Her lips flattened into a mutinous line, denial obvious in her expression, and to her surprise, he tilted his head back on a laugh.
“In that case, what option do I have?”
“Not kidnapping me?”
“You agree you don’t want this story to hit the tabloids?” He asked, drawing to a stop. “You must have some family of your own you want to protect from this? The idea of you having a relationship with a man almost four times your age…”
“I don’t have any family,” she said quietly, then, realizing she’d admitted more than she wanted, focused back on the point at hand. “In any event, there is no story here.”
“The tabloid thinks there is.”
“They’re wrong.”
“So what do you want to do about it?”
She stared up at him, searching for an answer to that, but the truth was, she had no personal experience with this, and no concept of how to handle the media.
“I can’t think when you’re carrying me like this,” she muttered. “Don’t you care what people think?”
“No,” was his immediate, cynical reply. “And they willthinkI’m bringing a lover onboard for the purpose of pleasure. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept.”
Her cheeks flamed red hot and she looked away quickly, aware her expression would betray her if she wasn’t careful. If only he knew how utterly not true that was!
“I suppose you do this all the time?”
“Often enough to understand that no one will be scandalized by the mode of our arrival.”
Taking her agreement for granted, he began to walk once more, navigating the metallic steps with ease, then turning sideways to enter the plane. As he’d said, no one batted an eyelid when he carried her onboard, and from the minute they entered the plane she was no longer conscious of the formally dressed staff.
“Oh, wow.” She shifted a little, which brought her closer to him, and her whole body glowed warm. “This is…like something out of a movie.”
Halfway down the aisle, he stopped walking. “If I put you down, do you promise not to run?”
She pretended to consider it, when something inside of her was keeping her right where she was, come what may. Loyalty to Kon, she chose to believe.
“I’m not going to be the source of pain to your mother,” she said stiffly.
“How noble of you,” he drawled. “I wonder if you were thinking of her when you skipped away toPrásinawith my father.”
She stared at him, aghast. “Withyour father? How do you make that sound so sordid? I went there on my own, Anastasios. He knew how much I wanted to travel, but how little I could afford to do so, and he offered me a holiday.”
“Heaven forbid you should refuse the offer?”
“I did refuse, at first,” she snapped, but emotions were overpowering her, most notably gratitude for Kon’s kindness. “Put me down,” she said icily, her face pale.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he complied, and the ice in her veins only grew colder.
“He was being a friend, when I badly needed one. That’s all.”
“If you say so.”
She turned to face him, sadness on her beautiful features, so he stilled, his eyes resting heavily on her face.
“What’s the point in me sayinganythingto you, if you’re determined not to believe me?”
“How can I believe you?” He asked after a pause, his eyes probing hers as if hoping she’d have some magical way of proving her innocence. “I have literally just discovered this side of him—a man I thought I knew better than anyone else. That he’s had one affair is beyond doubt. And the evidence, in these circumstances, is compelling.”
“If you’re a naturally suspicious person.”