‘No.’ She shook her head, holding the chair in a death grip.
But his gaze was so intense she felt as if he delved into the very heart of her, reading the secret she tried so desperately to hide. Her knees trembled as she looked up into his stark face.
‘Yes.’ Something pulsed between them. Raw and desperate. ‘We need you Sophie.’
‘We?’
‘Eleni—’
‘She’s worse?’ Sophie swallowed down the hard knot of anxiety that blocked her throat. It had only been a few hours since she’d left the hospital. Eleni had been fine then, though upset about Sophie’s departure. Had she taken a turn for the worse?
Costas’ face was grim as he held out his hand. ‘She needs you. Now. You wouldn’t deny her, would you?’
‘But I can’t. I have a flight.’ She gestured helplessly to the other door.
Costas’ hand sliced through the air between them. ‘That means nothing. I can book you onto another flight when this is over. If you want.’
She stared up at him, noting the drawn look around his mouth, the stiff set to his jaw. Whatever had happened was life-and-death serious. Her anxiety notched up another level. Poor, brave little Eleni.
‘You promise?’
‘When you want a flight I will personally see you on board.’
She believed him. Whatever else he might be, Costas was a man of his word. He’d been straight down the line with her. No prevaricating, no dressing up the truth with convenient euphemisms. He said what he meant.
‘But why me—?’
‘It’s you she needs.’
Sophie frowned. Eleni had grown attached to her—it had been mutual, after all. But surely Eleni’s father, her grandparents, were the ones who should be with her now?
‘It’s time we left.’ He stepped close, stretching out his hand as if to take her arm. She felt the fierce heat of his body reaching out to her, but then his hand dropped to his side. He maintained a small but telling distance.
And she was grateful for it. Even this close the tension seemed to shimmer between them, the air charged with a force that she couldn’t hope to ignore.
‘I’ll have to make arrangements for my luggage.’
‘It’s been taken care of.’ He motioned for her to lead the way out of the room. ‘It’s all in hand.’
‘In hand?’ In the act of walking out the door she stopped and spun round to stare at him. ‘You did that without even asking me?’
‘Sophie.’ She’d never heard this dreadful urgency in his voice before. ‘It was necessary. Believe me. This is an emergency.’
His face was set hard. But something about his eyes told her this really mattered. More even than her heartbreak. Or her pride. Pain radiated from him. And more than that—uncertainty. That was so remarkable it convinced her as nothing else could.
Eleni’s condition must be serious.
His pain tore at her already lacerated heart. She shook her head, wondering helplessly how she could feel so much for a man who didn’t want her. How had his pain become hers?
But so it was. Despite everything—her anger and her hurt—she didn’t want him to suffer. Not with the raw agony she saw staring back at her from his proud features.
His arm wrapped round her shoulders and he propelled her towards the door. His hold was light, but she sensed the steel behind it.
Her body reacted predictably. A tremor started somewhere deep inside her, spreading out until she was weak with barely suppressed longing.
The short man in the grey suit was in the corridor, waiting for them. ‘Everything is all right, Kyrie Palamidis?,
‘Yes.’ Costas reached out and shook his hand, but kept his left arm around her. ‘Thank you for your assistance. I regret the inconvenience.’