CHAPTER TWELVE
ALICEBRUSHEDHERhands down the delicate folds of her dress. The material was finer than anything she’d ever worn, soft as gossamer.
Initially she’d refused Adoni’s charity—the gift of a dress and shoes to wear tonight. She hated being beholden. The fact he’d already paid her next month’s rent was still a bone of contention. It was fine for him to contribute to their child’s upbringing butshewasn’t after his money.
It was only the realisation her holiday wardrobe contained just shorts, jeans and two well-worn summer dresses that changed her mind. Plus meeting Adoni’s chic, exquisitely dressed assistant in Athens. Effie had assured her Adoni was right, that the guests at the exhibition opening tonight would be dressed to the nines.
Reluctantly Alice had been persuaded, accepting Effie’s help to negotiate what she suspected were Athens’ top boutiques. There were no prices on display and Alice shuddered to think how much her outfit cost. But shehadenjoyed herself. Despite her glamorous air, Effie was fun, down-to-earth and had an eye for fashion.
Alice had never looked so good.
She twirled before the mirror, the narrow sapphire pleats of the short skirt flaring around her. The glittering fitted bodice and thin shoulder straps sparkled as if crusted with gems rather than sequins and beads. Even her shoes of sapphire silk had tiny beads on the spindly heels that winked and flashed when she moved.
Adoni couldn’t ignore her dressed likethis.
The thought speared through her before she could stop it.
Not that he’d ignored her after yesterday’s discussion. He’d been...considerate. So considerate he’d left her straight after dinner, telling her he understood she must be tired, and headed to his office to work.
Alice had lain awake for hours, waiting for him to join her in her vast bed, waiting for him to make love with her again, but he hadn’t. She’d woken this morning, late, and just in time for their trip to Athens, feeling out of sorts and needy.
She didn’t know what worried her most, her neediness or the possibility he’d decided sex with her wasn’t as satisfying as he’d expected. Had he grown tired of her?
Or was it the retelling of her past that made him pull back?
But Alice refused to feel like a victim. She fitted her one piece of good jewellery around her throat and told herself she didn’t care about his withdrawal. Much.
Her hand swiped her flat abdomen. She was here to plan her child’s future. And to see a little of Greece. Not to pine after Adoni.
This afternoon she’d visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum, marvelling over sculptures she’d seen in books but only dreamed of viewing in person. She’d marvelled at the workmanship, the beautiful images. Yet all the time she’d been thinking of another sculpture, this one warm and supple. A living man whose honed muscles and lean strength made her pulse quicken and her insides melt.
Alice now understood the ancient Greeks’ fascination with the nude male form. When that form was like Adoni’s—
‘Alice?’ A knock sounded at her door. ‘Are you ready?’
Her eyes widened in the mirror as excitement throbbed through her. Excitement and anticipation.
She’d never been to an exhibition opening. Never been out on the town, unless you counted a meal at the local pub with workmates. But the real reason for her excitement was altogether different.
She wanted Adoni.
It was foolish. They came from different worlds and would separate after they’d agreed on a plan for their baby’s future. But meanwhile Alice was determined to grasp what she wanted. She had too much experience of life passing her by.
‘Coming!’ She spun towards the door. Her skirt flared, caressing her thighs and making her smile.
Oh, yes, she knew what she wanted.
* * *
‘You look fantastic.’
Original, Petrakis. Can’t you do better?
But it was true. Alice looked good enough to eat. His mouth watered at the thought of kissing his way up those bare legs and—
‘So do you.’ Alice’s smile was wide, her eyes sparkling. Adoni hadn’t seen her smile like that since the first night in London. It did crazy things to his self-control. A control undermined by the fact she didn’tlookpregnant, or like a woman who needed careful handling.
Last night, with her revelations fresh in his mind and those smudges beneath her eyes, partly because he’d kept her from sleep the night before, Adoni had avoided her bed. Just. It had been touch and go. In the end he’d spent hours testing his new gym, then doing laps in the pool, trying to burn off his hunger for her.