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‘Go and enjoy yourself,’ Damon’s father insisted, chivvying Lizzie across the hall with great warmth.
She had a lot to think about by the time she left the cool of the hall for the heat of the blazing sun.
* * *
‘Over here, Mama—here, beneath the trees.’
Shading her eyes, Lizzie saw that with unerring good sense Thea and her friends had set up camp beneath the generous canopy of a jacaranda tree.
An elderly lady was introducing herself to the children as Lizzie approached. Was this humorous, twinkly sparrow of a woman Damon’s mother? Lizzie wondered. Somehow she’d expected to find a tall, elegant, possibly fearsome lady, rather than this instantly likeable person.
She missed her own mother so badly for a moment she had to pause to let her emotions subside before she could walk up and introduce herself.
Damon’s mother took her hand in both of hers. ‘Welcome, Lizzie,’ she said, smiling. She scanned Lizzie’s face and her smile widened. ‘We’re so very pleased to have you here.’
This was said with such warmth that Lizzie’s eyes brimmed a second time.
‘Anything the two of you want,’ Damon’s mother added, glancing at Thea, ‘please know that you only have to ask.’
‘Thank you.’
This was so much more than Lizzie had hoped for. And the sincerity of Damon’s parents said a lot about Damon. No wonder he’d worked so hard to put things right for them, to ensure that their retirement was worry-free. They all had a lot of lost time to make up for, but for the first time Lizzie wanted to believe that it might be possible.
‘I’m glad you came.’
Damon’s voice was deep and husky, and Lizzie tingled all over to hear him so close behind her. His mother had moved closer to the children to talk to them, leaving the two of them alone.
‘Shall we?’ he asked, leading Lizzie away from the happy tableau of Thea and her grandmother and Thea’s friends.
Her body heated beneath his dark gaze. His sensuality was overpowering. She was spellbound by his sexual charisma, Lizzie concluded, and she badly needed not to be if she was to think clearly.
Damon halted at the side of a swimming pool, beneath the shade of an awning, where they could talk discreetly.
‘Your parents couldn’t have been more welcoming. You’re a very lucky man.’
‘They worked hard to make me what I am,’ he countered dryly. ‘And I didn’t make it easy for them.’
She was sure he had not.
‘This is a wonderful occasion...’
Lizzie’s mouth dried as she gazed around. She felt threatened by this very different, very privileged lifestyle. Even her father, at the height of his showing off, had never lived in a property remotely comparable to this majestic home.
Bunting fluttered from the huge white marquee set in the centre of a flawless emerald-green lawn, while the surrounding garden was like a park full of colour, with ponds and streams and majestic fountains flowing. Behind this the grand old house watched over the proceedings with the elegance of centuries emblazoned on its grey stone. Lizzie wouldn’t blame Thea if she was tempted to throw aside their bedsit for the chance to live somewhere like this.
‘Everything needs careful handling,’ Damon said, as if reading her mind.
She turned to look at him. ‘Of course it does.’ She followed his gaze to where Thea was chatting happily with his parents, both of whom had now joined the group of children.
‘Shall we?’ Damon suggested again, angling his chin towards the house.
She almost didn’t want to leave. It was as if she feared losing her place in Thea’s affections, was worried that she might be pushed out to make room for a new family and a new life.
‘Now?’ he prompted.
Why could neither of them be honest about their feelings? Lizzie wondered. The sexual tension between her and Damon was as fierce as ever, and they never seemed to have any problem expressing that, but where emotions were concerned they were both equally skilled at hiding them.
It was a lot to take in, Lizzie reasoned, but decided to break the ice first.
‘I wish your parents hadn’t been left out of the loop for so long,’ she admitted as Damon held open the door into the main house for her.
‘They do too,’ he said frankly. ‘But what can’t be changed must be accepted and dealt with. The main thing is that they’re both overjoyed to discover they have a granddaughter at this stage of their lives. Thea’s happiness is all they care about. They have no resentment. In fact, far from it. They’re grateful to you. They can’t thank you enough. They know you’ve had a difficult life, and they also know I didn’t make it any easier for you. They certainly don’t pity you,’ he added, anticipating her possible reaction. ‘If anything, they admire you more than they can say. Come in,’ he added, beckoning her into the house when she hesitated on the threshold.
She looked around with interest as Damon led the way through a hallway packed with a selection of boots and gardening tools to open the door on to a comfortably ramshackle sitting room. Everything she looked at wore the patina of age with grace. There were chunks out of chair legs where dogs had chewed, and threaded curtains where cats had climbed, and in spite of everything going on in their lives Lizzie felt wistful, knowing Damon had grown up in a real family home—which was exactly what she’d always dreamed of for Thea.
‘You’ve never been frightened of change before, Lizzie.’
‘Is that how it looks to you?’ She laughed softly. ‘I am afraid of change,’ she admitted. ‘I just hide it well.’
‘And now I’m in your life you know there’s more change coming?’
She shivered involuntarily. That sounded like a threat. ‘There’s change, and then there’s your billionaire lifestyle,’ she admitted. ‘It might take Thea and me a long time to get used to that.’
‘I think you’d both adapt pretty quickly.’
‘We might not want to,’ Lizzie pointed out. ‘Thea still has to get used to the idea of having a father in her life and I’ll resent losing my independence. I know you have a lot,’ she said, with magnificent understatement, ‘but you can’t buy Thea or me. Nor can you direct a child to love or even accept you. That will take time, and even then there are no guarantees. I’m sorry.’ She really was. ‘You’ll just have to wait and see.’
‘That’s not my way,’ Damon assured her.
‘Then you might want to rethink your way,’ Lizzie countered, as mildly as she could. ‘Thea is a young person with an independent mind—as I think you’ve seen for yourself.’
‘And what about you, Lizzie?’
‘The same goes for me—though my primary concern is Thea, and any decision I make will be based on that.’
‘It’s not my intention to steal Thea from you,’ Damon was quick to add.
Then why even mention it? Lizzie thought.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEY MADE
ARRANGEMENTS for more meetings between the three of them, and then Lizzie left Damon so she could go and find Thea. The rest of the afternoon passed happily, if a little tensely, at least for Lizzie, but without incident. She stayed for the first part of the concert in the evening, but as Thea wasn’t playing in the second half Lizzie returned to the restaurant and took the opportunity, while it was closed, to perform a stock-take and do a deep clean.
It was a relief to work with her hands and take her mind off everything else. Even with the wonderful Gavros grandparents, the warmest of welcomes, and Damon’s obvious intention to make things right for Thea, Lizzie couldn’t shake a feeling of uneasiness.
Maybe it was his mention of not stealing Thea from her. Why had that thought even entered his mind? The future was so hard to visualise, and that was what worried her more than anything.
Work saved her. It always had. She could feel her pulse steadying even as she mopped the floor. Work was the rock she had always clung to. It was the reassurance she needed to know that she would always be able to support Thea and herself.
‘No wonder my cousin loves you,’ Iannis commented when he returned from the party to find his kitchen in tip-top condition and a list neatly drawn up ready for his visit to the wholesalers the next day. ‘Everyone loves you, Lizzie.’
‘So long as you do,’ she teased Iannis, and then tensed at the sound of a powerful engine drawing closer.
‘Uh-oh,’ Iannis murmured. ‘I’d better make myself scarce.’
‘Please don’t—’
Too late. Iannis had already disappeared into the pantry.
Lizzie glanced outside to confirm her suspicions. Damon, driving a stylish black Aston Martin DB9, had just opened the driver’s door and climbed out. How was she supposed to stop every atom in her being yearning for him? Maybe she’d never get that under control. It wasn’t fair for anyone to look so quite so stunning this late at night.
