The Diakos Baby Scandal

by Natalie Rivers

  ‘Where are they now?’ Kerry asked, standing even straighter and stiffer than before. ‘Are they all together?’

  Theo stepped back and looked down at her. In the time they’d been together Kerry had never once refused his lovemaking. She was so deliciously responsive to him that it made sex even more exciting and satisfying for him. Even thinking about the way she dissolved into a pool of desire at his slightest touch made him hot and ready for her.

  Usually a simple look from him was enough to have her melting willingly into his arms. For her to be so immune to him she must be really concerned.

  ‘Yes. Corban has everything under control. At any moment they will be flying out to the island—away from the press,’ Theo said, skimming his hands up the bare skin of her arms with the lightest of touches. ‘You can stop worrying about them now—and let me make you feel better.’

  Kerry stood tall and drew in a deep breath. She had to talk to Theo—to tell him what she had done. And she had to ask about the conversation she’d overheard him having with Corban.

  Then, after that, she still had to tell him she was pregnant. It was almost impossible to believe that only a couple of hours ago she had been running to tell Theo the amazing news that they were going to have a baby—and then everything suddenly seemed to become horribly confusing and wrong.

  ‘Let me see if I can think of something new…something interesting,’ Theo said, his voice deep and sexy, as he reached out to pluck a couple of beautiful pink roses from the trellis beside them.

  Kerry drew in a wobbly breath and looked at the gorgeous blooms in Theo’s large, sensual hands. Only last night he had carried her out to the roof garden from their bedroom, peeled off her lacy nightclothes and laid her naked under the stars. Then he’d scattered her body with rose petals before making long, slow, exquisite love to her.

  Now the heady fragrance of roses was already filling her senses again, and her body was burning with the need to surrender to his lovemaking. She knew that she would soon forget everything in the bliss that he would give her.

  But she couldn’t surrender to her desires. It wasn’t right when there were still so many concerns in her mind. She had to talk to him.

  ‘Stop. I need to…’ She hesitated, then pushed his hands away and took a step backwards. ‘Earlier this evening I heard you talking to Corban. You said he was to take Nicco away from Hallie.’

  ‘Yes. It’s a shame I didn’t give my brother that advice yesterday,’ Theo replied. ‘Then tonight’s fiasco would have been avoided.’

  ‘How can you be so cold?’ Kerry gasped. ‘Someone could have been seriously hurt tonight—or even killed!’

  ‘Exactly,’ Theo said. ‘That could have been averted.’

  ‘Not by depriving a mother of her child,’ Kerry said.

  For a moment she couldn’t help thinking about her own mother—how she’d been utterly devastated to have had her baby taken away from her. Feeling like a worthless failure at only sixteen years old had made it impossible for her to get herself back on track. Her life had spiralled into depression and self-abuse. She’d turned to drink, then drugs—and eventually died alone of an overdose in squalid conditions.

  For Kerry it was made worse by the fact that she hadn’t even known who her mother was until it was too late to help her. Instead she’d been grudgingly looked after by her grandmother—the very person who had taken her away from her real mother. And for Kerry’s entire childhood she’d made her feel unwanted and unloved.

  ‘I know you are concerned about Hallie and Nicco.’ Theo’s clipped tones showed signs of tension. ‘My brother and I are in your debt for raising the alarm—if you hadn’t come to us so quickly things could have been much worse. But my conversation with Corban was private. How we choose to take care of our family is none of your concern.’

  Kerry stared up at him. A muscle pulsed on his shadowed jawline. His eyes were dark and troubled. She had to tell him what she had done—but she was apprehensive about how he would react.

  ‘Hallie is my friend,’ she said. ‘Of course I care about her. And Nicco.’

  ‘You must trust me to do what is right for my family,’ Theo said, studying her intently. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and the set of his expression hardened.

  ‘You told her. Didn’t you?’ he demanded.

  Kerry’s heart jolted and her eyes widened with alarm.

  ‘Yes.’ Her voice was hardly more than a whisper—but she held her head up and met his gaze steadily.

  ‘You had no business doing that.’ Theo’s expression was dark. ‘It did not concern you.’

  ‘Of course it concerned me!’ Kerry responded, suddenly filled with anger on her friend’s behalf—and on her own mother’s behalf.

  ‘No wonder you were so desperately worried—your actions put many people in danger tonight,’ he said. ‘Someone could have died. My nephew could have died!’

  ‘I didn’t realise she’d been drinking,’ Kerry said. ‘Not until—’

  ‘Don’t try to explain what you did.’ Theo’s voice cut through hers coldly. ‘I’m not interested.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I’m not interested in your excuses,’ he said flatly. ‘You put my nephew in danger.’

  ‘I never meant to,’ she said. ‘That was the last thing I wanted.’

  ‘You listened to a private conversation that did not concern you,’ he said. ‘Then you went behind my back and took the situation into your own hands.’

  ‘Hallie is my friend,’ she said.

  ‘And what am I to you?’ he demanded. ‘You should have come to me first.’

  ‘You…I…’ She stumbled hesitantly, suddenly unsure of herself.

  It was true that if she’d spoken to Theo about what she’d overheard then Hallie wouldn’t have taken Nicco in the car. But that didn’t change what she had heard. And Theo had made it clear that he saw nothing wrong with what he and his brother had been planning. They probably still intended to take Nicco away from his mother.

  ‘I no longer want you here.’ Theo spoke suddenly, his voice hard and controlled, his expression set in stone. ‘Pack your bags and get out.’

  ‘What? I don’t understand…’ Kerry’s voice trailed away and she stared at him in shock. But she did understand. Theo no longer wanted her.

  He’d already turned his back on her and was walking away, as if from that moment she was dead to him. She was already out of his life.

  ‘Wait,’ she called. ‘There is something I have to tell you. It’s the reason I came to talk to you in your study in the first place.’

  Theo spun on his heel and looked at her dispassionately. He was giving her a moment more of his time, and she knew she had to use it wisely.

  ‘This evening I found out—’

  Kerry stopped speaking abruptly and covered her mouth with her hand. Suddenly she was afraid to tell him that she was pregnant.

  After the events of the evening, it was almost as if Theo was a different man. She would never have thought him capable of taking a child from his mother—but he had defended his intentions even when Kerry had challenged him.

  And if they planned to do that to Hallie—who’d been married to Corban for several years—what would happen to her if they found out she was carrying a Diakos baby? Theo had made it plain he didn’t want her. But would he want to take the baby?

  ‘Get on with it,’ Theo said, with undisguised impatience.

  ‘I don’t feel like I know you any more,’ she said.

  ‘The feeling is mutual,’ he replied coldly. ‘Now, get out.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  14 months later

  ‘THANK you for inviting me to your home.’ Theo held out his hand to the old man, who was sitting at a small wooden table drinking coffee under the shade of an ancient gnarled olive tree. ‘Your island is charming—a very peaceful place to live.’

  Drakon Notara ignored Theo’s hand and snorted rudely, not looking up from his treacly Greek coffee. He wa
s a moody and eccentric old man, but Theo had met him several times in Athens and was not fazed by his bad manners.

  ‘Don’t tell me you care about peace,’ Drakon said. ‘I know why you want to buy my island. You want to build one of your flashy hotels here—or maybe several. Bars, thumping music, people drunk and rowdy.’ He paused, finally lifting his head and meeting Theo’s eye. ‘I can’t have that happening here.’

  Theo gritted his teeth and stared straight back, refusing to rise to the old man’s provocation. No one spoke to Theo Diakos with such disrespect and got away with it—but he had a compelling reason to do business with Drakon Notara.

  Theo needed to buy this island. It was his only chance to fulfil his mother’s dying wish. And if he had to tread carefully to seal the deal, then that was what he would do.

  He had not been invited to sit, nor offered any refreshment. The paving stones under the trees had not been swept before his arrival and were deep with browning piles of olive blossom. It was clear the old man was going to be as bloody-minded as usual, and was not going to make any transaction easy.

  ‘That’s not what I intend for the island at all,’ Theo said smoothly. ‘Perhaps if we talk—’

  ‘No,’ Drakon barked. ‘Talk is cheap. And so are the scandal sheets. Don’t think because I spend most of my time out here that I don’t know what your family is like—rich and spoiled, caring only about money and excitement. Your brother…his drunken wife crashing her car with that child on board.’

  ‘You have been misinformed.’ Theo’s tone was clipped as he suppressed the surge of anger that ripped through him. Whenever he thought about the night of the accident, which was over a year ago now, he felt his temper flare. ‘My family is not as the media has portrayed it. The newspapers do not always report things exactly as they are.’

  ‘Are you telling me it didn’t happen?’ the old man scoffed.

  ‘I’m saying that my personal affairs are not relevant to our business,’ Theo said. ‘However, if you will allow me to set out my proposal, I believe we will be able to come to an arrangement we are both happy with.’

  ‘I don’t want to talk to you now—I don’t want to hear the smooth and readymade business spiel you have prepared.’ Drakon leant heavily on the table and levered himself up. ‘If you’re serious about buying my island, come and stay for a few days—so I can find out what kind of man you really are. Bring your pretty girlfriend—the one I met last year. I liked her—no airs and graces, which I found surprising in someone associated with you and your family.’

  For a fraction of a second Theo did not reply. The wily old fellow had completely wrong-footed him. He searched his memory, trying to recall any occasions when Kerry and Drakon might have met—and realised there had been several charity events when they could have spoken.

  Why did Drakon really want him to bring Kerry to the island? Did he know that she was no longer part of his life?

  ‘Or have you broken it off with her? Moved on to someone new?’ Drakon continued derisively. ‘From the way she…’ He paused, frowning as if he was irritated with himself. ‘What was her name?’

  ‘Kerry,’ Theo supplied in a tight voice, not missing the fact that Drakon had used the past tense—as if he definitely did know the relationship was over. ‘Her name is Kerry.’

  Hearing himself say her name sounded strange and painfully familiar at the same time. He had not said it aloud since the night he threw her out—but that had not stopped her name, and the image of her face, pressing forward in his thoughts more often than he would have liked.

  ‘Ah, yes. Kerry,’ Drakon said. ‘Utterly delightful young thing—reminded me of my dear wife when she was young. From the way she never left your side, I expected to see a wedding announcement in the press. But I suppose you’re several women down the line by now.’ He turned and started shuffling towards the house.

  ‘As I said, my personal affairs are not relevant to our business,’ Theo said, but a cold, fatalistic feeling had settled in his chest.

  He realised that as far as Drakon Notara was concerned the way he conducted his private life was as important as the way he did business. The fact that not one single woman had caught his attention since Kerry would not impress the old man. He would simply judge Theo harshly for not making the relationship work in the first place.

  And, to make matters worse, he seemed to have developed a real soft spot for Kerry.

  ‘I’m a traditional old man,’ Drakon said over his shoulder. ‘I don’t hold with the fast and wasteful way people live their lives these days. Fast cars polluting the air, fast relationships…everything is disposable.’

  ‘If we talk, you’ll discover that we share many of the same traditional values,’ Theo said.

  He wanted to follow Drakon and convince him that he did not plan to build hotels on the island. But his reasons for wanting the island were personal and he had no intention of sharing them with anyone—especially not a judgemental old man who thought it was his right to force his opinions on other people.

  ‘Then come back and visit properly,’ Drakon said, pausing on the threshold, as if to gather his strength before he disappeared inside. ‘And bring Kerry with you.’

  Theo watched him go. He might be physically frail, but his mind and his will were still as strong as ever.

  ‘Allow me to escort you back to the helipad,’ Drakon’s assistant said, stepping out of the shadows at the edge of the paved area.

  Theo nodded a curt acknowledgement, and turned to leave.

  ‘I know the way,’ he said, striding out of the shaded area into the bright Greek sunshine.

  He frowned as he walked along the rutted ridge path, completely oblivious to the breathtaking view across the azure Aegean Sea.

  He needed Kerry.

  If he was to have any chance of buying this island as the first step in fulfilling his mother’s dying wish, then he was going to need Kerry.

  ‘Thank you so much for all your help,’ the customer said, pushing open the glass door of the travel agent’s and letting in a blast of cold, rainy air.

  ‘I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful holiday. I’ve only been to Crete once, but I’d love to go back there,’ Kerry said, as the customer stepped out onto the wet street.

  For a brief moment she let herself imagine how good it would feel to sit on a beautiful sandy beach, with nothing to do but rest and play with her six-month-old baby boy, Lucas. But that was a fantasy that wasn’t likely to come true any time soon—not with all the bills she was struggling to pay on her own.

  It was fourteen months since she’d returned from Athens—since the devastating night when Theo Diakos had brutally ripped out her heart and trampled it underfoot. Arriving back in London had been a nightmare. Trying to pick up the pieces of her broken heart—with no job, no money and nowhere to live—had been truly awful. And on top of everything else she’d been pregnant.

  ‘It’s nearly time for your break,’ Carol said now, pulling her out of her thoughts. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind taking early lunch again?’

  ‘When you’ve been up since five a.m., this doesn’t seem early.’ Kerry laughed. Lucas—as adorable as he was—had taken to waking with the rising sun.

  At that moment the shop door opened again, and another blast of cold air whooshed in, making an icy shiver run through her.

  ‘Ooh! I can’t believe it’s June already,’ she said, as she pulled the collar of her uniform jacket more snugly across her throat and looked up to greet the customer who had just walked in. ‘Good morning. Can I help—?’

  Her heart skipped a beat and she felt herself go cold all over as she stared up into the face of Theo Diakos.

  He was looking straight at her, with an expression of dispassionate assessment on his darkly handsome face. His black brows were drawn low, casting his eyes into shadow, but his penetrating eyes bored right into her.

  Kerry drew in a shaky breath and felt her heart jolt painfully back into action. She knew
she was staring—but she could not drag her eyes from him. If was as if she couldn’t quite believe Theo Diakos was really standing there.

  He was a tall and imposing figure. The size of his athletic body seemed to fill the entire doorway, and his magnetic presence seemed to fill the entire shop. He was wearing a dark suit, which was covered with a sheen of summer rain, and his black hair was damp and glistening with fine water droplets.

  What was he doing here?

  Had he found out about Lucas—his baby son?

  ‘Can I offer you some assistance?’ Carol asked, breaking the silence and walking around to the front of her desk. ‘Would you like to see a particular brochure, or are you just at the ideas-collecting stage?’

  A flash of almost feverish humour cut through Kerry like a sharp slap to knock her out of her stunned state. The idea of Theo Diakos—billionaire property tycoon—walking into a high street travel agency in a London backwater to book his next package holiday was laughable. Ludicrous, even.

  No—he was here for a reason.

  ‘I’m here to speak to Kerry,’ Theo said, never taking his eyes off her for a second.

  ‘Oh. You two know each other?’ Carol paused, obviously surprised, and looked at Kerry questioningly.

  She was still staring at Theo. He was so familiar, but at the same time like a total stranger.

  She had been so utterly in love with him—but it had turned out she’d meant nothing to him. Nothing at all. In one horrifying evening she had discovered that his soul was made of stone, and that there was not even one ounce of compassion inside his hard, unyielding body.

  He’d conspired with his brother to take a little child away from his mother. And when Kerry had made the mistake of getting involved he had not given her an opportunity to explain herself. It had been the first time in nearly a year that they’d had any sort of disagreement—but he’d simply thrown her out. Without a moment’s hesitation.