She stared at her reflection.
Who was going to be the first to call for an end to this madness?
* * *
Across the terrace dining table from Loukas, Georgie and Vasilis both reached for an egg from the bowl of red Easter eggs that sat at the centre of each of the dining tables. Lunch complete, all the hotel guests were now participating in the egg-tapping game, Tsougrisma.
Georgie rolled her shoulders and placed her egg over Vasilis’s.
Vasilis had looked uneasy when he had arrived for lunch, eyeing the champagne offered to him warily but Georgie had steered him in the direction of Mrs Hoffman and both widow and widower had got along famously, even though both only had broken English in common.
After the champagne reception Vasilis and Mrs Hoffman had joined this table under the canopy of the terrace, alongside Georgie, Marios and Angeliki. Nikos had also joined them, but was mostly absent as he was spending the day moving about the terrace and the hotel ensuring that all the guests were enjoying their Easter celebrations.
They had eaten lamb from the spit roasts that been turning on the terrace since early morning, salads and roasted potatoes with lemon, orange and oregano. The hotel’s resident band were playing to one side of the terrace, and a light cooling breeze was blowing in from the Mediterranean.
Georgie shifted in her seat, looking for the perfect angle from which to hit Vasilis’s egg. She glanced over to Loukas and smiled at him quietly, a host of different emotions flickering in her eyes: intimacy, affection, uncertainty, even sadness.
Aware of everyone else at the table, Loukas tried to keep his expression impassive. Georgie turned away and brought her egg down on Vasilis’s with a gentle but defiant tap. She turned it over, examined it, and then glanced at Vasilis’s egg. Both her arms shot upwards in victory and she smiled triumphantly before giving Vasilis a hug.
‘Georgie versus Loukas in the final!’ Angeliki called excitedly.
Loukas stood and walked around the table to Georgie’s side.
‘Watch him—he’s a shark and hates to lose!’ Marios swung back on his chair as he warned Georgie, his polo shirt the same shade of red as the Easter eggs.
Nikos arrived back at the table and, seeing who was in the final of their table’s game, groaned. ‘Do me a favour and beat this guy, Georgie—he’s won every year for as long as I can remember.’
Georgie stood up and Loukas held his egg out to her. She eyed the opposing egg like a chess master. Her fierce concentration was so at odds with her modern-day princess dress, the clips that had slipped down the caramel and toffee tones of her hair. Her delicate rosebud mouth that had been so soft and expressive last night...this morning too.
He inhaled sharply at the image of her head thrown back, her damp skin against his.
Georgie glanced at him. Blinked. An electric charge ran between them. She dipped her head, a slow blush forming on her cheeks.
He cleared his throat...glanced at the rest of the people at the table. To a person, they were staring at them with a mixture of curiosity and surprise.
He held his egg out further towards her, wanting to get this over with. No one could know of what had happened between them. Angeliki would only get her hopes up and his brothers, who were so protective of Georgie, would kill him. Especially as it was to be such a short affair. Especially when he had to marry someone else within the next month to secure the hotel of his father’s dreams.
He gritted his teeth. Had he done wrong by Georgie? Should he call a halt to it now?
Georgie positioned her egg. Moved it a fraction and brought it down on his. He heard a faint crunch. Slowly Georgie lifted her egg. Examined it and then flipped it over to show him the hairline crack running down one side.
He held his up. There was no crack to be seen.
Everyone at the table groaned.
She shook her head and said quietly, ‘I guess you’re going to have all the luck this year.’
He glanced around the table. Wondered if he was doing the right thing. But he needed to reach out to her.
His heart began to race. He took her egg, placed it on the table and handed his own to her. ‘You have mine.’
Now she too glanced around the table, gave everyone all a tight smile before looking back at him. ‘I can’t take your luck from you.’
He held it out again.
She eyed the egg and then him.
He lifted his eyebrow, determined to play this cool even when inside he desperately wanted her to take this small offering from him.
Eventually she reached for the egg and nodded her thanks.
At a loss as to what to do next, with everyone at the table staring at them, he turned and grabbed Angeliki and dragged her out onto the dance floor, where other guests were already dancing the kalamatiano.
* * *
Late that afternoon Georgie walked back to Loukas’s villa, keeping her head held high. She had had a wonderful afternoon. She really had. She had danced with Nikos and Marios and Vasilis. She had laughed as Mrs Hoffman had openly admired the dancing of the many handsome Greek men who had taken to the floor. She had circulated amongst the guests, ensuring that they were all having a good time, and posed for endless photos with the bloggers.
It had been fun.
So what if Loukas had kept his distance from her? It had been good to see him dancing with other women. And he had had a long conversation with Sofia—which was good. Wasn’t it?
Inside the villa, she ran upstairs, undressed and hopped in the shower. She scrubbed her face clean of make-up and washed her hair. Humming to herself all the time. Needing to drown out her thoughts.
She was sitting out on the terrace, dressed in jeans and a short soft-knit jumper, reading a book and listening to music, when Loukas eventually came home.
He came to a stop close to the pool when he spotted her.
She pulled out her earphones in time to hear him say, ‘You left the party early.’
It was an accusation rather than a statement. And she felt her hackles rise.
Before she could stop herself, she gave him a brittle smile and said, ‘I didn’t think you’d notice.’
He walked towards her, the spectacular red sunset behind him silhouetting his huge body. ‘Meaning?’
She stood at the coolness in his voice. And in that moment she stopped the pretence she had tried to maintain all afternoon that she didn’t care that he had ignored her. That it didn’t hurt that he’d danced with everyone else but her. That her insides hadn’t twisted with jealousy at the sight of him and Sofia laughing together.
She angled her head. Tried to match his coolness. ‘Meaning you were busy entertaining all your guests.’ Despite the sickening feeling churning in her stomach, she forced herself to continue. ‘And I saw you chatting with Sofia. As she is leaving tomorrow why don’t you take her out on a date tonight?’
Loukas popped his hands into the pockets of his trousers and considered her for long, torturous seconds. ‘I don’t want anyone to know about us—that’s why I didn’t spend time with you this afternoon.’
She tilted her head back and shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter to me.’ Her chest felt as though a lead weight had settled there.
‘You’re upset.’
‘No, I’m not.’
She backed away as he came towards her, but a raised flowerbed was blocking her escape.
His gaze was full of concern and frustration. ‘If Angeliki finds out about us she’ll make my life hell... She really cares for you, Georgie, and she’ll drive us both crazy, trying to get us together.’
He was right. Of course he was. And even more importantly there was his need to find a wife. She didn’t want anything serious with him anyway. But that didn’t stop it from hurting so badly that she thought her heart was forming cracks, like those eggs earlier in the Tsougris
ma game.
He stepped closer, and not for the first time she grew dizzy at his size, at his scent, at the intimate knowledge she now possessed of just how magnificent his body was.
He looped a finger in the band of her jumper and twisted it and pulled her towards him. ‘You looked truly beautiful today.’
When he whispered like that he could melt steel.
She resisted the temptation to drop her forehead to the comfort of his chest and said instead, ‘What about Sofia?’
Instead of moving away, as she’d hoped he would, Loukas pulled her closer, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek. Her heart did a triple flip.
In the barest of whispers, he muttered, ‘I know we shouldn’t, but I want to be with you again tonight...but only if it’s what you want too.’
And then his lips touched against hers in the most tender gesture she’d ever received.
Her knees were about to give way. ‘You’re supposed to be focused on finding a wife.’
His teeth nibbled the lobe of her ear for a brief moment. ‘We can go to my bedroom, or lie on the daybed under the pergola.’
Focus, Georgie. Don’t allow yourself to drown in the testosterone oozing from him. If he’s too blind to see it for himself, then as his matchmaker you’re ethically obliged to point out that there are way more suitable women for him to be whispering these words to.
‘Sofia’s legal mind would be a huge asset to the business.’
‘I want to slide your jeans off, have those incredible legs of yours wrapped around me again. The first time I saw you, when you cycled past in that mermaid outfit, it was your legs that got to me...that and your silver bikini top.’
He walked backwards, tugging her with him.
They shouldn’t be doing this.
When he dropped her onto the daybed she tried to point that out, but she was too dizzy from his nearness, too weak with longing, too dumbstruck by the intensity of his gaze as he hovered over her.
He tilted his head. ‘Do you want this, Georgie?’
Her body was on fire, but heavy emotion—emotion she wasn’t supposed to be feeling—clogged her throat.
She nodded, but Loukas kept on staring at her, waiting for her to speak.
She dragged in some air and whispered up to him, ‘Yes... Yes, I want to be with you.’
Chapter Nine
‘THE HOTEL WILL lose its sparkle when you three gorgeous ladies leave.’
The trio of female bloggers giggled at Nikos while fanning themselves with their checkout paperwork like modern geisha girls.
Beside Georgie, Arianna sighed. ‘Nikos is so cute.’
Lifting her phone Arianna snapped Nikos and the girls, who were pulling playful faces as they posed for a group selfie.
‘All my friends have fallen in love with the photos of him I’ve posted online.’
Georgie rolled her eyes. Nikos, with all his cheeky charm and dark Mediterranean good looks, would almost single-handedly guarantee The Korinna’s ongoing success.
The reception area was hectic with guests checking out after the long weekend, most having availed themselves of the late checkout that the hotel offered.
From across the reception area Loukas, who was speaking to Mr and Mrs Dias, beckoned her over.
Once again he was impeccably dressed, today in a dark navy suit with a thin sky-blue pinstripe that was a perfect match for the sky-blue shirt he had paired with a navy tie.
The smile on his lips was a public one, for all the world to see and appreciate, but as she neared him something private and personal and just for her flashed in his eyes. Was he remembering their lovemaking last night? The urgency and the searing need that had had them whispering intimate words until only gasps remained?
Her steps towards him slowed and her pulse pounded in her ears. She tried to ignore the twitch of his lips as his gaze swept over the burning red-hot heat in her cheeks. She glanced away, and her heart slammed to a stop when she spotted Nikos, Angeliki and Sofia, standing in a group together by the fountain. They were staring in her direction and then towards Loukas.
Angeliki was smiling widely, Nikos was scowling suspiciously and Sofia looked...crestfallen.
Her steps faltered. Loukas’s gaze narrowed and then he turned to look to the side. His smile vanished when he spotted the other three.
Georgie wanted to walk away. She didn’t want to hurt Angeliki or Sofia. She didn’t want any friction between herself and Nikos. And most of all she didn’t want Loukas scowling as he was doing right now.
A wave of guilt and shame swept through her at the role she had played in all of this, but there was also a brutal, sickening feeling of rejection at Loukas’s determination to keep what they had secret from everyone.
Avoiding looking directly at Loukas, she turned her attention to Mr and Mrs Dias. The couple were speaking to each other in rapid whispers, interspersed with puzzled looks in Loukas’s direction.
Eventually she had no option but to meet Loukas’s gaze.
In a low voice he said, ‘Will you explain to Mr and Mrs Dias in Portuguese that I would like to invite them back next year to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, compliments of my family?’ He pulled back and frowned. ‘I think we’re misunderstanding one another at the moment, thanks to my poor Portuguese. They think I’m asking if I can visit them in Portugal.’
In other circumstances Georgie would have giggled at the misunderstanding, but instead her heart sank as she watched Loukas move away to speak to other departing guests, clearly wanting to get away from her and any suspicions the others might have about their relationship.
She translated Loukas’s generous invitation to the couple, who turned towards each other in amazement and then in unison hugged her before crossing the reception area to go and thank Loukas.
For a moment Georgie stood alone, feeling awkward and exposed. For a brief moment Loukas looked in her direction as Mrs Dias hugged him, but he quickly looked away again.
In need of a diversion she walked outside and waited for Mr and Mrs Dias to join her at their waiting carriage.
Before Mrs Dias climbed on board she hugged Georgie one more time. ‘We’ll see you next year, Georgie?’
Georgie hesitated for a moment, thrown first by an image of herself on the ferry, leaving Talos at the end of this summer, and then by the prospect of returning next summer to meet Loukas’s new wife.
‘I’m not sure of my plans...’ She paused and swallowed against the confusion clogging her throat. ‘But hopefully we’ll meet again at some point.’
Mrs Dias considered her for a moment with quiet solemnity. ‘You and Loukas—you’re good together.’
Mrs Dias’s certainty and the wisdom in her eyes startled Georgie. She shook her head and laughed. ‘We’re just friends, Mrs Dias.’
Laying her hand on Georgie’s arm, Mrs Dias said gently, ‘Só há uma felicidade na vida: amar e ser amado.’
Georgie stood and waved the couple off, the translation of Mrs Dias’s words echoing in her mind. There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get rid of Mrs Dias words. She was happy—she had friends, she had her travel and the promise of so many new cities and jobs and friendships to find and explore.
She returned to the now almost empty reception area, but her steps faltered when she saw Loukas talking to Sofia.
There was none of the laughter and ease that had been between them up till now, and Sofia gave Loukas only the briefest of hugs before she turned away.
Sofia came to a standstill when she saw Georgie standing behind her. They smiled awkwardly at one another before Sofia quickly made her way to the elevators that would take her down to the beach dockside and the waiting water taxis.
Loukas came and stood beside her. As Sofia went into the el
evator she looked back towards Loukas for a moment, with a wistful expression.
Georgie winced. She had messed everything up. For Sofia. For Loukas.
The doors of the elevator glided shut.
‘Is Sofia upset?’
His gaze met hers for a brief moment before he looked away and spoke. ‘I’m free for the rest of the afternoon. Let’s cycle out to your house. I’ll help you finish clearing the garden.’
Why hadn’t he answered her question? Was seeing Sofia leave bringing him back to the reality of what they had done?
She shrugged and said quietly, ‘I’ll go by myself. I’m sure there’s a lot of work you need to do here.’
Loukas frowned at her. ‘I want to help you.’ He stepped away, gestured to the management offices located to the rear of Reception and added, ‘I just need to speak to Nikos before we leave. I’ll see you at the villa in half an hour.’
Before he had a chance to walk away she placed her hand on his arm and said, quietly but vehemently, ‘No, I want to go to my house by myself.’
She clinched her hands against the panic rising up inside her. She had got all this so wrong. She shouldn’t have grown so close to Loukas. She shouldn’t have slept with him. Now she just felt vulnerable and exposed and guilty.
Before he had a chance to argue with her she walked away, trying to resist the urge to run as she stepped outside under the canopy.
* * *
‘What’s going on between you and Georgie?’
Watching Georgie disappear out of the building, Loukas gritted his teeth and turned to Nikos, who was staring at him unhappily.
Was his messed-up relationship with Georgie going to cause a rift between him and Nikos just as they were starting to mend their own relationship?
He turned and stared out at the now empty hotel entranceway, his gut tightening after Georgie’s refusal to let him join her today. He had seen it in her eyes when she’d said she wanted to go to her house by herself—she was pushing him away.
‘We need to go through the financials for the weekend.’
Tempted by Her Greek Tycoon Page 14