‘Who’s that?’ She gasped involuntarily.
She heard the muttered oath beneath Theo’s breath and he swiftly got out of the car. The rhythm of the stunning woman’s high-heeled shoes bumped unevenly when she saw Leah emerge and stand just behind Theo.
‘Angelica.’ Theo bestowed kisses on the woman’s cheeks. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you properly—’
The woman purred something in Greek.
‘Leah.’ Theo turned, still speaking in English to include her. ‘May I introduce you to our good family friend, Angelica Galanis?’
Family friend? Was that what she was?
‘Angelica, this is Leah.’
But Theo didn’t give Angelica any additional explanation of Leah.
A low cough made all three of them turn. An elderly man with a cane was in the open doorway. Leah froze. This just had to be Dimitri. While he was shorter than Theo and frail, he had a familiar steely look in his gaze. Leah surreptitiously wiped her hands on her jeans. She felt crumpled and stale and never more out of place. And she’d been out of place a lot.
‘Theodoros?’ The older man looked from Theo to Leah.
‘Dimitri.’ Theo clamped Leah’s hand in his and walked towards the waiting man. ‘I wanted to introduce you formally tomorrow, but this is wonderful. I am pleased to introduce you to Leah.’
Dimitri simply stared.
‘Leah is my fiancée.’
She heard the muffled gasp of surprise from the woman just behind them. Dimitri said nothing to her directly but whispered a short comment to Theo. Theo wrapped his arm around Leah’s waist and pulled her close. The old man’s breathing became ragged and Theo spoke to him in reassuring tones before lifting his voice to call something in Greek.
An older woman immediately appeared behind Dimitri. Given her deferential manner, Leah guessed she was on the staff. Theo quietly spoke to the woman and a moment later she escorted Dimitri down a long corridor lined with large portraits. Even through the thick walls Leah could sense the older man’s emotion—it was strong enough to reverberate all the way through her own ribcage.
‘My grandfather is still recovering from his operation,’ Theo said smoothly and guided her into the polished foyer. He smiled at her as if there were nothing at all awkward about the situation—as if they were truly intimate. ‘We’ll spend time with him properly tomorrow.’
‘Theo, it’s very late and obviously not the right time for you to have a house guest.’ Angelica’s face was flushed and her English was heavily accented. ‘I should probably go...’ She trailed off.
‘It’s late, please stay tonight and we’ll make travel arrangements for you in the morning,’ Theo replied smoothly.
Despite his charming exterior, Leah could sense his underlying tension too. The ‘welcome home’ committee seemed to have exacerbated it.
‘I apologise again for not being here to welcome you properly,’ he said to Angelica. ‘But thank you for understanding this is a personal time for us.’
Theo stiffened as Angelica’s gaze lingered on the glittering ring on Leah’s finger. He stepped between the two women, protecting Leah from Angelica’s scrutiny. She was paler than usual and she’d half turned away; defensiveness seeped from her hunched shoulders. It was as if she was trying to be that shadow as he’d suggested on the plane. She’d been hurt before. Having met her parents, he understood more. But she ought to stand tall. He didn’t want her to feel any fear, any inferiority here. ‘Are you hungry, Leah?’ he asked gently.
She shook her head.
He held out his hand to her. ‘Come, I’ll take you to our quarters.’
She put her hand in his and he turned and bowed to Angelica. He’d clean forgotten the woman was coming to visit and of course Dimitri would have stayed up to welcome him with his guest. Instead now Dimitri was tired and shocked. Theo couldn’t blame him. Tomorrow he’d ensure the old man believed he and Leah were happy. While he hated lying, he didn’t want Dimitri to know he’d messed up.
And now there was Leah. He knew he had to give her some space and a chance to take all this in. She hadn’t wanted to stay in touch after that night at the hotel. She hadn’t even wanted to kiss him goodbye. Now he’d dragged her to a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language and she’d been given an awkward welcome. He’d almost done to her what had been done to him all those years ago and he was furious with himself.
That large diamond dug into his palm as he clasped her fingers and led her to the stairs. He felt a heel about the blunt way he’d just handed that to her too. But he refused to lie to her. It was imperative he maintain distance between them. He’d start as he meant to go on.
Except all he wanted to do was kiss away the sad tilt to her mouth and restore that passionate warmth in her eyes. He wanted to hear her husky little laugh again.
‘This is my suite.’ He opened the door to his private wing and waited for her to walk in.
‘Angelica is an old family friend?’ There was no missing the suspicious curiosity in her eyes.
‘I forgot Dimitri had invited her to stay this weekend. If I’d remembered I would have cancelled the invitation.’ He gritted his teeth.
‘Is it a special occasion?’
‘Not that I’m aware of.’
‘Why had he invited her?’
He closed the door behind them. ‘Why do you think?’
‘Your grandfather invited her to stay with you as a prospective what—bride?’ She frowned. ‘He doesn’t trust you to pick a woman on your own?’
‘He doesn’t trust that I’ll ever make a permanent pick,’ Theo said tightly. ‘I was keeping him happy while he recovers.’
‘Keeping him happy?’ she echoed. ‘Because you never wanted to get married.’
‘Actually now I do. To you.’ He made himself walk forward and open the door to her bedroom.
She came to an abrupt halt and spun to face him. ‘You expect me to sleep in the same bed as you?’
He glanced and saw the big bed behind her. Her tone pushed him that last notch over the edge. Now he was alone with her again at last desire washed over him, loosening the bonds of self-control he’d been straining against for hours. In truth, for months. He’d wanted her the second he’d seen her again. He’d never stopped wanting her since that night. The whole ‘I’m pregnant’ thing ought to have shut it down. It hadn’t.
‘Is this for the look of it, Theo?’ She jerked her head towards the bed. ‘Because there are other people here?’
He couldn’t control himself enough to reply. It was a mistake, because in the face of his silence, he felt her emotions fire.
‘I can play that part if you want.’ She flicked back her hair and stepped up to him, her lavender eyes deepening with almost liquid intensity. ‘I’ll jump up and down on that bed and scream with ecstasy all through the house so everyone in the neighbourhood hears. I’ll—’
‘Be amazing?’ he challenged, his body almost bursting with the feral energy he’d held leashed for so long. ‘Bring it on.’
She jerked her chin at him defiantly. ‘You think you can just order me around? That I’ll do anything you ask me to?’
He breathed hard but those knots were slipping. He did want her to do anything and her loss of temper was oddly welcome. It had been a long, trying day and both of them needed to vent. But he was not the villain here.
‘My grandfather’s rooms are in another building on the other side of the tennis court. Angelica is in the guest house on the other side of the pool. You can be as loud as you like.’
He’d jump her on the bed with him if she wanted. And he’d happily make her scream.
‘If they’re that far away, then why do I need to be in your room?’
‘You don’t,’ he snapped. ‘This is my wing, Leah. There’s more than one bedroom in here.’