The Greek Tycoon's Tarnished Bride (Men of the Zodiac) (4 page)

He hesitated for a moment and then nodded before striding quickly back. Once back inside, he shook the raindrops from his hair.

She swallowed and looked down at the photograph he had left with her. “I only have a few pictures of Yannis, from when we met on holiday, that
’
s all.”

“There are many more back in Greece.” He ran the flat of his palms down the sides of his face to dry it. “Nick will have plenty of history about his father when he
’
s older.”

She felt winded at the sight of her dead lover. “You both look so young here. And you
’
re in uniform
…”

“We saw out our military service together. He was nineteen there.”

“You still have conscription in Greece?”

He nodded and more raindrops fell from his hair onto his collar. “Yes, all men between nineteen and forty-five have to do a few months.”

“So that would include Nick?”

He shrugged. “A lot will change in the seventeen plus years before Nick will to have to worry about that.”

“It
’
s like something out of the dark ages.” Erica handed back the photograph. She felt sick. “
But let’
s talk while Nick isn
’
t here in case I feel the need to shout at you. And I think there
’
s a high chance of that. I have to get him in thirty minutes, so I
’
m sure we can settle a few things in that time.”

“Good. That
’
s very—”

“Very what? There are no words to describe this situation really, are there?” She turned away and filled a kettle at the sink. “Have you had breakfast?”

“No, but it
’
s not a problem. I
’
ll get something later. Or I could send out for something. I saw a café round the corner.”

“You
’
re okay. I have food in the house, which may come as a surprise.” She set the kettle on to boil and then walked two steps into the room to flick the gas heater on, glad she hadn
’
t been caught out by her offer of food. “I know you think I
’
m a cheap slut, but I only work at the club when things get really tight financially.”

He shivered, raindrops dripped from the black fabric of his coat onto her worn carpet. “Is that often?”

She returned to the small worktop area between an old fridge and a two ring electric hob. “More often than I
’
d like, but I have bills to pay, especially after the winter we
’
ve just had. And are still having. Coffee?” She waved a spoon over the jar, and he nodded. “I have to pay the club to let me work there, you know, they don
’
t employ me. I make my money from tips.”

“So why do it? Why not get a part-time job doing something else?”

“Because it pays better than anything else I can do part-time. Let
’
s face it, my landlord takes days to respond to problems in this place, so if I have to pay an emergency plumber or an electrician they
’
ll charge me at least fifty quid for thirty minutes. I have to earn what I need to pay out somehow. And the hours are flexible, even if they
’
re not sociable.”

He didn
’
t look convinced. “It
’
s far from ideal.” He took the mug she held out to him and folded his large hands around it. “Listen, I know you hate the idea, but you could break this cycle of poverty even if it
’
s just for you, in your lifetime, for your child.”

She shook her head because she didn
’
t want to hear it, whatever it was. Being in denial was so much easier. “It
’
s not that easy.”

“It was never going to be easy. My suggestion—I know you don
’
t like it—but it
’
s the only possible solution I can see.” He took a step closer, putting his coffee mug down on the table as he did. “It would work for all three of us, you, me, and Nick.”

“Well, you will have gathered by now that I
’
m not handing over my son however rich it will make him. But marriage…” She threw her head back and laughed sadly. “That is an insane idea. Surely you marrying an English woman of allegedly loose morals with no money or connections is going to make things a whole lot more complicated.”

“Not for you.”

T
ito rocked back on his heels. He hadn
’
t expected her immediate agreement. He couldn
’
t be sure exactly when the idea for Plan B—marriage—had occurred to him in that tatty, claustrophobic flat, but the more his brain analyzed the notion, the more feasible a solution it seemed.

“It
’
s a ridiculous plan, what you
’
re asking me to do.” There was a telltale catch in her voice. “And just for the sake of money…I wish things were different, that I could turn the clock back. But I can
’
t just give him up and hand him over because that would be unthinkable, and I seriously don
’
t think Nick will thank me for it by the time he is a man.” She took a hasty swig of coffee and it was still too hot, making her cough and her eyes water.

“Are you okay?”

“Coffee is too hot.” She sniffed belligerently. “I
’
m not crying, if that
’
s what you think.”

He frowned. “He might thank you for it when he
’
s mature enough to get over the fact that his mother gave him away to secure a privileged future. Alternatively, if you keep him here in poverty, and he finds out what you
didn
’
t
do for him when he was small, he may be resentful for his entire life afterward.” He looked down at the ugly, spiral-patterned orange and brown carpet. “There are no guarantees that he will love you in either scenario.”

“You have no idea what it
’
s like to have a parent that doesn
’
t care if you live or die. Unfortunately, I do.”

He clenched his jaw before continuing. “So, as I said, there is a solution.”

She stared at him with those pale blue eyes as if he was a maniac, clearly not thinking in the same rational way as him. “Well, I might have considered marrying Yannis, but not
this
! Not you.”

“Because you were in love with Yannis?” He tried not to be insulted that she thought marrying him would be so preposterous, that he wasn
’
t good enough for her to even consider the possibility.

“Listen, we had a week-long holiday fling in Majorca. I liked him a lot, and we had a lot of sex. Accidents happen. There
’
s no such thing as love at first sight, or even love in seven days, so no, I didn
’
t love him.”

“Accidents? Are you sure it was an accident?”

Her jaw dropped, and he caught a glimpse of her pink tongue, the tongue that had been so suggestive and inviting in the club. “Are you suggesting I got pregnant deliberately?”

“
Women do.
”

“Well, not me! I had just discovered what freedom and living was all about, life was good. And then it all stopped.”

He glanced around the tiny apartment again, noting how cramped everything was and how uncomfortable he felt being in it. Having a baby here, on her own would be hard. “But you decided to keep an unwanted baby?”

“An unplanned baby. An unexpected baby. Maybe it was my fate for it to happen and the alternatives were unthinkable. I loved my child from the moment I did the pregnancy test.” She straightened her neck and looked him so hard in the eye it made him blink. “I can
’
t put my hand on my heart and say I loved Yannis, but that doesn
’
t mean I
’
m not gutted that the father of my child is dead.”

He snatched his gaze way before he showed any sign of weakness. “I miss him too.”

“Yes. As you said, this isn
’
t just about me. Sorry.” He heard her sigh and it sounded kind of apologetic. Her tone softened. “Do you want to take that coat off and sit down?”

He shook his head. “It
’
s freezing here. I
’
ve not acclimatized to your English chill.” She could make what she wanted of that remark.

Her neat fingers clawed gently at the back of the brown velour sofa, like a cat with long electric blue fingernails. “Not much I can do about that.”

“Look, marry me and all your problems will disappear in an instant, and
together
we can make sure Nick has the best possible life and future.” He leaned forward and made a gesture with his hands like he was offering her a palm full of grain. “You will have access to everything your heart could desire as long as you don
’
t embarrass me or bring the Frangos or Makris names into disrepute.”

“And how would I do that?” Her eyes narrowed. “By pole dancing? Too late for that, darling.”

His hands dropped to his sides, and he stepped towards the window. “You
’
ll need to quit those jobs immediately.”

“I told you earlier, I
’
m self-employed,” she said to his back.

He bit his tongue for a second as he stared through the glass. He could be just as obtuse as her, and he would win this game of words. “Then you don
’
t even need to give notice,” he said with a stab of sarcasm and turned his head to look at her. “Excellent.”

Her expression was petulant, soft rose-petal lips trembling, presumably with anger. “So, I appear to get everything. Apart from my dignity.”

He pressed his advantage quickly. “You said you would die for your son. A marriage of convenience would achieve more and be much less painful. Or permanent.”

She was silent for a moment, and he saw the movement of her long, slender throat as she swallowed. Hopefully it was her pride going down there. “So what
’
s in it for you?”

“I fulfill my promise to Yannis and get to antagonize my mother without having to seek out a totally unsuitable wife myself.”

An incredulous smile lit up her face. “You want an unsuitable wife to antagonize your mother? Hell
’
s bells, you know how to make a woman feel good.”

“Whatever,” he quipped as coldly as he could. “But there
’
s not a single negative in this for you.”

Her eyes widened, and her arms visibly tightened under the full breasts he had last seen spilling over red satin bra cups. She wasn
’
t wearing a bra now and they were even more enticing, a distraction he could do without at this stage of negotiation. “What about my freedom?” she said fiercely. “My education?”

“Being my wife won
’
t make you any more of a slave than you are now. You can study anything you want at my expense. I
’
m offering you a chance to change your life entirely.” He could see she was holding her breath. He had her interest. “This won
’
t ever happen to you again so please don
’
t insult me by attempting to bargain.”

“
I don’
t know…you could still be a complete fraud.”

“I am not a con man. It will take a week to get Nick his first passport during which time I will give you all the proof you need. I assume he doesn
’
t have travel documents already?”

She shook her head and a strand of wet hair fell over her face. “Actually, he does. I had it done just in case…in case Yannis did get back in touch and wanted us to join him or something.”

“Then that
’
s good news. We can get things moving a lot faster.”

“Whoa there, slow down. You don
’
t even know if he
’
s the genuine article yet.”

He needed to get a hook into her, gain her trust and then reel her in. “I
’
m not in much doubt about Nick
’
s parentage in the circumstances.”

“Really?”

“Really. I came to you, remember? But a DNA test is a necessary procedure. For the legalities.”

She frowned, and her delicate eyelids lowered for a moment. “Because we weren
’
t married, yes, I get it.”

“It
’
s simple and painless, don
’
t worry, but I do need to meet him to do it.”

“I haven
’
t agreed to any of this, so don
’
t get too excited. I
’
m a UK citizen so you can
’
t force me to do anything I don
’
t want to.”

She bit down on her lower lip, and an unexpected kick of lust hit him in the groin. “Nothing is settled, and I really don
’
t want to go to Greece, I do hope that
’
s clear.”

“There is no need for any kind of force, and that really isn
’
t my style at all.” He nodded towards the rain-lashed window showcasing a vision of gray outside. “Greece is lovely. Lots of sunshine. You
’
ll change your mind once you get there.”

“You
’
re not listening to me, and I
’
m not in the mood for jokes,” she said and tossed her mug into the sink with a clatter. “Drink your coffee while I get dressed. I need to fetch Nick soon, so I suppose you can come along too seeing as you
’
ve come all this way…”

“Thank you, but,” he leaned over and took her lightly by the wrist, “while you
’
re gone there
’
s another factor you need to seriously consider.”

Erica pulled her hand sharply away. “What?”

“The Greek authorities still don
’
t know why or who planted the bomb that killed Yannis, so Nick could be in danger.”

She paled. “Are you suggesting there are people out there who would kill a
baby
?”

He was about to strike gold. “
Murder, kidnap, abduction
…there are people who will stop at nothing when there are large sums of money involved or vengeance to be had. Dark forces are everywhere.”