by Kim Lawrence
She might actually have enjoyed the rest of the meal but for Ariana’s icy glares and Andreas’s tendency to stare.
They were lingering over coffee when Beth’s phone beeped.
‘Sorry.’ Beth flashed a smile round the table and fished her phone from the impracticably tiny bag that matched her outfit.
When she had voiced her concern about its size, the stylists, clearly shocked by her ignorance, had exchanged glances before mentioning the designer of the tiny beaded handbag with what seemed to Beth inappropriate reverence.
Theo watched the expressions flicker across her face as she read the text and wondered who or what had put the fear in her eyes.
With a mild jolt of shock he realised that he knew nothing about her personal life.
He had no idea about her family or friends; he didn’t know if she liked Chinese food or Italian. This information, he realized, could be useful when it came to presenting the image of a loving couple.
It was Andreas who spoke first when she slid the phone away. ‘Problem with the contracts?’ he asked. ‘Their accountant had no problem with the figures when I ran them past him so there shouldn’t be.’
Beth shook her head and cut across him. ‘No, it’s not work; it’s personal.’
‘Personal?’ Andreas echoed.
‘Yes,’ she snapped and saw his eyes widen at the unaccustomed brusqueness in her tone. She had had enough of the Kyriakis brothers tonight. ‘I do have a life outside the office.’ Another time the hurt expression that chased across Andreas’s good-looking face might have made her feel guilty but right now her thoughts were focused on the news from the nursing home.
She smiled an apology around the table, leaving Theo until last. She did not expect him to be pleased at her leaving before the evening had ended after all the trouble and expense he had gone to but if he didn’t like it, she thought grimly—tough.
‘I’m afraid I have to leave; my gran is not very well.’ The doctors had warned after the last episode that the likelihood was there would be more.
That had been eight months ago and, when gran had not suffered any long-term damage from the minor stroke, the fear Beth had felt at the time had receded.
‘Nothing serious, I hope?’ Daria asked.
Theo watched her knead her white fingers, tying them into knots as she gave a tight little smile, her thoughts clearly already elsewhere.
‘They say not, but—’
Andreas looked flatteringly eager when he cut across her and said, ‘Well, in that case, there’s no hurry, is there? Why break up the party?’ he coaxed, oblivious to the molten fury in Ariana’s glare before she lowered her gaze to her plate.
‘I’m sorry, but—’
‘Of course she has to go, Andreas.’ Theo slung a look of irritation in his brother’s direction.
Beth watched in utter amazement as Theo laid down his napkin and got his feet. She watched, her mouth slightly ajar, as he kissed his mother’s cheek, saying something soft to her in his native tongue before he took a position behind her own chair.
Feeling wary but grateful that he was not making this difficult for her, at least here, she got to her feet.
Georgios stood up and, after a speaking glance from his mother, so did Andreas.
‘We hope your grandmother is better very soon,’ Daria said, kissing her cheek. ‘And, if you are able, we would love to see you next month Theo?’
Distracted, Beth only listened with half an ear as Theo agreed to the invitation on her behalf. Plenty of time later to say she had not signed up for family weekends.
She did not speak until they were outside in the street, then she held out her hand and said, ‘I’m sorry about this.’
His hooded gaze slid to the hand extended to him but he did not take it. ‘You are sorry for what?’
‘Well, I’ve spoiled your plans,’ she said, letting her hand fall to her side. Presumably, now that they were out of sight of his target audience, he would drop the act, which was good because even fingertip contact with him was slightly disturbing.
‘I am presuming you did not arrange for your grandmother to be ill?’
Her eyes flew wide with indignation. ‘Of course not!’
His broad shoulders lifted in an expressive shrug. ‘Then there is very little more to be said. Some things in life one has no control over.’ Fortunately, the sexual frustration he had been denying all evening—you couldn’t rise above something until you acknowledged it—was not one of them.
‘Well, thanks,’ she said awkwardly as she watched a cab approach the taxi rank opposite. ‘I’m sorry it didn’t work out but I…’ Anxious to be gone, worry lying like a weight in her chest, she shook her head. ‘I’ll…’ She stepped towards the kerb.
‘What are you doing?’ It had started to rain fine drops that clung to her eyelashes as she tilted her head back to look at him.
Beth looked down at the fingers curled around her elbow. ‘Catching a taxi.’
‘Don’t be stupid; I’ll take you.’
Beth stared at him. ‘You don’t even know where I’m going.’
‘I will when you tell me,’ he countered smoothly.
Beth weighed her choices. She did not want to travel with Theo but there was no question that he would get her there faster than a taxi. It was the realisation that there hadn’t been room for her purse in the ridiculous bag she was carrying that swung her decision.
‘All right…thanks.’
In the underground garage, Theo told the driver they would not be needing his services before opening the passenger door for Beth. Belted into the passenger seat, Beth gave him the directions to the home.
‘Do you want me to pick anyone else up on the way there? Your parents?’
Beth turned her head. ‘No, they died—a train crash—I was seven so I don’t really remember it.’
She just remembered waking up in the hospital and crying from the pain of the burns on her feet. She’d been there for weeks and Gran had stayed the entire time, sleeping in a cot at her bedside.
‘You have no family?’
Beth bit her quivering lip and turned her head so that he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. ‘Just me and Gran. She brought me up after the accident.’
She was glad that Theo did not ask any more questions. Other than giving him directions, neither did Beth. Her thoughts were elsewhere, trying to imagine her life without her grandmother in it—she couldn’t.
At the nursing home Beth was greeted warmly by the manager. ‘The doctor’s with your grandmother now.’
Fearful to ask the question and even more fearful of the reply, Beth said, ‘How is she? Do you think she’ll have to go to hospital again?’ Seeing her grandmother looking so small and frail lying in the hospital bed had been the moment that Beth had been forced to face the fact that the indomitable lady would not be with her for ever.
He shook his head and looked sympathetic. ‘We don’t know yet, but Prudence is a tough lady. Let me take you up.’ He directed an enquiring look at Theo, who stood, a silent observer to the interchange. ‘Would you both like to see her?’
Beth shook her head and said quickly, ‘No, this is just a friend who gave me a lift.’ She turned, her luminous eyes brushing his face as she said, ‘Thank you.’
Choosing not to analyse either the tenderness that moved though him as he watched her climb the flight of stairs or the stab of dissatisfaction he had experienced when she had called him just a friend, Theo lowered himself into a seat and prepared to wait.
Whatever the news, he thought, she would need a friend when she returned.
It was half an hour later that Theo saw the small figure at the top of the stairs. The harsh electric light overhead shone on her glossy head and revealed the wetness on her cheeks.
He put down the mug in his hands and got to his feet. ‘I’m sorry.’
Beth reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped at the sound of his voice. ‘No…no.’ She dragged her hand across her
wet cheeks and shook her head. ‘No, I’m not crying…well, I am,’ she admitted with a sniff. ‘But not because—Gran is fine.’ She gave a sunny smile, oblivious to the sharp intake of breath it drew from Theo. ‘It’s just the relief.’
‘I’m glad your grandmother is well.’
She produced another smile that lit up her entire face.
Beth gave a puzzled frown. ‘You waited.’ The oddness of him still being here struck her for the first time. ‘I thought you’d gone.’
‘I thought you might need…’
‘A shoulder to cry on?’ She stopped, the smile sliding off her face as she added quickly, ‘Not seriously?’
She’d realised about ten seconds after meeting him that Theo Kyriakis was more the pull-yourself-together sort of man, though, when it came to shoulders, his were certainly broad enough.
‘I thought you might need transport.’
On anyone else, she would have called his manner embarrassed. Was he afraid that a kind gesture might ruin his reputation?
‘There was really no need for you to stay.’
He shrugged. ‘I have not wasted the time. I caught up on some calls without interruption and, as you see, I have been well looked after.’ He glanced to the mug and plate of untouched—Theo did not have a sweet tooth—biscuits on the table.
‘I’m glad someone brought you tea.’
‘Actually, I am not quite sure what it is.’
The comment drew a laugh from Beth, who was still feeling light-headed with relief and inclined to see the best in everyone, even Theo.
Her laughter was a stark contrast to the silent distress he had been conscious of on the journey here. ‘So would you like a lift home?’
Beth regarded him doubtfully, unable to tell from his oddly abrupt manner if the offer was sincere or not. ‘I wouldn’t like to put you to any trouble.’
His brows lifted. ‘Would you like a lift?’ he repeated.
The flash of irritation in his eyes made Beth relax slightly. Theo being polite just didn’t feel right. She tipped her head in a tiny nod of assent and said, ‘I’d be grateful.’
On another occasion, Theo might have been tempted to ask how grateful but he suppressed his ignoble instincts and escorted her back to the waiting car.
Behind the driving wheel, he paused expectantly.
Beth shook her head in response to his questioning glance.
‘Your address?’
Beth gave a self-conscious grimace. ‘Of course. Sorry, I didn’t think.’
Theo was surprised when Beth gave him the necessary information. The address she supplied was that of an extremely upmarket area, the home of bankers, City types and a high proportion of wealthy foreigners who had been drawn by the good transport links into the City, excellent schools and above average share of green spaces.
He was not in the habit of pigeonholing people but Beth did not act the way he would have expected someone who came from an affluent background to behave.
As he drew up in the tree-lined avenue outside the big double gates of the address she had given, the inconsistency was solved.
The house was the largest by far in the affluent street but it was also in a sadly neglected condition—actually, neglected was generous; it looked derelict. The place was a speculator’s dream and worth a small fortune.
Beth saw him staring at the house and said defensively, ‘The west wing is perfectly habitable. Though the roof in the east wing is pretty much shot,’ she admitted with a sigh. The quote she had got last year to fix it had been laughable.
‘That is a lot of house,’ Theo observed diplomatically.
A wistful expression drifted across her face. ‘I’ve seen pictures of it when Gran came here after she was married. It was quite grand and really beautiful; they still had servants then and the grounds were so pretty…There are still lots of daffodils in the spring.’ Sadly, the rest of the original landscaping had been overgrown for years.
‘You live here alone?’ It was hard to imagine a place less suitable for a young woman to live.
‘Until Gran comes home.’
The defensive prickles were back; he was guessing that this had been a point of dissension. ‘Your grandmother does not live in the nursing home on a permanent basis?’
She sent him a challenging glare. ‘No, she’s coming home.’
‘But until then you are alone?’
Beth nodded and opened the passenger door. ‘That’s the way I like it.’
Theo let the rather obvious lie pass. ‘I’ll see you inside.’
Beth shook her head vigorously. ‘No, I’ll be fine.’
Before he could respond, she fled. Theo waited in the car until a light went on inside and waited some more before he finally drove away. It seemed rather symbolic to him that one half of the rusting gate fell off its hinges as he did so.
Chapter Eleven
THEO walked into the office, his eyes automatically going to the desk in the corner.
It was empty.
Frowning, he walked to the closed door of his brother’s office and walked in without warning.
A man did not value something that came easily. And for some men the pursuit was an important part of the mating ritual—his brother was definitely such a man.
How many times had he heard him say easy come, easy go?
This was not something he would have needed to explain to a normal female but he had realised last night when sleep had not come as easily as it normally did that Beth was not a normal female, she lacked all the normal female instincts.
Had he left it too late to explain this?
Had she kissed his brother the way she had kissed him last night? He was sure that if she had, his brother would not display similar restraint.
He had convinced himself that he would walk in on a scene of seduction.
The scene inside stopped him in his tracks, but it was not a scene of seduction but one of devastation.
His brother’s desk was piled high with open files, papers had spilled out on to the floor and Andreas, swivelling in his chair from one side to the other, was swearing fluently through clenched teeth as he sifted through the papers spread out in a swathe across the desk.
In response to the dramatic release of tension, Theo began to laugh.
Andreas looked up, his expression indignant. ‘You think this is funny?’
Theo lifted his brows in response. ‘There is a problem?’
‘You think…? Some idiot,’ Andreas gritted, ‘digging a hole in the street has cut through a power cable.’
‘I did see some activity outside,’ Theo admitted.
His brother shook his head in disbelief. ‘And I thought you were the super-observant one. Some activity…? There are about a dozen trucks out there.’
‘I had other things on my mind.’ Like you making love to your assistant on the desk, which could not happen yet.
‘Is this another example of love turning a cunning business brain to mush?’ When Theo did not respond, he added, ‘You must have noticed there are no lifts?’
‘I don’t use lifts. I walk up the stairs.’ Theo angled a speculative look at the younger man’s middle and added, ‘A practice you might like to take up.’
Finding Theo’s relentless good humour wearing, Andreas scowled. ‘That will happen about the same time I take up hiking in the wilderness for pleasure and not shaving for a week. Unlike you, I do not see the attraction of unnecessary exercise, nature or simpler times. I like pavements, lifts and computers…especially,’ he added with feeling, ‘computers. I need those figures!’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you laughing?’
Theo adopted a sober expression. ‘Sorry, but it was the novelty value of seeing you breaking a sweat at work.’
‘Yes, we all know you lead by example and never ask anyone to do anything you can’t do yourself, but others among us believe in delegation and surrounding ourselves with the best people.’
‘Talking of the best people, where is Eliz
abeth?’
‘If you mean Beth, I’ve not the faintest idea. She didn’t turn up this morning. I assumed you were the reason. Now where…?’
Theo planted both hands on the desk and leaned forward towards his brother. ‘Beth did not come into work?’
‘No, and I don’t mind telling you it couldn’t come at a worse time. She’s never even had a day off before.’
Theo felt a flash of anxiety. ‘She did not ring in or leave a message?’
‘No.’
Theo regarded his brother, who sat there looking totally unconcerned, with an expression of sheer disbelief. ‘And it did not occur to you that there might be something wrong?’
Andreas, startled by the repressed violence in his brother’s manner, held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. ‘No, as I said, I assumed she was with you.’ A speculative light entered his eyes as he studied his brother’s rigid face and asked hopefully, ‘Have you two had a fight?’
Theo picked a file from the desk, handed it to his brother and said, ‘This is the one you need.’
‘Now, how,’ Andreas wondered out loud, ‘did you know that?’
He was talking to thin air. Theo was gone.
When Theo drew up outside the house there was already a car parked in the driveway. The place looked even worse in daylight. The crumbling grandeur and decay would not, he was sure, meet with the approval of the upmarket residents of the area.
He was walking up the path when the door opened and two men walked out. Even if their suits and manner had not proclaimed their profession, the expression on Beth’s face would have.
The eyes, big and tragic, said it all.
Emotions he barely recognised swelled inside his chest. She was pale as a ghost, the vacant emptiness in her eyes emphasised by the smudges of dark colour beneath them.
There was a delay of seconds before he saw the recognition flash into her eyes. She lifted her hand in a fluttery gesture, then she looked at it as though she had forgotten why it was there and let it fall away.