  A woman could do a lot worse for herself, she thought. 

Although…she couldn’t help wondering if there was more.

Mentally shaking her head as the doorbell rang once again, Sierra told herself that she was just being ungrateful.  More of Evan’s university mates, she realized with a resigned sigh as she pasted a bright smile on her face.  Evan stepped away, embracing the newcomers with a hard slap and more ribald teasing.  She didn’t understand half of their humor because so much of it referred to jokes from their school days.  Sierra hadn’t gone to university, but she would have loved to attend. 

Why hadn’t that thought occurred to her before now?  And why hadn’t she gone to university after high school?  None of her friends had.  She’d simply attended finishing school with them.  She could seat an entire banquet of diplomats and aristocrats with ease, perform an elegant waltz, or hold a prolonged conversation in French. 

How were those skills relevant in today’s society, she suddenly asked herself?  Why had she done this to her life?  Why hadn’t she followed her dreams?  Why hadn’t she eschewed her friends’ path and gone her own way, made something of herself?

Shaking her head, she mentally pulled herself back to the present and admonished herself for her ridiculous thoughts.  She was just nervous.  Becoming engaged was a huge milestone and she was anxious about stepping into the role of a society wife with Evan. 

Besides, she was twenty years old now.  It was too late for her to attend university.  She looked up at Evan and suddenly noticed that he had a weak chin.  Was that important?  Should she care?  He had a good mind, what did a chin matter?  In the grand scheme of things, should she even be looking at the man’s chin?  Was she being superficial? 

And what about her desires to go to university?  Why was it too late?  She’d always wanted to care for animals.  Maybe she still could, she thought even as she also noticed that Evan reminded her of a bloodhound.  Especially around the eyes.  And the mouth.  She’d never really looked at his mouth before.  Their kisses hadn’t been extremely passionate.  Usually a simple kiss on the cheek. 

Was that significant as well? 

Sierra’s mouth twisted as she pushed all of these issues aside.  She was marrying the man.  She’d made her decision, her life was planned out. 

Although…university would have been fascinating!  Yes, she could have truly thrived in an environment of higher learning.  Too bad her chance for attending was gone. 

Wasn’t it? 

She sighed and quickly ducked when Evan’s elbow almost chucked her on the chin.  She was getting pretty good tonight!  That was the second time he’d almost knocked her.  A less confident woman might think he was aiming for her head. 

Evan’s enthusiasm for his university chums was surprising since, normally, Evan was relatively calm and composed.  He adhered to all the rules of etiquette and expected her to do the same so it was very strange to see him so…boisterous!

She glanced at her father and noticed his chagrin.  Obviously, he had noticed Evan’s near miss at her head and his overly enthusiastic greetings of his school buddies.  Perhaps it might be time to pull Evan back in.  “Honey,” she said, gently tapping his shoulder.  Once again, she had to move quickly out of the way of Evan’s swinging arm or he would have knocked her out. 

He only turned when three of his friends looked at her as if she’d committed a crime by interrupting their excitement. 

Evan was quick to recover though and that meant something, didn’t it? 

“Oh, honey!” he said, finally remembering that she was by his side – and why.  His hands came out to steady her.  “I’m so sorry, love.”  He chuckled, obviously more than a little drunk.  “Good moves, though, honey!”  Sierra noticed that he’d kept his glass of scotch safe even if he’d just about knocked her out with his wild flailing. 

Sierra’s younger brother, Daniel, almost tripped into the foyer.  “Yeah, sis, good moves ducking from your fiancée’s wayward fists.” 

Sierra thought that Daniel’s words were a bit harsh for his age.  He was only fifteen years old.  Shouldn’t he be with his own friends about now instead of hanging out with the older guys who were drinking heavily?  He was too young to be chumming around with Evan’s friends, wasn’t he? 

“Are you okay?” Evan asked, appearing solicitous and concerned. 

“Yes,” she said even as she smoothed her hands down her chiffon skirt and ignored her brother.  He was still a teen, eager to join in with the big boys in Evan’s group.  “I think that perhaps we should mingle among the other guests,” she pointed out, her eyes drifting pointedly to her father who was not amused by Evan’s immature antics.

Evan looked over to where his boss was standing with the other partners on either side of him; Sierra’s father looking disapproving.  He stiffened up and pulled away from his friends, cleared his throat and nodded with as much dignity as he could while still inebriated.  “Right,” and he pulled her against his side a bit too roughly for her taste, but she laid a hand on his chest to steady herself and regain her balance.  “Too tight, Evan,” she whispered under her breath.

He rolled his eyes, but he loosened his grip.  “Wouldn’t want to harm the princess, now would I?”

Sierra didn’t like his sarcasm, but she wasn’t going to call him out at the moment.  That was a conversation for later, and one that she truly needed to have with him.  His comments had been a bit too patronizing lately and she didn’t like it.  Why hadn’t she said something before now?  Why was she accepting that kind of tone and those belittling words?  “Let’s go say hello to Patrick, your soon-to-be boss,” she suggested even as she smiled up at him, trying to appear undisturbed by his derision. 

Patrick was one of her father’s partners in the investment firm, as well as a good friend.  They were part of the group on the other side of the living room.  Evan sighed, looking a bit petulant for a moment.  “I guess that’s what I should do, shouldn’t I?” he replied. 

Sierra couldn’t believe that he was even asking the question.  Evan was the one who had insisted on this night and had even insisted on the guest list.  After he’d slid the ring on her finger and announced that they would be married, she’d urged him to hold off for a few more weeks to have the engagement party.  But since she hadn’t been able to give him a reason why, he’d ignored her desires to hold off.  So now he had to deal with his guests.  “Yes, it is the polite thing to do,” she explained with as much patience as she could muster.  “Your tie is askew.”

Evan immediately fixed his tie, roughly pulled her once again against his side and nodded his head.  “Okay, lead the way, princess.”

Sierra was really starting to hate that nickname.  When he’d first used it, she’d assumed he was putting her on a pedestal and she hadn’t liked it then.  Now, the nickname seemed more sarcastic or just plain mean, as if he were pointing out that she was a snob in some way.  Or that she required special attention that he was obligated to give her but didn’t like to. 

She didn’t feel like a snob, she thought as she moved around the room, introducing Evan to her father’s friends and associates.  She just knew what was appropriate during an important social gathering.  Her mother had been good at helping her father’s career by entertaining coworkers, clients and potential clients over the years.  They’d had a strong alliance and, if her parents didn’t seem extremely happy together, at least they both had found a degree of satisfaction in their own hobbies.  Her father was an avid fisherman who liked to take long weekends and hide out near a stream somewhere in the wilderness.  He rarely caught any fish and, whatever he did catch, he threw back, not wanting to carry the fish home or, even worse, clean and gut the fish.  He just liked being in the outdoors. 

Her mother, on the other hand, eschewed all outdoor activities, thinking they were uncivilized.  She had all of her charities that occupied her time and she enjoyed long lunches with her friends, all of whom were within the same socio-economic level as she was and, therefore, deemed “appropriate” friends. 

Sierra suddenly realized that her friends were extremely similar to her mother’s.  Why did that realization bother her so much?  Looking over at her small cluster of friends, she wondered why she was suddenly disturbed by their presence.  They were all acting perfectly acceptably, laughing at all the correct moments, sharing the appropriately humorous stories, gossiping about…everything. 

Glancing back at her parents, both of whom were standing together but not touching, she knew that their relationship was none of her business.  It was a marriage that seemed to work for both of them.  Sierra just hoped she and Evan could work out an equally satisfying arrangement.  She looked up at him as she introduced him to yet another of the important clients at the firm and she was proud of him.  He’d slipped out of his college persona and was acting much more mature, more personable. 

The doorbell rang once again but she gently tugged Evan over to another client that she had met a while ago, thinking the man and his wife would be a useful contact for Evan at some point.  The housekeeper would open the door to the late arrival and ensure that the guest received a drink quickly.  It wasn’t until they were close to Patrick and her father that she felt an odd sensation but she ignored it, thinking it was just her imagination.  Patrick and Evan were discussing something and she scanned the room, trying to decide if there was someone else that Evan should speak with. 

That was when her eyes caught sight of him. 

He was at least a head taller than the others in the room.  And she noticed that there was something else about him, something that she couldn’t really define but the undefinable quality dramatically set him apart from the other guests.