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“Hmph,” was all she said, which for some reason made Diana laugh harder.
When the girl’s laughter died down, Mairi asked very casually, “Has your family arrived?” From what little Diana had confided to her in the past, Mairi had pieced enough of the girl’s history to realize that Diana felt terribly neglected by her widowed mother.
Diana shook her head, her silky ebony hair swaying against her school jacket as she did. “Mother is too busy for something like this.” She spoke with perfect English – too perfectly, in her opinion. It was strange, but Mairi had a feeling that getting Diana to say ‘yeah’ rather than ‘yes’ would be one of her biggest accomplishments in her teaching career.
“And your brother?” she prompted. Not much was written about Diana’s only sibling, Damen Leventis, but then again hewasa Greek billionaire who owned one of the largest media empires in the world. If he wanted the paparazzi to shut up about him, then it would.
Mairi had briefly toyed with the idea about Diana’s brother beingtheone she was meant to live happily ever after with, but the more she got to know her student, the more Mairi was convinced that the Greek billionaire might be too cold and stuck-up for her liking. Her brother had to be the world’s most heartless individual if he didn’t appreciate how sweet Diana was.
Diana said unhappily, “My brother might not come even though he promised. He may suddenly be busy, too.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” Mairi lied even though she secretly feared the same. Velvet would warn her against giving students false hope, but she couldn’t help it. For Mairi, it wasn’tfalse.There was always hope. It was that simple.
At Diana’s noncommittal shrug, she suggested, “He could be caught in traffic.”
“My brother does not like to ride in cars much. He’ll probably sail or fly here.”
“Then maybe his, umm, yacht or private jet’s caught in traffic?”
Diana choked.
She protested half-indignantly, “That could happen, right? Haven’t you ever watchedThe Jetsons—-” At Diana’s blank look, Mairi realized the girl was too young to know about the rather old school animation series. “Never mind.”
Diana shook her head. “You are so funny, Ms. Yay.”
“Seriously, stop that. You know Ms. Thorn doesn’t like it when students give teachers nicknames.”
Diana said shyly, “I really like you, Ms. Tanner. You are so optimistic.”
Mairi gave her student a mock scowl. “And you are so going to get an F on your next test. You totally said that like you meant to say I’m naïve!”
“If the shoe fits,” Diana retorted, a grin tugging at her lips.
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be? You’re not even going to take it back?”
“Ms. Tanner, I like you being, umm, optimistic. It is better than being sad or cynical.”
“Exactly,” a voice behind them said.
Mairi twisted around, surprised at the unexpected intrusion of a dark Greek-sounding voice.
“You made it!” Diana was on her feet in an instant, lovely face glowing as she threw her arms around—-
Oxygen was suddenly trapped somewhere between her diaphragm and throat – all Mairi knew was that she couldn’t breathe.
Coal black hair, silvery gray eyes, and a face so beautiful it was as if Michelangelo had descended from the heavens just to carve this being to perfection.
Gorgeous wasn’t enough to describe him. He was also the sexiest and most devastatingly sophisticated man Mairi had ever seen, her mouth drying at the way his exquisite midnight blue suit emphasized every inch of his lean muscular hardness. She liked how he was built more like a kickboxer than a wrestler. It made her imagine how he’d be lethally sexy even when he was kicking ass.
All in all, he waseverythingshe had ever dreamed her Greek billionaire would be and the realization made her fingers curl tightly against her skirt. She was doing her best not to fling her arms around him and demand that he kiss her so she could know right this very moment if he was...the one.
Over the top of Diana’s head, their eyes met.
Oh. My.
Mairi blinked several times, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Her madly beating heart threatened to pop right out of her chest, which didn’t help with her light-headedness at seeing this Greek god, but she did her best to think logically. Surely she hadn’t read that right? Surely Diana’s brother couldn’t be looking at her as if—-
Hello. Look at me. I want to fuck you.