He’d taken that as more proof of how well suited they were.
Alexandros had said the words the first time when their daughter was born, and had given her an eternity ring to remind her of the sentiment when he did not say it.
Looking back, he realized she’d responded in kind but not with the kind of enthusiasm she’d said the words in the beginning. And he could not remember the last time she’d told him she loved him.
He thought, that like him, she realized they did not need the words.
“How can you say something like that?” his mother was saying with ringing censure.
Pollyanna tilted her head, like trying to understand the question. “Surely there is no reason for me to lie? There cannot be a single person in this room that harbors any illusions in regard to my place of priority in Alexandros’s life.”
She spoke like she meant what she said, like she couldn’t understand why his mother had taken offence, why Alexandros might take offence. Then as if she had not said anything inflammatory at all, she turned to Petros and asked, “Have you and Corrina decided to stay in the Athens apartment for now?”
And his brother answered, pulling his wife into the discussion. Apparently, they were going to stay in the apartment. That was another difference between Petros and Alexandros.
His younger brother had moved into one of two penthouse apartments at the top of the Kristalakis Building when he graduated university and took up his first position in the family business.
He and Corrina had opted for her to move in there with him after their wedding, rather than back into the more spacious family home Alexandros had not moved out of until he bought the country villa he and Pollyanna lived in now.
Generations of their family had lived in the huge luxury villa together since his second great-grandfather had bought it for his new wife.
“But won’t that be limiting once you start your family?” his mother asked.
Petros shrugged. “We’re in no hurry to have babies, but when we do, we’ll decide if we want to find a house in Athens, or move to the country like Alexandros did.”
“We certainly enjoy our weekends at your villa,” Corrina said to Pollyanna with a smile. “Though I’m sure it’s as much the company as the location.”
Pollyanna returned Corrina’s smile with more warmth than he’d seen all evening.
He’d noticed that his brother had not said like Alexandros and Pollyanna did, because she hadn’t had any say in their move, had she? Alexandros had seen how unhappy his wife was living with his mother, so he’d broken with generations of family tradition and bought them a house. And had it decorated.
His mother had assured him that surprising her with the fait accompli would delight his wife, who was not exactly inclined toward interior decor.
Pollyanna had not reacted with rapturous delight at the news they would be living in the country and he would be commuting to work in the city.
In fact, their argument about where they were going to live was the last big dustup he could remember with his then-volatile wife. He’d thought she’d finally settled into her place as the wife of a billionaire, had accepted he had her best interests at heart.
But that settling in had come with a cost that he was only now beginning to truly appreciate.
“Alexandros did not put off having children,” his mother said in clear disapproval of his brother’s stance in that regard.
Corrina looked ready to say something, but then shook her head and pressed her lips firmly together.
“What were you going to say?” Alexandros asked, still reeling from the knowledge his sister-in-law pitied his wife in her choice of husbands.
“It’s not important.”
“This is family. You should be able to speak your mind.”
The scoffing sound that came from his wife’s direction was surprising only in that she’d stopped making commentary on his family a long time ago. He’d thought her attitude toward his mother and sister had changed.
Had Pollyanna simply given up on trying to get him to see her point of view?
Corrina gave him a wary look. “I was only going to point out that if pregnancy was as difficult for you as it is for your wife, you might actually have waited to have children.”
“That is a ridiculous thing to say,” his mother censored. “It is a woman’s lot to deal with the more difficult aspects of bringing children into the world. That does not make my son selfish for expecting his wife to give him heirs.”
“My wife did not say it made my brother selfish.” Petros sounded good and furious now, not merely annoyed with their mother, but pissed enough he would leave.
Unsurprisingly, it was Alexandros’s wife who stepped in to smooth the waters. She was very good at that. “I love being a mother,” Pollyanna said directly to Corrina. “I knew what I was in for when I agreed to have a second child.”
His wife gave a serene facsimile of her genuine smile and looked at his mother now. “I know you don’t mean to criticize either Corrina or Petros for their wish to wait a while before having children.”
“No, of course not,” his mother agreed.
Though even Alexandros was aware her words had certainly sounded like criticism.
Petros didn’t look any more convinced than Alexandros felt, but Corrina looked more relaxed.
She smiled at Pollyanna. “You’re a brilliant mother.”
“Thank you. Helena is the joy of my life.”
There had been a time when she had claimed that he and their marriage were the joy of her life, but he couldn’t remember the last time she’d said anything similar either.
Dinner was announced then, precluding any further tense discourse.
Not merely because of the change of venue but because his wife did as he realized she always did and made every effort to steer the conversation in less volatile directions. As he sat there mulling over predinner discussion, he was still aware of how many times Pollyanna did not react to what were clearly pointed barbs from his mother or his sister.
Had it always been like this and he ignored it in favor of family peace?
It was past ten o’clock when they got in the back of the limo for their ride to the helipad so they could return home.
Alexandros had been stewing all evening and barely waited for the door to shut them into seclusion before saying, “I can’t believe you told my family you don’t think I’m an attentive husband.”
The laugh his comment startled from his wife was anything but amused. “Are you trying to claim that you are?”
“When have I ever neglected you?” he demanded in a driven tone. “Would you look at me when we’re talking?”