‘Of course.’
‘No, not of course!’ She sighed in exasperation. ‘He’s my landlord. It’s my lease. My home.’
Dimitrios took a step towards her. ‘My son. My fiancée. My responsibility.’
His responsibility. In a way, it was just what she needed to hear, because all day she’d been wondering why he was going to so much effort, spoiling her with a day spa and a shopping spree. But of course—he felt guilty. He saw her as his responsibility and in some kind of moralistic way felt as though he’d let her down these past six years by not supporting her more. When the opposite was true—she’d let him down by not allowing him a chance to know his son.
The fight left her as guilt rose within her chest.
‘Okay.’ She nodded once. ‘Fine. We’ll live here.’
His frown was a whip across his face. ‘I expected more of an argument.’
Her smile was just a whisper. ‘So did I.’
Her response had clearly made him uncertain, but then, this was Dimitrios Papandreo, and uncertainty wasn’t something he did very well. A moment later, he shrugged, evidently taking her decision as a win. ‘Great. Your things have been moved into my room upstairs. Max has a room down the corridor from us. In Singapore, there’s more space than this; you can have your own sitting room and courtyard for privacy. Max will have a sitting room too.’
‘More space than this?’ And suddenly, Annie was laughing, because it was all so preposterous. ‘This place is... Don’t you see, Dimitrios? It’s like a palace.’
‘That’s relative,’ he said with a small nod. ‘To you, it would seem that way.’
She felt instantly gauche. She sobered, moving into the kitchen, opening drawers and doors on autopilot, though not looking for anything in particular. When she saw the kettle in a cupboard, she lifted it out and filled it with water, simply because it felt good to have something to do with her hands.
‘Who’s collecting Max from school?’
‘My driver, and a nanny.’
‘A nanny?’ Her head jerked towards his. ‘What do you mean, a nanny?’
‘Don’t look at me like that. I’m not seeking to replace you in his life. I thought an extra pair of hands would be useful during the transition. There’ll be a lot of changes. Her name’s Francesca and she’ll help both of you...adapt.’
The sound of the kettle boiling filled the room. Annie stared at the wisps of steam that lifted from it, her mind reeling. This was all happening so fast; she felt as if she’d barely drawn breath since Dimitrios had reappeared in her life. Had it really only been a matter of days?
‘I thought we could use this time to discuss the wedding.’
The knots pulled tighter. ‘If you’d like.’
She heard his exhalation of breath but didn’t turn to face him. ‘Would you like tea?’
‘I’ll make coffee.’
She nodded, busying herself preparing tea, working beside him in the kitchen in what was a bizarrely ordinary task of domesticity. It was as if they were long-term partners, undertaking such routine, normal duties as though they did them often.
When her tea was made, she propped her bottom against the edge of the ki
tchen bench, her huge blue eyes framed by thick black lashes, her cheeks pink, her newly styled hair sitting like a pale, fluffy cloud around her face. He mirrored her action, standing opposite her, coffee cup in hand, eyes on her face.
The silence was far from comfortable. She felt every second that passed pull harder on her nerves, until they felt stretched near to breaking point.
‘So?’ she prompted eventually, when she couldn’t take it any more.
‘So.’ He dragged his free hand through his hair. ‘I’ve arranged the wedding for Friday. Zach’s coming. I know you’re not close, but I presume you’d still like your parents to be there?’
Annie’s stomach dropped. ‘My parents?’
Dimitrios studied her. ‘Yes.’
‘No.’ It was a knee-jerk response. ‘They don’t need to be involved in this.’ Her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. ‘They’re over in Perth and we’re here...’