The dress she was wearing was the first new item of clothing she’d had for as long as she could remember and she only had that because her grandfather had taken one look at her ancient pair of faded jeans and almost burst a blood vessel. When she’d pointed out tartly that she didn’t have the money for a dress, he’d barked out a series of orders to one of his staff and three dresses had duly been chosen. But even then she hadn’t been given the option of selecting her favourite. Instead she’d been subjected to the humiliation of modelling all three in front of her grandfather, and had the added humiliation of being forced to wear the most revealing garment she’d ever laid eyes on.
‘You need to show the man what he’s getting,’ he’d grunted when she’d protested that there was no way she could wear a dress that was that low-cut. ‘Wear it or the deal is off.’
So she’d forced herself into the offending garment and tried not to show how utterly self-conscious she was to be wearing such a totally unsuitable dress. As far as she was concerned, the dress said one thing, ‘Pull me’, and she had the sense to realize that, given her appearance, mentioning her virginity to Sebastien Fiorukis at this point would do nothing but engender laughter.
‘I can see that my honesty offends you,’ she said smoothly, lifting her chin to hide her discomfort, ‘but perhaps I can remind you that you yourself are entering this marriage for sound business reasons. Why else would you agree to sacrifice your bachelor lifestyle for marriage?’
‘Who said anything about sacrificing my bachelor lifestyle?’ His firm mouth shifted slightly at the corners. ‘It’s only fair to warn you that I have an exceedingly high sex drive. Since our sex life is clearly going to be extremely tedious, then I’ll need to seek diversion elsewhere. But I’m prepared to pay that price in order to regain possession of Philipos Industries. The company that your grandfather stole from my family.’
She frowned. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Philipos Industries belongs to my grandfather and always has.’
‘Not true.’ His gaze was hard. ‘And if you expect me to believe that you don’t know the history of our little family feud, Miss Philipos, then you seriously underestimate me. You wanted honesty, then let’s have it.’
She swallowed hard. She didn’t underestimate him. Not for a moment. She was just thrown by his unexpected announcement. ‘Are you telling me that our grandparents were in business together?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Are you telling me that you weren’t aware of that fact?’
She shook her head. ‘My grandfather refuses to discuss business with a woman.’ At least that wasn’t a lie, she thought ruefully. Her grandfather despised women. Especially English women. It was the reason he’d disowned her mother and herself. He’d wanted nothing to do with either of them. ‘I’ve heard rumours, of course, but nothing concrete. Are you saying that he took the business from your grandfather?’
‘It is how the feud began.’ Sebastien looked at her, his dark gaze suddenly speculative. ‘He lied and cheated until my grandfather was forced to sign the company over to him,’ he bit out, his expression grim. ‘So you see, Alesia, I want to marry you because I intend to reclaim what is rightfully mine. And the feud ends here.’
Alesia stared at him, for once totally mute.
What would he say when he discovered the truth? That the feud hadn’t ended at all.
That her grandfather was about to strike a master blow.
And she was the tool of his revenge.
CHAPTER THREE
PALE-FACED and utterly miserable, Alesia sat shivering in her white silk wedding dress, feeling nothing like a bride.
Despite the gold band on her finger, part of her still couldn’t believe that she’d actually gone through with the wedding.
Oblivious to the elaborate celebrations taking place around her, she stared blankly at her plate and tried to focus her mind.
She’d actually married Sebastien Fiorukis.
It seemed hard to believe that only two weeks had passed since their meeting on his private island. Since then everything had been a blur of frantic activity. Lawyers had worked overtime, papers had been signed and wedding planners had burned the midnight oil to put together the wedding of the decade.
To Alesia the ceremony had been a nightmare.
Why hadn’t she anticipated the attention that such a high-profile wedding would attract? For the press, who were eternally fascinated by Sebastien Fiorukis, the fact that he’d finally chosen to marry the granddaughter of his greatest enemy had sent an explosion of excitement and speculation through the gossip-hungry media. Knowing that personal details of the handsome Greek billionaire sold newspapers, the press had been everywhere, flashes going off in her face and people yelling at her to smile and glance in their direction.