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At no point had she expected Spiro to kiss her.

Why had he done it? To stamp a claim for Florian’s benefit? Did he really think they were having a torrid affair? She had barely dated! Her prospects in her tiny village had been limited to a few boys at school who had offered clumsy kisses and moved off-island for work as soon as they could. The odd tourist had bought her a meal and kissed her good-night, but she had never let those moments become anything more because she had always known there was no future. She had to stay with Yaya.

Besides, no one had ever tempted her the way Spiro just had.

She hadn’t known it was possible to feel like this—as though her body was gripped by a force that was beyond her, but also within her. It was like a spell, one he had cast over her, filling her thoughts with nothing but him.

From a peck on the cheek!

This was leftover fixation from all the time she’d spent with him in the hospital, she dismissed, glad when her ruminations were interrupted by their arrival at the MSPM building.

Now her pulse began to race for a different reason. She was forced to leave the car in this unfamiliar dress, wearing these ridiculous heels and diamond rings that had been given to her by Spiro’s brother and act again like Spiro’s devoted wife.

My brother would never marry a pushover, Khristos had warned her. Don’t let anyone see anything but confidence.

Aside from a handful of primary school Christmas pageants, her acting chops had been confined to putting on a welcoming smile for tourists. It had been easy to adopt an air of aloof distress for Lambros when she’d been pulled so abruptly from the familiarity of her small village to this metropolis and bizarre circumstance. She’d had Julian and Khristos at her side at first, too, speaking for her and providing a buffer.

Today, the stakes were higher. Her assignment was different. Spiro wanted her to be forthcoming. He had kissed her.

She felt as though the scuff of his stubble was clear as a brand on her chin as she found a bright smile and told everyone she met, “He’s home, yes, and eager to be back. I promised to bring his work to him so he won’t flout his doctor’s orders. Did you have any messages for him? I’ll be sure to pass them along.”

By the time she left the C-suite, she was wrung out and thankful for the long, quiet drive home.

Thank goodness this would be over soon, she thought, but that only had her chewing her lip in consternation about what would come next.

Between visiting Spiro at the hospital and getting Yaya settled, she hadn’t had time or enough information to make plans for their future, but Spiro was home now. Yaya had an appointment with a dementia specialist later this week. Once Alia knew exactly what sort of care Herena needed, she could start looking for a job and a place to live.

Alone.

Ugh. She quickly turned her thoughts from that unpleasant reality and distracted herself with an online article on star formation until she arrived back at the villa.

Spiro wasn’t in his office. She left his laptop on his desk and went to the bedroom. It was late afternoon, but the drapes were drawn, leaving it in shadows. He was napping. She started to creep back out.

“Alia?” The blankets rustled as he shifted beneath them.

“I didn’t mean to wake you. I only wanted to change, then I’ll check on Yaya.”

“Come in. How did it go?” He sat up and snapped on the bedside light, wincing and adjusting it to its lowest setting before he piled pillows against the headboard to lean on them.

His chest was bare and he poked one naked leg from beneath the rumpled sheet.

“F-fine.” Sensual awareness poured through her. She averted her gaze from the tree-like pattern of hair branching toward his nipples and arrowing down his abs. “I left your laptop in the office. Do you want it?”

“No. I only wanted a reason for you to be there. Did you make it clear that I’m still in charge, not Lambros?”

“I think so?” She wavered at the door to the walk-through closet. “I may have overstepped,” she confessed, stomach knotting. “Most people were relieved to hear you were on the mend, but there was one man who asked me about the memo that said he should go through Florian if he had questions. He said he preferred to talk to Lambros because he was more accessible, and that he didn’t want to wait if something was important.”

Spiro’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

She wrinkled her nose, embarrassed she’d allowed the stranger to get a rise out of her. “That if it was important, Florian would call me and I’d roll over and wake you up.”

Spiro snorted, head tilting back as he studied her.

“I didn’t mean to be glib.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “Sometimes people think that being short means I’m a pushover. It gets my back up.”

“Noted,” he drawled.

“It’s not the best way to handle things. I’m sorry if I was too cheeky.”