The Kristallis Baby

She blinked furiously, determined not to start crying, and stared at Cosmo Kristallis coldly. Sophie and Leonidas weren’t here to defend themselves, so she would have to do it. They had been good people and she’d loved them both. She wouldn’t let him slander them any more.

‘That child is not my grandson,’ Cosmo said flatly.

‘Yes, he is,’ Carrie said. ‘The thought that you are his grandfather makes me feel sick, but nevertheless he is your grandson, and I won’t let you tell any more horrible lies about Sophie or Leonidas.’

‘I will never acknowledge him,’ Cosmo said. ‘And if you ever contact my family again you will live to regret it.’ Then, without giving Carrie a chance to respond, he turned and strode away.

She stared after him, realising she was shaking. She’d heard many unpleasant things about Leonidas’s Greek family, but until that moment she’d never really understood why he had hated his father so much.

‘It’s all right. You’ll never have to see that horrible man again,’ she murmured into Danny’s curly brown hair. Her words were to comfort herself as much as the baby. ‘We’ve got each other and we’ll do just fine.’

CHAPTER ONE

Six months later

‘P LEASE , Carrie, you’ve got to do this for me,’ Lulu begged, streams of mascara-stained tears running down her crumpled face. ‘If Darren listens to that message he’ll throw me out!’

‘I want to help. You know that,’ Carrie said, looking at her weeping friend with concern. ‘But wouldn’t it be better if you did it? After all, no one’s going to think twice if you walk into your husband’s study and take his phone.’

‘I told you—everyone heard us arguing. Anyway, I can’t go down there like this,’ Lulu wailed, indicating her ruined make-up with a theatrical gesture. ‘But if I don’t delete that message I’m going to be in such big trouble.’

‘Well, I’m hardly going to blend in with the party.’ Carrie glanced down at the sports gear she was wearing. She was Lulu’s personal trainer, not one of her footballer husband’s fancy party set. ‘And you know I’ve got to leave soon or I’ll be late picking up Danny.’

‘It won’t take long.’ Lulu suddenly lunged towards her and pulled at her T-shirt. ‘Quick—get these things off. You can wear one of my dresses.’

Five minutes later Carrie emerged from Lulu’s bedroom, dressed for her mission and feeling decidedly self-conscious. After the past six months of caring for Danny and coming to terms with her grief, it was an unsettling experience to dress up for a glitzy celebrity party. Even before her life had changed so dramatically she wouldn’t have felt at ease in such dangerously high stiletto heels and a dress so tight she could hardly breathe. But there simply hadn’t been time to sift through Lulu’s wardrobe to find something she’d feel better wearing.

She left her backpack, which was stuffed rather haphazardly with her training gear, by the front door, and started moving through the house towards Darren’s study. Lulu just needed his phone long enough to delete the voicemail she had left in a fit of jealousy. Then Carrie’s task would be over.

She took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and knocked back a recklessly large swallow of the sparkling liquid. An explosion of bubbles fizzed against the roof of her mouth, making her throat tighten uncomfortably and her eyes start to water. She coughed quietly, and blinked to clear her vision as she glanced quickly round the room.

Despite the early hour, the party was already in full swing. A photographer was making the rounds, finding no shortage of guests willing to pose for him—no doubt hoping to find their photos inside the glossy pages of well-known celebrity lifestyle magazines.

She smoothed the sparkly red dress over her hips in an ineffectual effort to cover a decent amount of thigh. Lulu wasn’t known for choosing her wardrobe with modesty in mind, and that coupled with Carrie’s considerable extra height meant that she was left with an alarming amount of leg on show. Even more disconcerting was the lack of decent coverage provided by the plunging neckline.

Feeling very self-conscious, she dropped her gaze and moved across the room. A curtain of sleek black hair fell across her eyes, but she didn’t flick it back. She felt better with her face hidden—although no one was actually looking at her face , she thought with a shudder.

At last she slipped quietly into the study and closed the door behind her. She ignored the nerves that fluttered in her stomach and crossed to the desk. Putting her champagne glass down, she picked up Darren’s jacket from the back of his chair and reached her hand into the pocket.

‘Do you make a habit of that?’

Carrie gasped and spun round to see who had spoken, clutching the jacket tightly to her chest.

A stranger stood just inside the study. Tall and imposing, with an unmistakable air of power about him, he was standing perfectly still, calmly watching her every move.

Her eyes flew to his face, and as their gazes met she sucked in a startled breath. He was utterly gorgeous. Dark brown hair and bronzed skin made his appearance classically Mediterranean, apart from his eyes, which were an arresting shade of blue.

She looked at him, taking in his incredible bone structure and perfect features. He was unbelievably good-looking, but there was something disconcerting about him. She had the strangest feeling that she ought to know who he was. She bit her lip and studied him, momentarily forgetting that she was still holding the incriminating jacket.

It worried her that she couldn’t place him. Many of the guests at the party were celebrities—easily recognisable people that for an instant you thought you knew, until suddenly you realised who they were. Carrie was used to that, with several of her clients being celebrities of one kind or another. But there was something about this man that unnerved her.

He was studying her in return. She felt a shiver of sexual awareness prickle across her skin as his gaze swept arrogantly over her. The intensity in his glittering blue eyes made her suddenly acutely aware of her body, and of the revealing dress she was wearing. It was an unfamiliar sensation.

For the past six months she had been totally absorbed in her new way of life. She had discovered the bittersweet joys of caring for Danny whilst dealing with the loss of so many loved ones and had learned to cope with the everyday stresses of looking after a child.

With all of that going on, she simply wasn’t used to thinking of herself as an attractive woman that men might fight desirable.

A wave of heat washed across her exposed skin, but it was unsettling and she did her best to ignore it. She couldn’t let herself be thrown off kilter by her unexpected feelings. After all, she still had to get Darren’s phone for Lulu, and then leave in time to pick up Danny.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked, deliberately making her voice sound as indifferent as she could. ‘Are you lost, or were you looking for Darren?’

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ the stranger said. ‘I asked if you made a habit of that.’

Carrie’s heart skipped a beat. He’d seen what she’d been up to.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, in an attempt to brazen it out. She let the jacket fall back onto the chair, closing her fingers round the mobile phone just as her hand slid from the pocket. She tossed her silky hair away from her face and stared squarely back at him.

‘I meant do you often creep into other people’s studies and steal their mobile phones?’ His voice was deep and resonant, with the hint of an accent that Carrie couldn’t place.

‘I didn’t creep anywhere.’ Trying to sound cool, she let her gaze slide down across his powerful body. She was impressed by what she saw. Lean and athletic, he looked amazing in his dark designer suit, but she had no doubt he’d look equally good dressed in the more revealing exercise gear that, because of her job as a trainer, she was used to seeing men wear. ‘And I haven’t stolen anything. This is Lulu’s phone. I was fetching it for her.’

‘You should really work on your story more,’ he said.

‘I work for Lulu.’ She shrugged, trying to ignore the mocking note to his tone. Maybe she could still bluff her way out of the situation. ‘She asked me to fetch it.’

‘Really?’ he asked, running his eyes insultingly over her, starting from the tips of her toes and working his way up in a leisurely fashion. ‘Are they your work clothes?’ he finished, letting his gaze linger on her almost indecently exposed breasts.

‘I’m Lulu’s personal trainer,’ she said, trying to ignore the way her skin was burning from his perusal. It was strangely exciting, yet utterly unnerving, to feel the way her body was responding to the touch of his eyes. ‘Now, please excuse me. I really must get back to her.’ She took a step towards the door.

Suddenly the sound of Darren’s voice right outside the study caught her attention.

Her eyes flicked nervously to the door. She still had his phone in her hand, and there was nowhere in the ridiculously skimpy outfit she was wearing to hide it. She’d made Lulu a promise, but now she wasn’t going to get away with it.

She looked back at her uninvited companion. Would he give her away? Reveal that he’d caught her red-handed in the act of stealing the mobile phone?

At that moment he started walking towards her. Her heart lurched and she clutched the phone tightly, staring at him. She was paralysed like a rabbit in the glare of an approaching juggernaut. What was he going to do? Take the phone from her and tell Darren exactly what he’d seen?

His movements seemed quite unhurried, but there was a purposeful glint in his blue eyes that sent an icy tingle skittering down Carrie’s spine. Then suddenly she realised he was standing right in front of her, effectively shielding her from anyone who came into the room.

Startled by his sudden proximity, she stared up at him with wide eyes. At five foot eight inches she was tall, but even with the added height of Lulu’s four-inch stiletto-heeled sandals she had to tip her head back to look at him.

The expression on his face made her heart beat erratically. His glittering blue eyes darkened, and he looked so deeply into her eyes that it felt as if he could see right into her soul. Then he tipped his head slightly to one side, as if he was about to kiss her!

‘So lovely,’ he murmured, resting his hands gently on the bare skin of her upper arms.

Carrie was transfixed. She simply couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. He was absolutely gorgeous. Everything about his features seemed perfect, from the deep blue eyes fringed with sinfully long lashes to the wide, expressive mouth. And he was looking at her and seeing a desirable woman.

Suddenly she became aware of the sensuous slide of his hand down her arm, skimming lightly over her skin in a way that made the hairs stand up and goosebumps prickle over her exposed flesh. His hand closed over the phone, taking it from her grasp, then in the next second his other arm moved around her, pulling her hard against his muscular frame.