The Renegade Billionaire

“The Serra do Ouro gold mine is near a town called Itapetim in the northeastern area. Dad says it’s mostly agrarian.”

“What kind of work do you think you’ll do there?”

She took a long drink first. “I’ll find something. We won’t be there very long.”

A stillness seemed to come over Stavros. “Why not?”

“Dad’s tired of traveling the world. He wants to go back to his roots in Denver and work in the home office.”

At this point, Stavros sat up, propping himself with his arm. “You mean for good?”

“Yes. When we left Denver, he had everything put in storage. Furniture, photographs, albums, so many things I’ve never seen. Things I’ve forgotten that are mine. He plans to buy a house for us.”

Stavros lay back on the lounger. “I wonder if a man can return home after so many years away and find the happiness he’s looking for.”

Andrea jumped out of the chair. Thoughts of that future without Stavros sounded so bleak, she could hardly stand it. “I’ve been haunted by the same question. Now you know why I don’t like talking about it.”

“I’m sorry, Andrea. It was insensitive of me.”

“Not at all. I’m going to run inside and bring you the laptop. I plan itineraries for tours and am interested to see what you have mapped out for us.”

When she came back to the patio, she found Stavros on the phone. She heard the name Theo and knew he was talking about business. How much he would divulge to his colleagues about his father’s ploy, she didn’t know. He hid his heartache well, but deep down she knew he had to be devastated.

After handing him the computer, she slipped inside the house for her novel, imagining he’d be on the phone for quite a while. She couldn’t conceive of her father doing something so cruel. And even though Stavros’s father might not carry through with his scheme, it didn’t take away the hurt of betrayal.

When she came back out on the patio, she found he’d finished his conversation. His eyes were closed. There were shadows and lines on his arresting face that hadn’t been there before his brother had shown up last night. Alarmed, she cried, “Is your pain worse again?”

He turned his head toward her and opened his eyes. Through the black lashes they looked like a dark cloud before a storm. “It’s not my leg.”

“Then it’s this threat your father poses.”

“Afraid so. Theo and Zander will be arriving at the house within the hour so we can talk strategy.”

“I’ll make more iced tea and fix some sandwiches.”

“Andrea Linford, do you know you’re the best thing that ever happened to me?”

Stavros, Stavros. Don’t say things like that. Don’t you know I’m dying inside at the thought of leaving you?

CHAPTER SEVEN

MONDAY MORNING, STAVROS was able to walk out to the car on his own. Yesterday’s rest had made all the difference. He stretched out in the backseat w

ith his laptop and waited for Andrea to come. She was so practical she packed everything they’d both need in her duffel bag for their overnight trip. He loved it. His and her things all thrown together. A precursor of a future with her. He refused to think any other way.

Stavros watched her walk toward him dressed in a wraparound khaki skirt and a cream-colored knit top. Her shapely figure did wonders for anything she wore. The guys had done triple takes when he’d introduced them to Andrea yesterday. Theo was married, but Zander was still a bachelor and had had a hard time keeping his eyes to himself.

She’d brought them a never-ending supply of food and drinks. Stavros could tell how impressed they were that she knew so much about their line of work and had been inside the plant.

He’d asked her to stay with him while they discussed the threat facing them. His partners hadn’t left until much later that evening because Andrea had entertained them with a few hair-raising stories of her adventures in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay. Close calls with a poison dart and a feeding frenzy of piranha fish in an area inhabited by natives who spoke Guarani had had them glued to every word. She’d fit in like a guy, but retained a beguiling femininity.

He heard her close the trunk, and then she came around and slid behind the wheel. She looked over her shoulder. “Have we remembered everything? Did you talk to Raisa?”

“I told her we wouldn’t be back until Tuesday night.”

“Then we’re good to go.” She started the engine and backed the car around. “I used to think it might be kind of fun being a driver for some top-brass military general. But driving the legendary Kyrie Konstantinos around is much better.”

He never knew what was going to come out of her luscious mouth next. Their eyes met through the rearview mirror. Hers were a vibrant blue this morning.