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He gave a flicker of a smile. When he stopped to think about it, it might be a fitting kind of farewell.
CHAPTER FIVE
AFTERTHEOHADGONE, Mia realised she was shaking. Actuallyshaking. Was that down to the sensual encounter she’d ended so abruptly, or the difficult conversation which had followed on from that? She fished around in her handbag for her hairbrush. It didn’t matter. None of that mattered.
She went into the en-suite bathroom adjoining her bedroom—which was even bigger than the bathroom in the Presidential Suite of the Granchester hotel, which was saying something. All gleaming marble and silvery fittings, it contained a bath the size of a small swimming pool, a rainfall shower—and as many luxurious scented creams and gels as you’d find in an upmarket department store.
But all this unashamed opulence left Mia cold as she washed her hands and splashed water onto her face, though it had little effect on the vivid flush of her complexion. All she could think about was Theo and what he’d done when he’d pulled her into his arms and started to kiss her. Or rather, what hehadn’tdone. Because she’d been up for it, hadn’t she? Deep down, she had been longing for him to sweep her into his arms and carry her over to that huge bed and do what she had been aching for him to do for so long now.
Whyhadn’the?
That was her secret, shameful fantasy. Why hadn’t she just encouraged him and gone for it? she thought crossly. Surely it would have freed them both from this niggling frustration which seemed to have been reactivated without either of them wanting it to.
She stared into the mirror, at the natural blue shade of her eyes, which was almost obscured by the blackness of her pupils. Her mind was buzzing as she dried her fingers on a fluffy towel and began to indulge in forbidden thoughts. What would sex with Theo be like? she wondered. What if, after all these years of longing and regret, it turned out to be a big fat disappointment? Would that be ironic, or disappointing? Liberating, even? She sighed. No. She mustn’t lose sight of reality. How could sex with Theo Aeton be anything other than blissful?
But that wasn’t why she was here. She was here to build bridges and be a dutiful granddaughter to a man who needed her and who now, it seemed, was regretting having rejected her.
Quickly, she unpacked the contents of her suitcase, thinking how forlorn her cheap clothes looked hanging in a tiny segment of the bank of fitted wardrobes. She finished off her lemon drink and tried to read a book about canine infectious diseases, but the words were nothing but a blur on the page because Theo’s darkly golden looks kept flitting distractingly into her mind.
Putting the book down, she glanced at her watch. There were still a couple of hours to go until they left to see Pappous and if she had to stay in this room much longer, she’d go nuts. She found the swimming costume she’d brought and hauled it on over her protesting curves, before pulling on an all-concealing wrap. Mia wasn’t as insecure about her body as she used to be and the world was a lot more accepting of different shapes these days, but even so, she still didn’t relish looking at herself in a full-length mirror.
Slipping through the marble corridors, she made her way to the pool, where the cool water felt like liquid silk gliding over her heated flesh as she slipped beneath the surface. Purposefully, she swam length after length until she was pleasantly tired and finished up in the infinity section, where she floated on her back and tried to enjoy the bright Greek sunshine and the tantalising scent of lemon and pine which drifted through the air.
After a while she headed back to her room, dived into the rainfall shower and, after a bit of indecision about which of her three dresses she should wear, presented herself downstairs at the appointed hour, to find Theo waiting for her.
His powerful figure dominated the airy entrance hall and her already thudding heart missed a beat. His eyes were shielded by a pair of dark glasses which made him resemble an enigmatic movie star and he was wearing a cool grey suit which emphasised his towering height. Silently, Mia acknowledged the sting of her breasts. He looked tantalising yet somehow unapproachable—and everyone knew that things which were out of reach were always more alluring than things which were there for the taking. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself.
And anyway, Theo’s allure was not her primary concern—and neither was the smoulder of heat which had begun to whisper over her skin. A very important meeting lay ahead and she could tell from the clamminess of her palms just how nervous she really was.
‘Ready?’ he questioned.
‘I’m scared,’ she admitted.
‘Don’t be.’ The curve of his lips was almost kind. ‘You’re his favourite granddaughter.’
‘I’m his only granddaughter,’ she retorted as she stepped into the afternoon sunshine to see a gleaming black car sitting outside. ‘Where’s the chauffeur?’ she questioned, peering inside.
‘No chauffeur. I’m driving.’
‘Really?’
‘Does that bother you?’
‘Why should it?’ she answered insouciantly, sliding into the passenger seat and smoothing down the skirt of her cotton dress. ‘You may have many faults, Theo—but as I recall, poor driving wasn’t one of them.’
Theo bit back a smile as he removed his jacket before getting behind the wheel, aware of the subtle scent of shampoo and soap which was radiating from his passenger and somehow the innocent freshness of those combined fragrances seemed disproportionately evocative. It made him feel uncomfortable. It reminded him of the man he had once been, and the man he was today. But that earlier version of himself had been a fool. He had mistaken desire for emotion. He had been taken hostage by his own feelings and had vowed never to let that happen again.
For a while he said nothing as he drove towards the old man’s house, but when he could resist no longer, he shot her a glance, noting the tense way she was sitting. ‘How was your afternoon?’
‘It was all right. I went swimming.’
‘I saw.’
She turned her head, with a cascade of bright curls. ‘You were watching me?’
‘Didn’t you catch the glint of my binoculars in the sunshine?’
‘Youarekidding?’
