CaraI last twenty minutes alone in his sitting room before I start snooping.I try to justify myself as I go through his medicine cabinet. I'm just trying to learn more about the man I'm going to fake-marry—or real-marry, or pretend-real-marry, or whatever this is—so it's not immoral to look at all his stuff.Razor, shaving cream, Band-Aids, toothbrush, nothing interesting.I'm not really sure what the hell we're doing, but I'm drifting along like a log on a wave lost in the current, and Eros is the entire ocean.His closet is better. Enormous and filled with expensive, custom-tailored suits, racks of designer jeans and shoes and shirts, and a hundred ties in black and dark blue. There's a shelf covered in glittering, no-doubt priceless watches, lit with custom bulbs so the whole display glows like a storefront window.Eros doesn't strike me as the type of man obsessed with the way he looks, but his closet suggests otherwise.And his comment from earlier flits through my mind: in thi

CaraI stand behind the counter in the Demetrios Diner and wipe down a mug. I'm in a pair of tights and Phel's extra uniform. It's scratchy and a little too big, but I don't care about anything right now.I just want to be busy.Eros didn't want to let me go, but I didn't ask his permission. I stormed out of that house, ignoring him when he told me to stop, and approached one of the maids I recognized from the day before. I ordered her to find me a car and a driver, and she stared in terror until Eros told her to obey my demands."We will speak about this later," he said as I slammed the car door and his driver pulled out.Now I'm just trying to get myself together. I know they were only shoes—but they're also so much more than shoes.I lost everything. My life was ruined the moment I ran out on Christopher, and I did it anyway, because I knew that staying would be even worse.But now I have no family, no life, no friends, nothing.Those shoes were all I kept.Now they're gone."You s

ErosThe meeting with the freight company goes well. I head back into the house, feeling decent for the first time in days. I'm solving my shipping problem, I found the damn shoes, and Cara didn't fight me about wearing the ring.I feel good as I step into my room and spot her standing out on the balcony.She's wearing a black, lace cocktail dress with a modest neckline and a fitted waist that shows off her lovely curves. I stand and stare at her, heart racing with surprise as she holds the ring up to the dying evening light and watches it glitter. That's my fiancée, and my guts twist with excitement, and my heart flutters in my chest, and I'm having a reaction I've never felt before—It's desire, but it's also joy, pure and unbridled excitement. Cara looks incredible, absolutely fucking stunning, with understated makeup and her hair in a simple twist, and she's wearing my ring.Myring.She turns and catches my eye—and grins at me.That's when I look down and notice the shoes.The fuc

ErosGareth lights his cigar and takes a few puffs. My close friend and lawyer grins at me through the smoke and sighs as he leans back in his chair. We're hidden away in a private room at an upscale club in the heart of Chicago, a location loyal to my family.Though I wonder how long. News about Cara is spreading, and there's already a lot of grumbling."I'll be honest, Eros, when I got the call about setting up marriage paperwork, I thought it was a joke." Gareth peers at me over the glowing end of his cigar.He laughs quietly to himself. Gareth's tall and handsome for a lawyer, with broad shoulders and sparkling blue eyes, but I don't let his boyish looks fool me for one second. The man has the heart of a lion and the morals of a killer, though I'd trust him with my life if it came to that. I've known him since college where we were a part of a club called the Atlas Group, and our little organization has remained tight ever since. We're spread out across the United States, though m

CaraWork the day after dinner is surprisingly calm. There are still a dozen made men sitting around and eating through Demetrios's stock of lamb. I notice a few of them staring at me, and when I look back, they don't turn away like they used to. There's an intensity to the way the guys are looking at me. I assume it's because I'm the lord's fiancée, but I get a weird vibe and I'm not sure what to do with it, so I just ignore them.But otherwise it's quiet, no angry Greek lords or ladies bothering me while I'm trying to do my job.Except Phel, of course. "My dad was basically glowing after Eros spoke to him yesterday," she says with a massive grin. "You should've seen him at home. He was like a schoolgirl with a crush.""I can get him Eros's autograph if he'd like.""Girl, don't joke, he'd freak out if you did that."I laugh despite myself. Demetrios is a good man and he's been more than kind to me, so I don't want to get involved in his daughter's good-natured teasing, but it does fe