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“I didn’t know you then,”
“But you did last night,” she whispered. “At least, I thought you did,” her brow furrowed. “I thought, these last few days—,” she shook her head. “You got that photo and an innocent letter and immediately believed the worst, instead of turning to me and asking about it. You’ve spent this whole time accusing me of being mercenary and opportunistic, but did you ever stop to think about the person fabricating this story? They’re the one seeking money from the papers, not me. I would never do that.”
He pressed his hands flat to the table.
“But you’ve never questioned your conviction. You made up your mind about me before we met.”
“That was about him, not you. It was him I was angry at.”
She understood that, but didn’t allow it to soften her. “Strange, because it seems that I bore the brunt of that.”
“You did.”
Silence stretched.
“Don’t leave today.”
She pulled back as if he’d slapped her. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“I don’t want you to go.”
She practically growled at him. “Because I was a virgin?”
“No. Yes. God, you must be able to see how convincing the story was? How easy for me to believe?”
“I never said I didn’t. I only asked you to listen to me, and you didn’t. Not even for one second. Changing your mind now doesn’t mean I have to change my mind.”
“Then let me change it. Spend some time with me—,”
“What for? What do you want from me, anyway, Anastasios?”
He frowned, stumped by the question. It clearly hadn’t occurred to him to consider when all this would end.
“I just know you can’t leave yet.”
It was only then that she realized she’d held hope in her heart, right to the last.
“That’s not good enough.” She pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, the gesture drawing his attention. His eyes lingered there a moment, and sparks ignited in her bloodstream. “Last night, you told me you’d send me home today. I trust you’ll keep your word?”
He ground his teeth together, a muscle jerking in his cheek. “Phoebe—,”
“Stop.” She said angrily. “I have not been treated well, Anastasios. By a lot of people, I’ve been treated very badly, in fact, but no one has ever burrowed into my soul the way you have, and ripped me apart from the inside out. There is not a person alive who’s ever made me feel like you did last night, and believe me, that’s saying something.”
“Fiona? I need to speak to you.”
The older woman smiled at Phoebe, but it was a smile Phoebe no longer trusted.
“The last time we worked together, a friend came and had lunch. He gave me a gift, and when I threw out the wrapping, I must have thrown out the note he’d included with it. You were the only other person working that afternoon.”
Fiona had the good sense to look a little green about the gills.
“Recently, I’ve been showing a photograph of that note, as well as a picture of me and this friend, by a newspaper, wanting to run a story about me that has no basis in fact. The story, if run, would be very, very damaging to the family involved.”
Despite what Phoebe had been through, she tended to see the best in people, which was why she’d never noticed the calculating tightness in the depths of Fiona’s eyes. She saw it now though, clear as day.
“The people involved should have been a little more careful then.”
Phoebe compressed her lips. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She was devastated that anybody—let alone several people—could take her innocent friendship with Kon and turn it into something so wrong. “However, I think you should know, the Xenakis family has very deep pockets.”
