* * *
Mina hummed as she took the casserole from the oven. The aromas were mouth-watering. This was the one meal she could cook well, a traditional spicy vegetable dish from her homeland. It had been worth the extra time and effort.
For once Mina would be able to present Alexei with something delicious. There was a spring in her step and a smile on her face as she crossed to put it on the counter.
Alexei never complained about her culinary efforts. Nor did she aim to become a domestic goddess. Yet there was something deeply satisfying about cooking something nice for your man.
Mina blinked, staring down at the fragrant meal in astonishment.
Your man.Where had that come from?
This was temporary. Alexei Katsaros wasn’t her man and never would be. Yet some tremulous, defiant voice inside disagreed.
Hefeltlike her man.
Shewantedhim to be hers.
Mina stumbled back against the big island bench and slumped there, her mind racing at the enormity of the revelation.
She crossed her arms over her chest as if she could contain the swelling sensation inside. The rising demand that she face the truth.
What she felt with Alexei was more profound than sexual attraction. She’d spent her time on the island studiously ignoring that, pretending this was animal magnetism and no more. Because the truth of what she felt was too enormous, too life-changing. Too preposterous.
She’d imagined herself immune to romance, to dreams of being with one special man. No one had come close to distracting her from her drive to make art. But Alexei did that, even though they hadn’t had sex in days. No one had ever made herfeel, made her want to be part of a couple.
Mina put her hand to her breastbone. Her heart pounded high and hard.
A noise on the other side of the room made her look up. Instantly the tightness in her chest eased, and something inside her soared.
Alexei stood in the doorway, one shoulder propped against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest in a way that accentuated the curves of well-developed biceps and pectorals.
Desire throbbed through her. And more, far more. When he was with her she no longer worried that she was out of her depth. With Alexei she felt utterly right. It should be crazy to feel this way after a mere week, but there was no avoiding her feelings.
Mina smiled, not bothering to hide her delight. ‘Smells good, doesn’t it?’ She leaned over the dish, inhaling the aroma that reminded her of Jeirut. What would Alexei make of her homeland? She’d love to take him there. ‘And I promise it’s not charred or undercooked. I’ll get the plates.’
‘Surely you shouldn’t be waiting on me,Princess.’
Mina’s head jerked up as if yanked on a string. It wasn’t just Alexei’s words but his tone that shook her. She looked into that searing green gaze, registered the flaring nostrils and savagely flattened mouth. Her stomach plummeted.
He knew.
And he was livid.
* * *
Alexei watched the laughter and the blood drain from her face, leaving her features pale and proud.
In that moment his last hope that this was a mistake died. And with it the foolish desires he’d entertained.
He waited for her to show embarrassment or guilt. There would have been some satisfaction in that. He might even have listened to an explanation if she’d shown regret and shame.
Instead, she drew herself up, shoulders straight and pushed back. Her neck lengthened as her chin came up. The welcome in her eyes died, replaced with a hauteur Alexei recognised from her arrival on the island.
It was like watching an actress don another persona. Except instead of seeing a make-believe character, the woman confronting him with that cool stare and regal bearingwasthe real woman. A conniving, lying woman.
The enthusiastic, caring person he’d known was a chimera. She’d been created to hold his attention long enough to distract him from the fact he was being fooled. How much of her had been real? Any of it?
He slammed the lid on such thoughts. He refused to search for pitiful fragments of a woman who didn’t exist beyond his imagination.