Page 10 of Reunited By the Greek's Baby

What had changed her? Was it all down to him?

Isla met that hooded stare and felt a rush of all those emotions she’d tried to lock away. Regret, longing, anger, despair.

And happiness. A sneaking burst of happiness that should be impossible but which shimmered in her blood like sunshine on water.

Even with his hair plastered to his head and his expression as dour as a thundercloud, Theo Karalis affected her as no other man did.

She’d told herself he hadn’t meant it when he’d said he’d see her after work. But part of her had known he’d be here.

He was no longer the light-hearted lover she’d fallen for. She’d always sensed a core of something solid in Theo, deep and strong. Maybe that was what had drawn her. That and the slow-dawning smile and superb body...

Now that fun-loving gloss had worn thin to reveal another man.

Not surprising given what he’d been through. For a second the impulse to touch him, to reassure herself that he was okay, overwhelmed her. But she overcame it.

He didn’t want her sympathy. She should save that for herself. This was going to be tough.

Isla drew a slow breath. ‘Shall we go?’

He gestured towards the dark car, its back door held open by a man she didn’t know. ‘After you.’

The trip was short and silent. Theo introduced her to his driver, a burly man with watchful eyes, then subsided into silence.

Isla had had all day to decide what she’d say if he appeared again and still she didn’t know.

It was his fault. He’d rejected her in Athens and her one attempt to contact him since had made him threaten her with a charge of harassment. She’d given up thinking it possible to talk with Theo Karalis. If his dismissal weren’t bad enough, trying to intimidate her with his power was worse.

Isla’s mouth tightened as she led the way upstairs and unlocked her flat. She didn’t look at him as she hung up her coat and took her umbrella to the bathroom to dry.

When she returned and saw him in her tiny sitting room her heart almost failed.

With the overhead light spilling over his dark, wet hair she had a moment’s terrible deja vu. To those glorious days in Greece, swimming in a secluded cove far from both locals and tourists. Theo always found the perfect places for picnics and making love.

Pain zigzagged through her, ripping the paper-thin defences she’d built so laboriously against Theo Karalis. She blinked in horror as her throat thickened and the back of her nose prickled.

She refused to think of those times. Better to remember the cold waiting room at the prison. Signing the paper that had shattered her last hope that he felt anything real for her. Then there was his threat to have her arrested.

‘Here.’ Her voice was brusque as she shoved a towel at him. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’

Theo’s hand skimmed hers as he took the towel and sensation shot up her arm, so powerful it verged on pain. It had to be pain. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about.

Yet she couldn’t prevent her gaze lingering over his impressive form. He’d taken off the cashmere coat to reveal a dark suit. But instead of looking like another city worker, Theo Karalis was in a league of his own. It was more than the superb tailoring of what she guessed was a bespoke suit. It was that tall, athletic body and the casual confidence of a man supremely comfortable in his own skin.

Once she’d found that incredibly attractive, the sense Theo had nothing to prove to anyone. She’d been drawn by his strength as much as his interest in her, so flatteringly intense.

Face it. You were blinded by his charisma and the way he looked at you as if no one else existed.

Now she knew his confidence was the arrogance of an ultra-rich, privileged man, used to getting what he wanted. Including women foolish enough to be taken in by his charm.

Isla turned away, grateful for the routine of making tea. Theo’s preferred tipple was Greek coffee, strong and aromatic, but she had none and she wouldn’t apologise for that.

She kept her back to the living area, buying time. But she was aware of him moving about the room. Her nape tingled and she knew he watched her as he prowled the small space.

What did he think of her tiny flat with its second-hand furniture? It was quiet, clean and most importantly cheap.

It was bigger than the single room she’d rented near the dig in Greece but smaller than the old house she’d shared with Theo those last weeks.

Her pulse faltered, remembering. That place stood alone, around a rocky point from the village. It had felt like paradise with the aquamarine shallows outside the front door and the gnarled olive trees rising up the slope behind.

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