Page 11 of His Forgotten Wife
She had no doubt that she was going to run interference between them and Ares himself, on top of clearing up the mess between them. Which meant she had her work cut out for her.
“I’m aware of that, Mr. Demetrius,” she said, moving up one step so that the man didn’t look down on her. Ares might not use his size and glare to intimidate his employees—his cold detachment was enough for that—but she had met enough corporate bosses to know of the technique.
“Think of me as another cog in his recovery. As you must know, he’s already restless. My being here will help—”
“He has his family to look after him.”
“Ares summoned me here precisely because he needs me.”
“It doesn’t look like he has any need of you, Ms. Singh. At least not from where I stand.”
Dolly turned to look in the direction he pointed. Her eyes widened at finding Ares laughing and slow dancing with a stunning brunette. Apparently, all his numerous social hang-ups and personal space tics didn’t come into play with this particular woman, because she had her arms wrapped around his back, and his own clung to her waist.
Even the sight of him dancing with this woman couldn’t dampen the overwhelming surge of relief that flooded Dahlia.She greedily scanned the wide breadth of his shoulders and the top of his head—his wavy hair was cropped at the sides like he preferred.
And his profile…with his sharp nose and square jaw and high forehead, it felt as familiar as her own, and yet also…somehow, amidst this new setting and new people, also foreign.
She pressed her palm into the fabric of her trousers, fighting the urge to storm across the courtyard and trace those features with her fingers.
Tears prickled behind her eyelids and she took a deep breath to push them back in. The last thing she needed was to betray her confounding emotions to antagonistic strangers. Nor would Ares welcome her sentimental floundering. The man was lethally allergic to displays of emotion, public or otherwise.
“You see, Ms. Singh, my son is happy and relaxed, surrounded by friends and family. He has spent way too many years away from us. Now he is back where he belongs.”
As if aware of her scrutiny, Ares looked up.
His mouth curving, his eyes twinkling, he looked like a different version of himself. A version Dolly had never met and she suddenly wondered if his father was right. If Ares was planning to make his return home permanent.
That’s good for you, that rational voice whispered.You want out of his life, remember?
Her boss’s smile dimmed, just the slightest bit, at the sight of her, though he didn’t loosen his hold on the woman or even stop their slow dance. But those penetrating eyes of his…ate her up with that intensity she understood.
Her skin tingled as she stood rooted there, feeling like a pinned butterfly all over again. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and she was vaguely aware of the senior Demetrius talking at her. Offering to put her on a plane back home immediately. Warning her in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t needed here.
The rational, surviving part of her wanted to take him up on the offer. Maybe even confide in him the ridiculous contract she and Ares had signed and beg him to have it nullified somehow. If anyone could clear up that particular mess, this man could.
Then she could simply walk out of here and never look back, could permanently put Ares out of her mind and other places he shouldn’t be. She could start over fresh at some other company, rid herself of this ridiculous attraction to a man who was so out of her sphere, he might as well be from Mars.
One thick brow quirked in Ares’s face, his questioning expression clear from across the distance. Even his slow perambulation of the courtyard stopped. The woman in his arms searched and found Dolly, over her shoulder. A frown tied her shapely brows together.
Sounds and feeling rushed back into Dolly’s head as if she had surfaced from deep under water. She could run away or she could stand by the man who deserved her support at a vulnerable time.
She shook her head, as if to shake off the temporary cowardice, and smiled up at the older man. “Thank you for your generous offer, Mr. Demetrius. But I do believe I have a job to do here. As soon as that is done—” she refused to shiver at the slow anger unfurling in his eyes “—I will be gone.”
CHAPTER THREE
When her arrogant, annoying—how dare he ignore her for two whole hours—ex-boss deigned to approach Dolly, it was past ten. While his grandparents had retired after a short speech and the cutest little dance together, the rest of the family and friends were still partying.
Stifling a yawn, Dolly sank deeper into her chair. She had met far more of his cousins and aunts, and friends of the Demetrius family than she ever cared to.
Somewhere along the long, confusing line of introductions, she had been reduced to “Ares’s attendant.” Which seemed to be an insult aimed at both of them, especially from his half brothers. As if their brother couldn’t function without her constant attendance.
Taking a sip of the chilled ouzo, she gazed out at the hills bathed in the moon’s silver light, the dark silhouettes of olive groves and cypress trees stretching toward the endless sky. In the distance, the Ionian Sea shimmered like liquid obsidian. It was a view she could appreciate all night long. And yet, even amidst the glorious setting, she was aware of the tense undercurrent.
Why Ares had decided to fling her to the sharks, only his labyrinthine mind could know.
But she was tired, a little dizzy thanks to the two glasses of wine she’d downed before she had opted for the ouzo, and wasfeeling surplus to requirements when he finally joined her at the small table tucked all the way at the back of the courtyard.
Suddenly, even the distant mountains standing watch like shadowy guardians over the star-studded night seemed to pale in significance.
