Greeks temporary i do, p.1
Greek's Temporary I Do , page 1
The wedding march started up and unseen hands opened the doors from the inside. Kate began her procession down the aisle and Helena’s heart started to pound.
Even though it was silly—it wasn’t ever going to be a real marriage—nerves dotted her skin with pinpricks. Helena locked her gaze firmly on the bouquet in her hand, which was why she didn’t see the way that Kate stiffened and almost missed a step.
Helena didn’t, in fact, see much until she was nearly halfway up the aisle because it was only when Kate stepped to the side, glancing in panic between her and the man at the top of the aisle, that Helena realized that something was wrong.
Something was terribly, horribly wrong.
Because standing at the top of the aisle, the six-foot four-inch dark-haired, bronzed Adonis wasn’t the man who had promised that he’d do everything in his power to help her. No.
Standing at the top of the aisle was the last man she’d ever expected to see.
Leonidas Liassidis.
The Greek Groom Swap
One wedding, two billionaire brothers...but who will be getting married?
A marriage of pure convenience? Check.
Vows simply to secure an inheritance? Check.
Amicable divorce scheduled in advance? Double check.
Correct groom waiting at the altar? No!
What do you do when your oldest friend agrees to be your temporary husband, then swaps places with his estranged twin brother on the day of the wedding? CEO Helena Haddon must say “I do” anyway! Then she’ll send her maid of honor, Kate Hawkins, to retrieve the runaway groom before scandal ensues...
Find out what happens to Kate and Leander in
The Forbidden Greek by Michelle Smart
And dive into Helena and Leonidas’s story
Greek’s Temporary “I Do” by Pippa Roscoe
Both available now!
Greek’s Temporary “I Do”
Pippa Roscoe
Pippa Roscoe lives in Norfolk near her family and makes daily promises to herself that this is the day she’ll leave the computer to take a long walk in the countryside. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t dreaming about handsome heroes and innocent heroines. Totally her mother’s fault, of course—she gave Pippa her first romance to read at the age of seven! She is inconceivably happy that she gets to share those daydreams with you all. Follow her on Twitter, @pipparoscoe.
Books by Pippa Roscoe
Harlequin Presents
The Wife the Spaniard Never Forgot
His Jet-Set Nights with the Innocent
In Bed with Her Billionaire Bodyguard
Twin Consequences of That Night
A Billion-Dollar Revenge
Expecting Her Enemy’s Heir
The Royals of Svardia
Snowbound with His Forbidden Princess
Stolen from Her Royal Wedding
Claimed to Save His Crown
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For Amy Andrews,
Not only an amazing author, a wonderful woman but also an incredible friend.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home with me.
xx
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM SPANISH MARRIAGE SOLUTION BY JACKIE ASHENDEN
PROLOGUE
Eleven years ago...
HELENA WIPED HER damp palm on the silky material of the black dress her best friend had picked out especially for this moment. She wanted it to be just right, which was why she and Kate had talked about it non-stop since Helena had got back to boarding school in September from the summer holidays.
Spending Christmas on the Liassidis private island, just off the coast of Greece, was the best present her parents could have given her. Getting to see Leo and Leander in between the summers she and her parents spent here in Greece? A Christmas miracle!
Helena checked herself in the reflection of the mirror in the hallway outside Leo’s bedroom. She’d put her hair up in a fancy bun and even made an effort with her make-up. Her mother had raised a critical eyebrow and deemed it unsuitable with a single word that had cut like a knife. But her father had patted her on the shoulder and told her she looked beautiful—‘very grown-up’—salving the dull ache her mother had caused.
But that was what she’d wanted, right? To look grown-up. She was fifteen now, not the little kid that Leander and Leo always joked about her being. She pressed her lips together. She knew why she didn’t want them, want Leo, to see her as a ‘little kid’. And she wasn’t stupid either. She knew he had a girlfriend, that he would never be interested in her in that way. But there it was...that little candleflame flicker of hope that wouldn’t quit, no matter what she told herself.
Her fingers clenched reflexively and accidentally crinkled the carefully wrapped present she’d spent ages choosing and personalising. She pressed a hand to her chest to soothe the funny, turning twist it did at the thought of giving it to Leo, reminding herself to breathe.
She looked up and saw the boughs of rich green foliage Cora had decorated the house with just for her. Helena knew that in Greece they didn’t traditionally decorate their homes with holly and mistletoe in the same way that they did in the UK, but that Mrs Liassidis had done that—for her—touched her deeply. Helena loved the Liassidis house with its incredible view over the Aegean that she couldn’t get enough of.
But really, the best thing about it was Leonidas and Leander. The twin brothers might have been six years older than her, but they made her feel like family. Leander made her laugh and laugh and laugh, but Leo...
‘Helena, really. Isn’t it time for you to stop being so foolish? Leo’s six years older than you.’
Helena felt a painful blush rise to her cheeks. Despite her mother’s words, she wasn’t actually stupid enough to think that she’d marry him like her father and Uncle Giorgos joked about. Giorgos Liassidis wasn’t really her uncle but her dad’s business partner. Only he felt like an uncle and Helena loved the way he was with his wife, Cora, the easy affection between them. And she liked how her parents were when they were here. Because when they were back in England she didn’t really see much of them.
Helena shook off the thought and focused instead on the Christmas present she’d bought Leo. It was completely different to the one that she’d bought Leander, which she knew he’d like, but...the one for Leo was different. It meant something.
He’d been so different since arguing with Leander a few years back and starting work at Liassidis Shipping. She’d wanted to make him happy and had thought that her present for him might at least make him smile again.
She got to the landing outside his room, her heart pounding in her chest and her palms a little damp again. Nervous. Why was she nervous? She smiled at herself for being silly and went to knock on the door, but...
‘It’s fine, I don’t know what you’re worrying about,’ she heard Leo say in a tone Helena didn’t recognise. It was joking...but patient?
‘I just want to make a good impression.’
Helena scowled at the whining tone she recognised.
‘Mina, you’ve met them loads of times before.’
‘But this is different. It’s Christmas.’
Helena leaned closer to the door and realised that it was open a sliver. Her heart shuddered as she saw Leo pull his girlfriend into his arms and she willed back the hurt. She was being stupid again. Of course, Leo would be with his girlfriend.
‘I suppose that she’ll be here. Helena.’
For the first time, Helena almost regretted learning Greek. A part of her wished she couldn’t understand the conversation, but she couldn’t make herself turn around and leave either. The bitterness that Mina had spoken with had cut Helena. But not as deeply as realising that Leo didn’t come to her defence.
‘Of course she’ll be here. My father invited her parents.’
‘She’s such a brat.’
‘Mina, she’s harmless.’
Helena’s throat was thick with hurt and her cheeks hot from a painful flush.
Harmless.
‘I’ve seen the way she looks at you. That’s not harmless. I know, I was that age once.’
The present crumpled in her hands as Helena clutched it tighter, shame burning into her skin.
‘She follows Leander and me around like a puppy,’ Leo dismissed.
‘Then train her better,’ Mina’s voice snapped out.
‘Mina, she’s just a child.’
‘Trust me, that’s something you have to nip in the bud. And it’s really unfair of you to lead her on.’
‘Lead her on?’ Leo asked, the confusion in his tone clear. ‘Mina, I think you’ve misunderstood. She’s nothing to me. Just the daughter of my father’s business partner. That’s all.’
Unable to see past the tears in her eyes, Helena spun away from the door and down the corridor. She pulled up short at the top of the stairs.
She’s just a child. She’s nothing to me.
She clenched her jaw so hard her teeth started to ache, and furiously wiped at the tears in her eyes. How could her heart hurt and pound so much at the same time? She took a shuddering breath but it did nothing to ease the pressure in her chest. Another tear fell down her cheek and she wondered why it felt as if a rope tying her to shore had been cut. As if she were a boat drifting out to a stormy sea without an anchor.
She looked down at the present in her hands, the box slightly crumpled, and knew she couldn’t give it to Leo. Not now. Humiliation crept across Helena’s skin and settled into her stomach.
She thought of the cubbyhole that Leander, she and Leo sometimes used to leave silly notes or treats for each other. It was hidden behind a small painting just down the hall. With a numbness creeping over her, she went to the painting and shoved the present into the hiding cubbyhole, hoping that no one would find it for a very long time.
Her throat thick with hurt, she forged that feeling into resolve. Mina had nothing to worry about. Helena wouldn’t look, or think twice, about Leonidas Liassidis ever again.
But as she wiped her eyes and made her way downstairs she didn’t see Leander step out from the shadows, concern and sadness flicking between Helena and the door to his brother’s room. He shook his head, before slowly following Helena down to where the rest of their families were gathered.
CHAPTER ONE
‘TELL ME AGAIN that I’m doing the right thing.’
‘You are doing what you need to do.’
‘Am I?’
‘Helena, if you want me to talk you out of this, I can... I don’t care about the guests, the church, the press interest all of this hoo-ha has gained, or the damn money.’
‘Hoo-ha?’
‘Yes, Helena. Your wedding is a load of hoo-ha,’ Kate said with such seriousness, Helena didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Groaning, she turned away from her reflection in the mirror. ‘You’re right. It is a load of hoo-ha. Just think what would happen if they all knew the truth,’ Helena said as her heart lurched guiltily.
That this marriage was a farce, a sham, utterly fake. But it was also the only way to fix the terrible situation she was in—the only way to save her charity, Incendia.
‘If only they hadn’t been whipped into a frenzy by Leander the Lothario,’ Kate joked.
Helena smiled at Kate’s teasing. Leander Liassidis might have been the eternal playboy cruising through life like he didn’t have a care in the world, but for Helena, when she needed it, he’d been her rock and her saviour. She loved Leander like a brother and the only thing that ever caused her any worry was the hope that one day he might find someone that he could love sincerely. Which was perhaps a tad ironic, considering that in less than twenty minutes Helena would be walking down the aisle to stand beside him in front of one hundred and fifty guests, where a priest would declare them husband and wife.
‘If only my inheritance didn’t have the most ridiculous strings attached to it,’ Helena wished out loud.
‘What on earth was your father thinking?’ Kate demanded. ‘As if access to your inheritance should ever have depended on a man.’
Helena’s heart turned as it always did when she thought about her father. He had passed away just after her sixteenth birthday and not a single day had gone by that she hadn’t thought of him, hadn’t missed him.
‘To be fair, if I could have waited just two years until I was twenty-eight, none of this would have even been necessary,’ Helena countered.
‘Of course. Also, perfectly reasonable,’ Kate said sarcastically. ‘A woman matures only when she marries a man or when she’s nearly thirty!’ she cried.
Helena couldn’t help but smile. Their unwavering defence of each other was what made them strong, their bond closer than family because it had been chosen. And Helena would choose Kate every single day.
‘I’m sure my mother would have helped me fight it, if there had been time,’ she insisted, missing the sceptical look that passed across Kate’s features. ‘But challenging a will in the courts would take too long and draw too much attention. The financial review of Incendia is due in December. The police have advised that they won’t have caught Gregory by then, and even if they do, they won’t be able to return the money he stole until after a full investigation and a lengthy court case,’ Helena said, shaking her head.
Helena had never believed that she’d one day get to work at the charity that had been a lifesaver to her when she’d needed it. After the loss of her father, her abrupt return to boarding school had been hard. Her fear of falling asleep and never waking up—just like her father had done one awful June night—was at risk of becoming full blown and permanent insomnia. So her tutor had recommended Incendia to her. There she’d received grief counselling and support while she underwent the genetic testing to see if she had inherited Brugada syndrome, the disease that had killed her father.
While the test had eventually come back negative, it was with Incendia that she’d got to see first-hand how much good that charities could do, how integral they were to providing support for people in need. It had inspired her so much that she’d changed her study direction immediately to focus on attaining a business degree at Cambridge, swiftly followed by her master’s in Non-Profit Management.
Her mother thought that she was being foolish, throwing away financial security for misplaced altruism, but Helena had found her passion, and not only that, something she was good at.
Her first job had been with a small charity start-up and she’d relished the opportunity to throw everything she had at it. It paid off and she soon became known for having a head for business, and a fresh, exciting approach to gaining partnerships that were relevant and contemporary to younger generations. Connecting people who were sincere about helping, rather than seeking out borrowed kudos, was what made her unique. Her hard work made her peerless.
And then six months ago it had happened; Incendia had asked if she might be interested in a role as their CEO. It had been the most amazing moment of her life. She had celebrated with Kate and even Leander had made a special trip to London to take her out and treat her to a congratulatory meal that had ended up—as it usually did—with him seeing her safely home in a taxi, before he escorted whatever woman had taken his fancy back to his London apartment.
But within a month following her start at Incendia, the CFO had quit and disappeared with nearly one hundred million pounds in investment funds. Shocked and horrified, she’d gone immediately to both the police and the charity commission. She’d spent days locked in meetings with Incendia’s trustees, where she discovered that the previous CEO had failed to renew the business insurance that would have made this painful rather than disastrous.
Because if there wasn’t a way to cover the shortfall in money, Incendia wouldn’t survive long enough to see what the police could recover. A financial review at the end of the year would declare them bankrupt and all of the people they could help, all of the families Incendia supported, the research into medical conditions that affected millions around the world...would be left with nothing.
Helena couldn’t let that happen. Incendia had been there for her when no one else had been. She’d needed to find a way to fill the hole made by the missing money and there was only one way she could think of.
The shares her father had left her in Liassidis Shipping.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she felt that sense of loss keenly. The shares were the last piece of her father that she had left, and she’d never wanted to part with them. She’d hoped to leave them in the business now run almost completely by Leonidas Liassidis, simply content for that to be her connection to the company her father had founded with Giorgos Liassidis. That was all she’d wanted. To know that her father’s legacy lived on. To know that a part of it still belonged to her. But now she would have to let them go. Let him go.
A little piece of Helena’s heart broke under the weight of the sob she kept locked in her chest.
She felt two slender arms come gently around her shoulders and looked to the mirror to meet Kate’s eyes in the reflection.
