The Renegade Billionaire

When the sobs subsided, Andrea rolled away from him and stood up, realizing she’d taken him by surprise. “I’ve given you all the honesty I have in me, but now I know what I have to do. I’d only be torturing myself to stay the rest of the night with you. Our meeting at the quarry was accidental. We’ve had some very precious moments together, but we need to get on with our lives since they’re going in different directions. Try to get some sleep. We have two more quarries to visit tomorrow.”

Andrea hurried to bed. She tossed and turned most of the night. After awakening early, she dressed and slipped out to bring breakfast back. She avoided Stavros’s eyes as she put their food on the table in his room and reached for a roll. He’d dressed in white lightweight trousers and a collared tan shirt. He looked terrific and could walk a lot better this morning.

After eating, she packed up the duffel bag and turned to him. “Have you taken your medicine?”

He reached for his coffee. “I took it when I got out of bed. Thank you for the reminder and the food.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll just take this bag out to the car and wait for you.”

“I’ll be right there.”

In another few minutes, he climbed into the passenger seat next to her and they drove away.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable in back?” After driving around in the Jeep with him, it was a strange experience with him sitting next to her in his elegant car. She was so aware of him, it was hard to concentrate.

“I’m fine. But after we’ve stopped at the next quarry, I want to go back to the house. I’ve decided I can accomplish much the same thing by making phone calls from home.”

She frowned. “Do you wish you hadn’t come?”

“No. It was necessary for me to see if my physical presence has made a difference. But in every case, the person I really need to convince isn’t on the premises. Part of the reason I wanted to do things this way was so I could spend more time alone with you.”

> She’d loved this time with him more than he would ever know.

“However, since I don’t need any more help, and because being together has put an unbearable strain on both of us, I’ll let you get back to your office. The helicopter will be waiting to take you. I daresay your boss will be thrilled to see you walk in.”

Andrea’s heart plunged to her feet. Stavros admitted he’d fallen in love with her, but sometime between last night and this morning, he’d had some sort of epiphany. She knew what he was like. Once he’d made up his mind, that was it. He’d made a decision about the two of them, the only one that made sense.

There was no going back to the way they had been before last night and they both knew it. But she was so devastated it took all her strength to focus while negotiating the mountain roads. Stavros worked on his laptop, not interested in talking to her. They’d run out of words. He was able to freeze her out, an ability she’d give anything to possess.

By noon they’d visited the quarry before heading back toward Panagia. She had no idea if he’d felt it was a successful morning or not. En route, they stopped for food, which they ate in the car. He turned on some typical soft rock music, his way of letting her know the music wouldn’t bother him while he did work on his computer.

They arrived at his villa just after two o’clock. His fabulous house felt more like home to her than any furnished apartment she and her dad had ever lived in over the years. Her heart was in so much pain, she wondered if it could literally break.

Andrea let Stavros off in front. Even if he was walking better, he shouldn’t have to climb a lot of steps yet. After he shut the door, she drove around to the back and parked the car next to the Jeep. His posh Mercedes had been a sheer pleasure to drive. When she let herself in the back door, she found he’d gone straight to his den.

Taking advantage of the time, she went to his bedroom and unpacked the duffel bag. Toiletries in the bathroom, medicine on his side table. As for her own packing, there was very little to do. In ten minutes, she was ready to go. The sooner, the better, because she was on the verge of breaking down.

On her way to the kitchen with her bag, the front doorbell rang. Maybe Raisa had come to the house for some reason, but didn’t want to just walk in on them. Since Stavros was still in the den, she walked through the alcove to the door and opened it.

A stern-faced man in some kind of uniform handed her an express mail envelope. “Are you Andrea Linford?”

“Yes?”

“This is for you and Kyrie Konstantinos. See that he gets it.”

What on earth? She watched him go down the steps before she shut the door.

Stavros was right behind her as she turned around. He caught her in his arms. For a moment, she saw the torment in his eyes. It matched her own.

His fingers kneaded her skin before he released her with seeming reluctance. “Who was that?”

“A—a courier,” she stammered and handed him the envelope.

He ripped it open and pulled out an official-looking document. She watched him as he read it and saw lines of anger mar his striking features. For the first time since she’d known him, she heard him let go a curse.

Andrea got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Stavros? What is it?”

His eyes went hard as flint when he looked at her. “Draco Nasso is suing me for breach of promise to his pregnant daughter Christina and naming you corespondent. We’re both to appear before the judge day after tomorrow in Kavala.”