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“What brought you here?”
She tilted her face away, looking towards the windows just as a red, double-decker bus went past, lights making orange lines, but he barely noticed. He was transfixed by what he could see of her expression in profile, her lips twitching downwards, her fingers gripping the coffee cup more tightly.
“I’d never been anywhere,” she said, so softly he had to concentrate to hear it. Then, she turned to face him, pinpointing him with a steady look. “I wanted to see the world and London seemed like a good place to start.”
“And?” He lifted a hand along the back of the neighbouring chair, in an approximation of casual. “How is your plan working out?”
“I’ve seen some of it,” a small smile tilted her lips. “A couple of months ago, I went to a tiny island in the Aegean, and the water was so clear I could see schools of fish weaving around my ankles.”
He almost choked on a breath. His father had taken her to Prásina, one of the private islands their family owned around the world?
“Anywhere else?” He asked, giving very little away.
“No,” a wistful expression. “I’ve not travelled as much as I thought I would.”
“Why not?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
“I’m inquisitive by nature. Is that a problem?”
She tilted her head, contemplating that. “Not particularly.” She finished her coffee. “Anyway, I should finish up. I’m beat.” She threw back her coffee then lifted her hand to cover a yawn, as she stood, lithe grace in every movement.
“You’re not going to answer?”
She let out a small sigh, her breath brushing over him so his gut twisted with an unmistakable surge of longing.
“I’ve had commitments here.”
Like his father?
“A boyfriend?”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. “That’s far too personal.” Standing, she offered him a tart smile. “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I’ll get your bill.”
His heart thundered as he watched her leave. Desiring her was a very unwelcome complication, but he wouldn’t let it rule his behaviour. He’d come here for one reason, and one reason only. That he found her attractive didn’t change a thing.
“Actually, there’s something specific I wanted to discuss with you.”
Her face tilted to his, and she paused, midway through printing an invoice. She pressed it onto the tray and slid it across at him, then crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his gaze involuntarily lower, to linger on the swell of her cleavage as longing shifted through him.
“Okay,” her voice was uncertain. “What is it?”
“Are you acquainted with a man named Konstantinos Xenakis?”
Her hand lifted to a necklace at her throat and she pulled the pendant from one side to the other, immediately raising Anastasios’ suspicions. Had his father given her this trinket?
“I—yes. Why?”
“How do you know him?”
She bristled visibly, just as she had when he’d asked about her boyfriend. A coincidence? Anastasios didn’t believe in them.
“I—met him through work,” she gestured to the restaurant. “What business is it of yours?”
His eyes bore into hers, assessing her, reading her, deriding her. She might be sexier than sin, but he couldn’t feel anything but disgust for a woman who’d sleep with an old man just for money.
“I came to inform you of his death.”
