‘It’s wonderful.’
‘Damon actually pulled it off.’
Her eyes gleamed emerald. ‘With a lot of interference from you.’
‘He’s back with his wife and kids where he belongs,’ Alexei told her. ‘I was on target there, wasn’t I?’
‘I’m glad they’re back together.’ Billie refused to rise to the bait he offered. ‘I’d better get back home or I’ll be late.’
‘I believe you have an understanding employer.’ Brilliant bronzed eyes held hers for a long moment and her tummy performed a somersault. ‘I noticed your absence, moraki mou.’
Without warning, hot burning tears pricked the backs of her eyes. With a forced smile and a clumsy wave, she sped off back home. She spent a busy day working and asked Anatalya’s daughter to babysit for her that evening.
Hilary was very impressed by the dinner invitation and fussed over what she wore. ‘We’re keeping his son from him. I can’t afford to like him,’ she said uneasily.
‘It’s a lovely welcome to the island for you.’
‘I’m dying to see Alexei’s home, and the gilded lifestyle of a billionaire!’ Hilary rolled her eyes with humour.
It was fortunate that Hilary was in an upbeat mood, for Calisto could not have made her dislike of the occasion and the guests more obvious. Alexei drew out Hilary’s intention of writing a book about King Henry IV, while Calisto sighed, wrinkled her classic nose and yawned with boredom before rising to put on music at a volume that made it difficult to continue the conversation. Billie saw Alexei glance at his fiancée and knew he was annoyed. Whatever faults he had, generosity and courtesy towards guests were sacrosanct to him. His shrewd gaze rested on Billie for an instant and she reddened fiercely, hoping he couldn’t sense her uncharitable thoughts.
‘I’m glad I got the chance to meet Calisto,’ Hilary told her niece late that evening. ‘How can Alexei be in love with a woman like that? He’s a clever, cultivated man and she’s a spoiled brat with no manners and, I suspect, pretty dim—’
‘Let’s face it, you’re biased. She is a very beautiful woman.’
‘That won’t be enough to sustain a durable relationship.’
‘Alexei is no fool. He must see something in Calisto that we don’t,’ Billie responded heavily.
‘Maybe you should come clean with him about Nicky—’
‘No! Why are you saying that now?’ Billie demanded in dismay.
‘You should tell him before he gets married to another woman. It wouldn’t be fair to either him or his wife if you dumped the news on them afterwards.’
‘He’s not planning on getting married yet.’ That question settled, Billie cuddled Nicky, her son a drowsy and sweet-smelling weight in her protective arms. He was adorable. She could not imagine Alexei as a father, only as a lover, and that was a discomfiting realisation. She tucked her child back into his cot and wished him goodnight.
The minute she told Alexei that Nicky was his, her whole life would change, because she would hardly be able to continue in her job. In addition, what relationship she did have with Alexei would be destroyed. An inner chill pierced her deep at that prospect. Shorn of the memory of their sexual encounter, he wouldn’t believe her story. Initially she would just seem like another one of the gold-digging women who had tried to entrap a share of his huge wealth.
No, Billie decided doggedly, having gone to such lengths to conceal her secret, she would be very careful to pick the optimum moment to tell Alexei the truth. When that precise moment came, her sixth sense would tell her…
Chapter Nine
TWO weeks later, the celebration of Agios Giorgios began with a parade to the little church down by the harbour and a celebratory service, which Alexei and most of his staff attended.
A buffet lunch for all followed at the Drakos villa, where games and amusements were laid on for the island children. As a former teacher Hilary was a great help with organising fun activities to keep the children occupied. At Calisto’s request, Billie had made arrangements for a private lunch for Alexei, Calisto and their house guests, but Alexei excused himself from the meal in the isolation of the separate dining room and attended the villagers’ buffet instead. That there was tension between him and his girlfriend was obvious to everyone.
Billie watched him circulate. He cut a flawless figure in a superbly tailored silk-blend grey suit while his air of command and self-assurance left no one in any doubt of his elite status. But he mixed with the villagers at a much more comfortable level than his late father, Constantine, ever had. He kicked a stray ball back to the boys playing football on his immaculate lawns.
‘Tell Alexei I want to speak to him,’ Calisto instructed Billie, who was watching over events from the shade of the terrace.
Billie glanced at the beautiful blonde, gloriously if impractically clad in a pure white dress that was low of neck and very short of skirt. Her mouth compressing into an apologetic line as she approached Alexei, she did as she was asked.
His lean, darkly handsome features took on a forbidding aspect and Billie marvelled at Calisto’s lack of savvy about the man she was hoping to marry. In certain moods, Alexei needed lots of space. A woman who clung or demanded more attention at that point could only infuriate him. And summoning him through a third party, who was also an employee, was an absolute no-no.
‘Calisto and I will go out to Sea Queen now,’ Alexei imparted. ‘I’ll leave you to oversee the transfer of our visitors.’
Billie nodded, sensing the anger he was controlling, grateful she was not the target. Alexei could be so unpredictable and volatile and she sensed that Calisto had very little idea of how his mind worked. All the seething passion and power of Alexei’s strong personality could suddenly ignite like a volcano and—like lava—he would burn everything he came into contact with.