Page 57 of Undercover Billionaire

Playful caresses turning into hot making-out sessions. Making out morphing into frantic joining when the fever grew too big and fierce and a desperate kind of urgency incinerated the slow laziness of the day.

He’d been an idiot with Kelsey. He should never have crossed that line. He should have taken his wallet and shut the door. Or at least manned up and been honest.

Because he was no better than her embezzling ex who had lied to her, stolen from her and then skipped town. She’d taken a leap of faith trusting Ari and he’d gone and done the same thing her ex had done.

He’d lied.

And he loathed himself and what he’d done, which only made the guilt he’d felt since his return even more acute.

Oh my God. I’m transition woman.

Those words still haunted him. He didn’t know what the hell he’d been doing with Kelsey but she wasnottransition woman. He’d cop to being a hypocrite over his fraternisation recommendations – God knew he’d felt like the lowest kind of slug writing them – but he wouldn’t cop to using her as some kind ofplace holderfor some other future woman.

Nor had she been a way to forget his wife. Kelsey had been Kelsey. She’d been fun and bright and happy. She’d been generous and giving. And he’d been intoher– even when he hadn’t wanted to be.

He’dcaredabout her. He still did.

Although God knew what he’d been thinking at that moment he’d implored her to stay. It must have soundedinsane. But he hadn’t been able to bear the thought of her walking away. Of another woman he cared for leaving him.

He didn’t…loveKelsey because that would be impossible. He’d had his one great love in life. The end. Full stop. But… he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her either.

If shehadbeen transition woman as she’d accused, surely forgetting her would be simple? Surely he wouldn’t be picking up the phone a dozen times a day to get the ball rolling on tracking her down.

Because he had.

But then her ‘you stay on your side of the world and I’ll stay on mine’ would slap him in the face and he’d put the phone down.

Was it so wrong to want to check on her? She’d quit her job, which had been a shock, and he’d been worrying whether or not she’d been able to buy that cottage. Had she found another job? And if so, where? He knew she hadn’t requested a reference from anyone at Oceanós, because he’d asked.

Did a guy dothatwith transition woman?

‘Ari.’

A hand clapped on his back and Ari shot a ghost of a smile at his brother. ‘Theo.’

‘What are you doing all the way over here when three women with their tongues hanging out await your presence in the pool?’

They were speaking in Greek but his brother still managed to sound like a totalkavliaris –horn dog – in all four of the languages that could slip off his tongue, smooth as cream. Theo always came to Mykonos with house guests because apparently the entire Callisthenes clan crowding in on the terrace wasn’t enough.

‘One day some woman is going to bring you to your knees and I hope I’m around to see it.’

Theo threw back his head and laughed. ‘Hello, my name is Theo Callisthenes, perhaps we haven’t met before?’

Ari shook his head in mock disgust. He knew Theo, in his own emotionally inept way, was just trying to keep Ari together, keep him putting one foot in front of the other. He knew his brother loved him and had been his biggest champion and feistiest protector in the aftermath of Talia’s death.

But they were very different, he and Theo. Ari had never been a guy who could just move on to the next woman.

‘Theodorus.’

The tinkly, sing-songy voice coming from the pool drifted to them on the breeze and Ari was grateful for the interruption from the blonde. ‘You’re wanted,’ he said.

Theo grinned. ‘Always man, always.’ He clapped his brother on the back. ‘Join us.’

‘Maybe later.’

Theo departed and Ari turned back to the view and his thoughts. Kelseyhadn’tbeen transition woman. If she had, and if Ari had been a different kind of guy, he’d be all over the single women frolicking in the pool at the moment. But none of them held his interest.

Only Kelsey.

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