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Skipping his usual workout, Alexandros was even more efficient than normal with his morning ablutions, finishing his shower quickly and dressing without fuss. Alexandros left his suit jacket off until after breakfast as was his usual habit and went in search of Pollyanna.
She wasn’t in their room or the kitchen as he’d expected her to be. She baked when stressed and he’d half expected to walk into controlled chaos, but the kitchen was pristine. A quick search of the apartment and their personal terrace only revealed his still-sleeping daughter in her room.
He opened the door to the foyer. No Polly.
But their security guard was in his usual place.
“My wife?” Alexandros inquired.
The guard nodded toward the ceiling. “Up on the rooftop.”
“Alone?” Alexandros barked.
He tried to let Polly have as much normalcy to her life as possible, but she was the wife of a billionaire. Alone was not a word she got to indulge in.
“No, kyrios. Sanders is up there watching her from a distance.”
Trying to give his wife the illusion of privacy. Alexandros approved.
Alexandros nodded his acknowledgment before knocking on the door of his brother’s apartment. Petros was dressed to work out, as Alexandros had expected he would be. They both started their days early.
“I need you to keep an ear out for Helena while I talk to Pollyanna.”
His brother didn’t ask why, or suggest they talk later, just nodded his head and made his way into the other penthouse apartment. Knowing his daughter was in good hands, Alexandros headed up to the roof.
Sanders stood unobtrusively in the shadows, and Alexandros dismissed him with a quick hand gesture.
Pollyanna didn’t seem to be aware of Alexandros’s presence, her focus on the budding sunrise. Ensconced on the designer outdoor sectional the decorator had assured him was perfect for the space, her feet tucked under her, she held a steaming mug.
His wife had not dressed, but merely pulled a wrap on over her pajamas. It was a homey look that she made altogether too enticing.
“Kalimera, Pollyanna.”
She looked up, no surprise evident in the smooth movement, her expression serious but lacking the suppressed fury that had been there the night before.
In that moment, he did not know if that was a good or bad thing.
“Good morning, Alexandros. I see you are ready to face your day.”
He shrugged. It would never occur to him to come out onto the rooftop garden half-dressed, much less in his sleep shorts and T-shirt.
It was one of the ways they were very different. He did not have the luxury of presenting any appearance but absolute control.
He settled on the sectional as well, rather than taking one of the armchairs. “How did you sleep?”
She gave an almost smile. “You know? Surprisingly well. I was so angry you were listening to your mother about our marriage again, but suddenly I was just tired. And I slept.”
He winced. That didn’t sound as promising as it should have. Tired of him? Tired of trying? Tired of what?
“My mother told me that if I wanted to fix what I had broken, I had to be prepared to sacrifice my own wants and desires. I could imagine no greater sacrifice than to give up the physical expression of the passion between us, though I honestly believe she had no idea I was thinking about how sex seemed to paper over cracks I hadn’t even known were there.”
Pollyanna studied him, like she was trying to read his mind. Maybe she was. “Really? At the villa, you know what she said.”
“I do, but it is very possible a woman of my mother’s generation actually believes that forgoing intercourse during pregnancy is what is best.” That she felt the need to offer that advice was something he still found difficult to fathom.
But then Pollyanna had not been looking in the best of health the last time she saw his mother and sister before the visit to Villa Liakada.
His wife inclined her head. Not an agreement, but not a dismissal either.
