But she didn’t want him to know everything. He already knew far more than most people.
She forced herself to smile. ‘Then you should know that I feel out of place at glittering functions. You go to Athens. But come back quickly.’
‘I can’t believe you don’t want to go.’ A trace of exasperation in his expression, he studied her face. ‘You are the only woman I’ve ever met who isn’t always looking for an excuse to dress up and party.’
‘If that’s what you want, then go and find a woman who enjoys parties.’
‘I’m with the woman I want to be with. You have no reason to feel insecure.’
‘I’m not insecure,’ she lied, and then blushed as he lifted an eyebrow in silent challenge. ‘Oh, all right—maybe I am a little insecure. But only in certain situations.’
‘You have no reason to be insecure in any situation.’
‘I just feel—’ she hesitated ‘—different.’
‘You are different.’ He rose to his feet with his usual athletic grace. ‘Which is why I am with you. You are generous, and beautiful, and you care about the things that matter.’
‘I don’t fit.’ She tried to reason with him. ‘At that ball in Paris, everyone was staring at me.’
‘Because you are beautiful,’ he said dryly. ‘You were more beautiful than any other woman in the room that night in Paris. And a million times more genuine. You have no reason to have such a low opinion of yourself.’
‘It’s just that I’m not comfortable going to events like that.’
‘How many have you attended?’
Chantal coloured. ‘Just the one.’
‘And you were gatecrashing, rather than arriving as an invited guest,’ he drawled softly, ‘so it was hardly surprising that you were on tenterhooks for the whole evening. Come with me tonight. You will have fun.’
‘I won’t know anyone—’
‘You will know me.’ Supremely confident that his presence would be more than enough for anyone, he strolled across the room and picked up his jacket. ‘Don’t argue with me.’
He just didn’t understand.
She tried a different approach. ‘I don’t have anything suitable to wear.’
‘Now you are talking like a woman.’ He smiled. ‘We will find you something to wear that will give you confidence.’
But she knew only too well that confidence came from the inside, not the outside. And what was inside her was so foul that it tarnished the baby shoots of her confidence like some malevolent pest. ‘I don’t want to go, Angelos.’
‘Pack,’ he ordered, his tone firm. ‘You have nothing to worry about. I will be there with you. If you need saving, then I will save you.’
But he didn’t understand what threatened her, did he?
What did he know about insecurity or lack of confidence? He was super-bright, highly educated and immensely successful. And his home-life had clearly been both loving and supportive.
She stared at him helplessly, swamped by a feeling of foreboding that couldn’t be ignored.
It didn’t matter how firmly she told herself that she was wrong, she just knew that the idyll was over.
Their fabulous two weeks was about to end with a bang.
* * *
This was the other side of his life, Chantal thought as the private helicopter swooped over the Greek mainland towards Athens. Closeted on his secluded island, she’d barely thought of his billionaire status. They’d been a man and a woman, nothing more. ‘I didn’t know the island had a helipad.’
‘I rarely use it. When I go to the island, I go to relax and unwind.’ Dressed in a light grey suit that emphasised his sleek, dark looks, Angelos looked every inch the successful business tycoon, and his phone just didn’t stop ringing.