Chapter Seven
The days that followed were a haze of pure sensual bliss.
They rose late, ate breakfast on the terrace and then
explored the beaches and small Mediterranean towns around
the exclusive peninsula of Cap Ferrat.
But Lauren’s favorite place was the stretch of private
beach that nestled below his villa. “I can’t believe you
have this all to yourself.” She stooped and picked up a
shell, frowning as she heard a buzzing from his pocket.
“Aren’t you going to answer your phone?”
“No.” He caught her by the waist and hauled her against
him. “I’m with you.” It was a heady feeling, being wanted by
a man like him.
“You’re so lucky, being the boss. No one can fire you.
What do you do, anyway?”
“I design computer software.”
Lauren pulled a face. “You must be very clever. Computers
hate me.”
Smiling, he tightened his hand on hers. “Lauren,
computers don’t have feelings.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. They’re vengeful. They wait
until you’re doing a really, really important piece of work
and then they gulp it down and you never see it again.”
“It’s always possible to find lost files.”
“Not if you’re me,” Lauren said gloomily. “I’m utterly
rubbish at anything like that.”
He slid his hands into her hair and lowered his mouth to
hers in a teasing kiss.
“But you have remembered the name of every single person
we have met over the past few days and charmed each and
every one of them. My staff think you walk on water and my
finance director wants to marry you after a thirty-second
phone conversation. You are a very special person.”
“Ordinary,” Lauren muttered and he gave a slow smile.
“Not from where I’m standing. That bikini suits you. You
look good in hot pink.”
“The clothes are fantastic.” Still self conscious, Lauren
looked down at herself. “You shouldn’t have bought me so
much stuff.”
“You couldn’t spend the week in your fortune-teller
costume.”
“It wasn’t even mine! The real fortune teller is
obviously much smaller. And I’m sure she’s better at seeing
into the future than I am because I certainly never saw any
of this happening.” Not even in my wildest dreams.
Lauren slid her arms around his neck and then frowned. “Are
you all right? You’ve gone all tense.”
“I’m fine,” he said smoothly. “And it’s lunchtime. Let’s
go and eat.”
She wondered if she should remind him that she had a
flight booked out of Nice airport in less than twenty-four
hours’ time.
He’d said nothing about his plans, had he? But she knew
he couldn’t carry on ignoring his phone and burying himself
in this Mediterranean paradise.
He had a life to lead and so did she.
And their lives didn’t overlap.
As they walked back along the water’s edge, Lauren
glanced over her shoulder, watching as the sea washed away
their footprints. A cloud slid over her happiness and she
shivered. It was as if they’d never stood there—never
kissed. A brief fantasy moment that was already a
memory.
Reality crashed into her mind, sending her dreams
spinning.
There was such a thing as too good to be true, and this
was too good to be true, wasn’t it? Things like this didn’t
happen to people like her.
“Do you know the story of Icarus?”
He glanced at her as they took the path up to the villa.
“Of course. I am Greek. He flew too close to the sun, burnt
his wings and fell to earth.”
The higher you fly, the harder you fall.
Cupping her face in his hands, he lowered his head. “That
isn’t you, Lauren. I’m not going to let you fall.”
“I’ve used up all my holiday. I have a flight booked
tomorrow.”
“I’m not letting you go,” he murmured against her mouth.
“You are going to stay here with me.”
Lauren felt her tummy tumble. She couldn’t stay, could
she? She had a job. On the other hand, was she really going
to give this up?
***
They were eating lunch on the terrace when there was a
sudden noise from inside the villa and a pretty, dark-haired
teenager appeared on the terrace.
“Andros?”
Seeing the immediate tension in his frame, Lauren at
first assumed that this had to be an old girlfriend. Feeling
slightly sick, she put down her drink and stood up.
“Sit down,” Alexandros said quietly, his expression
obscured by sunglasses. “Lauren, this is my sister, Eleni.”
“Your sister?” Shocked to realize that she didn’t even
know he had a sister, Lauren stilled. “Oh.” There were
plenty of reasons why he might not have mentioned his
sister, she reasoned.
Eleni bounced up to Alexandros and poked a finger into
his chest. “So your little plan backfired. You flew all the
way to that party to seduce a fortune teller and she wasn’t
even there.”
Lauren’s mouth dried. “S-seduce a fortune teller?”
“My friend is a fortune teller. I’d invited her to New
York with me.” Oblivious to the impact her words were
having, Eleni was grinning at her brother. “But Andros was
sure she was only interested in my money and to prove his
point he decided he’d make her a better offer. Unfortunately
he never got the chance because she didn’t show up for work
that night. She was already waiting at the airport for me.
So my over-protective big brother had a wasted, boring
evening.”
Alexandros removed his sunglasses with a hand that wasn’t
quite steady. “My evening wasn’t boring.”
Lauren’s mouth was dry and there was a sudden roaring in
her ears. Feeling disconnected, she stood up, her sudden
movement rattling the cups on the table. Despite the heat of
the day, she was suddenly icy cold and the ache inside her
was so acute that she almost gasped.
“Excuse me.” Her voice sounded strained. “I’ll call a
taxi.” And that would wipe out all the extra money she’d
earned working overtime for the ball.
Serves you right, she told herself, for
allowing yourself to get dreams mixed up with reality.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Guilty, Eleni glanced at
her but Lauren was already halfway across the terrace.
Behind her she heard Alexandros explode in a tirade of
angry Greek and she swallowed down the lump in her throat as
she pulled out her mobile phone and dialled the number of a
taxi firm.
“Lauren—” Alexandros stood behind her, his voice
strangely uncertain. “It isn’t how it seems.”
“You’re saying you didn’t invite me to spend the evening
with you because you wanted to prove I was greedy?” She was
shaking so much that the phone slid out of her hand and
crashed onto the floor.
“That is why I invited you to spend the evening.
Initially.” His truthful response shook her and Lauren
retrieved her phone, wondering how it could still be intact
after a collision with a hard surface when her heart, which
hadn’t been dropped, felt as though it had splintered into a
million pieces.
“Tell me one thing. When exactly did you discover I
wasn’t your fortune teller?”
“The first morning.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
“It wasn’t relevant. That wasn’t why I brought you here.”
Lauren wouldn’t let herself listen. She didn’t trust
herself around this man. She’d allowed herself to be drawn
in—to believe and dream. She’d allowed herself to feel.
How was that possible after such a short time? “Sometimes
when something seems too good to be true, it’s because it
is. You can’t buy a future. You can’t buy a
relationship.” Desperately hurt, dying inside, Lauren
unfastened the diamond necklace and pushed it into his hand.
“It wasn’t dreams, diamonds or desire, Andros. It was
despicable.”