‘I didn’t think...’ The old man breathed out. ‘Good, Theo.’
Good? Theo blinked, gobsmacked by the old man’s obvious emotion. Good?
‘She will have my great-grandson.’ Pride lit the old man’s face.
Theo still couldn’t stand to imagine an actual baby, but at Dimitri’s satisfied certainty he couldn’t help a small tease. ‘Or great-granddaughter.’
‘Wonderful.’ Dimitri actually beamed at the prospect. ‘Then you’d better go take care of her.’
No more questions? No desire to know more? No judgment? Theo couldn’t believe it.
Hurting more somehow, he pushed away the previously unimaginable mental picture of Dimitri hovering over a bundle in Leah’s arms. He felt as if he were skating on the thinnest of ice. With one wrong move, it would crack and they’d be dragged down to drown in frigid waters. But if he kept his steps careful, they could all stay safe.
* * *
She was standing by the pool. How could such a slender silhouette be such a distraction? Such temptation. His pulse quickened at the memory of late last night. But as he registered her pale façade, regret rose. She’d been tired last night and she’d misunderstood about the bedroom and he shouldn’t have taken advantage of her innocence and anger and emotional vulnerability to satisfy his own needs. He’d lost control, no longer able to resist the desire to touch her. All he’d wanted was to lose himself with her again. He’d only hauled his control back when she’d all but fainted away in an exhausted heap after her orgasm had hit. A fact that had made him feel all the more guilty.
They had to focus on getting their marriage arranged and to provide security for the child. The paperwork for the wedding was in hand so it was simply a matter of getting through the next few days. Once they were married, they could take a breath and figure out the future more gently. Until then, he needed to regain control.
‘How did you sleep?’ he asked, even though it was obvious in her expression.
‘Very well, thank you.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I realise now that you were just helping me to...relax.’ She breathed in. ‘Thank you for that. It was thoughtful.’ She glanced at the table. ‘But I’ll manage with just a glass of warm milk from now on.’
A glass of milk? He stared. She couldn’t be serious. And as for him helping her to relax? As if there’d been any thought that had gone before what had happened?
Her coolness sparked his desire to prove her a liar all over again. His desire simply to touch her again. He was appalled at the realisation he had zero control. Zero. All he wanted was to get close again and know that starburst of heat. But he rejected the want winding him tight. He’d go to the office in Athens. Bury himself in the work he’d missed while he was London collecting her. He’d regain focus and get ahead. When in doubt, achieve.
At that thought, a great wave of resistance rose. How much he wanted to stay scared him. He never wanted to skip work. It was always his escape. But now?
‘I need to go into the office,’ he said brusquely before he could change his mind.
‘Today?’
‘I had an extra day in the UK. I need to catch up.’ He was good at doing what was necessary and this was necessary.
‘Because you’re so behind from one extra day away?’ Her lashes hid the glittering sharpness of her eyes.
‘I’ll be back in time for dinner.’ He needed distance. She was already paying too steep a price for his reckless behaviour and he couldn’t trust himself not to repeat it.
‘And what do you want me to do while you’re gone?’ she asked softly.
‘Rest, Leah. You need it.’ He’d go to work. After their wedding he’d take her to the island and show her that life wasn’t going to be a total disaster.
‘I need it?’
There was only a lone ember of provocation in her soft echo, but he couldn’t resist throwing one last little retaliation as he forced his feet to take him away. ‘Go have that hot milk and relax.’
* * *
Leah stomped back into the mansion. How was she supposed to ‘relax’? What was she supposed to do with her time? She knew no one but Theo and she didn’t know him at all well. His grandfather hadn’t appeared since last night. She wasn’t sure he even spoke much English and she certainly couldn’t speak Greek. She had no transport options, no map of the city anyway and no money. Sure, she could swim in that pool, but she had no swimsuit and she wasn’t sure skinny dipping would be a good idea. Worse, she realised Theo might’ve been right: her jeans collection wasn’t going to cut it. She needed clothing appropriate enough to mix with the Angelicas of Athens. Not dresses though. Leah didn’t wear dresses...
She could eat from the platters of nibbles that constantly appeared on the nearest occasional table but she was too wound up to have any appetite. She could sleep up in that gorgeous bedroom but she only needed to set foot in there and all the memories of his touch tormented her. She could definitely read because she’d discovered there were books everywhere, not just in the stunning library. There was a home movie theatre too and a ballroom that was beautiful but wistfully empty. It was a grand home for a large family and she ought to feel amazing. Instead she literally walked away from it all. But as she reached a path that she guessed led to the beach, a security guy materialised in front of her. She stopped and smiled at him warily.
‘If you would like to walk along the beach, I will escort you,’ he said briskly in heavily accented English.
‘Oh, no, thank you.’ She backed up a pace. ‘Sorry if I bothered you.’
There was no return smile. ‘I’m here to ensure your safety.’
‘Oh, okay. Thank you.’
So there were boundaries to this world? She marched back inside feeling odd about not being able to come and go alone as she pleased. She’d get her knitting. It seemed ridiculous to be working with wool in such warm weather but it always relaxed her. And she really needed to relax. She walked along the corridor and glanced again at the collection of formal portraits that hung so prominently positioned. There was a wedding portrait of Dimitri and his wife, and another of that woman alone, looking a little older. Then there was a portrait of a younger man Leah suspected was Theo’s father. He looked no older than about fifteen. There was no portrait from his wedding, indeed there was no image at all of Theo’s mother. And then there was the one of Theo and Dimitri together. Theo looked about eighteen. Both he and Dimitri were in suits, formally posed. There was no smile and man-hug. They stood separate, angled in front of a large desk. It looked as if it had been taken at an office. Theo’s first day at work? Had he been groomed to be the head of the Savas empire from the start? What about his father? Because there was no equivalent ‘line of succession’ photo of him. Her curiosity deepened. Theo hadn’t mentioned his mother at all in his brief explanation of why he’d come to live with Dimitri. And it had been a very brief explanation.
She gathered her bag from her room and returned poolside to lose herself in the blissfully soothing repetition of stitch after stitch. She wasn’t interrupted—other than with trays of food—but slowly, inexorably, her nerves tightened. When would he return home? They had to talk some more, surely. She couldn’t spend all her days like this.
He phoned her late in the afternoon.
‘I won’t be back until after dinner tonight,’ he said brusquely as soon as she answered. ‘Don’t wait up.’
The businesslike way he delivered the minimal message was chilling. And that disappointment? She didn’t want to admit to that at all.
The early evening stretched out—slow and painful. She saw Dimitri in the distance but he didn’t come near her and frankly now she was too intimidated and heartsore to face someone else’s disappointment or judgment. She asked the housekeeper if she could dine alone in her bedroom. Of course it was no problem.
In safe, private misery she flicked on the television in the sma
ll lounge simply because she had nothing better to do. She scrolled through the channels, pausing on what she guessed was the local news channel. They were showing a live feed from the waterfront just up the coast. Intrigued, she watched for a while; it looked like the cream of Athens society—all the gorgeous Angelicas. But then she stared harder at the screen. Was that Theo?
She blinked. It was. She’d recognise his height and imposing presence from fifty feet and he was dressed to disturb in dinner jacket and white tie. And there were women near him—beautiful, designer-clad beauties. Was this what he considered work? Quaffing champagne down at some fancy marina?
She stilled, unsure what to do, quelling the urge to phone him. She waited for his return but in the end fell asleep before she heard his car. In the morning she expected to see him at breakfast, but there was still no sign. It was the housekeeper who informed her with a slightly confused air that he was already at work. That was when Leah realised he’d not returned home all night. Hurt burgeoned—built by his lack of consideration, of contact. Was this what it was going to be like? How could he go from concerned and courteous to simply...absent?
She wanted him to see her as she’d thought he once had. She didn’t want to be invisible and taken for granted again.
As the day passed in isolation, her hurt festered, morphing into fury. By the time he finally returned, after dinner, she was practically shaking with pent-up rage. She’d hidden away in her room again, not wanting anyone to witness their ‘reunion’.
She heard his footsteps as he climbed the stairs—she’d left her door ajar so she’d be forewarned. Now he nudged her door further open with his fingers.
‘Nice of you to call in,’ she said acidly, loathing her shrewish tone but unable to hold it back.
‘I told you I had to work late yesterday.’ He leaned against the doorjamb and regarded her carefully. ‘It got so late it was best for me to stay in town.’
‘You really think I’m stupid, don’t you?’ She was so hurt.
‘Why do you say that?’
‘You weren’t at “work” last night. You were at a party.’ He was avoiding her. He’d been avoiding her for the last couple of days.
‘Actually, it wasn’t a party. It was the launch of a new yacht.’
‘Is this what it’s going to be like? You’re just going to lie by omission...or semantics? Like how you treat your grandfather? You let him think the best through half-truths, to kid yourself you’re keeping him happy? Is that what you’re planning to do with me?’
He straightened and came into the room, closing the door behind him. ‘I’m not lying at all to you.’ He gazed at her steadily and walked slowly towards her. ‘I’ve never lied to you.’
‘No, you’re just planning to send me away so you can pretend I don’t exist most of the time.’ She sprang up and stepped away, putting the armchair safely between him and her. ‘That’s why you’re not involving me in any of your life here. Lock me in the attic, why don’t you?’
‘Leah—’
‘Don’t patronise me or act like you’re trying to protect me. Why not just tell me the truth?’ She shook her head.
‘It was work. I’m the CEO of one of the largest private banks in the world and we have several subsidiaries in a variety of industries. Patronage, sponsorship, networking are all part of the remit. We’re powerful, we need to contribute to society. So it’s part of my job to maintain the profile and reputation at a certain level. To develop the goodwill and trust of investors and clients.’