Zach watched her, while he wrestled with the flood of unfamiliar emotions surging inside him. He knew how scared she was but no one would ever have known it, despite her pallor, and even if they had it would have been her warmth they remembered, a warmth that could not be feigned.
He surprised himself with that thought.
He watched as she approached a man who stood excluded from a small laughing group nearby. Zach’s admiration and pride went through the roof as he watched her smile and move forward, touching the arm of the housekeeper before she lifted her head to the solitary man that Selene was offering the drink to.
Zach stood, his shoulder braced on one wall, his attitude possibly not as nonchalant as he intended because nobody approached him, not even one of the guys with the fizz, which was a pity because he could really have done with a drink.
He finally managed to grab one and downed it while fighting a strong urge to march over there and tell Kat that it didn’t matter what anyone thought and this wasn’t a test.
What the hell was wrong with Alekis, making her jump through all these hoops? And what was wrong with him for helping? If anyone needed to change it was them, not her.
He was shocked by this thought that came from he knew not where—unlike the urge to kiss her; that source was no mystery.
He willed himself to relax. He knew she could cope and so could he. He took a swallow and grimaced, finding he was holding an empty glass. If he could relive the moment...but he couldn’t so why waste the energy? The kiss, while not being ideal, had at least taken the edge off his rampant hunger.
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Zach.
Tuning out the ironic voice of his subconscious, he watched as the austere diplomat melted under Kat’s charm offensive and took a drink for himself before handing her the fruit juice option she must have requested. He saw her press a hand to her temple and carry on smiling... It was not the first time he had seen the gesture since she had begun to circulate.
The diplomat leaned in and said something that drew a laugh from Kat, a laugh so warm and spontaneous and genuine that it made other people smile, including him.
In the periphery Zach was aware of two people separate off from a nearby group and move to join Kat and the diplomat. One was a journalist that he didn’t actively dislike, the other... He frowned as he recognised the other was Spiro Alekides, the business rival who had not been gracious in defeat and had made his humiliation worse by giving several unwise interviews that had harmed his reputation more than his financial losses.
Zach began to slowly weave his way through the jostle of bodies, not questioning or analysing the protective instincts that directed his feet.
Even without Zach’s warning Kat would have summed up Spiro Alekides, who she had instantly recognised from his photo, in a heartbeat. She had encountered the type before. He smiled a lot, but not with his eyes, and tried very hard to say what he thought you wanted to hear.
‘Oh, yes, I so agree all that talent out there is going to waste. It’s not about charity, it’s about investing in our future and the youth are our future.’
The man sounded as though he were reading the label on a packet of cereal, but Kat nodded, repressing a wince as the headache moved behind her eyes. Experience told her if she didn’t take measures it would become a full-blown migraine and all that entailed—which was just what she didn’t need.
‘Not everyone understands that,’ she said, thinking, Like you, before adding, ‘Sorry, Mr—’
‘Call me Spiro, my dear.’
‘Spiro.’
The older man turned quite slowly, arranging his features into a smile. ‘Why, Zach, what a nice surprise, meeting you here like this.’ He beamed at Kat and the journalist and extended a well-manicured, plump hand to Zach, who raised both of his. One was holding a glass, the other a plate.
Zach smiled, making Kat think of a large sleek predator. She suspected that every woman present would have jumped straight into his mouth if the occasion arose—she had. The thought made her blush.
‘So where is your lovely lady tonight?’
The reference to the woman that they had both slept with increased the tempo of the throb behind Kat’s eyes. If she was going to get a migraine every time anyone mentioned a woman Zach had bedded she could spend her life with a headache!
‘She couldn’t make it.’
‘Such a shame,’ Zach murmured. ‘Well, gentlemen, I hope you’ll forgive me for stealing away our lovely hostess.’ He planted a hand lightly in the small of Kat’s back. ‘But there is someone who is dying to meet her.’
Not happy that she liked the supportive feel of his hand as much as she did, she frowned and asked, ‘Who?’ without enthusiasm as they wove their way across the room.
‘Do you have a headache?’ Zach asked without looking at her.
Kat’s jaw dropped and her eyes flew to his face, which sent a fresh spasm of agony along her nerve endings. ‘How...?’
His hand went to her elbow as she caught her heel in the hem of her dress and lurched. ‘I thought as much,’ he said grimly.
‘What are we...?’