Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
There had been no apologies for such comments. Time had passed and it was simply expected that such things would be swept under the rug.
His fingers tightened on his glass, and he leaned forward, bussing a quick kiss across her cheek while trying not to drown in the overwhelming scent of her perfume.
“It’s good to see you, Aunt Maria. Have I introduced you to my boyfriend, Soren?” Isidore said in English, stepping back into Soren’s waiting arm as if he’d become a safety net.
The older woman with the poofy black hair that was clearly dyed and the eye makeup that just might have made some drag queens cringe and say “Oh, honey” frowned at him. “No. He doesn’t speak Greek?”
“Not yet. He’s still learning,” Isidore replied, switching languages to match her. He smiled warmly over at Soren and returned to English. “But my Soren is dedicated to learning our language. He’s making great progress.”
“You’re being too sweet, dearest,” Soren replied, tapping the tip of Isidore’s nose with his fingertip. “I feel like I’m the world’s slowest learner.”
“You’ll get it. I just have to keep giving you rewards for each achievement,” Isidore promised. Kairo and Charlie had instructed that he needed to lay hints that he was spoiling his new boyfriend to see if it would push one of them into saying or doing something that would give them away.
“I’m sorry. We get lost in our own little world,” Soren apologized, turning his attention to the aunt who was staring at them with a mix of disgust and irritation. Soren stuck out his hand and smiled warmly. “I’m Soren Jorgenson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Maria Nikolaou. I am Isidore and Athena’s aunt on their mother’s side of the family. How did you and Isidore meet?”
Soren cuddled in close, wrapping both of his arms around Isidore’s. “At a nightclub in Athens. He was just the sexiest thing I had ever seen, so naturally I had to snatch him right up. We’ve been completely inseparable for the past month. Best month of my life!”
“You’re exaggerating,” Isidore demurred.
“No, I’m not! You’ve taken such good care of me. I just don’t know what I’d do with myself if I lost you.” Soren was ridiculously good at playing over the top. All his mannerisms and vocal tones had become larger than life so that whenever he was standing beside Isidore and talking, eyes were constantly drawn to them.
“And what did you do before you met our Isidore?” Maria inquired.
“Oh, I think I’ve done a little bit of everything. Modeling, acting, and tour guiding. People say that I’ve got a friendly, easygoing personality,” Soren rattled off with a practiced ease. Isidore had listened to him give variations of this speech so many times over the past several days and he was still so convincing. He wanted to believe him.
“Ah…” was all that Maria said. Isidore couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Of course, if it had been Kairo beside him giving a semi-honest answer, he would have been pissed at her response.
And then it hit.
“Isidore, can I speak to you alone for a moment?” She leaned toward Soren and flashed a tight smile. “A family matter.”
“Of course!” Soren brushed a kiss to Isidore’s cheek. “Izzie, baby, I’m going to wander outside and grab some of those nummy finger foods.”
“Thank you, Soren,” Isidore murmured, trying not to laugh.
“I swear to God and all that you hold dear, if you ever say ‘nummy’ again where I can hear it, I’m going to rip your tongue out with my bare hands,” Gabriel threatened over the earpiece.
Alexei immediately snapped at his uncle, but it sounded like an explosion of Russian. He didn’t catch a single word of it.
“Shut it!” Kairo ordered harshly as Isidore moved out of view of the camera, following his aunt down one of the halls. There were a handful of blind spots in the house, but Kairo generally had them covered by someone. Isidore had a feeling his aunt was headed to one of the front parlors. Both were smaller, intimate rooms that all retained a more feminine touch thanks to his mother’s decorating efforts.
“Who has eyes on Isidore?” Kairo barked.
“Got him,” West said smoothly. “East hall.”
Isidore wanted to reassure him that he was safe. This was his Aunt Maria. His mother’s sister. She’d held him when he was a baby. She couldn’t possibly wish to hurt him.
But he also knew that Kairo had been unable to mark any of his aunts and uncles off his list, and there had to be a reason for that. He trusted Kairo to protect his back as they navigated this minefield.
She stopped at the first closed door, tried it, and then scowled at him when she found it locked.
“Let’s go to the music room. I’m in the middle of redecorating several rooms.” Isidore smiled and held out his arms, trying to herd her down the hall to one of the rooms they’d decided ahead of time to leave open.