He nodded and rose to his feet. “What will your collection be called?”
“New beginnings.”
“I do not know about dresses...” he said with such a straight face that she laughed, “but the passion I hear in your words, I am sure it will come through in what you do, ne?”
“You think so?”
“I believe that it will.”
He said it with such confidence that a snippet of conversation she had heard between him and Giannis came back to her. Her grandfather had been asking Stavros about his contacts with major design houses and Stavros had been patiently explaining who would be open to launching a new label with a fresh designer.
Pushing her chair back, she stood up, her stomach in knots. “Your belief in me is encouraging, but I can’t forever be ensconced safely in this world that Giannis and you have created for me. I can’t let you and him launch a label for me using your contacts and the might of...
“If you meant your apology, if anything has changed in how you see me—” she could feel heat rising in her cheeks, but she continued stubbornly “—you’ll stop arranging my life in cahoots with him.”
“He wants to do it for you because he cares—”
“Becoming successful because I’m the Katrakis heiress or Stavros Sporades’s wife will forever ruin my joy in this. Will you do that to me again, Stavros?
“Please... allow me the freedom to succeed or fail on my own merit. Tell Giannis to stop with this launching my label nonsense.”
“If you haven’t realized it, your grandfather has a will of iron—”
“And you can convince him that you could walk on water, so get him to back off.”
Smiling, he nodded. “Anything else?”
She hesitated, which in itself, held Stavros’s attention instantly.
“After that imperious command, what can be so hard, Leah?”
“I have been researching various fashion events and programs around the world and there’s one in Athens tomorrow night that caught my attention.”
“Ahhh...that’s why the uncharacteristic call to my office.”
She let his comment pass. “It’s like a co-op event, to be exact, an incubator for fashion design. No big labels or famous designers. Instead your... Helene and a group of fashion icons like her provide a stage for up-and-coming designers to showcase their talents. My application is ready. But I...”
He waited patiently.
“The entry fee is pretty hefty. Even with that, anyone who gets picked has to actually come with a recommendation from one of the event coordinators.”
Wariness and pity filled his eyes and Leah blanched at it. “Helene is one of those rare women who won’t take you on to do me a favor, Leah. In fact, recommending you to her will only lessen your worth in her eyes.”
She shook her head, wondering if he would always think her less than capable, less than what she was. Did she have anyone but herself to blame if he did?
And why, in God’s name, did the thought hurt so much?
“No, all I want is an introduction to her. My collection, at that point, will hopefully speak for me and garner her recommendation. Even if she doesn’t like it, I will still get some exposure to the industry folks.” Even as she confidently made her case, another tension filled her.
Just admitting the fact that Helene knew Stavros in a way Leah never would, made her want to throw up.
How could he mention the other woman so glibly? Where was his honor now, she wanted to demand. But to ask would be to show that she cared. That she spent entire afternoons wondering how he justified breaking his vows to her so boldly.
Was she so completely and irrevocably only a responsibility that he didn’t think he was cheating on her?
Standing up from his chair, he extended a hand to her. “I’m sure I can convince her to give us ten minutes before the show begins.” He stood tall and broad and incredibly handsome in front of her. His gaze was on her mouth; he was thinking about their kiss, she knew. Because it was impossible not to think about it. “But I need something from you in return, Leah.”
The soft intonation of her name stole her breath.
He had changed toward her if he was asking and not commanding. And whatever the reason, he was even more irresistible and dangerous now.