The Greek's One-Night Heir

He bit back his smile as she slammed her retort at him. Backed into a corner, she could still hold her own.

‘Stop stalling for time and go pack or we’ll go without any of your clothes.’ He was right about this. She just needed to admit it.

‘Fine. Your suite. Separate rooms.’ She marched all of five feet through to the bedroom.

Theo paced around the small lounge again. It was small and drab, the carpet worn and the walls in desperate need of a fresh lick of paint. But he noticed the few decorations she’d added to personalise the place—the warm-looking throws draped over the sofa, the knitted cushion covers. Then he spotted the pinboard. There was a photo of Leah with that ballet friend of hers, the menu of a Thai take-away around the corner, a couple of hand-drawn designs on grid paper, a theatre ticket. He peered closer.

‘This is your ticket to the ballet?’ he asked as she returned with a rucksack and that ginormous ugly handbag.

A rush of memory loosened his restraint and he smiled.

‘It turns out I’d left it here all along.’ She looked embarrassed. ‘That night, that’s why I couldn’t find it in my bag. Pretty useless, I know.’ She actually smiled.

He couldn’t hold back his little laugh and studied the ticket again. ‘You had quite a good seat.’

‘I told you, Zoe is my friend.’ She glanced at him. ‘Or do you not believe me about that now?’ Soft hurt flickered in her eyes, fading out that smile. ‘I’ve never given you reason not to trust me, Theo.’

She didn’t realise that, for him, trust wasn’t freely given and then lost. It had to be earned. ‘I guess we don’t know each other very well, Leah.’

Her expression became a little pinched. ‘I guess getting married will change that.’

Leah swallowed hard when he didn’t reply. She’d thought she had known him. That they’d connected more than physically that night. And she had most certainly trusted him. For him not to trust her hurt. Now she was mortified he’d seen she’d kept that ballet ticket as a keepsake of the night they’d spent together.

She picked up her rucksack again. ‘I’ll need to come back to get everything else.’

As wary as she was of going with him, how could she argue? He was right—what alternative could she suggest? She didn’t have his kind of money, power, experience or authority. And not only would her family be mortified and unwilling to help, they were actually unable to offer the emotional support she really wanted for her child. If Theo had a warm relationship with his grandfather, and he seemed to, then that might be better. At the very least she had to give him the chance. She owed him that.

‘You have a current passport?’ he checked.

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Because we need to get home quickly.’

‘You expect me to go to Greece? When? Tomorrow?’

‘Exactly.’

It was happening too fast. Get married in a week? Go to Greece tomorrow? Leave with him tonight?

He watched her solemnly. ‘We need to work this out and I can’t leave my family for long.’

‘But you think I can leave mine?’

‘You haven’t told your parents the good news. I guess that says a lot about your relationship with them.’ He took the bags from her. ‘We’ll fly to Athens first thing in the morning.’

‘I can’t just not turn up to my work.’ She couldn’t believe his arrogance. ‘I need to work out my notice. I need to say goodbye to my residents. Or do you think that because I’m just a receptionist I can ditch everything and leap to your beck and call?’

He stared at her fixedly, rather as if he was inwardly counting to ten. ‘Okay.’ He released a slow sigh. ‘We’ll figure it out in the morning. For now, let’s get to my hotel and get some rest.’

* * *

Leah stared stonily out of the passenger window at the darkening sky and said nothing. It wasn’t the same hotel as that night at the ballet. This one was polite discretion with no big logos—secret luxury in the heart of Mayfair. She followed Theo to the suite on the top floor. The lounge alone was almost three times the size of her little flat.

‘Take whichever room you want,’ he muttered.

‘You’ve not taken one already?’

‘I came straight from the airport to your apartment.’

The atmosphere thickened. He’d not known her news but he’d come straight to see her? Just because she’d appeared in his London office?

She couldn’t turn away from his gaze. It was as if she were pinned in place by that intense scrutiny. Somehow this place felt more intimate than her apartment despite it being so much bigger. Maybe it was the mood lighting or the luxuriousness of the furnishings, but suddenly she was too aware of sensation, the temptation of intimacy and touch. Smoky memories curled. She gritted her teeth, wanting to regain control of herself. He didn’t want that. He wanted them to live separate lives, together in name only for the sake of their baby.

‘I’ll come with you to talk to your boss tomorrow before we leave for the airport,’ he said huskily.

‘Because I’m incapable of talking to them on my own?’ She couldn’t hold back her defensiveness. ‘Are you afraid I’ll say something I shouldn’t?’

‘No.’ He stepped closer. ‘Because I’m afraid they won’t let you go. One of those oldies will ask you to make them a pot of tea and we’ll never get you out of there.’ He gazed at her intently. ‘You’re a pushover, Leah. A tug on the heartstrings is all it takes.’

A tug on the heartstrings? Was that what he’d done with her that night? Had that connection she’d thought they’d forged just been a ploy? She shook her head, not able to believe that. ‘There’s nothing wrong with being kind to people.’

‘Nothing at all.’ He gazed at her for another moment, then rolled his shoulders. ‘We’ll go see your parents after we’ve been to your work in the morning. What are they like?’

‘You don’t need to—’ She couldn’t tell him about her parents and she certainly didn’t want him to meet them. ‘Just forget I mentioned it. I don’t need to go see them.’

‘You’re going to leave the country and not even see them to say goodbye? You don’t want to invite them to the wedding?’

‘They won’t come.’

He blinked. ‘Now I can’t wait to meet them.’

‘Too bad,’ she echoed his earlier dismissal. ‘You’re not.’

‘Leah,’ he sighed. ‘I’m trying to meet you halfway. I’m trying not to be a dictator.’

‘So by simply informing me of tomorrow’s itinerary, you’re not being a dictator?’ she asked.

He took her shoulders in a firm grip. ‘I’m going to be their son-in-law, you don’t think they’d want to meet me—vet me first?’ A quizzical look lit his eyes. ‘There’s no need for me to pass any parental approval?’

They’d probably love to meet him. But they wouldn’t believe for a second that he was in love with her. They’d see the situation for what it was—a hoax. A mortifying necessity because she’d stuffed up. For them to know that? She wanted to shrivel into a ball and hide. She didn’t need them to witness yet another of her failures. Because they expected nothing less, right?

‘Tell me about them.’ He cocked his head, watching her as if he were trying to solve a cryptic puzzle. ‘What do they do? It can’t be that bad.’

‘It’s not that I’m ashamed of them, more the other way round.’ She huffed a sigh. ‘They’re academics. My younger brother too. They’ve lived near the university all my life.’

‘Academics?’ His eyebrows lifted.

‘Professors, in fact. And my younger brother, Oliver, is so gifted he’s already a senior lecturer.’ While she was a receptionist at a care home. ‘Their careers are everything to them.’

He looked thoughtful. ‘What do they think of your career choice?’

‘You me

an you can’t guess?’

He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. ‘What’s their specialisation?’

‘Other than criticism?’ she half joked. ‘Chemistry.’

‘Chemistry?’ His eyes widened and he couldn’t suppress his smile.

She couldn’t resist a small smile back, but then she had a flash of how awkward it was going to be. ‘My parents are very—’ She broke off, unable to explain just how laser-precise their perceptions were. ‘They’ll see in a second that we’re not...’

‘Not what?’ He waited. ‘You’re having my baby so we’ve obviously had sex. We find each other attractive.’

‘We found each other attractive. Once.’

That intensity deepened in his expression. His vivid green eyes were backlit with remnants of that magic night and the phantom delight he’d showered upon her. ‘I thought you always opted for the truth, Leah,’ he said quietly.

‘Well.’ She sucked in a steadying breath. ‘Maybe you were right. Sometimes it might be better not to say anything.’

‘Denial?’ His smile faded as he gazed down at her. ‘For protection.’

That heat spiralled like a whisper of smoke within her. More memories teased—of sizzling touch and sweet torment. But she had to ignore the urge to lean closer, and pull back instead. Because he didn’t want her. He wanted separate lives.

‘It’s late,’ she muttered. ‘I should get some rest.’

‘Yes. Go. Sleep.’ He released her, that remote, reserved man once more. ‘It seems we have a big day tomorrow.’

CHAPTER SIX