I mean, what's he going to do, walk right past Mama and Marina, grab yourhand and say, "This is my wife" "

Kate didn't know what he was going to do. She couldn't imagine how he wasgoing to explain her to Mrs Alexakis. She was waiting with trepidation whensuddenly she heard the front doorbell and Sophia went to answer it.

"Ah, Damon," she heard Sophia say.

"Here you are at last. Mama and Marina have been waiting." "Where's Kate?"

A second later he was beside her, grasping her hand, pulling her into the

living-room.

"Mama," he said to the woman sitting on the sofa, "I'd like you to meet Kate."

Kate had tried to imagine what Damon's mother looked like, dreaming up

varying combinations of all the formidable women she'd ever met.

The reality was something less. Helena Alexakis was not really very large atall-. She wore her greying black hair in a matronly style.Her dress was more comfortable-looking than of the latest style. Kate found herself thinking that her mother-in-law looked as if she might be friendly.Or would have been until she heard the next words out of Damon's mouth."She has done me the honour of becoming my bride." The world stopped.Damon's mother's smile froze on her face. She looked in the first instant as if she hadn't grasped the word. And Kate wondered if she even spoke English.It didn't matter for the next moment Damon repeated it once more, this timein Greek.

"Your brideT Helena Alexakis said at last. She looked at her son, then atKate. Kate swallowed carefully, standing very still, not even breathing, as if any move would cause the room to explode.

"Your bride," Helena Alexakis said again, and this time she sounded less shocked than bemused. A tiny quizzical smile played about the corners of her mouth.

She considered Kate slowly and carefully and Kate felt as if the yardstick measuring 'the Alexakis Bride' had been taken out and laid alongside her.

Kate didn't doubt she'd come up short.

She tried to remain calm. It was, after all, nothing she hadn't expected.

She'd known. She'd been warned. But as the seconds stretched into minutes, Kate thought again that she'd made a very big mistake.

Helena Alexakis looked like a kind woman, a loving, caring woman. The sort of woman Kate had always wanted for a mother. Not the sort of woman she'd want to dupe.

And then there was the little matter of the gorgeous young woman still seated on the couch beside her mother-in-law. The young woman who apparently fit Helena Alexakis's requirements for 'the Alexakis Bride'.

Marina still looked shocked by Damon's revelation even if his mother no longer did. Her gaze moved from Kate to Damon and back again. Her eyes were wide and bewildered. Kate didn't blame her a bit.

Helena's gaze shifted to Damon and Kate felt minutely relieved, even though an instant later he slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer.

At last after another minute of silence and one more consideration of Kate, Helena looked at her son and said, "So why are you here?"

Damon frowned.

"Why am I here?"

"You just got married, yes? So why are you in New York dancing attendance on your mother? You should be on your honeymoon."

Kate gaped. She felt Damon stiffen next to her."Don't be silly. Mama. We don't need a honeymoon.""Everyone needs a honeymoon, Damon. To be together, to bond your relationship, it is important. Especially important since you must not have

known each other long?" One thin brow lifted as she gave them a speculative,

knowing look.

Damon ground his teeth.

"Long enough."

"He did rather urn sweep me off my feet," Kate put in lightly.

Her mother-in-law smiled for the first time. She got up off the sofa and put

her hand out to Kate, drawing her close, away from Damon, looking at her

again, smiling more broadly."A sweeper, is he? My Damon? And I always thought he was so calculating.Good." Once more she looked at Damon.

"You need a honeymoon."

"Mama, I have a business."

"You have a bride, Damon."

"Yes, but ' " A bride of your own choosing, yes? One that you love,

obviously. So show her. ""Mama, I -' " You have Stephanos. You have Arete. Alexakis Enterprisesisn't one man, Damon. You have hundreds of people to make business while you are gone. What do I always tell you? You are too busy. You work too hard." Helena shook her head. Her ample bosom shook slightly as well.She gave her son a look of fond exasperation."You just got married.Go away. ""No.""Yes."They stared at each other, stalemated."Even if I could get away, which I can't," Damon said at last,"Kate is helping out here. She's Sophia's nanny."Helena's eyes got wide."Her nanny?"Damon's chin jutted."Something wrong with that?""As long as you love her, Damon, nothing is wrong with it."Damon swallowed. Kate expected him to deny it. She was surprised when he said roughly,

"Of course I love her, but I can't take her on a honeymoon. She takes care

of the girls!"

"I will."

"You? Mama, you never--' Helena Alexakis stiffened.

"Damon! Do not argue with your mother." She paused.

"Have you been married before?"

He shifted uneasily, then slid a finger inside his shirt collar.

"No, of course not," he muttered.

"Of course not," she mimicked.

"So you don't argue with experience.

In business you listen to the experts, don't you? " .

"Yes, but--' " I am the expert. I know how important it is to have time

together.

Your father and I --' "Kate and I are nothing like you and Papa."

"You work too hard, same as your papa. You swept Kate off her feet same as

your papa. You need what your papa and I needed--to be together. Alone. We

spent a month on Sifnos. That is too far," of course. Let's see. Where can

you two go. . . "

"We'll take a weekend in the Hamptons if it'll make you happy."

"A weekend!" His mother wrinkled her nose.

"Nonsense. A marriage takes nourishment, care, tending, Damon. You can't begin to start a marriage in a weekend. Even when you are in love it takestime. Besides," she added knowledgeably, 'if you only go so far as the Hamptons, yoi^. . on the phone all the time. I know!

Buccaneer's ", by' " No, Mama-' Damon s^^'most as fast as Sophia ;^ ^id al'

said, "What a good idea. Y. ,n go down early and make sure everything is r^" ^r Thanksgiving. "

"I have things to do her^Y Want things."

"More important than ^- ^'(narriage?" His mother looked at him, scandalise^01"" "d.a.m.n it , .

"Don't swear, Damon. ^ ^ perfect solution. We will all be down for the h^"

s In the meantime, you will have a chance to spend ^ alone together. "

"We don't need time ak^ ^gether!"

"What Damon means," ^ ^said hastily, 'is that we don't want to shut you out want you to share our happiness. " . W Helena squeezed her i "And so we will, my dear. We always go (^" ^aneer's Cay in late November if there isn't ^ ^p go home to Greece. Hasn't Damon told you? " xme Kate shook her head.

Helena frowned at her ^ ill's a small island in the Bahamas. We have d si^o^-^mily compound there that Aristotle bought ye^'111 ao. My husband loved island living, said it gave h^ e proper focus. " Helena smiled a nostalgic smile. '^m " p, do say you'll go. " She gave Kate a look of such " ^treaty that Kate could think of nothing to say ^" e She looked at Damon helplessly. She could see a1 " ^le ticking in his temple, could imagine the wheels "" ^tig in his brain, looking for an escape route. tur' ' Apparently he didn't f^ ^e, for a moment later she felt him let out his ^nd h slowly and carefully, "All right." w^ > Helena beamed."Don't worry, dear. Stephanos and Arete can take care of things here."Damon's expression grew even grimmer. He gave his brother-in-law a stony glare which had Stephanos taking a step backwards.