Page 50 of Reunited By the Greek's Baby

Isla would have to run the gauntlet of the press every day simply because they were together. Even if they weren’t together and she tried to live anormallife away from him there’d be paparazzi following her and their child.

He walked onto the terrace.

Instantly she turned, as if sensing his presence. He liked the way she seemed attuned to him. Maybe it was a residue of last night’s intimacy. Would it survive what was to come?

‘Your meeting went well?’

‘As well as could be expected.’ Seeing her raised eyebrows, he went on. ‘Business hasn’t been straightforward since my arrest. The company is sound but my reputation dived and that had a flow-on effect.’

‘Surely with your release that’s over, even if Spiro Stavroulis is still pestering you.’

Theo went to take a chair beside her then changed his mind. He thought more clearly with some distance. Instead he closed his hands around the balustrade of the glass railing and looked across the city to the shimmering sea.

‘Despite its size, Karalis Enterprises is essentially a family company and has been for generations. The name and the family are at the heart of its success. My father and his father before him were good men, sound in business and honest. The character of the CEO plays a huge part in how the company is viewed. Several major contracts and new investments were scheduled for the last couple of months and now...’ Theo shrugged.

‘That’s so unfair.’

Her chair scraped then Isla was beside him. He felt her gaze, just as he did every time she looked at him. It was something he’d experienced with no one else and made him frown.

‘Don’t worry, I’m working through it. Things will be well in the long term. I’ll still be able to provide for you and our baby.’

She turned away, planting her smaller hands on the balustrade and like him, staring out at the view instead of at him. ‘That’s not what I meant!’

Theo knew it wasn’t but it was easier to focus on what needed to be done, instead of carrying her back to bed, if he kept a little distance between them.

His mouth rucked up in a bitter smile. Who was he kidding? Even when she was annoyed with him he had trouble thinking straight around her.

‘Of course not. I know you’re not here for my money.’ A mirthless laugh escaped. He almost wished she were because then it would be easier to bind her and their child to him and a life in Greece.

‘But there’s something else I need to speak with you about. Something important.’ He dragged his phone from his pocket. ‘Last night we were photographed returning from the restaurant.’

‘I don’t understand.’

Of course she didn’t. Isla’s life was as sheltered from the press as his had been until his mother married into the Karalis family. Even then Theo hadn’t been bothered much until he was working in the company and old enough to feature in those stupid lists of sexiest or wealthiest men.

He found the photo that had started this morning’s media furore yet he didn’t immediately hand her the phone. Looking into her misty blue eyes Theo felt a pang of regret at how her life changed now because of him. He couldn’t prevent that. In fact he was about to escalate it, to get the worst over with as quickly as possible. And show her they needed to be together. Yet part of him wished he could secrete her away in some private paradise and keep her just for himself.

‘Theo, what’s so bad about a photo?’

He passed the phone to her and watched her eyes grow round.

‘But this isn’t even a Greek media outlet. This is British.’

‘We made the news through Europe, North America, Asia and beyond.’

She bit her lip as she read the speculation about her relationship with the multibillionaire so recently arrested for murder. The piece made him sound dangerous while Isla was portrayed alternatively as an unaware innocent or a gold digger who didn’t care about her lover’s morals.

‘That’s libel!’ Her horrified face turned to him.

‘I suspect they’ve stayed just this side of libel.’

‘What are you going to do? You can’t let them print such lies about you.’

Theo blinked then took her hands in his. Her first thought wasn’t for her reputation but his. That knowledge was a glowing, precious kernel deep in his chest. Proof that, despite her misgivings, they could move forward to build a strong relationship worthy of their child.

She cares for you.

Just as he’d believed when she visited the prison.

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