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

Testosterone in a tux, she thought as he reached into his pocket and handed her something.

‘What’s this?’ She took the slim, elegant box and opened it cautiously. There, nestled in deep blue velvet, was a necklace of silver and sapphire she immediately recognised. ‘It’s one of Skylar’s. I admired the picture.’

‘And now you can admire the real thing. I thought it would look better on your neck than in a catalogue.’ He took it from her and fastened it round her neck while she pressed her fingers to her throat self-consciously.

‘When did you buy this?’

‘I had it flown in after you admired her pot.’

‘You had it flown in? From New York? There wasn’t time.’

‘This piece was in a gallery in London.’

‘Unbelievable. So extravagant.’

‘Then why are you smiling?’

‘Because I like pretty things and Skylar makes the prettiest things.’ Smiling, she pulled her phone out of her purse again. ‘I need to capture the moment so when I’m sitting in my pyjamas in a cramped apartment in rainy London I can relive this moment. It’s a loan, obviously, because I could never accept a gift this generous.’ She took a couple of photos and then made him pose with her. ‘I promise not to sell these to the newspapers. Can I send it to Sky? I can say Look what I’m wearing.’

A smile touched the corners of his mouth. ‘It’s your photo. You can do anything you like with it.’

‘Skylar will be over the moon. I’m going to make sure everyone sees this necklace tonight. Now, tell me how you’re feeling.’ She’d asked herself over and over again if his earlier confession was something she should mention or not. But how could she ignore it when it was clearly the source of his stress?

His expression shifted from amused to guarded. ‘How I’m feeling?’

‘This is a party to celebrate your father’s impending wedding, which you didn’t want to attend. Is it hard to be here thinking about your mother and watching your father marry again? It must make marriage seem like a disposable object.’

‘I appreciate your conc

ern, but I’m fine.’

‘Nik, I know you’re not fine, but if you’d rather not talk about it—’

‘I’d rather not talk about it.’

She kept her thoughts on that to herself. ‘Then let’s go.’ She slipped her hand into his. ‘I guess everyone will be trying to work out whether you’re pleased or not, so for Diandra’s sake make sure you smile.’

‘Thank you for your counsel.’

‘Ouch, that was quite a put-down. I presume that was your way of telling me to stop talking.’

‘If I want to stop you talking, I have more effective methods than a verbal put-down.’

She caught his eye. ‘If you feel like testing out one of those methods, go right ahead.’

‘Don’t tempt me.’

She was shocked by how badly she wanted to tempt him. She considered dragging him back inside, but a car was waiting outside the villa for them. ‘I didn’t realise there were cars on the island. How do they get across here?’

‘There is a ferry, but my father usually takes a helicopter to the mainland if he is travelling.’

‘We could have walked tonight.’

‘There is no way you’d be able to walk that far in those shoes, let alone dance.’

‘Who says I’ll be dancing?’

His gaze slid to hers. ‘I do.’