Wedding Party Collection: Here Comes The Groom: The Bridegroom's Vow / The Billionaire Bridegroom

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

The Bridegroom’s Vow (#ua495a853-9402-577c-845c-447c34a388f0)

Rebecca Winters

REBECCA WINTERS lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite holiday spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website at www.cleanromances.com (http://www.cleanromances.com).

My story takes place in Greece, a country of incredible history and beauty, My favorite living artist, Thomas McKnight, fell in love with Greece, too.

He has created one masterpiece after another of Mykonos, Chora, Kalafati, the Aegean and much, much more. It is to him and his wife, Renate, that I dedicate this book.

CHAPTER ONE (#ua495a853-9402-577c-845c-447c34a388f0)

DIMITRIOS heard footsteps in the passage outside his door. It was the middle of the night. Curious to know what was going on, he flung his covers aside and hurried out into the hall.

“Leon?” he whispered when he saw his adored elder brother carrying a suitcase. “What’s happening?”

Leon spun around. “Go back to bed, Dimi.”

Ignoring the command, he rushed up to Leon. “Where are you going?”

“Lower your voice. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“But you can’t just leave!” He worshipped Leon who’d been father, brother and protector all rolled into one this last year. “Wherever you have to go, I’ll come with you. I can be ready in two minutes.”

“No, Dimi. You have to stay here with Uncle Spiros and our cousins. I should be back in a week.”

Tears filled his eyes. “The cousins aren’t fun like you, and Uncle Spiros is too strict.”

“Since our parents died, he’s been good to us in his own way, Dimi. It won’t be so bad.”

Panic-stricken, Dimitrios threw his arms around Leon, trying to prevent him from leaving. “Please let me come with you.”

“You can’t. You see, I’m getting married before the night’s out. It’s all been arranged.”

Married?

Dimitrios felt like his world had come to an end. “Which one of your girlfriends is it?”

“Ananke Paulos.”

“I’ve never heard of her. Will you bring her here?”

“No,” he said on a heavy sigh. “We’ll be living in our parents’ villa.”

“Then I’ll come and live with you. I can sleep in my old room like always.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Dimi. A woman likes her own house.”

“But that means you and I’ll never live together again!”

“Hey—we’ll always be brothers. I’ll visit you every day, and you’ll come to visit us.”

The pain kept getting worse. “Do you love her more than me?” His voice wobbled.

Leon stared down at him with eyes full of anguish. Dimitrios didn’t know his brother could look like that. It terrified him.

“Not at all. In fact I would give anything in the world if I didn’t have to marry her. But she’s pregnant with my child.”

Dimitrios blinked in astonishment.

“She’s going to have your baby?”

“Yes.”

“You made a baby with a woman you don’t love?” He couldn’t comprehend such a thing.

“Oh, Dimi—listen to me. You’re only twelve, not quite old enough for a man’s feelings to have taken over inside you yet. When that day comes, your body will react when you see a beautiful woman. You’ll want to hold her, make love to her. The pleasure a woman can bring you is to die for.”

Dimitrios frowned through the tears. “To die for?”

A sound of frustration came out of Leon. “I only mean that when a man and a woman make love, it’s wonderful beyond your imagination.”

“Was it that way with Ananke?”

“Yes.”

“But if you don’t love her?”

“You can feel great desire for a woman without loving her. I would never have married her but for the baby. Now I have to do my duty as a Pandakis.”

“No, you don’t!” Dimitrios cried from the depths of his soul. “What kind of a woman would want to live with you if she knew you didn’t love her?”

A groan escaped Leon’s throat. “Dimi? There are other reasons she wants to marry me.”