Page 53 of Reunited By the Greek's Baby

He blinked and saw they were still beside the limo. The shouts had reached fever pitch. ‘Let them have their photos. They’ll bother us less later.’

Except they’d probably clamour even harder for photos of this stunning woman.

Then he noticed the goosebumps on her arms and led her forward, keeping her close for warmth but also in unmistakeable possessiveness. He urged her into the prestigious museum and instantly the decibels dropped.

‘I should have insisted you wear a coat.’

‘And spoil the impact of the dress?’ She shook her head. ‘It’s the only time I’ve had a chance to wear anything so gorgeous. I wasn’t going to hide it. Besides, it’s warm enough in here.’

Not surprising as the huge entry space was filled with the great and the good not only of Athens but from across Europe and beyond. The opening of the new wing was a huge event, years in the planning.

Their arrival caused a ripple of reaction. He saw it like a wave on an otherwise still sea, heads turning, conversations breaking off and beginning again in whispers.

Theo should be used to it yet it still angered him that there were people willing to believe the worst, despite proven facts. Even the evidence that proved he wasn’t on the stairs where Spiro Stavroulis had died seemed to have little impact.

Theo stood taller, shoulders back. He sensed Isla glance up at him. This time it was her hand squeezing his. He jerked his gaze away from the crowd, surprised to discover what looked like sympathy in hers. He knew she’d been nervous, even annoyed at finding herself in the eye of a media storm. Now she looked at him with an expression that spoke of warmth and understanding.

‘Theo! I’m so glad you could make it.’

He turned to see a familiar smiling face. Not only one but several. There were handshakes and warm greetings as he introduced Isla to the museum’s director and his wife, to the head of the nation’s archaeology service and the government minister who’d got this major expansion funded.

After that the event went smoothly, though Theo had to reiterate his refusal not to make a speech. Karalis money might have contributed substantially to the project but he wasn’t in the mood for public addresses, despite what his PR team advised. He was here tonight for Isla, giving her a taste of what she could expect but limiting her exposure to the prying public. He wouldn’t leave her alone to take the limelight on the podium.

Theo set himself to circulate, to introduce her to some of the more interesting guests and make the evening easier for her. They’d met politicians and business leaders, socialites and academics and Isla held her own. Even with a sharp-tongued doyenne of Athenian society who he knew still intimidated his mother. He’d been ready to step in, but Isla handled her perfectly with quiet dignity and honesty. She refused to be bullied, instead responding with questions of her own till the old woman laughed and announced she was a refreshing change from the usual thoughtless girls she met.Thatset people gossiping, but in a good way.

Yet Theo sensed the effort it took for Isla to keep her poise. This wasn’t her milieu. But when they met a knot of archaeologists and historians she was in her element, listening avidly as they discussed the exhibits.

They were leaving when disaster threatened. The crowd before them parted and there was Stavroulis, eyes blazing retribution.

Theo’s instinct was to lead Isla away before the old man launched another venomous attack. But to turn away would be to insult the grieving man and Theo couldn’t do that. Despite the hurt he’d inflicted, Stavroulis suffered.

But Theo did pull her protectively against his side as he approached the other man. The crowd around them hushed and he felt the expectation as a ripple of excitement.

He nodded. ‘Stavroulis.’ Then he turned. ‘Isla, I’d like you to meet Spiro Stavroulis.’ When he looked back at the other man it was like looking into a mask, so tightly did he hold in his feelings. ‘This is Isla Jacobs, from England.’

Stavroulis’s eyes flashed. Would he scream an insult at Theo or storm away without a word? Before he could do either Isla spoke. Not only that but she moved out of Theo’s embrace and right up to the old man.

‘I heard about your grandson.’ The drop of a pin would have been loud in the silence. ‘What a terrible thing. I’m so sorry for your loss.’

Theo’s heart hammered a staccato beat as he stepped up beside her, muscles tensing, ready to intervene if necessary. He’d visited the man to offer his condolences, only to have them violently spurned. He wouldn’t allow Stavroulis to try that with Isla.

But after a pregnant silence during which Theo noticed more than one phone raised to capture the moment, Stavroulis inclined his head in a stiff bow and thanked her. He even added that it was a pleasure to meet her before spinning on his heel and marching away.

Isla was silent on the way home, ignoring the paparazzi and the security team who cleared the way.

No wonder she was preoccupied. The evening hadn’t gone as he’d planned. It had backfired, with Isla in the firing line.

‘That was awful,’ she said as they entered the sitting room, confirming his thoughts.

She shivered and hugged her arms around herself and Theo hated that he’d been responsible for that. He strode across to get them drinks. She wasn’t drinking alcohol but he needed something to do, pouring her a soft drink then a brandy for himself that he knocked back in one swallow. It was sacrilege to treat the fine spirit that way, but he welcomed its burn.

‘I apologise. I should have checked if he’d be there tonight. He so rarely goes to such events I didn’t consider the possibility that he’d confront us. Are you okay?’

‘Me?It’syouI’m thinking of. How dare so many of them treat you like that, when you’ve done nothing wrong?’

Theo stared, his brain playing catch-up with her words. Isla was annoyed on his behalf?

‘As for the way they watched you, and that man...’ She shook her head. ‘It makes me sick.’

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