The Greek Billionaire's Counterfeit Bride by Lara Hunter, Evelyn Troy Page B
Authors: Lara Hunter, Evelyn Troy
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banners, the decorative touches that the staff had implemented in the name of one of their most appreciative and loyal clients. Eva still wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about the details of their pending dinner with the royal family; Ari had reserved the entire building—in spite of the fact that they were only using the one room. For the next three hours, The London would be empty of everyone but the staff, Ari, herself, and their guests.
Eva glanced at Ari, taking a deep breath as they approached the table where the members of Al-Akanish Shipping had already settled. She was in a dress so expensive that even during the fattest days of her previous life as a con artist, Eva wouldn’t have been able to afford it. He had had his personal assistant buy her matching shoes and coordinating jewelry as well—including the engagement and wedding ring that she would need to pretend to be his wife. Eva felt the familiar frisson of nervousness that always came to her in the moment before she made a pitch, or got into the moment of a new scam; there was the lurch in her stomach, the certainty that when it came down to it, she would forget every single detail that she was supposed to remember. Her hand tightened on Ari’s and he glanced at her. “Okay?”
“Yes,” Eva said, nodding ever so slightly. She knew that she looked as beautiful as anything short of surgery could make her; she had spent hours in a salon earlier in the day, being primped and primed, made up and styled. She looked flawless—as anyone would expect a wife of a billionaire to be. Eva looked at their assembled guests and carefully apprised them one by one: they were mostly men, with two women at the table as well, and Eva wondered if the women were siblings or wives.
She had suggested to Ari that it might be a good idea for her to research their guests in more detail, to have some conversational gambits to turn to; Ari had pointed out that it would be in keeping with her status as his wife to know only a few things about his clients—he had always kept his personal and professional lives separate.
“Good evening, gentlemen and ladies,” Ari said as they came to the table. He inclined his head towards each of the representatives, drawing Eva closer. “Of course you know who I am already; but I would love to introduce you all to my wife, Eva.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Eva said, nodding at the members of the royal family. Ari pulled her seat out and Eva carefully sat herself down, performing a last-minute frantic skim through the information she had assembled in her mind over the course of the week since Ari had made his proposition to her.
“How did the two of you meet?” Eva glanced at Ari, fighting back the urge to grin at him. Taking turns, they told the members of the shipping company the story they had concocted between them; the story took until the servers came to the table to take everyone’s orders for the dinner, and Eva was glad that the interruption happened—it lessened the chance that anyone would think too hard about the story of their meeting.
The dinner moved forward, and Eva’s initial nerves faded as she spoke more and more, exchanging small talk with different members of the party at their table even as Ari discussed weightier business matters. She found herself remembering details that she would never have imagined possible about Ari—things that she had learned in random, idle conversation at the bar they’d gone to, during their first tryst together, and in the relaxed moments when they took breaks between quizzing each other.
“Your life seems like it would be very interesting,” one of the guests at the table remarked. “The wife of a billionaire.” Eva grinned at the man, reaching out and touching Ari’s hand in a show of affection that wasn’t difficult to perform. She had struggled with the conflict of her feelings towards the wealthy Greek ever since she had noticed them
Eva glanced at Ari, taking a deep breath as they approached the table where the members of Al-Akanish Shipping had already settled. She was in a dress so expensive that even during the fattest days of her previous life as a con artist, Eva wouldn’t have been able to afford it. He had had his personal assistant buy her matching shoes and coordinating jewelry as well—including the engagement and wedding ring that she would need to pretend to be his wife. Eva felt the familiar frisson of nervousness that always came to her in the moment before she made a pitch, or got into the moment of a new scam; there was the lurch in her stomach, the certainty that when it came down to it, she would forget every single detail that she was supposed to remember. Her hand tightened on Ari’s and he glanced at her. “Okay?”
“Yes,” Eva said, nodding ever so slightly. She knew that she looked as beautiful as anything short of surgery could make her; she had spent hours in a salon earlier in the day, being primped and primed, made up and styled. She looked flawless—as anyone would expect a wife of a billionaire to be. Eva looked at their assembled guests and carefully apprised them one by one: they were mostly men, with two women at the table as well, and Eva wondered if the women were siblings or wives.
She had suggested to Ari that it might be a good idea for her to research their guests in more detail, to have some conversational gambits to turn to; Ari had pointed out that it would be in keeping with her status as his wife to know only a few things about his clients—he had always kept his personal and professional lives separate.
“Good evening, gentlemen and ladies,” Ari said as they came to the table. He inclined his head towards each of the representatives, drawing Eva closer. “Of course you know who I am already; but I would love to introduce you all to my wife, Eva.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Eva said, nodding at the members of the royal family. Ari pulled her seat out and Eva carefully sat herself down, performing a last-minute frantic skim through the information she had assembled in her mind over the course of the week since Ari had made his proposition to her.
“How did the two of you meet?” Eva glanced at Ari, fighting back the urge to grin at him. Taking turns, they told the members of the shipping company the story they had concocted between them; the story took until the servers came to the table to take everyone’s orders for the dinner, and Eva was glad that the interruption happened—it lessened the chance that anyone would think too hard about the story of their meeting.
The dinner moved forward, and Eva’s initial nerves faded as she spoke more and more, exchanging small talk with different members of the party at their table even as Ari discussed weightier business matters. She found herself remembering details that she would never have imagined possible about Ari—things that she had learned in random, idle conversation at the bar they’d gone to, during their first tryst together, and in the relaxed moments when they took breaks between quizzing each other.
“Your life seems like it would be very interesting,” one of the guests at the table remarked. “The wife of a billionaire.” Eva grinned at the man, reaching out and touching Ari’s hand in a show of affection that wasn’t difficult to perform. She had struggled with the conflict of her feelings towards the wealthy Greek ever since she had noticed them
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