The Renegade Billionaire
She took an unsteady breath. “Neither do I. Hundreds of students and teachers have benefited from what they’ve learned here.”
“That’s been my hope too.”
His words warmed her. She sensed he was a man she could trust. It was her own unexpected attraction to him she didn’t trust. “Whatever the outcome, please don’t worry that you’ll be liable. The tour company will take full responsibility.”
In the silence that followed, she took it to mean he was thinking about a possible lawsuit from the boy’s family once their attorney found out the Konstantinos family’s worth was in the millions. She wouldn’t blame this man for having no use for today’s litigious society. It was also apparent he wasn’t keen on her help.
Disappointed that she couldn’t be of help, she started to walk around his car to get to hers.
“Despinis Linford?”
Andrea whirled around.
“You’re welcome to come with me. But we could be out all night.”
All night alone with him? Her heart thudded for no good reason—except that wasn’t true. She knew exactly why it was thudding. She wanted to be with him. “I don’t care about that. If we can find Darren, that’s all I ask.”
“Then we’ll have to go back to my house for a few provisions.”
“Thank you. I’ll follow you.”
She got back in the rental car. En route, she called her boss and told him what was going on. Then she phoned Georgios and explained that she was going to help in the search for Darren and would keep in close touch. He thanked her in a shaken voice before they hung up.
The fact that Darren was now eighteen meant he was no longer a minor. Maybe his parents had given him this tour for a birthday present. To Andrea, his disappearance was more troubling than ever. As an adult, he could do what he wanted.
Andrea didn’t think she could handle it if anything happened to him before he was reunited with his parents. It hadn’t been that long since Ferrante’s death. Being hired by PanHellenic Tours had saved her life and she was doing better these days. But Darren’s disappearance triggered remembered pain from that terrible ten days when she’d waited for word.
CHAPTER TWO
THROUGH THE REARVIEW MIRROR, Stavros watched the rental car following him to the house. Andrea Linford had come as a complete surprise in so many ways; he was still in mild shock. Her Greek was amazing, but there was a lot more to her than her linguistic ability.
When he’d first laid eyes on her, he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. To his chagrin, the first words to come out of his mouth had been accusatory. But she’d turned the tables on him with that very maturity he’d thought had been lacking. Over the course of a few minutes, he’d found himself utterly overwhelmed by the unexpected strength of his feelings for her.
The fact that she want
ed to help find a boy she’d never met revealed a depth of character that appealed to him. For her to confide her agonized feelings to Stavros over the death of her fiancé—to have felt so helpless while she’d waited for word of him—it had torn him up inside.
The shocks kept coming. Since she’d been the one to plan an itinerary that included a tour of the quarry, she must be a person who thought outside the box. He found that intriguing.
As for her physical attributes, those long legs and the way she moved her shapely body had branded her an American. She was a natural, honey-blonde beauty with deep, sky-blue eyes who needed no makeup to be attractive.
No wonder Gus hadn’t been able to turn her down when she’d approached him on behalf of PanHellenic Tours. She’d probably had that same effect on her boss, who couldn’t help but hire her.
Hell. She’d had that effect on him or he wouldn’t have agreed to let her come along to search for the boy. Talk about a day like no other!
When he reached the house, he pulled around the back next to his Jeep. She parked on the other side of him. He tried not to stare, but he couldn’t help glancing sideways when she got out of her car. In an odd way, her sensible walking shoes only drew more attention to those beautiful legs of hers.
“Come in the house and freshen up in the guest bathroom while I gather a few items. I’ll pack some food and drinks so we can eat along the way.”
“Let me help.”
Once inside the rear entrance, he showed her where to go before he loaded up a food hamper in the kitchen. With that done, he walked through the house to the bedroom to change into jeans and a crew-neck shirt.
After checking with the police lieutenant, who had no good news to report yet, Stavros pulled on his hiking boots, then drew some parkas and sweaters from his closet. On the way back to the kitchen, he stopped in the storage room for his large flashlight and extra batteries. A smaller flashlight was in the Jeep.
His soft top was loaded with everything else they might need: blankets, a small tent, a bedroll, a couple of fold-up camp chairs and extra petrol. He was always prepared in these mountains. Whether they found Darren tonight or not, they’d be comfortable.
Stavros had never taken a woman camping with him. It was going to be a novel experience. He realized he was looking forward to being with her. When he’d walked out of the board meeting for the last time earlier in the day, little had he dreamed that by nightfall he’d be searching for a runaway teen with this lovely woman.