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‘It has been the talk of the racing world,’ scolded Birgitta, as if somehow Anna’s ignorance was a fatal flaw. ‘The Winners’ Circle syndicate is trying the impossible with a female jockey. Three wins on the Hanley Cup hasn’t been achieved since...’
‘Mason’s father,’ concluded Danyl.
Birgitta eyed her companion with speculative eyes before enquiring after the Kyriakou Bank’s recent success, effectively shutting the sheikh and Anna out from the conversation. Danyl’s only reaction was an amused quirk of his lips, before turning his powerf
ul attention to Anna.
‘How is your daughter?’
‘Well, thank you. She’s thriving in Greece.’
‘As are you, it would seem.’
Anna smiled at the compliment, letting it warm her, but she still couldn’t help but glance at the intimate way Birgitta was conversing with her husband.
‘Don’t worry, Anna. He only has eyes for you.’
Anna cocked her head to one side, considering his words. Before she could contradict his statement, Danyl pressed on.
‘I have never seen him with any woman the way he is with you. And it is good. As it should be. I cannot say that he’s the easiest of men.’
‘No. He’s not.’
‘But he is very much worth it. Once his loyalty is earned, it is steadfast. As is mine. So should you need anything, Anna, anything, just say.’
The sincerity in his tone touched her. It made her happy that Dimitri had people like Danyl in his life, after the loneliness of his childhood. And now, it seemed, perhaps she did too.
Birgitta politely excused herself from the conversation with Dimitri and disappeared. In an instant, Danyl’s whole demeanour changed. He ran a hand over exhausted eyes.
‘Another potential bride?’ queried Dimitri.
‘She certainly seems to think so. I feel like a prize bull.’
Anna felt a smile lift the corners of her mouth at the easy admittance of the powerful royal before her, but quietly retreated from the personal tenor of the conversation.
Dimitri watched Anna slip away into the crowds, dark intent swirling in his stomach. The first time he had laid his eyes on her that evening, clothed in the gentlest of turquoise silk, he had wanted to order her back into the room, strip her of her dress and lock her in. The only thing that had stopped him was the shock of his own caveman-like reaction.
‘You seem tense. Certainly more tense than usual,’ Danyl remarked.
‘It’s... We’re staying at the apartment here tonight.’
‘And you haven’t been back since Manos’s arrest.’
‘No,’ Dimitri replied, casting his eyes around for a drink, for anything to distract him from the direction of this conversation.
‘Perhaps it is a good thing that Anna is with you.’
‘I think it may be because Anna is with me.’
‘She’s a good woman, Dimitri.’
‘She’s not just a woman. She’s the mother of my child.’
‘Is that all? You have the look of a man in more than lust, Dimitri.’
‘You know me better than that, Danyl.’
‘But does Anna?’
