‘Alex.’ She inclined her head in greeting, marvelling at how she managed to force his name through her thickened vocal cords and make it sound normal.
Even without the formality of his usual suit and tie, his entire being radiated the power he was so used to wielding. That command was inherent — woven into the man himself, rather than emanating from the fabric of his expensive clothes. The white, short-sleeved shirt and fawn trousers were a brilliant contrast to his tanned skin. He seemed more primitive. More sexual.
So much for the mental barriers she’d tried to erect. Her hands began to tingle as she absorbed his potent sensuality. They itched and burned to feel the texture of his skin again.
He pulled out a chair for her.
She couldn’t ignore the pure male strength she saw in the breadth of his shoulders and his well-developed forearms — strength he could use to wring her neck if he ever discovered her deception.
‘I’m glad you accepted my invitation,’ he said lightly.
‘Did I have a choice?’ she queried, reminding herself that this was no dinner date.
‘My staff tell me you’re a very pleasant young woman, but I find that difficult to believe. Your behaviour toward me has always been churlish.’
She tossed her head back as she sat down. ‘You expect me to be pleasant to a man who’s keeping me prisoner?’
‘You haven’t signed the contract yet.’
‘I won’t sign it. Sooner or later I’m going to be missed, and you’ll end up in jail for abduction.’
‘You know the terms of your departure,’ he said, regarding her steadily.
With as much contempt as she could manage, she met his steely gaze. ‘You know my answer.’ She refused to be intimidated by him.
He was all confidence and determination as he walked around the table to his seat. ‘You will sign the contract. I’ve already saved you from Comelli by settling your debt.’
‘I didn’t ask you to do that,’ she reasoned.
‘No, you didn’t. But nevertheless, I helped you.’
‘To suit your own purposes,’ she agreed grudgingly.
‘I think you benefited much more than I. Sign the contract, tell me exactly where my brother is staying in Paris, and I’ll arrange for you to depart this island tomorrow.’
‘Why should I? According to you, I’m loath to leave this island because I’m enjoying your company so much.’
‘Enough!’ His authoritative tone was a warning that he wasn’t going to tolerate her sarcasm.
She picked up a serviette and placed it over her lap. ‘I don’t know where Spiros is staying. You’d have more luck going to Delphi and consulting the oracle at Apollo’s temple.’
Alex’s jaw clamped shut. His eyes narrowed as he regarded her.
‘How do you know about the oracle at Delphi?’
Her heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second. Susie wouldn’t know that the ancient Greeks consulted the oracle to have questions answered directly by a deity. Leah wouldn’t know anything about it either if she hadn’t been a history teacher who had always been fascinated by Greek mythology and history.
How did she explain herself?
Trying to collect her thoughts, she picked up a jug of water and poured some into a crystal glass. ‘Just because I’m a pop singer doesn’t mean I’m ignorant. Besides, I’ve been talking to Anna about Greek culture and traditions.’
His features relaxed as his lips twitched with humour. ‘My staff are no longer afraid you’ll turn them to stone?’
‘No.’ She forgot her hostility for a moment and suppressed a smile. Indicating the water, she asked, ‘Would you like a glass?’
He declined and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘You’re full of surprises.’
‘Does knowing a bit of Greek mythology make me a more suitable bride for your brother?’
The lighter mood between them instantly evaporated.
‘You’ll never be my brother’s bride,’ Alex vowed.
Leah sighed. ‘So you keep telling me.’
She ran a finger around the edge of the water glass and watched him closely. ‘Do you know that Elena visited me?’
He sat forward, his body tensing slightly. ‘No. My staff should have told me. When was she here?’
‘Not long after you left.’
‘And?’
‘She’s under the impression she’ll marry your brother next month.’
‘She will.’
‘Alex, you can’t force your will onto other people.’
His hands slapped the table. ‘You expect me to sit back and watch my brother marry you?’
‘Spiros isn’t a child.’
‘He’s behaving like one.’
‘Why? Because he’s not doing what you say?’
‘He’s defying me,’ he answered impatiently.
‘Well, if that’s true, doesn’t that tell you something?’
He looked at her as though she was speaking in a foreign language. ‘You don’t know the situation, Susan. Spiros has been over-indulged all his life. He acts without any thought of how his actions will affect others.’
‘You can’t control him. He’s a young man. He has to make his own decisions.’
‘Not when those decisions will wreck his life.’
‘You have to give him a chance to make his own mistakes,’ she argued.
‘So you admit that wanting to marry you is a mistake?’
Trust Alex to pounce on that statement. She shook her head in exasperation and took a deep breath. ‘What I’m saying is that the more you tighten your grip, the more he’ll slip through your fingers.’
‘My brother is behaving irresponsibly. He might think by defying me he’ll win my respect, but he couldn’t be more wrong. Playing with people’s emotions only proves he’s immature. A marriage to you would never convince me to provide the financial backing for his business proposal.’ He shook his head. ‘I can’t believe I am even speaking about this with you. It’s not up for discussion.’
Business proposal? She sank back against the backrest of her chair. Hang on … was that why Spiros was defying his brother? Because Alex refused to support a business venture? Was Alex’s brother playing with Susie and Elena’s emotions over some business deal?
He got up from the table. ‘You won’t ever convince me to approve of your relationship with Spiros.’
‘Just because your marriage didn’t work out the way you wanted, doesn’t mean things won’t turn out well for your brother.’
In an instant, he was looming over the table at her. Heat blazed from his eyes. ‘Don’t turn this back on me.’
Her breathing became short and shallow. ‘I have to, Alex. This is all about you. I know you think you’re acting in Spiros’s best interests. You want to protect him from what you went through, but —’
‘You have no idea what I went through!’
She ploughed on. ‘You lost your wife to alcoholism, and it broke your heart. You’re still angry that you couldn’t control that situation.’
‘Enough!’
She flinched at the harshness of his tone, but pressed on. ‘No, it’s not enough. You love your brother. You think he’s heading for heartbreak, and you’re trying to save him from that. It’s noble of you, but you can’t control his life. You have to stop interfering.’
‘I said, enough!’
‘Don’t you see? Two people can be in similar situations but end up with different outcomes.’
Leah watched Alex move to the edge of the terrace, tension in his stance.
Acting on impulse, she began moving toward him. Every atom of her being wanted to do whatever she could to ease the pain that radiated off of him in waves, even if she drowned in the process.
She walked to him with determined resolve, but the hand she placed on his arm was tentative. His muscles tensed, but she didn’t take her hand away. Tugging gently, she urged him to turn and face her.
‘Don’t shut me out, Alex.’
He closed his eyes. He wanted to resist her. She messed with his mind and dredged up memories of Christina that he was desperate to erase. The pain, the betrayal, all the hurt and disillusionment he’d suffered at Christina’s hands was suddenly back.
He opened his eyes and looked at Susan. Really looked. There was understanding in her face. Empathy, not sympathy. The expression in her eyes compelled him to open up to her and promised to ease the pain. Some irrational gut feeling told him she was capable of it. Yet, he knew that any respite from the deceit and lies of his past would only be temporary.
Deceit and lies! There was no end to them in his world.
She was just as bad as Christina. The woman standing before him had tried to trick Spiros into marriage by pretending she was pregnant. His brother didn’t realise how lucky he was that Susan hadn’t turned up to elope with him.
The similarities between the pop star and Christina went further. Susan was also substance dependent. What was it with him? First he fell for an alcoholic, and now he was caring far too much for a drug addict! Where had his need for self-preservation gone? He would not make the same mistake twice.
‘Alex.’ Her voice was soft and feminine. Like the finest harp music, it soothed his raw emotions.
He pulled himself up with a start. He had to remember that Susan had the capacity to destroy his brother’s happiness.
‘No!’ He broke away from her and the magic she was weaving around his emotions.
‘Alex, I —’
‘Excuse me, Kirie.’ Soula came out onto the terrace. ‘This has just arrived for you from Dimitri.’ She was carrying a large envelope. ‘He said it was urgent.’
His heart kicked as he took the envelope and thanked his housekeeper. This must be information he’d been waiting for.
Chapter 6
Leah’s nerves were stretched so tight, she thought they’d unravel. She stood in silence and watched Alex as he removed the contents of the envelope. What would the information in the envelope say? Were Spiros and Susie together and married in Paris?
His face gave nothing away as he read the piece of paper, then flicked through several other items.
Finally, he finished with the paperwork. His dark eyes bored into hers.
He extended some of the papers to her.
‘These photos were taken in Paris two days ago by a hotel security camera,’ he explained.
Panic froze her to the spot. Her mind flashed back to the last time he’d shown her photographs. Did she want to look?
‘Spiros?’ she squeaked out.
He nodded in confirmation.
Fear paralysed her. She didn’t dare reach out for the photos. ‘Was he by himself?’
His brows knitted together. ‘What a strange question to ask. Are you expecting him to be with someone?’
He was playing with her. She knew it. If the photos showed Spiros and her sister together, Alex would already have realised she wasn’t the real Susie Hamlin.
Steeling herself for whatever the images revealed, she accepted the photos from him.
She almost sighed with relief. Spiros was with Susie, but Alex wouldn’t recognise her. Her twin was wearing a long blonde wig and dark glasses. It was one of several wigs Susie used to disguise herself with in public when she didn’t want to be recognised by fans.
‘Who is she?’ Alex demanded.
Leah paused. ‘I was about to ask you the same question.’
‘Do you know her?’
‘I’m not Spiros’s keeper,’ she told him, handing back the photos. ‘I don’t know everyone he knows.’
‘But you know this girl.’
‘Oh for heaven’s sake!’ She turned away from him, ready to flee, but he pulled her back to face him.
‘Tell me her name,’ he demanded.
She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped she’d be forgiven for evading the truth. ‘I don’t know what her name is.’ It was a half-truth. Susie would be using an alias.
Alex continued to study her face carefully. When he finally released her, she edged away from him. Her skin burned where he’d touched her.
‘The hotel room Spiros stayed in with this girl was paid for by credit card.’
‘So?’
‘Your credit card.’
Oh God. How careless!
Did her sister want Alex to find them? Didn’t she realise Alex would miss Spiros and search for him? If Susie kept leaving such blatant clues, it wouldn’t be long before Alex discovered the truth. If his own security team didn’t work it out, someone would leak to the media that the young couple were together.
‘How did you arrange the hotel booking when all the phone calls from here are being monitored?’ he demanded.
Her breath caught. Her brain scrambled for a logical explanation.
‘The hotel was booked from London. We planned to honeymoon in Paris.’ Please, God, let that be the truth.
He slapped the palm of one of his hands with the envelope. ‘There’s more to it than that. You expected him to be with someone. You weren’t surprised to see him with this woman.’
The effort of keeping all her lies straight was causing her head to throb. ‘Don’t be so paranoid. It’s probably someone he just met.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Why not? It happens. You’ve always maintained that Spiros doesn’t really love me.’
‘You knew he was in Paris before I told you.’
She angled her chin up. ‘It was logical. I thought he was probably waiting for me to show up at the hotel.’
‘He’s not waiting anymore. He’s already checked out.’
That must mean Susie and Spiros were on their way to Greece. They’d been in Paris, so Susie must have a new passport and already be married. If so, they should arrive in Greece any day now, just as they’d planned.
‘He’s met someone else.’ She tried to mislead him. ‘You can see it yourself. He’s not interested in me anymore. Let me leave.’ She might be a coward, but she didn’t want to be here when Alex learned the truth.
‘I think you know where he’s headed,’ he persisted.
‘Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.’
‘If you cooperate with me, you’ll be free to go much sooner. Otherwise —’
‘Otherwise, what?’ she asked with disdain. ‘You’ll keep me here forever? I don’t think so.’
‘That would be playing into your hands, wouldn’t it?’ He closed the distance between them. ‘Because that’s your aim. As much as you deny it, you still want me.’
She tried to sound scornful as she backed away, but her vocal cords trembled. ‘You’re starting to sound like a broken record.’
Another step closer. ‘Why fight it? We both know it’s what you want.’
Fighting attraction was not something Susie would have done, but if Leah gave into her desire and had a quick fling with Alex, she’d be scarred for life. Besides, the second she succumbed, the masquerade would be over. He’d have irrefutable proof she wasn’t Susie.
She summoned up every bit of nerve and acting skill she possessed. ‘You have the arrogance of Zeus! Watch out, Alex. Soon Mt. Olympus will be rocked to its very foundations.’
He gave her a considering look. ‘You’re hiding something, and somehow it involves this woman.’
‘You’ve got a suspicious mind.’
‘I will find out what you’re up to, and when I do, you’re going to regret lying to me.’
Alex sat at his desk late into the evening, staring at the photos of Spiros and the blonde. What the hell was his brother playing at? Who was the woman in the photo? Every bit of intuition he had told him it wasn’t someone Spiros had just met. Spiros might be overindulged and self absorbed, but he’d never been a playboy. As far as he knew, his brother had been loyal to Elena — until Susan.
She must know the woman in the photo with Spiros. The tension in her face had eased when she’d looked at the pictures. Why had she been so relieve
d to see Spiros and the blonde woman together? He willed his brain to slow down and think logically.
Susan had accused him of pushing Spiros to marry Elena because he’d gain something from their marriage. In part, that was true. A union between the Kristidis and Moustakis families would bring the shipping company his father had built — and that Con Moustakis had taken over — back into the family. But that was of secondary importance compared to his brother and Elena’s happiness.
Alex could’ve prevented the takeover of the shipping company at the time, although it would’ve stretched every resource he possessed. He’d offered to save his father’s company, but his father hadn’t been interested. Con Moustakis was a close family friend, and Spiros and Elena were betrothed. His father was so broken by his mother’s death, so worn down by her infidelity, that he’d been relieved to sign over the shipping business to Con. He’d regarded Elena’s father as a brother and saw him as the saviour of the company. At the time Alex had been more interested in forging his own name in the hotel and resort industry.
Was Susan intent on breaking up Spiros and Elena because she wanted to hurt Alex’s supposed business dealings with the Moustakis family? Maybe, but her other motivation was surely to hurt someone that Alex loved, just for the sheer vindictive pleasure of it. But why was she keeping him at arm’s length?
He sat up straighter wondering whether he was underestimating her. Was her plan for revenge against him more complex than he’d first imagined? Perhaps she was merely a decoy and it was really the blonde woman who was the object of his brother’s infatuation.
He looked back at the photos. Yes! The way Spiros was looking at the blonde spoke volumes. There was definitely lust in Spiros’s eyes.
Who is she?
His fingers drummed on his desk in agitation. As he concentrated on the photos, the missing piece of puzzle hit him with the full force of a meteorite falling from the heavens. He stood, rage coursing through his bloodstream as he realised he’d been well and truly deceived. Unconcerned by the late hour, he made his way upstairs to confront his unwanted guest.
Leah paced the room, unable to sleep. Susie must’ve organised a new passport super quickly to have married and travelled to Paris in the time she’d been gone.
Mistaken Identity Page 8