Adonis in Athens - Page 73

Paige had no idea where Apollo’s mother had found a Greek priest, a pappas, on such short notice, but there he was. They weren’t having the ceremony in the church; they’d opted to rent out the clubhouse in her parents’ subdivision and have both a short ceremony and fun reception at the same place. It saved on time and money, since they were already legally married, and Paige hadn’t argued when Maria had brought up having the ceremony overseen by a priest from the Greek Orthodox Church. Being blessed by the church seemed to make Maria happy, and Paige’s family didn’t care one way or the other since they weren’t religious; she was happy to do something so simple that would keep her in Maria’s good graces.

“Why am I nervous?” Paige asked Raegan as they got ready for the ceremony to start. “We’re already married—this is dumb!”

“Your hands are shaking!” Raegan said softly, gripping them and gently squeezing.

“I know! It’s dumb!”

“It’s not dumb,” Raegan smiled. “You’ve never been a fan of being the center of attention, and that’s exactly what this is. Just remember you’re already married, this guy adores you, and you’re about to embark on the very best adventure you could ever imagine.”

“I know, I know!” Paige took a deep breath. “It’s just…what if it doesn’t work out? What if he doesn’t love me?”

Raegan rolled her eyes. “You’re a dork. He could have signed those papers and let your skinny behind leave Greece forever. Instead, he courted you, asked you to stay with him forever, and then followed you halfway across the world to keep you. I’m pretty sure you guys have a good chance of things working out. There are no guarantees, but from the outside looking in, you guys have a lot going for you.”

“Yeah.” Paige gazed down at the gorgeous diamond on her left hand. He’d given it to her last night as the family had looked on. They’d found matching wedding rings they both liked and they would exchange those during the ceremony. She’d already moved Thespina’s ring to her right hand and looked down at it now with a smile. She was so glad his grandmother had made the trip to the U.S. to be here with them. It was a lot of fun spending time with her, and her own grandmother—her mother’s mother—who’d also flown in for the ceremony, had been attached to Thespina at the hip.

“Everyone is here,” Melina poked her head into the small anteroom. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be!” Paige nodded.

Melina stepped out and there was a quick knock before Mick stuck his head in. “Ready?” He grinned at Raegan, who nodded.

The wedding was somewhat informal, and since they were already married, they were dispensing with traditions like having her father walk her down the aisle, a big wedding party or even reading vows. Essentially, Mick would walk with Raegan, who was on crutches, and then she would sit down while Mick held on to both wedding rings. Paige would walk down the makeshift aisle by herself, the priest would say a prayer in both Greek and English, and then they would eat, drink and dance. Hopefully, it would be short and sweet, just as they’d planned. She had no interest in a long-drawn-out ceremony or extended speeches. Though she had no trouble when it was work-related, in her personal life she really disliked having the attention of a room full of people.

“Let’s do this!” Raegan blew a kiss at Paige and gratefully accepted her crutches from Mick, who also helped her up. They’d become fast friends and seemed almost as inseparable as the two grandmothers.

“I’m ready.” Paige got up and wiped her damp palms on her dress. In a minute or so, she would be standing next to Apollo and then she wouldn’t be nervous anymore.

She watched from the door as Mick solicitously walked beside Raegan, who moved slowly with her crutches. She caught a glimpse of Apollo standing next to the pappas, as handsome as she’d ever seen him in a gorgeous suit his mother had brought from Greece when she’d come. He’d gotten a haircut too, and she smiled to herself, thinking about all the times he’d mentioned needing one. Obviously their wedding was a big enough occasion for him to do it!

As she took the first step towards where Apollo was waiting for her, Paige felt her step falter and she breathed in deeply, steadying herself. She caught a reassuring wink from Thespina and felt warmth flood her, finally able to put one foot in front of the other. Though she’d had the occasional glimpse of memory from their legal wedding nearly three and a half years ago, as Apollo reached out his hand to her, she got a wave of pictures that flashed through her mind with such clarity she was momentarily startled. She’d been wearing her favorite black miniskirt, a low-cut red top that showed off her modest cleavage and high, high black pumps. Apollo had been wearing jeans and an untucked button-down black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’d been smiling, just like he was now, and she couldn’t help but move against him with a combination of love, nostalgia and relief that she was with him again.

“Welcome!” The pappas spoke in a deep, booming voice in perfect English. “We are here today to celebrate the love of Apollo and Paige, who will be—”

“I do!” A loud voice interrupted the priest as Tom stumbled into the room. His hair was sticking up as if he’d just gotten out of bed, his tie was askew and his shirt wasn’t tucked into his slacks. He had a bottle of what appeared to be tequila in one hand and his speech was slurred.

“You do what?” the priest asked, clearly not amused, his eyes narrowing.

“Didn’t you ask if anyone has a reason these two shouldn’t get married?” Tom looked befuddled.

“I did not,” the priest answered primly. “They’re already married, so that would be a ridiculous question.”

“But you can’t marry him!” Tom cried to Paige, weaving through the middle of the room in her direction.

“Not today, my friend,” Mick stepped in front of him and put a big hand on his shoulder. “The only thing you’re going to accomplish here is to make a fool of yourself.”

“But I loved you!” Tom was trying to peer around Mick’s large form and they appeared to be doing a kind of dance as Mick blocked him.

“Oh, Tom.” Paige was mortified, but this wasn’t her fault. They’d broken up, she’d told him she was married to and in love with someone else; she felt bad that she’d obviously hurt him, but he needed to let this go.

“All those years together!” he cried. “We did everything together! How can you love him?”

“Let’s go.” Mick nudged him towards the door.

“No! She loves me! Ask her!” Tom was flailing his arms as Mick continued to back him towards the door.

Nicky’s date, an old family friend named Dan, got up and joined Mick, talking in a low voice to Tom as they tried to move him out the door.

“Paige!” Tom was wailing now and Paige groaned.