The Diakos Baby Scandal

She took a deep, steadying breath and looked back through the one-way mirror into the shop. Theo was still standing there, as inscrutable as an ancient Greek statue, and Carol was obviously trying to engage him in conversation.

The sudden, horrifying thought occurred to her that Carol might innocently mention Lucas. With another judder of her already painful heart she grabbed her bag and burst back through the door. She had to get Theo away from anyone who knew her as quickly as possible.

‘Take as long as you want,’ Carol said, trying to be helpful. ‘I’ll send you a sneaky text if Margaret gets back.’

‘I won’t be long,’ Kerry said.

‘Don’t worry,’ Carol said. ‘Have fun. Enjoy your blast from the past.’

‘Thanks.’ Kerry slipped past Theo and pushed the heavy glass door open. She flashed her colleague a tight smile and walked away down the rainy street, leaving Theo to follow her.

Fun was the last thing she was expecting to have. And as for Carol’s unsuspecting use of the phrase blast fromthe past—all Kerry could think about was the more violent, destructive meaning of the word blast.

She desperately hoped Theo hadn’t come to rip mercilessly through her life, laying everything to waste and destroying the tentative happiness she had finally found.

Suddenly she couldn’t bear the agony of not knowing.

She stopped abruptly and turned to face Theo.

‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded.

‘I’ve come to take you back to Greece,’ he said.

CHAPTER THREE

THEO stood still, watching Kerry’s reaction to his announcement. For a second he hardly recognised her. Somehow she didn’t seem like the woman he’d spent nearly a year of his life with.

There were the obvious differences—the unflattering navy blue uniform, and the new way she had done her blonde hair, twisting it up into a tight knot at the nape of her neck with a long fringe he didn’t remember falling into her eyes. But the real differences seemed to be deeper, more profound than that. She looked older in some way, and the expression on her face was wary and troubled.

He frowned, momentarily disconcerted as he looked down into her eyes. He could have sworn that her eyes had been a soft clear blue, but now they appeared to be pale grey, as if they were reflecting the pastel colour of the rain-streaked sky.

‘Why would you say that?’ Kerry gasped. ‘I’m not coming back to Greece with you.’

‘Actually, you are,’ Theo said.

‘Why?’ she demanded incredulously. ‘Why do you want me to? And what makes you think I’d ever go anywhere with you ever again?’

‘Because you owe me that,’ he replied.

‘I don’t owe you anything!’ Kerry exclaimed, anger suddenly flaring inside her. ‘I gave up my career to be with you, and I never took any of the money you tried to give me. I used up all my savings while I was living with you, which made it really hard for me when I came back to London.’

She paused, racking her brain for any other possible reason he might think that she owed him. The very idea that he could want anything of her was ridiculous—he was one of the richest men in Athens.

‘I left all the expensive jewellery you gave me behind,’ she added, remembering how much that had hurt.

It wasn’t because of the cost of the items—for Kerry their value had been entirely sentimental. She’d thought they were genuine tokens of Theo’s affection for her. When he’d thrown her out so coldly, she’d realised that all the things she’d taken as meaningful in their relationship had obviously meant nothing at all to him.

‘I’m not talking about trivial monetary matters,’ Theo said flatly.

‘Then what—?’ Kerry’s voice dried up in her throat. Did that mean he had found out about Lucas?

She bit her lip, desperately hoping that he hadn’t discovered her secret. Surely he would have brought up something so important immediately? But perhaps he meant to string it out to torment her.

‘You interfered with matters that did not concern you,’ Theo said. ‘The consequences could have been tragic.’

Kerry drew in a shaky breath, remembering the awful evening of the accident.

‘No one was injured,’ she said in a small voice.

She deeply regretted that her involvement had caused Hallie to drive off with Nicco when she’d been drinking. But that did not change the fact that Theo and Corban had been planning to take Nicco away from his mother.

‘It’s a miracle no one was killed,’ Theo said. ‘But that’s not exactly the reason I’m here.’

Kerry stared up at him anxiously. What could be worse than causing a potential tragedy—something bad enough to bring Theo all the way from Athens to seek restitution from her?

‘Your meddling stirred up a vicious media circus,’ Theo said, as if that was on the same level as a tragedy. ‘The paparazzi had a field-day. They hounded my family relentlessly—Hallie and Corban in particular. It made things very difficult.’

Relief that Theo had not come about Lucas poured through Kerry—making her bold. Was he really comparing the inconvenience of unwanted media interest with the possibility of someone dying in a car crash? How had she ever lived with this man—shared his home for six months—without realising what he was really like?

‘You mean with the media watching everything you did it made it difficult for you to take your sister-in-law’s child away from her?’ she asked.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew she should not have antagonised him. A change came over him that made goosebumps prickle across her skin. It was hard to pinpoint what was actually different about his expression or his body language, but something alerted her to danger.

‘It would be better—for you—if you never mention what you overheard that night again.’

Theo’s voice grated across her nerves, making her heart start to race once more. But then all of a sudden her hackles rose at the threat in his tone. How dared he tell her what to do? She wasn’t in a relationship with him any more.

‘Why not? Are you ashamed of yourself for contemplating something so horrible?’ she demanded recklessly. ‘Or are you simply lying low—intending to carry on with your plan once the heat is off?’

Theo glared down at her, his blood suddenly surging hot and angry through his veins. He’d had no idea that Kerry had it in her to behave like this. The woman who’d been his lover for nearly a year would never have been so hot-headed, never have challenged him so rashly.

‘Be very careful,’ he grated, stepping forward so that he towered over her, forcing her to crane her neck back to maintain eye contact.

‘Why?’ she demanded, planting her hands on her hips and refusing to back away. ‘What are you going to do to me?’

Theo could almost feel the energy crackling between them. Despite the cool air of the wet summer day, there was real heat in the space around their bodies. It was the heat of anger—and it was far more than just that.

It was the heat of passion—emotional and sexual.

Suddenly he knew exactly what he wanted to do to her, and it took every ounce of his self-control not to give in to his desires. The need to seize her in his arms and drag her hard against his body was almost overwhelming. He wanted to cover her angry mouth with his—to silence her in the most satisfying way he knew how.

He continued to stare down at her, letting the silence lengthen. His heart was pumping powerfully in his chest, and his body was thrumming with desire for her. Then he saw her eyes widen slightly, saw her lips part a little as her breathing deepened. And he knew she felt it too.

Pure physical attraction.

A few minutes earlier it had seemed as if he didn’t know her any more—but now he knew precisely how her body was reacting to him. After all, they had been lovers for nearly a year. He recognised the heat suddenly dancing in her cheeks, and the way her pupils had grown large in her pale-coloured eyes.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her.