She was still watching them when Ari had glanced her way. His measured smile and thoughtful nod in her direction had made her swallow. It hadn’t been acceptance but it hadn’t been the chilly reception he’d given her either.
As they’d packed to leave, Inez had asked Theo about what had happened with his mother.
‘She fell apart completely after my father was arrested. She left Athens and locked herself away at our house in Santorini,’ he’d replied in an offhand manner, but Inez had seen his anguish.
Recalling his words about abandonment, she’d gasped, ‘She wasn’t there when you were kidnapped, was she?’
Heart-shredding pain washed over his face, but a moment later it was replaced by a look even more soul-shaking. Forgiveness. ‘No. She wasn’t. But I had Ari and Sakis. They were strong for me. And they were that way because of her. I told her that tonight because I think we both needed to hear it.’
His words had resonated deep inside her. But most of all it had been his statement on the dance floor that continued to flash across her mind. I’m not prepared to let you go yet.
Her heart lurched. He meant to keep her in his bed for a while yet. Like a trophy he wasn’t prepared to relinquish. And her foolish heart performed a giddy little samba at the thought of having a few more moments with him.
She woke to kisses on her forehead and her cheek and opened her eyes to bright sunshine.
‘Good, you’re awake. We just landed.’
She yawned widely. ‘Already? I feel as if I just fell asleep.’
He laughed. ‘It’s three o’clock in the afternoon. And we have much to do before tonight.’
She stared at his wide grin and her heart lifted with happiness. ‘You seem in very good spirits, querido,’ she commented.
He gathered her close in his arms and gazed down at her. ‘There is a reason for that.’
‘Tell me,’ she murmured softly.
His face turned serious, his eyes fierce as he watched her. ‘For the first time in twelve years, I slept through the night without a nightmare,’ he muttered hoarsely.
Theo watched her face light up with shocked pleasure before she reached up to clasp his face. Her kiss was gentle and sweet. ‘Oh, Theo. I’m so happy for you.’
‘I’m happy for us,’ he replied. With another kiss, he got up and started dressing. ‘Get a move on, sweetheart, unless you wish to give the customs guy an eyeful when he boards.’
With a yelp she got up and pulled her clothes on.
Theo’s phone started ringing the moment they stepped off the plane. And it wasn’t until they were back home that she remembered what he’d said on the plane.
‘What did you mean—“we have much to do before tonight”? We’re not going out, are we?’ She groaned.
He took the phone from his pocket and checked it as another text message came through. She waited impatiently for him to finish.
‘No, we’re not going out. But we have a guest coming.’
‘A guest? Who?’
‘I’ve invited your father to dinner.’
Inez staggered as if a bucket of ice had been poured over her.
‘My father is coming here?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you didn’t think to inform me of this? What makes you think I want to see him?’
‘We have to. It’s time to get this thing over and done with, once and for all.’
‘And you don’t care how I feel about it?’
‘I thought we agreed to fix things when we return to Rio?’ he asked with a frown.
‘Yes, but when you said we, I thought you meant us, you and me. More fool me. Because there is not me without my father, is there?’
‘What are you talking about? Of course there is.’
‘Then why would you go behind my back to arrange this?’
A tic started in his temple. ‘Because it’s my fault you’re in the middle of all this.’ He sighed and clawed a hand through his hair. ‘I got a chance to fix things with my mother in Bermuda. We may never get back what we had but I’ll take that over nothing. Whatever relationship you choose to have with your own father from here on in is up to you. But this is a hardship I caused in your life and one I have a duty to fix.’