Page 38 of Below Deck Billionaire
‘I get it, you have your objections and you’re allowed.’
‘Why thank you,’ she muttered sarcastically.
‘But can we just cut to the chase here? As I’ve already said, Ari and I are just trying to save the man’s company from ruin, even if he does act like he’s holding all the damn cards. This deal was on the hook and my last appearance in the tabloids ruined it. So I’m trying to fix it and I can’t think of a more definitive way of demonstrating I’m a reformed man than by producing a fiancée.’
Tiffany supposed there was some warped kind of sense to it on paper, but that didn’t explain why Dimitri Kouris gave a rat’s ass about Theo’s well-publicised sex life.
‘I don’t get it? Why does he care about you being reformed?’
Watching the sudden guardedness of Theo’s expression put an itch up Tiffany’s spine. These two men definitely had history. And, for a moment, as the angle of his jaw blanched white, she thought Theo wasn’t going to answer. Then he sighed and turned around to face the windows, giving her his back as he looked out over the bow of the boat.
‘There was this girl. Back in the day.’
Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. ‘Okay.’
‘Angelika Konstantinides.’
‘Okay.’
Her anger tempering a little, Tiffany crossed to stand beside him but kept some distance. He obviously didn’t talk about whatever had happened very much, and she wanted to see his eyes as he did. Turning around, she leaned her ass against the console, making it easier to see Theo’s face without getting a crick in her neck.
Glancing at her briefly, he returned his gaze to the windows. ‘Growing up, our families were close,’ he began. ‘We lived in the same neighbourhood, we socialised with them, we went on ski holidays and joint family road trips with them. We even all went to Australia once, when we were eleven. For New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour.’
Tiffany suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the utter decadence of that. It wasn’t Theo’s fault he’d been born into the lap of luxury.
‘Our fathers did business occasionally.’
‘He’s in shipping as well?’
‘No.’ Theo shook his head. ‘The family owns the Eros hotel chain.’
‘Ah.’ Tiffany blinked at the name drop. Very posh.
‘Angelika and I are the same age. We went to the same schools, we hung out with the same people, went to the same parties. We were good friends. The first time I ever got drunk on ouzo was with Angelika.’
A smile softened the serious lines of his face. It was clearly a fond memory, and Tiffany was shocked by a sudden visceral surge of jealousy rising like hot bile.
What the hell?
Jealousy? She had no claim on Theo and even if she had, this girl was from his past. His distant past.
‘She was great. Sheisgreat,’ he corrected, frowning at his slip. ‘Our parents always used to joke that we’d end up married and we laughed about it together because they weren’t that subtle at times. We’d roll our eyes at their matchmaking and ponder how old we’d be before they gave up on the whole idea. Sometimes, when we knew they were watching, we’d hold hands and whisper to each other just to yank their chains because it was so ridiculous.’
Tiffany had a bad feeling she knew where this was going. ‘Was it though?’
‘Yes.’ For the first time since he’d started talking about it, he met her gaze. ‘It was Angelika. She was like my sister. We even used each other for cover. Going out together somewhere because we knew our parents would let us, but splitting up to be with friends or even dates with other people we knew our parents wouldn’t approve of. And then…’
Theo’s gaze shifted back to the glass, the bright sunshine highlighting the sudden storm clouds dimming the blue of his eyes. Tiffany waited for him to continue.
‘We went out to this club with a bunch of friends. We’d both just finished school and it was the end of a great summer which we’d pretty much spent together. I was going off to London. She was going to the US. There was drinking and dancing and she and her friends were chatting to some guys, and there was this woman who kept giving me the eye across the room. She was probably twenty years older than me but she didn’t seem to mind, and when she slid up and asked me if I wanted to have some fun, I sure as hell didn’t mind.’
‘But…’ Tiffany quirked an eyebrow. ‘Angelika minded?’
‘I don’t know, it never occurred to me to check.’ The exasperation in his voice backed up his statement. ‘I just took her hand and we slipped out into the alley at the back and we’ – he side-eyed her briefly – ‘did our thing.’
‘And Angelika followed?’
‘God, no.’ He grimaced. ‘But there were some paps at the club because it was popular with celebrities and they’d photographed Angelika and me going in holding hands, and when this woman and I became aware of our surroundings again, there were two paps at the end of the alley with cameras, snapping away.’
