CHAPTER FIVE
THEPHONECALLhad taken Achilles longer than he would have liked. But after his absence he had things to attend to. He’d been distracted for the last ten minutes of the call, wondering where Sofie was. What she was doing. How she was reacting.
He’d been told she was in the lounge having tea, and as he pushed open the door anticipation rose high in his blood and his chest. Something that ordinarily would have disturbed him if he’d stopped to think about it.
She was sitting in a chair, her bag in her lap. Looking at her mobile phone. But when she heard him she turned her head and Achilles saw that she looked stricken. Her face was white. Eyes huge.
‘What is it? Did something happen?’
Achilles was by her side in an instant but she recoiled slightly. She shook her head. She held up her phone. ‘I looked you up.’
He was surprised at the prickling sense of betrayal he felt. Which he knew was ridiculous. It would have been weird if she hadn’t wanted to know more about who he was. Before, it would have been customary for him to have his team look into not only his business colleagues and rivals, but also prospective lovers. It was imperative for him. The experience that had sent him to that remote island in Scotland was a perfect example of his team giving him information to protect his reputation. What was left of it.
And yet since he’d regained his memory it hadn’t occurred to him once to have Sofie checked out. A woman who seemed too pure to be true. No one was that pure. He made a mental note to rectify that situation, not liking his sudden sense of exposure.
‘So tell me,’ he asked easily, belying the tension he felt, ‘what did you find out about me?’
She blushed, and it eased the sense of betrayal inside him. She said, ‘I read that you’re a...a playboy. There were pictures of you with women. Lots of women.’
‘I won’t lie. I’m not a monk, Sofie. But I’m also not as promiscuous as those headlines would have you believe. Maybe when I was younger...but now? No.’
‘You’re also an adrenalin junkie. Jumping out of planes. Taking part in celebrity car races across the desert. Extreme skiing.’
He shrugged minutely. ‘I can’t deny I like a thrill.’
Liar, you do it to constantly risk your own life because you don’t feel you deserve to be here.
Achilles recalled the moments of terror he would feel just before he did any of those things, and the words that would go through his mind. Now my time will be up. Surely now I’ll pay the price I should have paid all those years ago...
But in each instance he would emerge unscathed, with fate laughing mockingly in his ear.
Sofie cocked her head and looked at him. She wasn’t cooing at how brave he was, or how strong. ‘I guess it makes sense, then, why you would try to conquer the mountain on your own...and yet when you saw a small fishing boat on a placid lake you looked as if you’d seen a ghost.’
Achilles went very still. It was as if she’d just slid a knife between his ribs to the deepest heart of him. The boat on the lake had precipitated that nightmare. Except it hadn’t been a nightmare. It was real.
Sofie was frowning. ‘What did I say? Are you okay?’
He realised that she obviously hadn’t looked online for long enough to delve into his tragic family past. She’d only skimmed the first headlines and pictures that had popped up. The thought of her knowing what had happened...of how she would inevitably look at him with pity and compassion...made Achilles feel even more exposed.
Before he could respond to her question she was saying, ‘Look, your life is your business. How you live...play... But it’s made me realise that I really don’t belong here.’ She gestured vaguely around her. She sat forward. ‘What happened on the island was amazing, but it came out of extreme circumstances. I think it should just end here. I’ve had a really nice time. I got to ride in a helicopter and private plane... But there’s a train leaving for Glasgow in a couple of hours. I could be home by tonight if I take it. Tomorrow morning at the latest. Honestly, I don’t mind. Clearly I’m a bit of a novelty, and I get it. But you’re probably already regretting—’
Achilles put a hand over Sofie’s mouth, stopping the torrent of words. He could feel her breath against his palm. The softness of her mouth. In spite of that sense of exposure he felt a stronger sense of resistance to her leaving.
He took his hand away. Then he said something he’d never had to say to a woman before. ‘I know. It’s a lot to take in.’
She gave him a look as if to say, You think?
‘You’re a lot more than a novelty. I don’t want you to go. Not yet.’
She looked doubtful.
He said, ‘Look, you’re here now. Give me one more night. And then, if you still want to go home tomorrow, I’ll arrange it. Now I have to go and see my physician and have some tests done, just to make sure that I’m okay after the memory loss. But there’s an event this evening. I’d like you to come with me.’
Now she looked suspicious. ‘What kind of event?’
‘A black-tie charity ball.’
‘I’d love to—really. But I don’t have anything remotely suitable to wear and it really isn’t my scene. I think there’s a tube stop not far from here, isn’t there? I’m sure I saw one from the car—’
‘Sofie.’
She stopped. For the first time in his life Achilles was actually not certain of an outcome. And he was pretty sure Sofie wasn’t playing games. But he’d be a fool not to keep his wits about him.
He heard himself utter a word he’d never had to say to a woman before. ‘Please.’
She sucked in a breath and searched his face, her eyes wide and full of concern. There was a long moment when he could see her wrestle with herself.
He said, ‘Don’t overthink it. Consider it a date.’
Sofie huffed a little laugh. ‘The most lavish date in the world?’
He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Why not?’
Eventually her expression cleared. He saw the tension leave her shoulders. She said, ‘Okay, then. One night.’
Achilles smiled. ‘Good.’ He was more relieved than he liked to admit at her acquiescence.
Now she looked worried again. ‘I’ll have to get a dress.’
He was back on familiar territory. ‘Leave that to me.’
‘I don’t want you paying for me.’
‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘I know what will be expected. It’s one night. Let me do this. You put me up in your home, took care of me.’
Sofie blushed. ‘I feel like I took advantage of you.’
Achilles marvelled at the way her brain worked. So different from everyone he knew. He shook his head. ‘If anyone was taking advantage it was me.’
‘Okay, I’ll let you get a dress, because you know better than me how these things work, but only if you hire it.’
Achilles held out a hand. ‘Deal.’