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It was typical arrogant behaviour, she thought bitterly. He was making no concession to her naturally slower pace, but there was no way she was going to ask him to slow down. Her legs were still shaky, but so was the whole of her body—inside and out. She flicked her fringe back from her damp forehead and kept walking.
All she could think about was Lucas.
She’d kept him secret because she was scared of what might happen—of what Theo might do. She’d seen for herself that he’d been so protective of his brother’s son that he’d wanted to take him away from Hallie.
Kerry had not been able to stand by and watch that happen. For personal reasons she couldn’t bear to see a child forcibly taken from its mother. But her own background had also taught her that lies and deception led to heartache and tragedy—and by keeping Lucas a secret she was guilty of that herself.
Without warning her eyes blurred with tears. She wanted to do what was right for everyone—but she was too scared of the possible consequences if she told Theo.
Suddenly her foot hit a rut, and she staggered forward on the steep path, letting out a sharp cry of alarm.
Theo shot back up the slope and was beside her almost before she’d realised that she was lying headlong on the ground, her face pressed against the loose dirt path, pebbles digging into the palms of her hands.
‘Kerry? Are you all right?’ His deep voice sounded genuinely troubled, and for a moment she was startled by how familiar it sounded.
Only a moment ago she’d been convinced Theo had never shown any concern for her—but now she realised she’d been mistaken. The tender tone of his voice was achingly familiar, and made fresh tears swim in her eyes.
‘Are you injured?’ he asked, his hand gently cupping her shoulder.
‘No—I’m fine.’ She pushed her hands against the path to lever herself up, but it was hard with her head down and the stones jabbing into her palms.
Theo reached for her immediately, helping her into a sitting position, and stared into her face. His expression was so intense that for a moment she was glad she was wearing her sunglasses. She didn’t want him to see her tear-filled eyes.
‘My legs were wobbly,’ she said, feeling her cheeks flare at the thought of how she’d been sprawled so humiliatingly on the ground in front of him. ‘I’m not used to climbing up mountains.’
‘Then you should have asked for a longer break,’ he said sharply. ‘It’s not responsible to push yourself too hard out here—you know how isolated we are.’
She gasped, stung by his harsh tone of voice.
‘You just want to avoid the expense of calling a helicopter if I sprain my ankle,’ she retorted. She hadn’t been deliberately careless—he was the one who’d been walking so fast.
‘If you’re foolish enough to sprain your ankle I’ll carry you back myself,’ he said. ‘Over my shoulder,’ he added, letting his eyes run across her as if he was assessing how easy she would be to carry.
Kerry glared at Theo, suddenly furious with him for being so heartless. What if she really hadn’t been fit enough to keep up with him? She hadn’t exactly had much time to keep herself in shape lately. Looking after Lucas and working in the travel agency took up every minute of her time. She wasn’t Theo’s adoring lover any more—with nothing better to do than run around after him.
‘Thankfully, that won’t be necessary,’ she said coldly, ignoring the flush of embarrassment that heated her face at the thought of being carried over his shoulder. ‘Let’s get going—I thought you were keen to get back.’
Theo studied her from beneath dark brows as she pushed herself up to her feet—she was still a little unsteady, but she looked all right.
‘We’ll go a little slower on the way down,’ he said. ‘But first you need to wipe your face—it’s covered with dirt.’
Kerry drew in a startled breath and rubbed her fingers across her face.
‘Lucky for me you are trying to impress Drakon,’ she said, looking down at her dirt-streaked fingertips before lifting her eyes to meet his gaze straight on. ‘Or you might never have bothered to tell me I’ve got half the path stuck to my face.’
The rest of the day passed slowly for Kerry. They’d arrived back at Drakon’s house before lunch, but he’d still not been feeling well enough to receive visitors, so Theo had spent the afternoon working on his laptop, and Kerry had sat in the shade of the wizened old olive trees on the paved area, trying to read.
It was a wonderful place to sit, but despite her lovely surroundings she found it impossible to relax. She kept thinking about Lucas, and questioning whether she was making a terrible mistake.
It was one thing to hide her pregnancy and then her child from Theo when he was in another country—after all, at the time she’d had very good reasons for keeping her secret. But now that she was back in Greece with Theo everything seemed different.
That morning, when he’d accused her of dishonesty, his comment had cut her deeply—because she knew he was right. She wasn’t being honest with anyone. Not with Theo. And most importantly not with Lucas.
She knew from personal experie
nce just how devastating it was to discover that everything you believed to be true was actually false. Deception ruined lives—and she could not let her son’s life be blighted by secrets and dishonesty.
By the time she went inside to get ready for dinner she had made an enormous decision. She would tell Theo about Lucas. She knew that he would want to be part of his son’s life—but she also knew that she would never let him take Lucas away from her.
