The Greek Billionaires Love-Child

And she was going to fight him all the way, of course, because she seemed determined to fight him about everything.

Reversing out of his space, Nikos tried again to work out what was going on in her head.

Was she really resisting his proposal simply because he hadn’t divulged the details of his financial situation?

What difference did it make that he had money? Most women would have been delighted to discover that their future was secure. Particularly someone like Ella, who was obviously struggling by on a ridiculously tight budget.

But Ella didn’t seem remotely interested in his money. Just in the fact that he hadn’t told her about it.

He felt a rush of frustration because her reaction didn’t make sense.

And then he experienced the same feeling that he always had when a sick baby was brought into the department. They couldn’t tell him what was wrong and he loved the challenge of using all his skills to reveal the answer.

It would be the same with Ella, he vowed as he turned onto the road that led to the university. He was a doctor, wasn’t he? He needed to take a step back. Be more objective. Examine the clues.

But the first step was to have her living under the same roof as him.

Exhausted after the end of a long shift, Ella changed into her jeans, slung her bag over her shoulder and said good-night to the night staff who had just come on duty.

There was no sign of Nikos and that surprised her because she’d been braced for another argument about the unsuitability of living on a canal boat.

In the darkness outside in the ambulance bay, she fumbled with the lock on her bike and then wheeled it down the dark alleyway that led from the emergency department to the back of the hospital and the canal path.

It was the first time she’d seen the canal at night and cold fingers of unease trailed down her spine.

She’d been asleep when Nikos had carried her home the previous evening. Only now was she realising what it would be like to cycle home along this lonely path at night.

And as for sleeping on the boat on her own…

Suddenly she wished she hadn’t been quite so quick to dismiss Helen and Nikos’s concerns. Perhaps pregnancy had done strange things to her imagination, but she felt horribly, horribly uneasy, staring along the dark, lonely path.

Irritated with herself, she switched on the light at the front of her bike.

Looking at the sinister darkness that stretched ahead, Ella almost wished Nikos was there. His powerful shoulders and raw male strength would have done a great deal to calm her nerves.

Knowing him as she did, she was frankly a little shocked that he’d allowed her to cycle home without more of a fuss.

Swallowing hard, she stared into the shadowy darkness and felt another lurch of unease. What was the matter with her? This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She’d chosen to live here. She’d chosen peace and tranquillity. She’d wanted independence. Acknowledging the contradiction in her attitude, Ella sighed with frustration.

She accused him of being a caveman, so he let her cycle alone. And now she was wishing he’d been more forceful about stopping her.

Desperately, she tried to pull herself together. Really, she was being pathetic. She had a light on her bicycle so there was no chance that she was going to cycle into the canal. And as for everything else…

Refusing to examine any other fear, she pushed her foot down on the pedal and started along the path. The wheels of her bike crunched lightly on the rough ground and high in the trees an owl gave a ghostly hoot, reminding her that the surrounding woodland was very much alive at this time of night. Something gleamed between the branches of the trees—a pair of eyes?

Her heart was pounding, her hands were clammy and she was filled with a dark feeling that something, or someone, was watching her.

Her imagination racing out of control, Ella cycled faster than she should have done along the path, her shoulders prickling with the sense that someone was following her. Several times she was tempted to stop and look behind her, but instead she kept pedalling until she reached her boat.

Moments later she was safely inside, her bike propped against a tree outside, the doors locked against intruders.

Safe.

Trying to calm her breathing, she closed her eyes for a moment. She was locked in here. Everything was fine.

But still she couldn’t relax.

Ridiculously nervous, she couldn’t shake off the thought that no one else was close by. She had no neighbours. She was alone on a stretch of canal that was only used by dog walkers during the day.