The Mediterranean Tycoon

by Margaret Mayo

  ‘You haven’t forgotten our dinner date tonight?’ he asked, pausing as he speared a slice of sausage.

  ‘Of course not.’ She glanced again at Andreas and his eyes were on her now. ‘Why don’t you join us, Andreas?’ she suggested, half joking, half serious.

  ‘And tread on my brother’s toes?’ he asked lightly. ‘You know what they say about three being a crowd.’

  Christos had frowned when she extended the invitation, now he gave a relieved smile. ‘Let Andreas find his own girl,’ he said. ‘I’ve never known him to be short. It’s about time, brother dear, that you married again. It’s wrong for Nikos to keep having nannies. Although,’ he added, looking disarmingly at Peta, ‘if they’re all like Peta then I can see why you do it. A ready-made source of attractive females on tap. You’ve got it made.’

  ‘You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,’ snapped Andreas, scraping his chair back from the table. ‘I’ll go and see if Nikos is ready.’ The boys were eating their breakfast in the kitchen, and even though Peta had declared that her place was with them Andreas had insisted that she join him and his brother.

  After Andreas had left the room Christos raised his brows. ‘What was that all about? He’s one seriously touchy man since his return.’

  Peta shrugged. She didn’t want to get into a discussion about his brother.

  ‘Are you sure there’s nothing between you and him? He seems very prickly where you’re concerned.’

  ‘Absolutely nothing,’ she retorted. ‘He’s my employer, that’s all.’

  Christos raised his brows but said no more, although it was clear that he didn’t entirely believe her, and she couldn’t blame him. She’d been a little too vehement in her denial. And when she left to check on Ben he said, ‘Is it still on for tonight?’

  ‘Why shouldn’t it be?’ she asked sharply from the doorway.

  ‘No reason; just checking.’

  But when evening came and Andreas watched them leave Peta began to wish that she hadn’t been so eager to accept Christos’s invitation. Andreas knew, and she knew, that she was doing it to spite him, and when she returned she would more than likely be subjected to a full-scale interrogation.

  ‘Are you sure you’re happy about this?’ asked Christos as they set off.

  ‘Perfectly,’ she answered smoothly. Except that inside she was filled with several conflicting emotions. She wanted to do this; she wanted to show Andreas that she didn’t belong to him and that she had no intention of getting involved with him on a long-term basis. At the same time she wanted to prove to herself that she could date other men and be happy about it. She wanted to confirm that she was a free agent. Except that, being in love with Andreas, she would never be that. Not ever again for as long as she lived. It was a daunting thought.

  ‘Because I believe,’ said Christos quietly, ‘that there is something going on between Andreas and yourself. I know you’ve denied it, and my brother won’t even speak about you, but neither of you is doing a very good job of concealing your real feelings.’

  Peta looked at him wide-eyed, an uncomfortable feeling stirring in her stomach. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘That I think you’re in love with each other, but you’re either both too stupid to see it, or you have your own reasons for denying it.’

  The uncomfortable feeling turned into chilling horror. Surely he couldn’t see? ‘Andreas doesn’t love me,’ she scorned.

  ‘You think not?’

  ‘I know not.’

  ‘What makes you so sure?’

  ‘Because of his wife. No one will ever take her place.’

  They stopped at a set of traffic lights and he turned to her. ‘I used to think that, but since he’s met you there’s something very different about him. I think he’s finally let go.’

  Peta’s eyes met and held Christos’s, then she turned away. ‘I can’t accept that,’ she said. ‘He’s never given me any reason to believe that he loves me.’

  ‘My brother is not the sort of man who can talk easily about his emotions.’ The lights changed and they were off again. ‘He can talk on any subject under the sun except love. Some men are like that, Peta. Now, me, I see no reason not to tell a woman that she’s beautiful and I adore her and that I’m falling in love with her.’ He looked briefly across at her as he spoke and Peta felt a twinge of unease. What if he was trying to tell her something? Things were complicated enough without him adding to it.

  ‘So how about you?’ he went on. ‘Do you love Andreas?’

  Peta hesitated a fraction too long before attempting an answer.

  ‘You give yourself away,’ he said on a deep sigh. ‘And I’m sorry, because I’d hoped that I was in with a chance.’

  ‘I’m sorry, too,’ Peta whispered. This whole conversation was extremely painful. ‘Do you still want to take me out to dinner?’

  ‘Of course. Let’s give Andreas something to think about.’ He reached out and touched her hand and Peta smiled. Perhaps this evening wouldn’t be too bad after all.

  Andreas couldn’t relax. In his mind’s eye he kept seeing Peta and Christos walking out of the house together, driving off together, eating dinner in a cosy restaurant, still together. Their conversation would be intimate; Christos would work his charm on her. He was very good at that, his little brother. While Andreas had been building up his business empire Christos had been captivating the girls. It was surprising he’d never married. He’d been forever coming home declaring that he was in love.

  And the instant he’d set eyes on Peta he’d been knocked off his feet. And he, Andreas, had more or less given him carte blanche to do as he liked by refusing to discuss his own feelings. He was a fool. He was his own worst enemy. What if Peta fell hook, line and sinker for Christos? How would he be able to win her over then?

  He paced from room to room, upstairs, downstairs, upstairs, downstairs. He tried to work at his computer but found it impossible. More pacing, more cursing. He had a photograph of Maria in his bedroom and he looked at it for a long, sober minute. God, but she was beautiful. His stomach churned simply looking at her and he felt the prick of tears at the backs of his eyes. She was an exotic beauty with none of Peta’s coyness and delicate English-rose charm. There was a whole world of difference between the two women. And he loved them both!

  As he continued holding the picture and looking into Maria’s sultry brown eyes he felt her speaking to him. He heard her telling him that the time had come to get on with his life, that he could mourn her no longer. And she told him to hurry or he would lose the woman he had now fallen in love with. She’ll be good for you, Andreas, good for you and good for Nikos. Take her with my blessing.

  Take her with Maria’s blessing!

  If it were only so easy. He was afraid. A giant in the business world, a man often feared by others, and he was afraid to tell Peta that he loved her. And the reason why? Because he knew he couldn’t handle it if she said that she didn’t return his love.

  The evening remained endless. Ten o’clock came, ten-thirty, eleven, eleven-thirty, and still no sign of Peta and Christos. Jealousy welled like a dam ready to burst. He knew he ought to go to bed, but he wanted to be here to see their faces, to look for any signs of emotional involvement. He needed to know.

  And what if he did see it? What if he saw the light of love shining from Peta’s eyes? Something he had never seen himself. What if he saw that particular soft radiance a woman had when she’d been well and truly made love to? How would he handle that?

  With stoicism, he told himself. He’d give no hint that he was upset. But, he promised himself, he’d go all out to win Peta over, to convince her that he was the better man of the two. He’d tell her that he loved her; he’d get down on his knees if necessary and beg her to marry him. And that would be the most humbling experience of his whole life.

  It was almost midnight before they returned. Andreas was pacing the hall when he heard the car and he would have liked nothing better
than to stand and face them. But he couldn’t do that. Instead he quickly took a seat in the living room, leaving the door open and the lights on so that they’d know he was in there. He picked up a book and pretended to be reading.

  Peta had hoped that Andreas would be in bed. She’d had a most enjoyable evening with Christos. Once they’d established that there could be no romantic involvement they’d both let their hair down and set out to have a good time. He’d been excellent company, regaling her with tales of his childhood and his failed love affairs. By all accounts he was quite a ladies man and she could see why.

  Both of these Papadakis brothers were gorgeous, with their dark Hellenic looks and strong masculine bodies. Andreas had the edge, though. He had a charisma that Christos didn’t. Maybe it was his success, maybe it was because he was older, but, whatever, he was the one who would turn a girl’s head first, and he was the one who had captured her heart.

  ‘We didn’t expect you to still be up,’ said Christos now.

  Andreas gave a lazy shrug and pushed himself to his feet. ‘I wasn’t particularly tired. Have you had a good time, you two?’ His eyes rested on Peta as he spoke.

  She knew that he had deliberately waited and was trying to assess whether she’d found Christos attractive, whether anything had gone on between them. She smiled warmly at Christos. ‘We’ve had a wonderful time, haven’t we?’

  ‘Indeed.’ He returned her look with warm affection. ‘Am I glad you asked me to come and help you out over here, dear brother. And why you don’t fancy Peta yourself I’ll never know.’

  Andreas’s brows beetled into a scowl. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves,’ he grated. ‘I think I’ll go to bed.’

  When he had gone Christos turned his lips down and looked at Peta with a questioning look in his eyes.

  She shrugged.

  ‘Methinks the man’s jealous,’ declared Christos.

  ‘I think you’re out of your mind,’ she returned, ‘and I’m going to bed, too. Thank you for a lovely evening.’

  ‘Don’t I get a goodnight kiss?’

  She smiled slowly and put her arms about his shoulders. But when she leaned towards him all she did was kiss him on the cheek.

  ‘That’s cheating,’ he growled.

  ‘But it’s all you’re getting,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Goodnight, Christos.’

  ‘Goodnight, beautiful lady.’

  When Peta turned to leave the room she saw that Andreas had been watching them from the doorway. He’d turned immediately and marched along the corridor leading to their apartment, but he wouldn’t have known that the kiss wasn’t for real. Good, she thought with grim pleasure. That’s the proof he needs that he means nothing to me.

  And yet, as she slowly undressed and removed her make-up, as she cleaned her teeth and ran a brush through her hair, she couldn’t help wishing that he hadn’t seen.

  She was not surprised when a few minutes later he tapped on the door and entered her room.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘DON’T tell me. You’ve come to find out whether I’m attracted to your brother.’

  Peta’s direct approach caused Andreas’s eyes to flicker.

  ‘If you have you’re wasting your time, because however I feel towards Christos it’s nothing to do with you,’ she added firmly.

  ‘So you do find him attractive?’ Andreas crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the door, watching her intently through narrowed eyes. He was still in his shirt and trousers and it had obviously been his intent all along to come and interrogate her.

  Peta’s eyes flashed. ‘Like I said, it’s none of your business.’

  ‘I intend to make it my business,’ he countered firmly.

  ‘Oh, yes, and how do you propose to do that?’ She too folded her arms, wishing now that she hadn’t got undressed. It was difficult trying to project an aloof and proud image wearing only a thin cotton nightie.

  ‘I shall not go away until you give me some definite answers.’

  Peta held his gaze for several long, heart-pumping seconds. Lord, he was magnificent. She wanted to haul him over to the bed and let him make love to her. She wanted him so badly that it hurt.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked with a frown.

  ‘Are you in pain?’ He took a half-step towards her.

  ‘No.’ Not physical pain. And she cursed herself for letting her innermost feelings show.

  ‘Then what’s wrong?’

  ‘You are what’s wrong,’ she retorted. ‘Why won’t you leave me alone?’

  ‘Because I care about you.’

  ‘Care!’ retorted Peta crossly. ‘You don’t know the meaning of the word. You don’t care about anyone. You didn’t even care about your son until he was nearly taken from you.’

  Andreas closed his eyes for a second, before saying quietly, ‘Nikos means everything to me.’

  ‘I’ve no doubt. But you never thought to show it. You never had time for him; business always came first.’

  Her shot hit home. He winced. ‘Not any longer.’

  ‘So what are you going to do when I leave here? Get another nanny? Forget what you’ve just said? Leave Nikos to amuse himself all over again while you rake in the millions? You can’t take it with you, Andreas. What’s the point in devoting all your time to work at the expense of your son’s happiness?’

  ‘I’ve not come here to discuss my son.’

  ‘No, you want to know what I think of Christos. Actually—’ she allowed her face to soften into a dreamy smile ‘—he’s a charmer. I wasn’t sure at first, but the more I got to know him the more I discovered that I really like him. He’s asked me out again.’

  Andreas’s eyes became glacially hard. ‘And have you accepted?’

  ‘Why, yes. He’s such fun, and he’s wonderful company. He makes me forget all my problems.’

  ‘And what problems would those be?’

  ‘As if you didn’t know,’ she shot back. ‘The fact that my son was kidnapped. The fact that I can’t get back into my own house. The fact that I’m forced to stay here with a man who wants an affair with me. Is that enough?’

  Each barb shot home. She saw him wince. And his mouth grew grimmer and his eyes harder. ‘Yes,’ he said shortly. ‘I can see that you do have problems. Perhaps I, as well as you, will be glad when you’ve gone.’ And with that he spun on his heel and marched out.

  Peta wanted to call him back, wanted to ask what he meant, but the door slammed and she hunched her shoulders and clenched her fists. Damn the man! Christos was wrong. Andreas wasn’t jealous, not in the slightest. He was simply typically arrogant. Because he paid her wages he thought he owned her. Well, this was—

  Her thoughts were interrupted by another knock on the door.

  She wrenched it open. ‘Andreas, if— Christos!’

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Of course; why?’

  ‘I saw my brother coming out with a face as black as thunder. What happened?’

  ‘You’d better come in,’ she said resignedly, and, once the door was closed, ‘Like we arranged, I tried to pretend that I was falling for you.’

  ‘And?’

  She shook her head slightly. ‘It got complicated. I said things I shouldn’t have done. He ended up walking out on me. He doesn’t love me, he just thinks he owns me. I’m not staying here any longer. I can’t put up with any more of this.’

  Christos frowned. ‘Surely that’s a bit hasty?’

  ‘No, it’s not. I never planned to stay once we got back.’

  ‘Where will you go?’

  ‘To my parents’.’ It wasn’t the ideal solution but what other choice had she? She didn’t want to spend her hard-earned money on rented accommodation. Her mother and father would love having them for a few weeks. ‘It means taking Ben out of school again but there’s no alternative.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? Why don’t you let me have a word
with Andreas? I could—’

  ‘No!’ cut in Peta in horror. ‘I’ll leave while you’re both at work tomorrow. Don’t say anything to your brother until you come back and find me gone. And even then don’t tell him where I am. I’ll make arrangements with Bess to have Nikos picked up from school.’

  Christos shook his head. ‘This isn’t the answer.’

  ‘Then what is?’ she snapped.

  ‘For you and Andreas to sit down and talk this thing over.’

  ‘There’s nothing to say. I’m not telling him I love him if that’s what you want.’ It would be the ultimate humiliation because, whatever Christos might think, she was absolutely certain that Andreas didn’t love her.

  ‘You’re an idiot. A very beautiful one, but an idiot all the same.’

  He was probably right. She would regret what she had done the moment she walked away. She would most likely tell herself that it would have been better to live with an Andreas who didn’t love her rather than subject herself to a life without him.

  She had little sleep that night. She lay awake, tossing her problem round and round in her mind. She was up early the next morning, getting the boys ready, having her breakfast with them in the kitchen, doing everything she could to avoid seeing Andreas.

  But Andreas had no intention of avoiding her. As she was leaving the kitchen, the boys having run on ahead, he caught her by the elbow and hustled her into his study. ‘You and I have some talking to do.’

  Peta feared that Christos had let her down, but Andreas’s first words confirmed otherwise.

  ‘What was Christos doing in your room last night?’

  Peta felt like laughing—hysterically. She could have lied and said they’d made love, but that would get her nowhere. ‘He came to see if I was all right. He saw you leave, heard you slam the door, saw the look on your face. He wondered what was going on.’

  ‘So why didn’t he ask me?’ snarled Andreas.

  ‘In the mood you were in? You’d have probably snapped his head off and told him it was none of his business.’ Peta walked across to the window and pretended to look out at the immaculately manicured lawns.