The Greek Boss′s Demand
The Greek Boss's Demand
Trish Morey
He's the father of her child…Alexandra Hammond leaves Crete secretly pregnant with her Greek lover's baby! She'll always remember Nick Santos's steamy lovemaking, as she makes a new life for herself and their son in Australia….And now he's her boss!Brought to Sydney by business, Nick's now a ruthless tycoon. But working with Alexandra reawakens their passion. She knows she can't keep their son hidden for much longer–what will Nick do when he finds out…?
“Am I so hard to remember?”
Not as hard as you are to forget. The thought sprang from nowhere, and as much as Alex hated the truth of it, it was undeniable.
He hadn’t forgotten, either. But the way he looked at her now told her he was remembering different things—like the way she’d turned her back on him. The way she’d left him cold.
He was a different person from that boy she’d met so long ago. Well, she’d changed, too. She was older, wiser, a mother. The mother of his son!
Trish Morey is a hot new Australian author! Harlequin Presents
is proud to present Trish’s passionate and provocative debut novel THE GREEK BOSS’S DEMAND
Harlequin Presents
They’re the men who have everything—except brides…
Wealth, power, charm—what else could a handsome tycoon need? In THE GREEK TYCOONS miniseries, you have already met some gorgeous Greek multimillionaires who are in need of wives.
Now meet tall, dark and handsome Nick Santos in Trish Morey’s
The Greek Boss’s Demand
This tycoon thought he was rekindling a romance but discovers there’s more at stake than just his passion!
Coming in March:
The Greek’s Seven-Day Seduction
by Susan Stephens
#2455
The Greek Boss’s Demand
Trish Morey
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Gavin, who always believed.
And for Jane, who helped make it possible.
Thanks, guys
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
A PROPERTY company!
What was Nick Santos supposed to do with a half-share in a property company all the way over here in Australia? Especially one that by rights should have gone in its entirety to his cousin Sofia.
Taking note of the flashing light over his head, Nick duly fastened his seat belt for the descent into Sydney.
He’d never thought of his uncle Aristos as having a sense of humour, but he had to have been joking to come up with this scheme.
Half the company on condition that he stay and head up the business for six months, teaching Sofia whatever she needed to know to run the business herself.
It was crystal-clear what his late uncle had intended by his strange bequest. Nick was no stranger to the practice of arranged marriages, and he wasn’t about to have one foisted on him.
As soon as he’d paid his respects to Sofia he’d gift her the balance of the company by leaving Australia and forfeiting his share of the inheritance. He didn’t need the hassle when there were more important issues to consider at home—even if he had left the business in the safe hands of Dimitri, his second in charge.
He settled back into his seat, taking in the view as the plane came in for landing.
So this was Sydney. He caught a glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the Opera House nestled alongside—architectural icons of the busy harbour—before city buildings swallowed up the view and he had to content himself with watching the endless procession of red roofs and blue backyard pools skating under the plane as it descended steadily towards the airport.
In spite of the disruption to his schedules he could almost thank Aristos for finally getting him here. He’d grown up hearing tales of fortunes to be made in the new world. His mother’s brother had made a success of it, that much was sure.
And he’d met a few Australians in his time. One in particular stuck in his mind—a girl he’d met on the island of Crete. Years ago now.
She’d been all pale skin and freckles, with long blonde hair and smiling blue eyes that infected you with laughter. Together they’d explored the crumbling ruins that dotted the island, and her fascination and boundless enthusiasm over the remnants of a civilisation so ancient had been contagious. She’d made him feel guilty that even as a student of archaeology he tended to take his country’s rich history for granted. Yet at the same time she’d also made him feel proud to be Greek. She had been beautiful, vibrant and spirited—and, as it turned out, fickle.
He exhaled a long breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and stretched back travel-weary shoulders into the wide first-class seat.
The plane touched down and taxied to the terminal, finally pulling to a halt. Everyone around him was stirring, impatient from the long flight and eager to clear Customs in the least amount of time. A smiling flight attendant appeared at his arm with his jacket.
He nodded his thanks and forced his mind back to the present.
That spring was a long time ago, and right now he had more pressing problems to think about. His place was not here. He belonged back in Greece. And as soon as he had sorted out this unusual bequest that was exactly where he was headed.
CHAPTER TWO
ALEX opened the office door and slammed into her past.
Nick Santos!
She had to be dreaming. Nick was back home in Athens, running the family engineering empire. He had no business here in Sydney, standing in the foyer of the Xenophon Property Group.
Especially not today, with the office reopening after Aristos’s heart attack and funeral, when she was already days behind in getting out the monthly rental invoices, and with the new boss—some far-flung relative—expected at any time.
Not today? Who was she kidding? Not ever.
But it couldn’t be Nick.
She blinked, but when she opened her eyes he was still there.
And it was still Nick.
Strange how there was no way she could mistake him—how she could be so absolutely positive, even after all this time. Even though he was standing there with his back to her, talking to Sofia, still she knew it was him—sensed it was him—with just a glimpse of profile and the wave of thick, dark hair licking at the collar of his oh-so-white shirt. Knew it from his stance, manly and confident. Knew it in the message her heart was suddenly beating.
Adrenalin danced with her pulse, readying her for fight or flight. No contest. There was no way her feet would move forward. Not even the welcoming scent of the coffee machine’s fresh brew could beckon her inside. She would back out right now, quickly, and he would never see her. Maybe by the time she came back he’d be gone, back out of her life, back into her past where he belonged.
She let her arm go slack on the door, letting it fall back towards her. Maybe, if she was quiet…
‘There you are,’ Sofia called, stepping out from behind his shoulder, looking every part the grieving daughter in her black silk skirt suit, her dark hair tied back into a sleek, high ponytail. And before she’d had a chance to respond he’d spun around, arresting her retreat with the sheer impact of his features so that the only movement she was capable of was the involuntary quiver that descended her spine. His dark eyes narrowed, his gaze sweeping her from top to toe before settling on her face. Then his nostrils flared as his lips curved ever so slightly.
‘So it is you,’ he stated, his chin kicking up a notch.
She swallowed hard. In the eight-plus years since she’d seen Nick she’d often imagined what their first words would be and how he would say them if ever they met again. Not once had she imagined Nick would coldly and dispassionately come out with something like, ‘So it is you.’
‘Who were you expecting?’ she said, finally convincing her muscles there was no way out of it but to push open the door and enter the lobby. ‘Kylie Minogue?’
She winced inwardly at the harshness of her words. Damn, but how were you supposed to think in situations like this?
‘Alex?’ Sofia turned from one to the other, confusion apparent on her face. ‘I want to introduce you to my cousin, Nick Santos, who arrived yesterday. But…am I missing something here?’
She couldn’t talk. Her throat too tight, her mouth ashen. And all the while Nick just kept on watching her intently, until she felt pinned down in the accusing gaze of his bottomless dark eyes. He had a score to settle with her; that much his hard-edged glare made clear. Aside from that, he was obviously as unimpressed at seeing her as she was stunned at seeing him.
It was Nick who finally broke the impasse.
‘Alexandra and I have met before. Haven’t we?’
Under his continuing scrutiny the laptop in her hand suddenly felt unbearably heavy, threatening to slip from her damp palm. She screwed her fingers tighter around the handle till her fingernails dug painfully but reassuringly into her skin. That was her laptop taken care of. Now she just had to focus on making sure her knees held up.
‘I guess so,’ she managed at last. ‘At least I’m pretty sure we have. It was such a long time ago.’
A muscle twitched in Nick’s cheek.
‘Am I so hard to remember?’
Not as hard as you are to forget. The thought sprang from nowhere and, as much as Alex hated the truth of it, it was undeniable. Long nights alone, remembering their shared time back on Crete and wishing things could have turned out differently, were testament to that.
He hadn’t forgotten either. But the way he looked at her now told her he was remembering different things—like the way she’d turned her back on him. The way she’d left him cold.
She took a deep breath, but Sofia was too impatient to wait for her response in a conversation that was obviously far too personal for her liking.
‘Spill the beans, you two. So how do you know each other?’
Nick’s eyes bored into Alex. The cold heat of them was like a kick in the gut.
‘How about it? Or are you having trouble remembering that too?’
She raised her chin a fraction and shifted her gaze to Sofia. Her brain was still in shock at seeing Nick after all this time, and it was much easier trying to think while she wasn’t looking directly at him. Where the damning questions in his eyes couldn’t reach her.
And she had to think. Had to calm down. Sofia was still raw from the shocking death of her father. Even under the mask of her professionally applied makeup the shadows and puffiness around her eyes were all too evident. Sofia certainly didn’t need Alex’s baggage on top of her own.
‘Crete. About—’ She stopped and licked her lips. No need to be too specific. ‘Some years ago. I was on holiday with my family. Nick was working in his university break on an archaeological dig. We met at the palace of Minos.’
‘Cool,’ said Sofia, although Alex noted the word she’d used mirrored her tone. Sofia was obviously less than impressed. ‘So, did you know he was related to Aristos?’
‘No, I had no ide—’
A cold ooze of dread rolled over her. God, no! Not that relative of Aristos? Not the one who was taking over the company?
‘Way cool! Then I hardly have to introduce you to each other. That’s going to make it easier, with you guys working together.’
Alex couldn’t think of anything less cool as her world tilted and spun. When the direct line in her office rang, it was all she could do not to run and answer it.
‘Excuse me,’ she said instead, adding, ‘I’m expecting this call. We’ll have to catch up later.’ Then she moved as quickly as she could while desperately trying to keep her balance on a planet that was shifting further off axis with every step.
She shut the door, plonked her laptop on the desk and somehow dealt with the phone call while all the time her brain was registering only two words. Nick—here!
One hour later, Alex was still staring at the walls, the screensaver on her laptop the only sign of life in the room. How long she could stay secreted away in her office, she didn’t know—but she’d do whatever it took to have as little to do with Nick Santos as possible, and until she had some sort of plan she didn’t want to go anywhere near him.
It was weird, seeing him after so many years. Strange how they’d both thought themselves so grown up back then. He had seemed so strong and so much a man. At twenty-one he’d been more worldly and experienced than her. Yet now she could see how young they’d been. For it was obvious that the boy had become a man.
He looked every part the professional businessman. Gone was the long fringe that he’d used to flick out of his eyes with the toss of his head, replaced by a short, slick style. His dark features, even back then resonant with hidden depths, now seemed to sit more comfortably in a more mature face. Even his shoulders seemed broader.
He was a different person, clearly, from that boy she’d met so long ago.
Well, she’d changed too.
She was older, wiser, a mother.
The mother of his son!
Something like a garbled cry escaped from her lips.
Jason!
How in heaven’s name was she going to prevent him from finding out about Jason?
CHAPTER THREE
A BRIEF knock on her door made her look up, only to find Nick filling the space where the door had been.
She swallowed.
‘What do you want?’
Nick took a step into her office, eyebrows raised.
‘Is that any way to greet an old friend? It’s not as if we’re strangers after all.’
‘It was a long time ago. You almost feel like a stranger.’
He hesitated. Tilted his head to one side.
‘You have no idea how I feel, Alexandra.’
His words, and the flat way in which he delivered them, made her swallow. But that was nothing to how she felt when he moved closer to the desk. Panic pooled in her every cell.
Then he suddenly turned. For just a second Alex felt relief, but only for a second. She heard Nick mutter, ‘Just wait—I’ll be with you soon,’ before closing the door. Alex caught a flash of black as Sofia, looking indignant, rushed by, then it swung shut and Nick wheeled and moved back across the office until he was standing just across the desk from her.
And then he was looking down at her—dark, threatening and dangerous—and all Alex could think about was the pressure bearing down on top of her.
The pressure of being confronted by this man, her first love—her first lover—the pressure of knowing he was part of Aristos’s world and had never been a real part of hers—the pressure of knowing the secret that lay between them like a chasm.
The chair-back pressed into her as she attempted, however fractionally, to increase the distance between them.
‘Alexandra—’
She squeezed her eyes shut. The way he still said her name, just as he had back then, squeezing out the syllables till they seemed to curl in his rich, Mediterranean accent. Nobody had ever said her name like Nick had those weeks in Crete. It had made her feel sexy back then.
Only now she couldn’t let it affect her. She was all grown up and things like that were the stuff of teenagers and holidays and holding hands. She was over it.
‘Alexandra.’
She sucked in a breath, opened her eyes and forced what she hoped would pass as a businesslike expression onto her face.
‘I guess you’ll need to check the accounts, find out how the company is going. Our tax position—all that stuff.’
He blinked slowly. ‘There’s time for that later.’
‘Good,’ Alex said, a little too fast. ‘I’m kind of busy at the moment…’ She shuffled a few papers on her desk for effect. ‘Maybe I could drop the accounts into you later? I imagine you want to get things sorted out here and head back to Greece as soon as you can.’
Nick’s eyes narrowed as he propped himself down on the edge of her desk and leaned dangerously close to her.
‘I can see you’re in the middle of something very important,’ he whispered conspiratorially, nodding towards the computer. She followed his gesture and felt her cheeks heat till she was sure they matched the colour of the rosy-coloured pipe powering a cubic path around her computer screen.
Her hand reached out on impulse, but she snatched it back short of the keyboard. Better the screensaver right now than her desktop. Not with a photograph of Jason beaming out from it.
She looked up at him and grabbed a breath, anxious to steer the conversation to safe territory—wherever that might be.
‘I was thinking…’
Both his eyebrows went up this time and he leaned over to swipe a pen from right in front of her, getting so close as to fill her senses with the subtle scent of his cologne overlaying the unmistakable essence of man. For a second it took her breath away, her line of thought erased, and she had no choice but to sit and watch as he began to tap the pen against the fingers of his other hand.
‘Very reassuring to hear my uncle employed people who can think.’ He looked around, assessing the pale honey-coloured walls, the bookshelves and filing cabinets, as if taking an inventory. ‘But what do you actually do in this spacious office of yours?’
His jibe focused her attention once more, and she straightened her spine, forced her head up higher. ‘I imagine you’ve already discussed the staff and our responsibilities with Sofia.’
The pen kept tapping.
‘I want to hear it from you.’
It was impossible not to feel intimidated by the man. From the edge of her desk he dominated the space before her, looming large and much too close. She looked up at him, feeling her eyes narrow as she tried to work out where he was coming from. No doubt he already had plans in mind for the company. Where did she fit in with those plans?
She needed this job. With a brand-new mortgage to her name, the first chance she’d had to find a real home for her and Jason, now she needed it more than ever. Aristos hadn’t been the easiest boss, but the chance to get out of their poky flat and into a real house with a real backyard was worth anything her former boss had been able to dish out. Now that Nick was the boss, what would he dish out?
‘All right. I’m Financial Administrator for the Xenophon Group. I’ve been here for almost two years, though I haven’t been doing this job all that time.’
The pen stopped tapping. ‘No. That’s what Sofia said. You started out on Reception—is that right?’
Before she could answer she noticed the beat of the pen start up again and felt herself frown. If he was trying to get on her nerves he was doing an excellent job.
‘But then the previous two accountants left…?’ The query was apparent in his eyes. ‘They were no good?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, but your uncle wasn’t the easiest person to get on with. He was a demanding boss.’
‘My uncle started out with nothing and built a fortune in property worth millions. Of course he would expect a lot from his employees.’
‘Of course he did. And he got that—and more. But he was difficult as a boss. Impossible at times. If he was in the office he was shouting. In both cases they were good accountants, but Aristos was always shouting at them for one thing or another—I don’t think he trusted them to look after his affairs—and they just got sick of it. In the end they walked out, one after the other. The second one only lasted three months. Someone had to fill the gap immediately, and Sofia offered to look after Reception if I would do it. I’d been helping both of them out and it really wasn’t such a big deal.’
‘And Aristos didn’t employ another accountant? Why would he keep a receptionist in such a position of responsibility?’
Alex bristled. ‘Maybe because I do the job well.’
He didn’t look convinced.
‘If it’s any consolation, I think Aristos was surprised too. He was intending to advertise, but the employment agency didn’t seem too confident they could find the right person for this job—word had got back to them, obviously—and things here were going well. I was already studying for a business diploma at night—so he was relieved not to have to find someone else.’
And pay them accountant’s wages. If there was one thing Aristos loved more than bellowing his commands it had been a bargain, and with her he’d got a cheap accountant—even with the extra he’d reluctantly agreed to pay over her former receptionist’s salary.
‘Funny, but I don’t remember the young Alexandra looking forward to spending her life as some bean-counter.’
Alex went rigid. She’d relaxed a little, talking about her job, thinking about things present. He’d just transported her slap-bang into the past. A past she’d rather steer clear of now.
‘Funny, but I don’t think of myself as a “bean-counter”.’ She ploughed on, ignoring the black look he threw her. ‘Besides, I don’t think I knew what I wanted back then.’
She certainly hadn’t known what she’d need back then. Had had no idea she’d have a son to support with no chance of finishing school for years. Had never realised how hard it would be to try and manage time with her son when she had a full-time job and night school study. Hadn’t known how hard it would be to earn enough money to put a deposit on an ageing two-bedroom bungalow in the suburbs.
He tapped the pen loudly once more, this time on her desk, snapping her out of her thoughts. ‘And Aristos didn’t shout at you?’
She laughed a little, relieved he was talking about the more recent past once more. ‘Sure, he shouted. He shouted at everyone—including Sofia. But as a property investor, he wrote the book. I learned a lot working for him.’
It was true. It might have been unbearable, just as it had proved for the former employees, except she’d needed the money and the experience more. A few years in this job and she’d be finished with her diploma and could get a decent job with better pay. Aristos had given her a chance and she’d grasped it. For all his faults, he’d at least given her this opportunity, and she owed him for that.
But Aristos was gone, and it was his nephew now sitting in front of her. And yet still she hadn’t even offered the merest of condolences.
‘The news about your uncle must have come as quite a shock. I’m sorry…’
He watched her for a second, but it was as if his eyes were shuttered. Then he slammed the pen down on the desk in the same instant as he heaved himself away. He took a few steps, one hand rubbing his nape.
‘It was a shock—but nothing compared to what Sofia is contending with. To have lost her mother to cancer a decade ago, and now to lose her father so suddenly…’ He sighed, and for a moment looked so lost in his own thoughts that she sensed there was more to his statement than just compassion for his cousin.
He turned suddenly to face her, his eyes dark and fathomless. ‘My mother, Helena, was step-sister to Aristos. She died some six years back herself. Aristos and my father were as close as brothers while they were both alive, even though I didn’t know him that well.’
Alex swallowed. She’d never met Nick’s parents—but she’d heard enough about his father way back then to scare her socks off. It came as no surprise that he was related, even by marriage, to Aristos.
Even so, they had been Nick’s parents. Jason’s grandparents. And now he would never have the opportunity to meet them. Guilt stabbed deeper inside her.
When would she stop paying for the decision she’d made so long ago? The decision she knew was the right one.
‘Your parents…I didn’t know…’ She shook her head. ‘What happened to your father?’
‘Why should you know?’ he asked sharply, as if she had no right. Then his voice softened. ‘About two years ago now he drove off a bridge. Drowned before he could be rescued.’
‘That’s awful,’ said Alex. When they’d been on Crete both Nick’s and her own parents had been alive. It had been less than nine years ago and now Nick’s parents had gone. How long before hers too were no longer here?
She’d see them at Christmas, when they were planning to travel across the country from Perth to visit. But that was still weeks away. She’d call them tonight. The thought that they wouldn’t be there for ever…it was unimaginable.
To be so alone… She sucked in a breath. As she had countless times before, she thanked her lucky stars her sister Tilly had also chosen to make her home in Sydney, to pursue her growing wedding planner career. At least she had some family close by. For all that she was struggling to make ends meet, at least she had someone to turn to, someone to give her moral support when things got too bad. Sofia had no one. And nor, it seemed, did Nick.
‘I really am sorry. I had no idea.’
Nick stopped pacing and stood, propping his arms on the back of the visitor’s chair. His exhale came out like a sigh. ‘In a way it was a release for my father. I think he’d stopped living years before, when Stavros died.’ His eyes bore the pain of loss and tragedy, and as they sought and found hers something connected between them.
He remembered. She could tell.
It was the last time they’d spoken. She’d rung, flushed with excitement at her news. After months of hiding the truth she’d finally held her baby—their baby—and known that in spite of all the powerful reasons why she shouldn’t tell him she simply had to. He had a right to know he was a father. That he had a son.
Only when she’d finally made the connection to Nick’s house it had been to find the family in mourning for the eldest son.
How did you say, I’m sorry your brother is dead and congratulations—today you became a father in the same sentence? How did you drop a bombshell like that into a grieving family and expect them to embrace a new branch of the family they didn’t know existed and wouldn’t want to know? Not after what had happened to Stavros.
Realising that no one in his family would ever believe her, let alone welcome her news, Alex had hung up the phone, keeping her secret and knowing she’d never speak to Nick again.
Stavros had been killed, Nick had become the new heir to the family fortune, and it had been obvious there could never be a future with Nick—neither for her nor their newborn child.
Alex rubbed her arms. It was cold in here. She’d have to check the wall thermostat. But not now. Not until Nick had left her office and there was no chance of getting anywhere near him.
His eyes narrowed until they glinted and he straightened behind the chair.
‘Something frightened you away. Is that it? Is that why you never returned my calls after that?’ His words speared through her consciousness to places she’d rather not go. It was one thing to know she’d done the right thing. It was another thing entirely to have to explain it.
‘Nick, I don’t think we need to rehash all that. It’s in the past. Let it stay there.’
‘No. I think the least you can do is offer me an explanation.’
Alex stiffened in her chair. What relationship they’d had had been over for the better part of nine years, and here he was, larger than life, insisting on the whys and wherefores. Talk about inflated male ego! As if it mattered now.
‘Let it go—’
‘Was it another man?’ He threw a glance to her left hand. ‘You’re not married, but was there someone back then?’
‘Look, it’s not important—’
‘So it was another man. Why else would you just stop communicating? I tried to call you. I wrote to you.’
‘We moved—’
‘I didn’t. You knew where to find me.’ Accusation was layered thickly in his eyes. ‘So why else would you never return my calls? Why never answer my letters unless you were too busy in someone else’s bed?’
Enough! Incensed, Alex pushed herself up from her chair. She’d had enough of looking up to him. And she was sick of putting up with his slurs.
‘Drop it, Nick.’
‘I demand to know what happened!’
Alex glared at him, at that moment totally wondering how she’d ever held the notion that she’d loved this guy. ‘I grew up.’ The hard way. ‘End of story.’
‘It’s no wonder you’ve never married, if that’s the way you treat men. If you want my advice—’
Alex’s hands curled into tight fists.
‘As a matter of fact,’ she cut in, ‘I don’t want your advice. I don’t need your advice. And, given that you don’t appear to be married either, are you completely sure you’re in any position to give advice?’
In that moment Nick’s face might have been cast from concrete. It seemed all harsh angles and rigid planes, and she could tell he was battling to keep the fury he was obviously feeling under control.
Well, bully for him. She was furious too. How dared the brute think he could waltz back into her life and start criticising?
A muscle in his cheek twitched. ‘You’ve changed, Alexandra. You are still as beautiful as you were then, maybe even more so, but you’ve changed on the inside.’
I’ve had to! Her mind told her to remain strong and resolute. It shouldn’t matter what he said about her looks. And it wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let it.
She sucked in one unsteady breath, battled to get her speech back to something resembling normality. ‘Please leave. I have work to do.’
When he remained there motionless it was obvious that he had no intention of complying with her request. If she wanted him out of her office she was going to have to make him leave herself.
She stepped around the desk. ‘I’ll see you to the door.’
There was at least four feet between them and she’d mentally assessed the risk. There was no chance of them coming close to each other. In a moment she’d be safely behind the open door, ushering him out, and some sort of peace could again reign in her office.
Halfway there his hand seized her arm, halting her in her tracks. His grip burned, his hand looking so large on her forearm that her heart tripped. She’d known that touch before, known the strength of it, and yet the tenderness that could accompany it. Only there was none of that tenderness now. Now she sensed anger, and her heart raced fast and loud as adrenalin kicked in once again.
‘Alexandra,’ he said, half demanding, yet half imploring. She closed her eyes briefly and willed herself not to be affected by the mere sound of her name.
‘Let me go.’ Her voice sounded amazingly calm and level and she took strength from that.
But he didn’t let go. His grip changed. Instead of just holding her, it was tugging her, forcing her closer to him. They were close enough now that she could catch the tang of his subtle cologne, the faint remnants of his coffee, all infused with the scent of man—angry man.
‘Alexandra?’
Her elbow was still locked, her arm held firm, as she looked up into his eyes. Breath caught in her throat as anger was replaced by something else. Something darker and far more dangerous.
In that instant he relaxed his hold, and with the pressure off she immediately lost balance, swaying on her heels, only to be pulled unceremoniously back into him in the next moment.
Impacting against his chest was like colliding with solid rock—only warm and smooth and, oh, so familiar. She sucked in a deep breath, her senses reeling from so much male so close. Something in the back of her mind registered that Nick hadn’t changed that much. Somehow this was just the way she remembered he’d felt back then. Maybe just a little broader and more developed, but just the way she’d imagined, late at night when she couldn’t sleep, thinking how he’d feel now.
Only this was all wrong!
‘Let me go!’ she urged, trying to push him away. But his arms snaked around her, holding her tight.
She pulled her head back to look up at him. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is harassment. You can’t try these caveman tactics here.’
‘Harassment?’ His tone mocked and his eyes held a teasing glint.
An unkind, teasing glint she registered. Life had apparently left Nick bitter.
Then she realised he was moving, swaying ever so gently, the fingers of his hands stroking her back while his arms still kept their vice-like grip. The motion was disarming, gently soothing and strangely sensual.
‘Hardly harassment,’ he went on. ‘Don’t you remember how it was between us? We’re simply sharing an embrace, and perhaps a kiss for old times’ sake.’
Alarm bells went off in her head. No way. No way would she kiss him. He couldn’t be serious.
Firmly she pressed her hands against Nick’s chest and pushed for all she was worth. ‘I have no intention of sharing anything with you.’
He must have seen something in her face because he looked down at her strangely, stopped swaying and abruptly let her go. Alex wheeled away before he had a chance to change his mind, her breath coming thick and fast. She grabbed hold of the door handle and screwed it round, yanking open the door for him.
He stood for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. He strode to the door, came so close to her she was afraid he might just kiss her anyway. ‘There was once a time you would beg me to kiss you, again and again.’
She pushed back her shoulders, tried as best as she could to look him in the eye—even though he had a head start of six inches on her.
‘Times have changed.’
He reached out a hand and she flinched, but his fingers moved to the side of her face to tuck behind her ear a strand that had come loose from her twisted up hair. She swallowed, otherwise motionless, as they traced a path down her cheek before he gently but firmly pinched her chin between his thumb and fore-finger.
‘Not for the better, it seems.’
He flicked off his fingers and she fumbled for something to say.
‘I…I’ll get some financial statements ready for you. I guess you’ll want to get things organised quickly, to allow you to get back to Greece as soon as you can.’
She could swear he almost smiled then. A smile that didn’t touch anywhere near his eyes.
‘Who said anything about going home to Greece? I may just decide to stay the full six months Aristos’s will requires.’
Then he was finally gone. Alex shut the door and let herself collapse against it. It was barely eleven in the morning and she felt as if she’d just run a marathon.
How in the world would she survive six months?
CHAPTER FOUR
ALEX stood on the sidelines, clutching her thirty-eight-millimetre camera and waiting while the coach said a few final words to the team, grateful that Sofia had chosen this particular afternoon to show Nick around some of their properties, allowing her to slip off half an hour early unnoticed.
After an emotionally draining day Alex was more anxious than ever to be with her son. This was their night—hers and Jason’s—with no study or classes to intrude. Just for now she’d rather not have to explain that to Nick.
She took a couple of deep breaths and rolled her shoulders, easing away some of the strain of the day, before putting the cap back on the camera lens. She’d taken enough shots today to fill another page in the album she was keeping—the albums and video recordings she was using to record every event and growth phase in Jason’s life.
The albums and videos she was one day intending to show his father.
Only his father was here. Now.
How the hell was she supposed to deal with that? Somehow she had to work out a way of coping with Nick’s presence in the office. It was only day one, but from the tension evident between them today it was difficult to believe they could ever work together comfortably as colleagues. It certainly wasn’t going to happen with this huge secret hanging over them.
If he was ever going to see these pictures and videos, eventually—inevitably—she’d have to tell him the truth. Only things were so complicated. Now she couldn’t just tell him about their son. Now she’d also have to explain why she had never told him at the start. Never told him she was pregnant with his child. Never told him he was a father.
And there was no easy way to do it.
Yet the longer Nick stayed, the more inevitable it would become that he would find out she had a son. Once he knew she had a son…how long would it take before he worked out the rest and know she had kept the truth from him?
Her heart kicked up a beat. Just maybe there was a chance Nick wouldn’t see the resemblance. Close relatives didn’t always notice such things, did they? After all, people were always telling her that in spite of Jason’s dark hair and eyes he was still unmistakably hers, even though she couldn’t see it herself. Maybe Nick would be the same?
She looked closer at the huddle of players. Jason had his head cocked to one side, listening intently to the coach’s words, concentrating hard, his eyes dark and intense, and as she looked at him a chill whipped up her spine.
Her son stood there focused and determined—every part a miniature version of Nick. Alex took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat back into a normal rhythm.
She’d been kidding herself. There was no way Nick could deny the resemblance. She sighed. That left only one course of action. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she’d have to do it—and the sooner the better.
The team huddle broke up and Jason turned and waved, smiling as he ran towards her until he collided at force into her chest, swinging her with his momentum. She breathed in the happy, warm smell of him, mingled with grass and earth, and caught his laughter as he clutched on tightly around her neck and they spun each other round.
‘Pizza!’ he squealed.
She laughed and stood up, catching his hand in hers as she turned to the car. ‘I hope you spent some time out there thinking about soccer, and not just what you wanted for dinner.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, tugging her along. ‘A bit.’
Four pieces of pizza later, Jason started to slow down between bites. After a brief hesitation he reached for his cola and took a long drink. ‘Can you fish, Mum?’
Alex blinked and put her piece down. It was noisy in the pizza bar and she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. ‘You mean with a rod and reel?’
Jason nodded and studied the remaining pieces before reaching for the one with the most olives, despite it being the furthest away.
‘I’ve been known to catch the odd fish, sure.’
Jason focused on his next mouthful before continuing. ‘I thought so. I told them you could do anything, but they still said I couldn’t come.’
‘You told who? And couldn’t come where?’ she asked, secretly pleased that Jason still had such faith in her.
‘Matt and Jack. They’re going fishing one weekend with their dads. They said I could have come but you were a girl and you wouldn’t know how to fish.’
‘That’s a shame,’ she said, feeling more than slightly put out. ‘Did you want to go?’
‘Sort of. The camping out sounded the best bit, though.’
‘Ah,’ she said, getting some idea of the real reason why they might be uncomfortable with a woman along. ‘I know why they didn’t want us to go.’
‘Why?’
She smiled. ‘Well, how would they feel when we caught all the fish?’
‘I knew it.’ Jason leaned back in his chair and surveyed with only half interest the few remnants left in the pizza box. ‘I told them it wouldn’t make any difference even if I had a dad, because we’d still catch the most too.’ Then he burped loudly, clapped his hand over his mouth and collapsed into a fit of giggles.
Alex laughed too, but inside felt his words as a boot to her heart. Hot tears stung her eyes.
It’s the shock, she tried to tell herself as she brushed away the evidence with the back of her hand, pretending they were laughter induced. Naturally she would be feeling more sensitive than usual after Aristos’s sudden death and the arrival of Nick on the scene. Why else would she be crying into her pizza at dinnertime?
But, despite what she wanted to believe, part of her knew there was more to her tears than that. Once again she was reminded that no matter how she tried to be both mother and father to Jason, to provide him with the balance his young life required, there would be times when she just couldn’t be both.
Jet lag, Nick decided. It had to be jet lag.
Why else would his legs be so unresponsive and his body so stressed and lethargic? Three kilometres into his run along the foreshore, it was obvious he wasn’t going to make his usual ten. The rhythm wasn’t there, his breathing was forced, and the power just wasn’t happening.
And he needed to run. Needed to clear the fog that was clouding his brain, the fog that sprang from changing time zones and hemispheres—and from a girl he should have forgotten long ago.
Who was he trying to kid? She was hardly a girl any more. One touch had confirmed that. His breath caught in his throat, he coughed and shot his rhythm to hell again. In rebellion, he cursed, kicking out one foot at the sand, spraying the heavy salt-encrusted grains far and wide, scattering seagulls up into the ever lightening sky.
Breath rasped and scratched his throat. He needed sleep. Long, uninterrupted sleep. Instead last night he’d been plagued with visions of a leggy teenager, sitting cross-legged and smiling up at him from the midst of a field of yellow wild flowers, her long blonde hair almost liquid in the gentle spring breeze.
She’d been nervous. But she’d come to meet him willingly, knowing that this was the day—their last together—and her shyness had faded under his touch and they’d taken each other to a place they’d always share.
Or so he’d thought.
Maybe he’d got it wrong back then. From the way Alexandra acted now, it was clear she wasn’t interested in sharing the time of day with him. He smiled to himself.
The way she’d reacted when he’d suggested staying in Australia! She obviously couldn’t wait for him to get out of her life. He didn’t even know why he’d said that; he had no intention of staying here. Although it was more than obvious that Sofia was keen he should hang around a while.
Maybe he should.
So far Dimitri was insisting that all was well with the business in Athens, and it was clear that Sofia needed his support here. Maybe that wouldn’t be as onerous as he’d first expected. Somewhere along the line Sofia had transformed herself from a pestering child into a dark-haired beauty. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt him to stick around a while—at least until she’d had time to come to terms with her loss.
A thin smile found its way to his lips as another reason to stay crystallised. For there was something infinitely satisfying about making Alexandra think she was not going to be rid of him too easily.
But then, that was foolish thinking. He wasn’t here to settle scores. He was here to make sure the business functioned well and prospered long into the future. He should be thinking instead whether there was even a place for her in the operation.
If he was going to leave the business in sound hands it was clear there’d have to be someone pretty damned capable in the financial area. Would a receptionist-cum-bookkeeper make the grade? He doubted it. It might be better to get someone better qualified in and just let her go. Although the employment agencies had had no success so far.
Maybe it would be better getting Dimitri to come out from Greece. He would know what the job required, so they could employ the right person.
Gulls wheeled overhead and a lonely swimmer hauled himself from the water nearby, shaking jewelled droplets from his body as he surged out of the shallows.
A swim. Maybe that was what Nick needed to clear his head of this infernal jet lag. Lord knows, the run didn’t seem to be helping. He turned back the way he had come and headed along the beach.
‘He’s cute, don’t you think?’
Alex looked up from her computer screen, in the middle of typing her letter. ‘Who’s cute?’ she asked innocently, keeping her face deliberately schooled as she minimised her computer screen. But Sofia was too busy closing the door to notice anything. She grabbed one of the visitor’s chairs by the arm and pulled it up close to the desk, hunkering down conspiratorially, her elbows on the desk, cupping her chin. She was grinning from ear to ear.
‘Nick, silly. Who else around here could I mean?’
Alex smiled indulgently. While ‘cute’ wasn’t exactly the word that sprang to mind whenever she thought about Nick, it was obvious who Sofia was referring to. Apart from the two of them, the office only employed a part-time woman for the phones, for whenever Sofia had had enough of playing receptionist, and an ageing property manager who looked after maintenance issues.
Still, she feigned surprise. ‘Oh, him. Sure, he’s not bad.’
It was easy to play along. Sofia was the happiest she’d seen her since her father had died. If having Nick here did that for her, then at least something good would come from his visit. With no one else to turn to, Sofia deserved it.
‘I think he likes me.’
Alex’s breath snagged in her throat. Oh, please, I don’t want to hear this!
She somehow forced a bare smile to her face. ‘Of course he likes you. You’re his cousin. You’re a nice girl. Why wouldn’t he like you?’
She shook her head. ‘No, you don’t get what I mean. I mean he likes me. You know—like, seriously likes me.’
‘That’s…nice.’ Alex wondered what else she was expected to say. She looked at the girl sitting opposite, her dark eyes shining with hope in her impeccably made-up face, her insanely long acrylic fingernails painted the exact shade of her crimson lips.
Sofia had never had the greatest history with boyfriends, and little wonder, given her domineering father and his ability to drive away potential suitors with a single bellow. If only his interest had been motivated by his daughter’s welfare. Instead, Alex suspected, he’d always had the future of the Xenophon Group foremost in his mind. Whoever married his daughter and sole heir would end up with the fruits of Aristos’s labour. How could any mere male qualify for such bountiful reward?
And then along came Nick, apparently with Daddy’s blessing, and for the first time in her life Sofia thought she was onto a winner.
Sofia and Nick. Why did that seem such an unlikely pairing? And why should she even care? It wasn’t as if she had any claim on the man, after all.
‘I was wondering,’ Sofia said, ‘if you could help me—while he’s out for a little while, talking to some of the tenants?’ She tilted her head to one side, making her large gold double-hoop earrings jangle. ‘Seeing you know Nick much better than me, what with being old friends and all.’
Alex shook her head. ‘You’ve got the wrong idea. That was a long time ago.’
‘But I haven’t seen him since I was six, and he hardly took any notice of me. Even though way back then I thought he was gorgeous. I just thought you might have some idea of what he likes, you know. You must have talked about something when you were in Crete together. What did you guys get up to anyway?’
The breath left Alex’s lungs so fast it made her cough. What on earth would Sofia think if she told her the truth? I gave him my virginity and he took me to heaven. No, definitely more information than Sofia needed to know. And much more information than Alex needed to be reminded of. Besides, they had done other things on Crete—it was just hard to focus on them now. Now that Nick was here. She licked her lips, buying time.
‘You know—the usual things one does over there. We visited ruins and museums. Remember, Nick was studying an archaeology unit back then. No doubt he’s still interested in the subject. Why don’t you ask him about it?’
Sofia screwed up her nose. ‘I guess. But that’s not really what I had in mind.’ She fidgeted with her bangles, then checked her nails. ‘I don’t know—does he have a favourite colour or something?’
Alex smiled to herself, instantly transported back to Crete.
Nick was holding her face in his hands, his lips close to hers, and the breeze was floating tendrils of her unbound hair around them both.
‘The colour of the ocean, deep and clear. The colour of the sky, bright and endless. The colour of your eyes…’
She shook her head before she could think too much about the kiss that had followed.
‘Blue.’
‘Cool!’ Sofia flicked her glance to her watch. ‘I have to go shopping. He’s taking me out to dinner tonight, and I just feel I need to get into something a little less—black.’ She paused and pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes filmed with tears. ‘It’s just so hard being reminded all the time.’
‘It’s bound to be. A shopping trip is probably just what you need—but can I get you anything now?’
Sofia sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘No. I’ll be fine. I have to get going. Nick and I have a lot of things to organise with the company and everything. You know how it is.’ She rose and headed for the door, but halfway through stopped and turned around. ‘He asked if you were coming, but I told him you probably wouldn’t be able to get a babysitter at such short notice. He didn’t seem to know you had a kid. You haven’t told him?’
He knows!
Ice formed in her veins, yet somehow she managed to force her jaw to work.
‘Ah. No, not yet. We haven’t had much chance so far to catch up, that’s all.’
Another sniff and a shrug later Sofia was gone. Alex sat stunned, her breathing shallow and fast, her mind racing.
He knows.
But how much did he know? How much had Sofia told him? She’d never shown much interest in children in general or in Jason in particular. What could she have given away? Maybe there was still time.
In a flash she maximised her computer screen and finished typing the letter before printing it off. She read it through once more and nodded. Perfect. All it needed was her signature.
She was doing the right thing; she was sure of it.
In a moment it was signed and sealed and ready to be dropped off on Nick’s desk before he was back from seeing the tenants.
She took a deep breath and, suddenly parched, reached for her glass of water. It was empty. She stopped by the small office kitchenette to fill it, popping the envelope on the adjacent benchtop while she poured the cool spring water. She was standing at the dispenser, with her back to the door, when she felt it.
Something wasn’t right.
Hairs prickled on the back of her neck and her heart belted out an erratic beat that reverberated in her head, spelling out exactly how she felt. Scared.
Quickly she turned, feeling his presence before there was so much as a sound.
Water sloshed over the glass’s rim, but she hardly noticed or cared. ‘Nick! You startled me.’
He was leaning against the doorway, hands in pockets. Strange how even in such a casual stance Nick could look all man. Relaxed, comfortable—predatory.
Slowly he peeled himself away from the doorway and moved closer.
There was no telling what he was thinking. His dark eyes were unfathomable. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her, filling all the remaining space in the tiny kitchenette. She swallowed. Until Nick moved she was stuck here, with a brimming glass of water the only thing between them. As defences went, it wasn’t much, but somehow just holding it there made her feel better. If only she could hold her hand steady.
‘Sofia took me for a tour of the properties yesterday.’
‘Yes, I heard.’
‘It’s a large portfolio. I was impressed by the quality of the holdings.’
‘That’s good.’
Alex winced at her lame responses, but how was she supposed to concentrate with him in the room? It was all she could do to keep her hand from shaking and spilling some more water.
‘I imagine it takes quite a bit of accounting skill to keep up with it all.’
‘Not really,’ she said, studying the glass and using all her powers of concentration to will it to stay level. ‘Once the systems are in place—’ What am I thinking? If he wanted to imply that she couldn’t do the job, it would be in her interests to agree with him. She jerked her eyes up to meet his.
‘Actually, you’re right. It’s very complic—’
Nick jumped back before the wave of spring water could collect him fair in the chest, and Alex realised she hadn’t just kicked up her chin when she’d changed her response.
Even with his quick evasive action the water landed at his feet, beading droplets over the sculpted black leather of his Italian shoes. In a flash he relieved her of the glass, and its remaining contents, and deposited it on the benchtop alongside the letter—his letter while she stood there dumbfounded.
‘You’re jumpy, Alexandra.’
She looked up at him, preparing to apologise, but he took her shoulders in his large hands. Instantly every cell in her body seemed to contract and freeze.
‘Do I make you so nervous?’
She sucked in a necessary breath—only to find the oxygen she so desperately required infused with the scent of this man. Heat replaced the coldness she’d been feeling, warming sensations and desires she’d thought long buried. Under her discount designer jacket and tailored shirt her breasts felt swollen and firm, aware of even the slightest brush of fabric over the points of her bra. And now that feeling coiled downwards, stirring feelings long since forgotten.
She sighed. There seemed little point in denying it. ‘Yes, I guess you do.’
He laughed, softly and openly, his breath curling warm against her face as his thumbs gently traced the line of her collarbone, almost hypnotising her. The flesh tingled under his touch. Alex felt her eyelids flutter. Oh, God! He hadn’t forgotten how to make her feel good, just as her body hadn’t forgotten how to respond to his.
‘But why, Alexandra, should I make you nervous? I am just a man. A man who, after all, you know—intimately.’
Something about the way he spoke made her look at him—really look at him. Why was he doing this to her? She willed her body not to be carried away by his touch, but that same body seemed intent on ignoring her. After all, this was just what she’d dreamed of, night after lonely night—being with Nick, enjoying his touch. Now her dreams had become reality, at least in part, and it was so hard to deny herself that for which she’d yearned so long.
Only she had to. Her lips felt desperate for moisture as she finally spoke.
‘That was a long time ago. It’s ancient history now.’
‘Maybe. But sometimes the past can pave the way for the future. We were once good together. Is there any reason why we shouldn’t be again—at least until I leave?’
‘What?’
She dropped a shoulder and twisted out of his reach before he could react.
For just one moment his words had brought her an unexpected pleasure. For just one moment it had seemed he might still harbour some feelings for her.
In the next moment he’d shattered the illusion. ‘Just what are you suggesting?’
He shrugged and leaned himself back against the cupboards, crossing his ankles, his hands resting on the bench behind. The relaxed position belied the expression on his face. His jaw was set and his eyes looked more calculating than ever.
‘Simply that we fit together well—you know that. Why shouldn’t we seek pleasure in each other? There’s little enough to be found elsewhere in this world.’
‘You expect me to sleep with you while you’re here?’
He looked over at her, his lips tilted at one corner, his dark eyes resolute as he pushed himself away from the bench and took two paces towards her.
Instinctively her feet edged back.
‘No, Alexandra. You have the wrong idea entirely. I don’t expect you to sleep with me. I want you awake, very much awake. I don’t expect we should get very much sleep at all.’
Alex could only swallow as he moved a step closer, and then another, forcing her back against the small under-counter refrigerator. Only then did he stop—right in front of her.
‘After all,’ he continued, ‘it’s not as if you are a virgin, as I can attest. You’re not married, and you’ve obviously had other partners. Sofia told me of your child. You expect me to believe that was the result of immaculate conception?’
Hot, angry tears pricked her eyes. Even if he didn’t know that the child he referred to was his, there was no excuse for speaking to her that way. ‘And that makes it okay, then, does it? I should be only too willing to fall into your bed?’
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Trish Morey
He's the father of her child…Alexandra Hammond leaves Crete secretly pregnant with her Greek lover's baby! She'll always remember Nick Santos's steamy lovemaking, as she makes a new life for herself and their son in Australia….And now he's her boss!Brought to Sydney by business, Nick's now a ruthless tycoon. But working with Alexandra reawakens their passion. She knows she can't keep their son hidden for much longer–what will Nick do when he finds out…?
“Am I so hard to remember?”
Not as hard as you are to forget. The thought sprang from nowhere, and as much as Alex hated the truth of it, it was undeniable.
He hadn’t forgotten, either. But the way he looked at her now told her he was remembering different things—like the way she’d turned her back on him. The way she’d left him cold.
He was a different person from that boy she’d met so long ago. Well, she’d changed, too. She was older, wiser, a mother. The mother of his son!
Trish Morey is a hot new Australian author! Harlequin Presents
is proud to present Trish’s passionate and provocative debut novel THE GREEK BOSS’S DEMAND
Harlequin Presents
They’re the men who have everything—except brides…
Wealth, power, charm—what else could a handsome tycoon need? In THE GREEK TYCOONS miniseries, you have already met some gorgeous Greek multimillionaires who are in need of wives.
Now meet tall, dark and handsome Nick Santos in Trish Morey’s
The Greek Boss’s Demand
This tycoon thought he was rekindling a romance but discovers there’s more at stake than just his passion!
Coming in March:
The Greek’s Seven-Day Seduction
by Susan Stephens
#2455
The Greek Boss’s Demand
Trish Morey
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Gavin, who always believed.
And for Jane, who helped make it possible.
Thanks, guys
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
A PROPERTY company!
What was Nick Santos supposed to do with a half-share in a property company all the way over here in Australia? Especially one that by rights should have gone in its entirety to his cousin Sofia.
Taking note of the flashing light over his head, Nick duly fastened his seat belt for the descent into Sydney.
He’d never thought of his uncle Aristos as having a sense of humour, but he had to have been joking to come up with this scheme.
Half the company on condition that he stay and head up the business for six months, teaching Sofia whatever she needed to know to run the business herself.
It was crystal-clear what his late uncle had intended by his strange bequest. Nick was no stranger to the practice of arranged marriages, and he wasn’t about to have one foisted on him.
As soon as he’d paid his respects to Sofia he’d gift her the balance of the company by leaving Australia and forfeiting his share of the inheritance. He didn’t need the hassle when there were more important issues to consider at home—even if he had left the business in the safe hands of Dimitri, his second in charge.
He settled back into his seat, taking in the view as the plane came in for landing.
So this was Sydney. He caught a glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the Opera House nestled alongside—architectural icons of the busy harbour—before city buildings swallowed up the view and he had to content himself with watching the endless procession of red roofs and blue backyard pools skating under the plane as it descended steadily towards the airport.
In spite of the disruption to his schedules he could almost thank Aristos for finally getting him here. He’d grown up hearing tales of fortunes to be made in the new world. His mother’s brother had made a success of it, that much was sure.
And he’d met a few Australians in his time. One in particular stuck in his mind—a girl he’d met on the island of Crete. Years ago now.
She’d been all pale skin and freckles, with long blonde hair and smiling blue eyes that infected you with laughter. Together they’d explored the crumbling ruins that dotted the island, and her fascination and boundless enthusiasm over the remnants of a civilisation so ancient had been contagious. She’d made him feel guilty that even as a student of archaeology he tended to take his country’s rich history for granted. Yet at the same time she’d also made him feel proud to be Greek. She had been beautiful, vibrant and spirited—and, as it turned out, fickle.
He exhaled a long breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and stretched back travel-weary shoulders into the wide first-class seat.
The plane touched down and taxied to the terminal, finally pulling to a halt. Everyone around him was stirring, impatient from the long flight and eager to clear Customs in the least amount of time. A smiling flight attendant appeared at his arm with his jacket.
He nodded his thanks and forced his mind back to the present.
That spring was a long time ago, and right now he had more pressing problems to think about. His place was not here. He belonged back in Greece. And as soon as he had sorted out this unusual bequest that was exactly where he was headed.
CHAPTER TWO
ALEX opened the office door and slammed into her past.
Nick Santos!
She had to be dreaming. Nick was back home in Athens, running the family engineering empire. He had no business here in Sydney, standing in the foyer of the Xenophon Property Group.
Especially not today, with the office reopening after Aristos’s heart attack and funeral, when she was already days behind in getting out the monthly rental invoices, and with the new boss—some far-flung relative—expected at any time.
Not today? Who was she kidding? Not ever.
But it couldn’t be Nick.
She blinked, but when she opened her eyes he was still there.
And it was still Nick.
Strange how there was no way she could mistake him—how she could be so absolutely positive, even after all this time. Even though he was standing there with his back to her, talking to Sofia, still she knew it was him—sensed it was him—with just a glimpse of profile and the wave of thick, dark hair licking at the collar of his oh-so-white shirt. Knew it from his stance, manly and confident. Knew it in the message her heart was suddenly beating.
Adrenalin danced with her pulse, readying her for fight or flight. No contest. There was no way her feet would move forward. Not even the welcoming scent of the coffee machine’s fresh brew could beckon her inside. She would back out right now, quickly, and he would never see her. Maybe by the time she came back he’d be gone, back out of her life, back into her past where he belonged.
She let her arm go slack on the door, letting it fall back towards her. Maybe, if she was quiet…
‘There you are,’ Sofia called, stepping out from behind his shoulder, looking every part the grieving daughter in her black silk skirt suit, her dark hair tied back into a sleek, high ponytail. And before she’d had a chance to respond he’d spun around, arresting her retreat with the sheer impact of his features so that the only movement she was capable of was the involuntary quiver that descended her spine. His dark eyes narrowed, his gaze sweeping her from top to toe before settling on her face. Then his nostrils flared as his lips curved ever so slightly.
‘So it is you,’ he stated, his chin kicking up a notch.
She swallowed hard. In the eight-plus years since she’d seen Nick she’d often imagined what their first words would be and how he would say them if ever they met again. Not once had she imagined Nick would coldly and dispassionately come out with something like, ‘So it is you.’
‘Who were you expecting?’ she said, finally convincing her muscles there was no way out of it but to push open the door and enter the lobby. ‘Kylie Minogue?’
She winced inwardly at the harshness of her words. Damn, but how were you supposed to think in situations like this?
‘Alex?’ Sofia turned from one to the other, confusion apparent on her face. ‘I want to introduce you to my cousin, Nick Santos, who arrived yesterday. But…am I missing something here?’
She couldn’t talk. Her throat too tight, her mouth ashen. And all the while Nick just kept on watching her intently, until she felt pinned down in the accusing gaze of his bottomless dark eyes. He had a score to settle with her; that much his hard-edged glare made clear. Aside from that, he was obviously as unimpressed at seeing her as she was stunned at seeing him.
It was Nick who finally broke the impasse.
‘Alexandra and I have met before. Haven’t we?’
Under his continuing scrutiny the laptop in her hand suddenly felt unbearably heavy, threatening to slip from her damp palm. She screwed her fingers tighter around the handle till her fingernails dug painfully but reassuringly into her skin. That was her laptop taken care of. Now she just had to focus on making sure her knees held up.
‘I guess so,’ she managed at last. ‘At least I’m pretty sure we have. It was such a long time ago.’
A muscle twitched in Nick’s cheek.
‘Am I so hard to remember?’
Not as hard as you are to forget. The thought sprang from nowhere and, as much as Alex hated the truth of it, it was undeniable. Long nights alone, remembering their shared time back on Crete and wishing things could have turned out differently, were testament to that.
He hadn’t forgotten either. But the way he looked at her now told her he was remembering different things—like the way she’d turned her back on him. The way she’d left him cold.
She took a deep breath, but Sofia was too impatient to wait for her response in a conversation that was obviously far too personal for her liking.
‘Spill the beans, you two. So how do you know each other?’
Nick’s eyes bored into Alex. The cold heat of them was like a kick in the gut.
‘How about it? Or are you having trouble remembering that too?’
She raised her chin a fraction and shifted her gaze to Sofia. Her brain was still in shock at seeing Nick after all this time, and it was much easier trying to think while she wasn’t looking directly at him. Where the damning questions in his eyes couldn’t reach her.
And she had to think. Had to calm down. Sofia was still raw from the shocking death of her father. Even under the mask of her professionally applied makeup the shadows and puffiness around her eyes were all too evident. Sofia certainly didn’t need Alex’s baggage on top of her own.
‘Crete. About—’ She stopped and licked her lips. No need to be too specific. ‘Some years ago. I was on holiday with my family. Nick was working in his university break on an archaeological dig. We met at the palace of Minos.’
‘Cool,’ said Sofia, although Alex noted the word she’d used mirrored her tone. Sofia was obviously less than impressed. ‘So, did you know he was related to Aristos?’
‘No, I had no ide—’
A cold ooze of dread rolled over her. God, no! Not that relative of Aristos? Not the one who was taking over the company?
‘Way cool! Then I hardly have to introduce you to each other. That’s going to make it easier, with you guys working together.’
Alex couldn’t think of anything less cool as her world tilted and spun. When the direct line in her office rang, it was all she could do not to run and answer it.
‘Excuse me,’ she said instead, adding, ‘I’m expecting this call. We’ll have to catch up later.’ Then she moved as quickly as she could while desperately trying to keep her balance on a planet that was shifting further off axis with every step.
She shut the door, plonked her laptop on the desk and somehow dealt with the phone call while all the time her brain was registering only two words. Nick—here!
One hour later, Alex was still staring at the walls, the screensaver on her laptop the only sign of life in the room. How long she could stay secreted away in her office, she didn’t know—but she’d do whatever it took to have as little to do with Nick Santos as possible, and until she had some sort of plan she didn’t want to go anywhere near him.
It was weird, seeing him after so many years. Strange how they’d both thought themselves so grown up back then. He had seemed so strong and so much a man. At twenty-one he’d been more worldly and experienced than her. Yet now she could see how young they’d been. For it was obvious that the boy had become a man.
He looked every part the professional businessman. Gone was the long fringe that he’d used to flick out of his eyes with the toss of his head, replaced by a short, slick style. His dark features, even back then resonant with hidden depths, now seemed to sit more comfortably in a more mature face. Even his shoulders seemed broader.
He was a different person, clearly, from that boy she’d met so long ago.
Well, she’d changed too.
She was older, wiser, a mother.
The mother of his son!
Something like a garbled cry escaped from her lips.
Jason!
How in heaven’s name was she going to prevent him from finding out about Jason?
CHAPTER THREE
A BRIEF knock on her door made her look up, only to find Nick filling the space where the door had been.
She swallowed.
‘What do you want?’
Nick took a step into her office, eyebrows raised.
‘Is that any way to greet an old friend? It’s not as if we’re strangers after all.’
‘It was a long time ago. You almost feel like a stranger.’
He hesitated. Tilted his head to one side.
‘You have no idea how I feel, Alexandra.’
His words, and the flat way in which he delivered them, made her swallow. But that was nothing to how she felt when he moved closer to the desk. Panic pooled in her every cell.
Then he suddenly turned. For just a second Alex felt relief, but only for a second. She heard Nick mutter, ‘Just wait—I’ll be with you soon,’ before closing the door. Alex caught a flash of black as Sofia, looking indignant, rushed by, then it swung shut and Nick wheeled and moved back across the office until he was standing just across the desk from her.
And then he was looking down at her—dark, threatening and dangerous—and all Alex could think about was the pressure bearing down on top of her.
The pressure of being confronted by this man, her first love—her first lover—the pressure of knowing he was part of Aristos’s world and had never been a real part of hers—the pressure of knowing the secret that lay between them like a chasm.
The chair-back pressed into her as she attempted, however fractionally, to increase the distance between them.
‘Alexandra—’
She squeezed her eyes shut. The way he still said her name, just as he had back then, squeezing out the syllables till they seemed to curl in his rich, Mediterranean accent. Nobody had ever said her name like Nick had those weeks in Crete. It had made her feel sexy back then.
Only now she couldn’t let it affect her. She was all grown up and things like that were the stuff of teenagers and holidays and holding hands. She was over it.
‘Alexandra.’
She sucked in a breath, opened her eyes and forced what she hoped would pass as a businesslike expression onto her face.
‘I guess you’ll need to check the accounts, find out how the company is going. Our tax position—all that stuff.’
He blinked slowly. ‘There’s time for that later.’
‘Good,’ Alex said, a little too fast. ‘I’m kind of busy at the moment…’ She shuffled a few papers on her desk for effect. ‘Maybe I could drop the accounts into you later? I imagine you want to get things sorted out here and head back to Greece as soon as you can.’
Nick’s eyes narrowed as he propped himself down on the edge of her desk and leaned dangerously close to her.
‘I can see you’re in the middle of something very important,’ he whispered conspiratorially, nodding towards the computer. She followed his gesture and felt her cheeks heat till she was sure they matched the colour of the rosy-coloured pipe powering a cubic path around her computer screen.
Her hand reached out on impulse, but she snatched it back short of the keyboard. Better the screensaver right now than her desktop. Not with a photograph of Jason beaming out from it.
She looked up at him and grabbed a breath, anxious to steer the conversation to safe territory—wherever that might be.
‘I was thinking…’
Both his eyebrows went up this time and he leaned over to swipe a pen from right in front of her, getting so close as to fill her senses with the subtle scent of his cologne overlaying the unmistakable essence of man. For a second it took her breath away, her line of thought erased, and she had no choice but to sit and watch as he began to tap the pen against the fingers of his other hand.
‘Very reassuring to hear my uncle employed people who can think.’ He looked around, assessing the pale honey-coloured walls, the bookshelves and filing cabinets, as if taking an inventory. ‘But what do you actually do in this spacious office of yours?’
His jibe focused her attention once more, and she straightened her spine, forced her head up higher. ‘I imagine you’ve already discussed the staff and our responsibilities with Sofia.’
The pen kept tapping.
‘I want to hear it from you.’
It was impossible not to feel intimidated by the man. From the edge of her desk he dominated the space before her, looming large and much too close. She looked up at him, feeling her eyes narrow as she tried to work out where he was coming from. No doubt he already had plans in mind for the company. Where did she fit in with those plans?
She needed this job. With a brand-new mortgage to her name, the first chance she’d had to find a real home for her and Jason, now she needed it more than ever. Aristos hadn’t been the easiest boss, but the chance to get out of their poky flat and into a real house with a real backyard was worth anything her former boss had been able to dish out. Now that Nick was the boss, what would he dish out?
‘All right. I’m Financial Administrator for the Xenophon Group. I’ve been here for almost two years, though I haven’t been doing this job all that time.’
The pen stopped tapping. ‘No. That’s what Sofia said. You started out on Reception—is that right?’
Before she could answer she noticed the beat of the pen start up again and felt herself frown. If he was trying to get on her nerves he was doing an excellent job.
‘But then the previous two accountants left…?’ The query was apparent in his eyes. ‘They were no good?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, but your uncle wasn’t the easiest person to get on with. He was a demanding boss.’
‘My uncle started out with nothing and built a fortune in property worth millions. Of course he would expect a lot from his employees.’
‘Of course he did. And he got that—and more. But he was difficult as a boss. Impossible at times. If he was in the office he was shouting. In both cases they were good accountants, but Aristos was always shouting at them for one thing or another—I don’t think he trusted them to look after his affairs—and they just got sick of it. In the end they walked out, one after the other. The second one only lasted three months. Someone had to fill the gap immediately, and Sofia offered to look after Reception if I would do it. I’d been helping both of them out and it really wasn’t such a big deal.’
‘And Aristos didn’t employ another accountant? Why would he keep a receptionist in such a position of responsibility?’
Alex bristled. ‘Maybe because I do the job well.’
He didn’t look convinced.
‘If it’s any consolation, I think Aristos was surprised too. He was intending to advertise, but the employment agency didn’t seem too confident they could find the right person for this job—word had got back to them, obviously—and things here were going well. I was already studying for a business diploma at night—so he was relieved not to have to find someone else.’
And pay them accountant’s wages. If there was one thing Aristos loved more than bellowing his commands it had been a bargain, and with her he’d got a cheap accountant—even with the extra he’d reluctantly agreed to pay over her former receptionist’s salary.
‘Funny, but I don’t remember the young Alexandra looking forward to spending her life as some bean-counter.’
Alex went rigid. She’d relaxed a little, talking about her job, thinking about things present. He’d just transported her slap-bang into the past. A past she’d rather steer clear of now.
‘Funny, but I don’t think of myself as a “bean-counter”.’ She ploughed on, ignoring the black look he threw her. ‘Besides, I don’t think I knew what I wanted back then.’
She certainly hadn’t known what she’d need back then. Had had no idea she’d have a son to support with no chance of finishing school for years. Had never realised how hard it would be to try and manage time with her son when she had a full-time job and night school study. Hadn’t known how hard it would be to earn enough money to put a deposit on an ageing two-bedroom bungalow in the suburbs.
He tapped the pen loudly once more, this time on her desk, snapping her out of her thoughts. ‘And Aristos didn’t shout at you?’
She laughed a little, relieved he was talking about the more recent past once more. ‘Sure, he shouted. He shouted at everyone—including Sofia. But as a property investor, he wrote the book. I learned a lot working for him.’
It was true. It might have been unbearable, just as it had proved for the former employees, except she’d needed the money and the experience more. A few years in this job and she’d be finished with her diploma and could get a decent job with better pay. Aristos had given her a chance and she’d grasped it. For all his faults, he’d at least given her this opportunity, and she owed him for that.
But Aristos was gone, and it was his nephew now sitting in front of her. And yet still she hadn’t even offered the merest of condolences.
‘The news about your uncle must have come as quite a shock. I’m sorry…’
He watched her for a second, but it was as if his eyes were shuttered. Then he slammed the pen down on the desk in the same instant as he heaved himself away. He took a few steps, one hand rubbing his nape.
‘It was a shock—but nothing compared to what Sofia is contending with. To have lost her mother to cancer a decade ago, and now to lose her father so suddenly…’ He sighed, and for a moment looked so lost in his own thoughts that she sensed there was more to his statement than just compassion for his cousin.
He turned suddenly to face her, his eyes dark and fathomless. ‘My mother, Helena, was step-sister to Aristos. She died some six years back herself. Aristos and my father were as close as brothers while they were both alive, even though I didn’t know him that well.’
Alex swallowed. She’d never met Nick’s parents—but she’d heard enough about his father way back then to scare her socks off. It came as no surprise that he was related, even by marriage, to Aristos.
Even so, they had been Nick’s parents. Jason’s grandparents. And now he would never have the opportunity to meet them. Guilt stabbed deeper inside her.
When would she stop paying for the decision she’d made so long ago? The decision she knew was the right one.
‘Your parents…I didn’t know…’ She shook her head. ‘What happened to your father?’
‘Why should you know?’ he asked sharply, as if she had no right. Then his voice softened. ‘About two years ago now he drove off a bridge. Drowned before he could be rescued.’
‘That’s awful,’ said Alex. When they’d been on Crete both Nick’s and her own parents had been alive. It had been less than nine years ago and now Nick’s parents had gone. How long before hers too were no longer here?
She’d see them at Christmas, when they were planning to travel across the country from Perth to visit. But that was still weeks away. She’d call them tonight. The thought that they wouldn’t be there for ever…it was unimaginable.
To be so alone… She sucked in a breath. As she had countless times before, she thanked her lucky stars her sister Tilly had also chosen to make her home in Sydney, to pursue her growing wedding planner career. At least she had some family close by. For all that she was struggling to make ends meet, at least she had someone to turn to, someone to give her moral support when things got too bad. Sofia had no one. And nor, it seemed, did Nick.
‘I really am sorry. I had no idea.’
Nick stopped pacing and stood, propping his arms on the back of the visitor’s chair. His exhale came out like a sigh. ‘In a way it was a release for my father. I think he’d stopped living years before, when Stavros died.’ His eyes bore the pain of loss and tragedy, and as they sought and found hers something connected between them.
He remembered. She could tell.
It was the last time they’d spoken. She’d rung, flushed with excitement at her news. After months of hiding the truth she’d finally held her baby—their baby—and known that in spite of all the powerful reasons why she shouldn’t tell him she simply had to. He had a right to know he was a father. That he had a son.
Only when she’d finally made the connection to Nick’s house it had been to find the family in mourning for the eldest son.
How did you say, I’m sorry your brother is dead and congratulations—today you became a father in the same sentence? How did you drop a bombshell like that into a grieving family and expect them to embrace a new branch of the family they didn’t know existed and wouldn’t want to know? Not after what had happened to Stavros.
Realising that no one in his family would ever believe her, let alone welcome her news, Alex had hung up the phone, keeping her secret and knowing she’d never speak to Nick again.
Stavros had been killed, Nick had become the new heir to the family fortune, and it had been obvious there could never be a future with Nick—neither for her nor their newborn child.
Alex rubbed her arms. It was cold in here. She’d have to check the wall thermostat. But not now. Not until Nick had left her office and there was no chance of getting anywhere near him.
His eyes narrowed until they glinted and he straightened behind the chair.
‘Something frightened you away. Is that it? Is that why you never returned my calls after that?’ His words speared through her consciousness to places she’d rather not go. It was one thing to know she’d done the right thing. It was another thing entirely to have to explain it.
‘Nick, I don’t think we need to rehash all that. It’s in the past. Let it stay there.’
‘No. I think the least you can do is offer me an explanation.’
Alex stiffened in her chair. What relationship they’d had had been over for the better part of nine years, and here he was, larger than life, insisting on the whys and wherefores. Talk about inflated male ego! As if it mattered now.
‘Let it go—’
‘Was it another man?’ He threw a glance to her left hand. ‘You’re not married, but was there someone back then?’
‘Look, it’s not important—’
‘So it was another man. Why else would you just stop communicating? I tried to call you. I wrote to you.’
‘We moved—’
‘I didn’t. You knew where to find me.’ Accusation was layered thickly in his eyes. ‘So why else would you never return my calls? Why never answer my letters unless you were too busy in someone else’s bed?’
Enough! Incensed, Alex pushed herself up from her chair. She’d had enough of looking up to him. And she was sick of putting up with his slurs.
‘Drop it, Nick.’
‘I demand to know what happened!’
Alex glared at him, at that moment totally wondering how she’d ever held the notion that she’d loved this guy. ‘I grew up.’ The hard way. ‘End of story.’
‘It’s no wonder you’ve never married, if that’s the way you treat men. If you want my advice—’
Alex’s hands curled into tight fists.
‘As a matter of fact,’ she cut in, ‘I don’t want your advice. I don’t need your advice. And, given that you don’t appear to be married either, are you completely sure you’re in any position to give advice?’
In that moment Nick’s face might have been cast from concrete. It seemed all harsh angles and rigid planes, and she could tell he was battling to keep the fury he was obviously feeling under control.
Well, bully for him. She was furious too. How dared the brute think he could waltz back into her life and start criticising?
A muscle in his cheek twitched. ‘You’ve changed, Alexandra. You are still as beautiful as you were then, maybe even more so, but you’ve changed on the inside.’
I’ve had to! Her mind told her to remain strong and resolute. It shouldn’t matter what he said about her looks. And it wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let it.
She sucked in one unsteady breath, battled to get her speech back to something resembling normality. ‘Please leave. I have work to do.’
When he remained there motionless it was obvious that he had no intention of complying with her request. If she wanted him out of her office she was going to have to make him leave herself.
She stepped around the desk. ‘I’ll see you to the door.’
There was at least four feet between them and she’d mentally assessed the risk. There was no chance of them coming close to each other. In a moment she’d be safely behind the open door, ushering him out, and some sort of peace could again reign in her office.
Halfway there his hand seized her arm, halting her in her tracks. His grip burned, his hand looking so large on her forearm that her heart tripped. She’d known that touch before, known the strength of it, and yet the tenderness that could accompany it. Only there was none of that tenderness now. Now she sensed anger, and her heart raced fast and loud as adrenalin kicked in once again.
‘Alexandra,’ he said, half demanding, yet half imploring. She closed her eyes briefly and willed herself not to be affected by the mere sound of her name.
‘Let me go.’ Her voice sounded amazingly calm and level and she took strength from that.
But he didn’t let go. His grip changed. Instead of just holding her, it was tugging her, forcing her closer to him. They were close enough now that she could catch the tang of his subtle cologne, the faint remnants of his coffee, all infused with the scent of man—angry man.
‘Alexandra?’
Her elbow was still locked, her arm held firm, as she looked up into his eyes. Breath caught in her throat as anger was replaced by something else. Something darker and far more dangerous.
In that instant he relaxed his hold, and with the pressure off she immediately lost balance, swaying on her heels, only to be pulled unceremoniously back into him in the next moment.
Impacting against his chest was like colliding with solid rock—only warm and smooth and, oh, so familiar. She sucked in a deep breath, her senses reeling from so much male so close. Something in the back of her mind registered that Nick hadn’t changed that much. Somehow this was just the way she remembered he’d felt back then. Maybe just a little broader and more developed, but just the way she’d imagined, late at night when she couldn’t sleep, thinking how he’d feel now.
Only this was all wrong!
‘Let me go!’ she urged, trying to push him away. But his arms snaked around her, holding her tight.
She pulled her head back to look up at him. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is harassment. You can’t try these caveman tactics here.’
‘Harassment?’ His tone mocked and his eyes held a teasing glint.
An unkind, teasing glint she registered. Life had apparently left Nick bitter.
Then she realised he was moving, swaying ever so gently, the fingers of his hands stroking her back while his arms still kept their vice-like grip. The motion was disarming, gently soothing and strangely sensual.
‘Hardly harassment,’ he went on. ‘Don’t you remember how it was between us? We’re simply sharing an embrace, and perhaps a kiss for old times’ sake.’
Alarm bells went off in her head. No way. No way would she kiss him. He couldn’t be serious.
Firmly she pressed her hands against Nick’s chest and pushed for all she was worth. ‘I have no intention of sharing anything with you.’
He must have seen something in her face because he looked down at her strangely, stopped swaying and abruptly let her go. Alex wheeled away before he had a chance to change his mind, her breath coming thick and fast. She grabbed hold of the door handle and screwed it round, yanking open the door for him.
He stood for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. He strode to the door, came so close to her she was afraid he might just kiss her anyway. ‘There was once a time you would beg me to kiss you, again and again.’
She pushed back her shoulders, tried as best as she could to look him in the eye—even though he had a head start of six inches on her.
‘Times have changed.’
He reached out a hand and she flinched, but his fingers moved to the side of her face to tuck behind her ear a strand that had come loose from her twisted up hair. She swallowed, otherwise motionless, as they traced a path down her cheek before he gently but firmly pinched her chin between his thumb and fore-finger.
‘Not for the better, it seems.’
He flicked off his fingers and she fumbled for something to say.
‘I…I’ll get some financial statements ready for you. I guess you’ll want to get things organised quickly, to allow you to get back to Greece as soon as you can.’
She could swear he almost smiled then. A smile that didn’t touch anywhere near his eyes.
‘Who said anything about going home to Greece? I may just decide to stay the full six months Aristos’s will requires.’
Then he was finally gone. Alex shut the door and let herself collapse against it. It was barely eleven in the morning and she felt as if she’d just run a marathon.
How in the world would she survive six months?
CHAPTER FOUR
ALEX stood on the sidelines, clutching her thirty-eight-millimetre camera and waiting while the coach said a few final words to the team, grateful that Sofia had chosen this particular afternoon to show Nick around some of their properties, allowing her to slip off half an hour early unnoticed.
After an emotionally draining day Alex was more anxious than ever to be with her son. This was their night—hers and Jason’s—with no study or classes to intrude. Just for now she’d rather not have to explain that to Nick.
She took a couple of deep breaths and rolled her shoulders, easing away some of the strain of the day, before putting the cap back on the camera lens. She’d taken enough shots today to fill another page in the album she was keeping—the albums and video recordings she was using to record every event and growth phase in Jason’s life.
The albums and videos she was one day intending to show his father.
Only his father was here. Now.
How the hell was she supposed to deal with that? Somehow she had to work out a way of coping with Nick’s presence in the office. It was only day one, but from the tension evident between them today it was difficult to believe they could ever work together comfortably as colleagues. It certainly wasn’t going to happen with this huge secret hanging over them.
If he was ever going to see these pictures and videos, eventually—inevitably—she’d have to tell him the truth. Only things were so complicated. Now she couldn’t just tell him about their son. Now she’d also have to explain why she had never told him at the start. Never told him she was pregnant with his child. Never told him he was a father.
And there was no easy way to do it.
Yet the longer Nick stayed, the more inevitable it would become that he would find out she had a son. Once he knew she had a son…how long would it take before he worked out the rest and know she had kept the truth from him?
Her heart kicked up a beat. Just maybe there was a chance Nick wouldn’t see the resemblance. Close relatives didn’t always notice such things, did they? After all, people were always telling her that in spite of Jason’s dark hair and eyes he was still unmistakably hers, even though she couldn’t see it herself. Maybe Nick would be the same?
She looked closer at the huddle of players. Jason had his head cocked to one side, listening intently to the coach’s words, concentrating hard, his eyes dark and intense, and as she looked at him a chill whipped up her spine.
Her son stood there focused and determined—every part a miniature version of Nick. Alex took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat back into a normal rhythm.
She’d been kidding herself. There was no way Nick could deny the resemblance. She sighed. That left only one course of action. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she’d have to do it—and the sooner the better.
The team huddle broke up and Jason turned and waved, smiling as he ran towards her until he collided at force into her chest, swinging her with his momentum. She breathed in the happy, warm smell of him, mingled with grass and earth, and caught his laughter as he clutched on tightly around her neck and they spun each other round.
‘Pizza!’ he squealed.
She laughed and stood up, catching his hand in hers as she turned to the car. ‘I hope you spent some time out there thinking about soccer, and not just what you wanted for dinner.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, tugging her along. ‘A bit.’
Four pieces of pizza later, Jason started to slow down between bites. After a brief hesitation he reached for his cola and took a long drink. ‘Can you fish, Mum?’
Alex blinked and put her piece down. It was noisy in the pizza bar and she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. ‘You mean with a rod and reel?’
Jason nodded and studied the remaining pieces before reaching for the one with the most olives, despite it being the furthest away.
‘I’ve been known to catch the odd fish, sure.’
Jason focused on his next mouthful before continuing. ‘I thought so. I told them you could do anything, but they still said I couldn’t come.’
‘You told who? And couldn’t come where?’ she asked, secretly pleased that Jason still had such faith in her.
‘Matt and Jack. They’re going fishing one weekend with their dads. They said I could have come but you were a girl and you wouldn’t know how to fish.’
‘That’s a shame,’ she said, feeling more than slightly put out. ‘Did you want to go?’
‘Sort of. The camping out sounded the best bit, though.’
‘Ah,’ she said, getting some idea of the real reason why they might be uncomfortable with a woman along. ‘I know why they didn’t want us to go.’
‘Why?’
She smiled. ‘Well, how would they feel when we caught all the fish?’
‘I knew it.’ Jason leaned back in his chair and surveyed with only half interest the few remnants left in the pizza box. ‘I told them it wouldn’t make any difference even if I had a dad, because we’d still catch the most too.’ Then he burped loudly, clapped his hand over his mouth and collapsed into a fit of giggles.
Alex laughed too, but inside felt his words as a boot to her heart. Hot tears stung her eyes.
It’s the shock, she tried to tell herself as she brushed away the evidence with the back of her hand, pretending they were laughter induced. Naturally she would be feeling more sensitive than usual after Aristos’s sudden death and the arrival of Nick on the scene. Why else would she be crying into her pizza at dinnertime?
But, despite what she wanted to believe, part of her knew there was more to her tears than that. Once again she was reminded that no matter how she tried to be both mother and father to Jason, to provide him with the balance his young life required, there would be times when she just couldn’t be both.
Jet lag, Nick decided. It had to be jet lag.
Why else would his legs be so unresponsive and his body so stressed and lethargic? Three kilometres into his run along the foreshore, it was obvious he wasn’t going to make his usual ten. The rhythm wasn’t there, his breathing was forced, and the power just wasn’t happening.
And he needed to run. Needed to clear the fog that was clouding his brain, the fog that sprang from changing time zones and hemispheres—and from a girl he should have forgotten long ago.
Who was he trying to kid? She was hardly a girl any more. One touch had confirmed that. His breath caught in his throat, he coughed and shot his rhythm to hell again. In rebellion, he cursed, kicking out one foot at the sand, spraying the heavy salt-encrusted grains far and wide, scattering seagulls up into the ever lightening sky.
Breath rasped and scratched his throat. He needed sleep. Long, uninterrupted sleep. Instead last night he’d been plagued with visions of a leggy teenager, sitting cross-legged and smiling up at him from the midst of a field of yellow wild flowers, her long blonde hair almost liquid in the gentle spring breeze.
She’d been nervous. But she’d come to meet him willingly, knowing that this was the day—their last together—and her shyness had faded under his touch and they’d taken each other to a place they’d always share.
Or so he’d thought.
Maybe he’d got it wrong back then. From the way Alexandra acted now, it was clear she wasn’t interested in sharing the time of day with him. He smiled to himself.
The way she’d reacted when he’d suggested staying in Australia! She obviously couldn’t wait for him to get out of her life. He didn’t even know why he’d said that; he had no intention of staying here. Although it was more than obvious that Sofia was keen he should hang around a while.
Maybe he should.
So far Dimitri was insisting that all was well with the business in Athens, and it was clear that Sofia needed his support here. Maybe that wouldn’t be as onerous as he’d first expected. Somewhere along the line Sofia had transformed herself from a pestering child into a dark-haired beauty. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt him to stick around a while—at least until she’d had time to come to terms with her loss.
A thin smile found its way to his lips as another reason to stay crystallised. For there was something infinitely satisfying about making Alexandra think she was not going to be rid of him too easily.
But then, that was foolish thinking. He wasn’t here to settle scores. He was here to make sure the business functioned well and prospered long into the future. He should be thinking instead whether there was even a place for her in the operation.
If he was going to leave the business in sound hands it was clear there’d have to be someone pretty damned capable in the financial area. Would a receptionist-cum-bookkeeper make the grade? He doubted it. It might be better to get someone better qualified in and just let her go. Although the employment agencies had had no success so far.
Maybe it would be better getting Dimitri to come out from Greece. He would know what the job required, so they could employ the right person.
Gulls wheeled overhead and a lonely swimmer hauled himself from the water nearby, shaking jewelled droplets from his body as he surged out of the shallows.
A swim. Maybe that was what Nick needed to clear his head of this infernal jet lag. Lord knows, the run didn’t seem to be helping. He turned back the way he had come and headed along the beach.
‘He’s cute, don’t you think?’
Alex looked up from her computer screen, in the middle of typing her letter. ‘Who’s cute?’ she asked innocently, keeping her face deliberately schooled as she minimised her computer screen. But Sofia was too busy closing the door to notice anything. She grabbed one of the visitor’s chairs by the arm and pulled it up close to the desk, hunkering down conspiratorially, her elbows on the desk, cupping her chin. She was grinning from ear to ear.
‘Nick, silly. Who else around here could I mean?’
Alex smiled indulgently. While ‘cute’ wasn’t exactly the word that sprang to mind whenever she thought about Nick, it was obvious who Sofia was referring to. Apart from the two of them, the office only employed a part-time woman for the phones, for whenever Sofia had had enough of playing receptionist, and an ageing property manager who looked after maintenance issues.
Still, she feigned surprise. ‘Oh, him. Sure, he’s not bad.’
It was easy to play along. Sofia was the happiest she’d seen her since her father had died. If having Nick here did that for her, then at least something good would come from his visit. With no one else to turn to, Sofia deserved it.
‘I think he likes me.’
Alex’s breath snagged in her throat. Oh, please, I don’t want to hear this!
She somehow forced a bare smile to her face. ‘Of course he likes you. You’re his cousin. You’re a nice girl. Why wouldn’t he like you?’
She shook her head. ‘No, you don’t get what I mean. I mean he likes me. You know—like, seriously likes me.’
‘That’s…nice.’ Alex wondered what else she was expected to say. She looked at the girl sitting opposite, her dark eyes shining with hope in her impeccably made-up face, her insanely long acrylic fingernails painted the exact shade of her crimson lips.
Sofia had never had the greatest history with boyfriends, and little wonder, given her domineering father and his ability to drive away potential suitors with a single bellow. If only his interest had been motivated by his daughter’s welfare. Instead, Alex suspected, he’d always had the future of the Xenophon Group foremost in his mind. Whoever married his daughter and sole heir would end up with the fruits of Aristos’s labour. How could any mere male qualify for such bountiful reward?
And then along came Nick, apparently with Daddy’s blessing, and for the first time in her life Sofia thought she was onto a winner.
Sofia and Nick. Why did that seem such an unlikely pairing? And why should she even care? It wasn’t as if she had any claim on the man, after all.
‘I was wondering,’ Sofia said, ‘if you could help me—while he’s out for a little while, talking to some of the tenants?’ She tilted her head to one side, making her large gold double-hoop earrings jangle. ‘Seeing you know Nick much better than me, what with being old friends and all.’
Alex shook her head. ‘You’ve got the wrong idea. That was a long time ago.’
‘But I haven’t seen him since I was six, and he hardly took any notice of me. Even though way back then I thought he was gorgeous. I just thought you might have some idea of what he likes, you know. You must have talked about something when you were in Crete together. What did you guys get up to anyway?’
The breath left Alex’s lungs so fast it made her cough. What on earth would Sofia think if she told her the truth? I gave him my virginity and he took me to heaven. No, definitely more information than Sofia needed to know. And much more information than Alex needed to be reminded of. Besides, they had done other things on Crete—it was just hard to focus on them now. Now that Nick was here. She licked her lips, buying time.
‘You know—the usual things one does over there. We visited ruins and museums. Remember, Nick was studying an archaeology unit back then. No doubt he’s still interested in the subject. Why don’t you ask him about it?’
Sofia screwed up her nose. ‘I guess. But that’s not really what I had in mind.’ She fidgeted with her bangles, then checked her nails. ‘I don’t know—does he have a favourite colour or something?’
Alex smiled to herself, instantly transported back to Crete.
Nick was holding her face in his hands, his lips close to hers, and the breeze was floating tendrils of her unbound hair around them both.
‘The colour of the ocean, deep and clear. The colour of the sky, bright and endless. The colour of your eyes…’
She shook her head before she could think too much about the kiss that had followed.
‘Blue.’
‘Cool!’ Sofia flicked her glance to her watch. ‘I have to go shopping. He’s taking me out to dinner tonight, and I just feel I need to get into something a little less—black.’ She paused and pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes filmed with tears. ‘It’s just so hard being reminded all the time.’
‘It’s bound to be. A shopping trip is probably just what you need—but can I get you anything now?’
Sofia sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘No. I’ll be fine. I have to get going. Nick and I have a lot of things to organise with the company and everything. You know how it is.’ She rose and headed for the door, but halfway through stopped and turned around. ‘He asked if you were coming, but I told him you probably wouldn’t be able to get a babysitter at such short notice. He didn’t seem to know you had a kid. You haven’t told him?’
He knows!
Ice formed in her veins, yet somehow she managed to force her jaw to work.
‘Ah. No, not yet. We haven’t had much chance so far to catch up, that’s all.’
Another sniff and a shrug later Sofia was gone. Alex sat stunned, her breathing shallow and fast, her mind racing.
He knows.
But how much did he know? How much had Sofia told him? She’d never shown much interest in children in general or in Jason in particular. What could she have given away? Maybe there was still time.
In a flash she maximised her computer screen and finished typing the letter before printing it off. She read it through once more and nodded. Perfect. All it needed was her signature.
She was doing the right thing; she was sure of it.
In a moment it was signed and sealed and ready to be dropped off on Nick’s desk before he was back from seeing the tenants.
She took a deep breath and, suddenly parched, reached for her glass of water. It was empty. She stopped by the small office kitchenette to fill it, popping the envelope on the adjacent benchtop while she poured the cool spring water. She was standing at the dispenser, with her back to the door, when she felt it.
Something wasn’t right.
Hairs prickled on the back of her neck and her heart belted out an erratic beat that reverberated in her head, spelling out exactly how she felt. Scared.
Quickly she turned, feeling his presence before there was so much as a sound.
Water sloshed over the glass’s rim, but she hardly noticed or cared. ‘Nick! You startled me.’
He was leaning against the doorway, hands in pockets. Strange how even in such a casual stance Nick could look all man. Relaxed, comfortable—predatory.
Slowly he peeled himself away from the doorway and moved closer.
There was no telling what he was thinking. His dark eyes were unfathomable. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her, filling all the remaining space in the tiny kitchenette. She swallowed. Until Nick moved she was stuck here, with a brimming glass of water the only thing between them. As defences went, it wasn’t much, but somehow just holding it there made her feel better. If only she could hold her hand steady.
‘Sofia took me for a tour of the properties yesterday.’
‘Yes, I heard.’
‘It’s a large portfolio. I was impressed by the quality of the holdings.’
‘That’s good.’
Alex winced at her lame responses, but how was she supposed to concentrate with him in the room? It was all she could do to keep her hand from shaking and spilling some more water.
‘I imagine it takes quite a bit of accounting skill to keep up with it all.’
‘Not really,’ she said, studying the glass and using all her powers of concentration to will it to stay level. ‘Once the systems are in place—’ What am I thinking? If he wanted to imply that she couldn’t do the job, it would be in her interests to agree with him. She jerked her eyes up to meet his.
‘Actually, you’re right. It’s very complic—’
Nick jumped back before the wave of spring water could collect him fair in the chest, and Alex realised she hadn’t just kicked up her chin when she’d changed her response.
Even with his quick evasive action the water landed at his feet, beading droplets over the sculpted black leather of his Italian shoes. In a flash he relieved her of the glass, and its remaining contents, and deposited it on the benchtop alongside the letter—his letter while she stood there dumbfounded.
‘You’re jumpy, Alexandra.’
She looked up at him, preparing to apologise, but he took her shoulders in his large hands. Instantly every cell in her body seemed to contract and freeze.
‘Do I make you so nervous?’
She sucked in a necessary breath—only to find the oxygen she so desperately required infused with the scent of this man. Heat replaced the coldness she’d been feeling, warming sensations and desires she’d thought long buried. Under her discount designer jacket and tailored shirt her breasts felt swollen and firm, aware of even the slightest brush of fabric over the points of her bra. And now that feeling coiled downwards, stirring feelings long since forgotten.
She sighed. There seemed little point in denying it. ‘Yes, I guess you do.’
He laughed, softly and openly, his breath curling warm against her face as his thumbs gently traced the line of her collarbone, almost hypnotising her. The flesh tingled under his touch. Alex felt her eyelids flutter. Oh, God! He hadn’t forgotten how to make her feel good, just as her body hadn’t forgotten how to respond to his.
‘But why, Alexandra, should I make you nervous? I am just a man. A man who, after all, you know—intimately.’
Something about the way he spoke made her look at him—really look at him. Why was he doing this to her? She willed her body not to be carried away by his touch, but that same body seemed intent on ignoring her. After all, this was just what she’d dreamed of, night after lonely night—being with Nick, enjoying his touch. Now her dreams had become reality, at least in part, and it was so hard to deny herself that for which she’d yearned so long.
Only she had to. Her lips felt desperate for moisture as she finally spoke.
‘That was a long time ago. It’s ancient history now.’
‘Maybe. But sometimes the past can pave the way for the future. We were once good together. Is there any reason why we shouldn’t be again—at least until I leave?’
‘What?’
She dropped a shoulder and twisted out of his reach before he could react.
For just one moment his words had brought her an unexpected pleasure. For just one moment it had seemed he might still harbour some feelings for her.
In the next moment he’d shattered the illusion. ‘Just what are you suggesting?’
He shrugged and leaned himself back against the cupboards, crossing his ankles, his hands resting on the bench behind. The relaxed position belied the expression on his face. His jaw was set and his eyes looked more calculating than ever.
‘Simply that we fit together well—you know that. Why shouldn’t we seek pleasure in each other? There’s little enough to be found elsewhere in this world.’
‘You expect me to sleep with you while you’re here?’
He looked over at her, his lips tilted at one corner, his dark eyes resolute as he pushed himself away from the bench and took two paces towards her.
Instinctively her feet edged back.
‘No, Alexandra. You have the wrong idea entirely. I don’t expect you to sleep with me. I want you awake, very much awake. I don’t expect we should get very much sleep at all.’
Alex could only swallow as he moved a step closer, and then another, forcing her back against the small under-counter refrigerator. Only then did he stop—right in front of her.
‘After all,’ he continued, ‘it’s not as if you are a virgin, as I can attest. You’re not married, and you’ve obviously had other partners. Sofia told me of your child. You expect me to believe that was the result of immaculate conception?’
Hot, angry tears pricked her eyes. Even if he didn’t know that the child he referred to was his, there was no excuse for speaking to her that way. ‘And that makes it okay, then, does it? I should be only too willing to fall into your bed?’
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Trish Morey
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: He′s the father of her child…Alexandra Hammond leaves Crete secretly pregnant with her Greek lover′s baby! She′ll always remember Nick Santos′s steamy lovemaking, as she makes a new life for herself and their son in Australia….And now he′s her boss!Brought to Sydney by business, Nick′s now a ruthless tycoon. But working with Alexandra reawakens their passion. She knows she can′t keep their son hidden for much longer–what will Nick do when he finds out…?