Page 88 of Secrets, Lies and Love

“I’m not ready yet.”

He’s been insisting that we appear in public, and I know his brothers and cousins know about us because he told me he talked to them. Elina too, so only Madison is missing from the closest relatives.

“When?” he asks.

“I don’t know. Why is it so important?”

“I don’t like hiding, but today is not about that. I want to be alone with you. We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Don’t lie to me, Cecily. In fact, don’t even hide it. I don’t react well to betrayals of any kind. You went to the doctor. Evenafter we talked about taking the test at the family obstetrician, you went alone. Why?”

“Because I feel like I’m losing control of my life. I wanted to maintain a minimum of autonomy.”

“By hiding from me whether you’re pregnant or not?”

“No. I would never do that. I think we’re wrong for each other, but I wouldn’t hide the truth from you.”

“Don’t wanna go out to dinner? That’s fine, but we’re taking the night for just the two of us anyway. Ares will stay with my son. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

“I have no choice?”

“Not this time. Be ready. Let’s have dinner, and then you tell me what the test results were.”

I hang up the phone with my heart racing. The beats are so intense that my chest hurts. I’m scared to tell him everything, but he has the right to know.

“Why do you look like you’re about to faint?” Ares asks when we meet in the hallway of the mansion, and I get scared.

I’m ready to have dinner with my I-don’t-know-what-name-to-call-him, and I was going to Joseph’s room to say goodbye, when I ran into the second oldest Kostanidis coming out of there.

“I don’t think I am,” I reply with a frown, because even though Dionysus’s relatives are intimidating, just like Dionysus himself, and I’m emotionally exhausted today, it’s going to take a lot more than a grumpy Greek billionaire to get me off track.

“Are you hiding something?” he asks, pretending to joke, but I know he’s serious.

I’ve noticed that each Kostanidis has peculiar characteristics.

Zeus is serious and has a way of looking at you that seems to see your soul.

Dionysus appears smooth, charming, and able to make panties melt, but he is as suspicious and cold as the other members of the family.

Ares is a bad boy at first glance, rebellious, and doesn’t give a damn what people think of him, but like the others, he’s cynical and observant, and just gives off a false impression of lightness.

Finally, we have Hades, the scariest of all. He looks at people as if he hates them, or at least despises the entire world. He rarely addresses me, and when he did once, I wanted to run.

The Cecily who arrived in New York might have run away after Ares’ question. Today’s girl has learned about her own strength.

“If I were, Mr. Kostanidis,” I say recklessly, “you wouldn’t be the one to reveal it to.”

I have no idea what his reaction will be, but it irritates me when I see one corner of his mouth lift in the shadow of a smile. “Mr. Kostanidis,”he echoes.

“Isn’t that your name?”

“You may be carrying my nephew or niece inside your body,Cici,” he says, emphasizing my nickname on purpose. “Are you going to keep calling me that when you go into labor?”

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I’m just being frank. If you’re expecting my brother’s child, he will be ours. Part of the family. So maybe you should start getting used to calling me by my name,moro moo?*.

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