Bought By The Greek Tycoon

‘That’s my stepsister—Jan,’ Jemma told him as she finally spied a vacant sofa and led him towards the far corner of the elegant drawing room. She felt him stumble. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked anxiously, and helped him sit down. ‘You look a little pale.’ She studied his lined face with worried eyes.

‘Your stepsister, you say? I didn’t know you had a sister.’

‘Well, you hardly know me.’ Jemma laughed.

‘I think I need that drink,’ Theo Devetzi rasped as he settled down on the sofa, and then muttered something in Greek that to Jemma sounded suspiciously like a curse.

‘If you’ll wait here, I’ll go and get you a brandy. It will do you more good than champagne,’ Jemma offered. The man was obviously still in some pain, she thought compassionately.

Meanwhile, Luke had placed a hand on Jan’s back and escorted her through the crowd. He smiled, and continued to smile in all the right places, while Jan accepted effusive birthday congratulations from her friends and they made their way towards her mother and father at the far end of the room. Luke could act the perfect consort without a thought, and his thoughts were centred on the lovely Jemma.

He glanced around the room, wondering which man was her husband. He was a lucky man—or maybe not so lucky, Luke thought cynically. There had been no mistaking the sexual chemistry, the wild passion between Jemma and himself. Her poor husband was more to be pitied than envied, he concluded.

But it was time he concentrated on Jan and did what he was here to do—help his grandfather. He glanced around the room and spotted Theo, safely seated, and briefly their eyes met. For a second Luke thought he saw panic in his grandfather’s gaze, but as he watched Jemma approached and handed Theo a brandy, and the old man was all smiles.

Jemma handed the brandy glass to Theo. ‘You’re sure you’re okay?’ she queried, sitting down beside him and taking a good swallow from her own glass of champagne. She wasn’t normally a drinker, but dear heaven she needed something to steady her nerves and her stomach…

‘Much better,’ Theo reassured her, and took a sip of brandy. ‘Your sister Jan seems to know Luke well. Have you ever met him before?’ he asked casually.

‘No.’ Jemma gritted her teeth and lied. She had no intention of letting this sweet old man know what had happened between her and Luke a year ago. ‘But Jan has known him for years, I believe,’ she answered. Poor Theo started coughing again. ‘You sound as if you have caught a cold; are you sure you should be out so soon after your accident?’

‘No, really, I’m fine,’ Theo insisted, and then changed the subject by explaining to her what she had voted for at the board meeting—apparently she had agreed to another stock flotation to raise money.

‘It doesn’t make much difference to me,’ Jemma said lightly. ‘I’m mildly dyslexic with numbers, and what I know about high finance wouldn’t cover my little fingernail. But I wouldn’t say no to the money.’ Draining her glass, she put it down on a convenient table, as did Theo.

‘Well, there’s a simple answer to that.’ Theo took his opportunity swiftly. ‘You could sell me your aunt’s villa on Zante. It used to be my family home years ago, you know. Call me sentimental, but I’d rather like it back. I’m willing to give you well above the market value for it if you agree.’

‘It’s a nice thought, and I really would if I could, but I can’t sell it to you.’ Jemma saw Theo’s puzzlement and explained. ‘Aunt Mary left it in trust for me, and for my children, and for my children’s children, ad infinitum—all tied up legally.’

‘I see.’ The old man’s dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ‘Have you ever considered applying to have the trust broken? I believe it is possible.’

‘Maybe some day.’ When she was too old to have children, she thought. ‘But it’s not something I would contemplate at the moment…’ Plus, she owed it to her aunt Mary to follow her wishes, she thought with a tinge of sadness, but she saw no reason to tell Theo the whole story.

‘Of course that is entirely your prerogative,’ Theo said quietly, and raised his hands palms up in a gesture of defeat. ‘No matter. I have lived long enough to know that one never gets everything one wants in life.’ Suddenly he smiled and glanced across the room. ‘Not that my grandson is often thwarted. Now, tell me honestly, what do you think of Luke?’

He is a sexual predator, skilled in the art of seduction, and he preys on the weakness of women, Jemma thought, but didn’t say it. ‘He seems…nice.’ She lied through her teeth again. ‘And I know Jan thinks very highly of him.’

At the other side of the room Luke appeared to concentrate his attention on the Sutherlands, while in his mind he ran through the report he had read this morning. His London office had done some checking over the past two days—David Sutherland was a man in trouble and trying not to show it, he thought cynically. But, smiling down at the man and his wife, he exchanged a polite greeting with the couple.

Luke already had a pretty good idea what Sutherland wanted from him. He had hinted as much on Wednesday evening once he’d realised Luke was the owner of Devetzi International. Sutherland wanted him to invest in Vanity Flair, or at the very least recommend it as a buy to his clients, in order to boost the share price and thus help Sutherland’s much-vaunted expansion plans. Luke had no intention of doing either, but he had to play it cagey for the moment.

On the two occasions he had taken Jan out this week he had refrained from mentioning her inheritance to her. He had kept their relationship on a light, flirtatious level. But she had a great ability to talk about herself, and the model agency she had recently set up, which tied in with what Theo had said about her now owning her own business.

Reminded of Theo, he glanced around the room and spotted him, still sitting on the sofa, the faithless Jemma Barnes beside him. But as Luke watched the old man turned slightly, his dark eyes clashing with Luke’s, and with a somewhat frantic wave of his cane he beckoned him over. What had happened now?

‘Excuse me,’ Luke said abruptly. ‘But my grandfather appears to need me.’ And with a brief apologetic smile at Jan and her parents he moved quickly through the crowd to Theo’s side.

He was met by a torrent of Greek. The gist of it being that Luke was the biggest idiot in Christendom. What was he doing hanging on to the blonde beanpole? There were two daughters and he was dating the wrong one—the stepdaughter. Was he mad? Jemma was the one he should have been dating, and now—short of a miracle—he had blown Theo’s chances of ever getting his home back.

Stunned by the news, Luke glanced at Jemma and back to Theo, feeling like a prize idiot. Then anger took over and he shot back in Greek. How the hell was he supposed to know there were two daughters when Theo had not even known and it had been Theo himself who’d told Luke the woman’s name was Jan?

Luke’s grey eyes narrowed angrily on the downbent head of the lady in question.. he wasn’t surprised she couldn’t face him—then he glared at his grandfather. He must have been mad to let himself get involved with Theo’s crazy idea in the first place. Now he’d have to extricate himself from a relationship with Jan he’d never had any enthusiasm for in the first place. And it wouldn’t be easy. He began to tell Theo so in no uncertain terms.

Jemma could tell the two men were arguing, and, much as she hated the idea of facing Luke, her compassion for poor Theo overcame her fear. Rising to her feet, she cut into the tirade of Greek in a cool, well-modulated voice. ‘Excuse me, Mr Devetzi, your grandfather is not very well, and shouting at him will certainly not help.’

Jemma was telling him off! Luke was struck dumb at the nerve of the woman.

‘He’s had an accident, in case you’ve forgotten, and he should really be at home resting.’

‘I was not shouting.’ Luke finally found his voice. ‘We Greeks are as passionate in conversation as we are in everything,’ he said pointedly, none too subtly reminding her of the passion they had shared. ‘And I know very well what Theo needs.’ He shot a lethal glance at Theo to see the man was smiling; he was enjoying this, damn him! Luke was determined Theo wasn’t going to make him the villain of the evening, and neither was he taking any cheek from a married woman who quite happily slept around, he thought furiously. No matter how gorgeous she was.

‘I tried to make him stay at home, but he insisted on coming to the party because he wanted to meet you again, Jemma,’ Luke said. ‘Apparently you made quite an impression on him at the board meeting, because he hasn’t stopped talking about you. He told me you were in business, but he omitted to mention you had a partner…’ He paused and deliberately looked down at her ring finger before adding, ‘But then his English is not so good.’ Luke offered a withering glance to his grandfather, as the old man had obviously still not realised the woman was married. ‘Is your husband here? I would quite like to meet him,’ he asked pointedly, his steel-grey gaze roaming insultingly over her. His question was to inform Theo of his basic mistake, but also to act as a barbed reminder to the sexy Jemma that there had been no mention of a husband while Luke had been making love to her…

Jemma could do nothing about the sudden colour that surged in her cheeks at his blatant male scrutiny and his sly dig at her married state. But, having suffered constantly as a child at the hands of her peer group because of her slight dyslexia, she wasn’t prepared to stand by and let the arrogant Luke belittle his grandfather’s use of the English language.

She cast Theo a sympathetic glance. ‘There’s nothing wrong with your English. I can understand you perfectly,’ she assured him, before lifting her head to glare up at the man towering over her. ‘And you should know better than to demean your grandfather’s abilities in front of others,’ Jemma said tautly, her glittering golden eyes clashing angrily with grey. It was as if they were the only two in the room, the tension between them a palpable force. ‘And maybe if you learned to listen to your grandfather properly you wouldn’t need to do it. As it happens I do have a partner, my best friend Liz, though I actually never told Theo I had a partner when we first met.’ Implying Luke was a liar. ‘And, as for my husband, he died some time ago now. Are you satisfied?’

For the second time in as many minutes Luke was stunned into silence as he thought of the opportunity he might have had with her if Theo had got his facts right. The beautiful Jemma was free and single again… He didn’t really care when her husband had died; it was enough to know she was available now—except for the minor complication that he was currently dating her stepsister… Damage limitation was called for—and fast!

Straightening his shoulders, he caught the flicker of sadness in her huge amber eyes that she could not quite disguise and he felt like a heel.

‘I’m so sorry, Jemma. I never meant to offend you or Theo. May I offer my deepest sympathy at the loss of your husband?’

‘Thank you,’ Jemma responded curtly, finally tearing her gaze away from his, and not believing him for a second. She was too shocked to say anything more. Luke Devetzi had angered her so much that she had blurted out in public that Alan was dead—something she had rarely had the strength to do before—and it scared her.

‘Forgive my grandson for being so crass. I know exactly how you feel,’ Theo cut in, and she was grateful for the old man’s intervention. ‘I have also lost my wife, but let me assure you it does get easier.’ After giving her a sympathetic smile he looked back at his grandson. ‘But Jemma is right, Luke, perhaps I was a bit hasty in coming out tonight.’ Suddenly rising to his feet, with more agility than Jemma would have thought him capable of, he grasped Luke’s arm—just as Jan appeared.

‘Luke, darling, is everything all right?’

Looking from Theo to Luke and back again, Jemma had the oddest feeling some silent communication had passed between them.

Jan placed a proprietorial hand on Luke’s shirtfront.

‘No, my grandfather isn’t feeling too well, so I am going to take him straight home. Sorry we have to leave early, but it is necessary,’ Luke said smoothly.

‘Oh, must you?’ Jan pouted ‘Surely you can stay, even if your grandfather has to leave? I’ll call him a cab.’

‘No, I couldn’t possibly allow him to go home alone.’ Luke removed Jan’s hand from his chest, his tone hard, and Jemma had a feeling that Jan had just made a big mistake with this man.

‘Oh, but you don’t need to,’ Jan gushed, and turned a pleading look on Jemma. ‘Do Luke and I another favour and take Mr Devetzi home, please, Jemma? You know you don’t really like parties and he’ll be fine with you. Plus, Luke hasn’t had the chance to properly speak to David yet.’

Jemma almost laughed. Jan’s barefaced cheek never failed to amaze her. She’d opened her mouth to make some non-committal answer when Theo intervened. ‘No, thank you, Miss Sutherland. I wouldn’t feel happy imposing on your sister in such a way. It’s time I left.’ And, taking Luke’s arm, he apologised for dragging his grandson away. ‘I am feeling rather weak.’

Luke wasn’t feeling so great himself. For a man who was always in control, it was galling to have to admit he had been completely blindsided by the evening’s events. He wanted to talk to Jemma. Who was he kidding? He wanted to do a lot more than talk to her. But now wasn’t the time or the place. She would keep, he decided, and the quicker he got away from this disastrous party the better.

‘Sorry, ladies, but we have to leave,’ Luke said. ‘Give my apologies to your father and I’ll call you later, Jan. No doubt I’ll see you again, Jemma.’

Not if I see you first, Jemma thought. Then, while Jan monopolised Luke’s attention once more, she leant forward and kissed the old man’s cheek. ‘You take care, Theo.’