Playing by the Greek's Rules (Puffin Island 0.50)

Learning far more than he’d ever wanted to know, he turned to his father. ‘What is the “news” you have for me?’

‘You will find out soon enough. First, I am enjoying having the company of my son. It’s been too long. I have resorted to the Internet to find news of what is happening with you. You have been spending a great deal of time in San Francisco.’

Happy to talk about anything that shifted the focus from Lily, Nik relaxed slightly and talked broadly about some of the technology developments his company was spearheading and touched lightly on the deal he was about to close, but the diversion proved to be brief.

Kostas spooned olives onto Lily’s plate. ‘You must persuade Nik to take you to the far side of the island to see the Minoan remains. You will need to go early in the day, before it is too hot. At this time of year everything is very dry. If you love flowers, then you will love Crete in the spring. In April and May the island is covered in poppies, daisies, camomile, iris.’ He beamed at her. ‘You must come back here then and visit.’

‘I’d like that.’ Lily tucked into her food. ‘These olives are delicious.’

‘They come from our own olive groves and the lemonade in your fridge came from lemons grown on our own trees. Diandra made it. She is a genius in the kitchen. You wait until you taste her lamb.’ Kostas leaned across and took Diandra’s hand. ‘I took one mouthful and fell in love.’

Losing his appetite, Nik gave her a direct look. ‘Tell me about yourself, Diandra. Where were you brought up?’ He caught Lily’s urgent glance and ignored it, instead listening to Diandra’s stammered response.

From that he learned that she was one of six children and had never been married.

‘She never met the right person, and that is lucky for me,’ his father said indulgently.

Nik opened his mouth to speak, but Lily got there first.

‘You’re so lucky having been born in Greece,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ve travelled extensively in the islands but living here must be wonderful. I’ve spent three summers on Crete and one on Corfu. Where else do you think I should visit?’

Giving her a grateful look, Diandra made several suggestions, but Nik refused to be deflected from his path.

‘Who did you work for before my father?’

‘Ignore him,’ Lily said lightly. ‘He makes every conversation feel like a job interview. The first time I met him I wanted to hand over my résumé. This lamb is delicious by the way. You’re so clever. It’s even better than the lamb Nik and I ate last week and that was a top restaurant.’ She went on to describe what they’d eaten in minute detail and Diandra offered a few observations of her own about the best way to cook lamb.

Deprived of the opportunity to question his future stepmother further, Nik was wondering once again what ‘news’ his father was preparing to announce, when he heard the sound of a child crying inside the house.

Diandra shot to her feet and exchanged a brief look with his father before scurrying from the table.

Nik narrowed his eyes. ‘Who,’ he said slowly, ‘is that?’

‘That’s the news I was telling you about.’ His father turned his head and watched as Diandra returned to the table carrying a toddler whose tangled blonde curls and sleepy expression announced that she’d recently awoken from a nap. ‘Callie has given me full custody of Chloe as a wedding present. Niklaus, meet your half-sister.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

LILY SAT ON the sunlounger in the shade, listening to the rhythmic splash from the infinity pool. Nik had been swimming for the past half an hour, with no break in the relentless laps back and forth across the pool.

Whatever had possessed her to agree to come for this wedding?

It had been like falling straight into the middle of a bad soap opera.

Diandra had been so intimidated by Nik she’d barely opened her mouth and he, it seemed, had taken that as a sign that she had nothing worth saying. Lunch had been a tense affair and the moment his father had produced his little half-sister Nik had gone from being coolly civil to remote and intimidating. Lily had worked so hard to compensate for his frozen silence she’d virtually performed cartwheels on the terrace.

And she couldn’t comprehend his reaction.

He was too old to care about sharing the affections of his father, and too independently wealthy to care about the impact on his inheritance. The toddler was adorable, a cherub with golden curls and a ready smile, and his father and Diandra had been so obviously thrilled by the new addition to the family Lily couldn’t understand the problem.

On the walk back from lunch she’d tentatively broached the subject but Nik had cut her off and made straight for his office where he’d proceeded to work without interruption.

Trying to cure her headache, Lily had drunk plenty of water and then read her book in the shade but she’d been unable to concentrate on the words.

She knew it was none of her business, but still she couldn’t keep her mouth shut and when Nik finally vaulted from the pool in an athletic movement that displayed every muscle in his powerful frame, she slid off her sunlounger and blocked his path.

‘You were horrible to Diandra at

lunch and if you want to heal the rift with your father, that isn’t the way. She is not a gold-digger.’