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It sounded even more stupid when she said it out loud. Even more archaic.
‘I will explain.’ Nikos glanced around her office in much the same way as she had. ‘But not here. This place depresses me.’
Welcome to my world.
It depressed Kate as well—not that she would admit it to him.
She watched as he strode towards the door, stepping back to usher her through.
‘Come on.’ He gestured impatiently. ‘I’ll find us somewhere that serves a decent cup of coffee.’
* * *
Nikos’s choice of venue was an old-fashioned Greek diner, tucked away up a nearby side street. Seating them in one of the booths, he ordered them both coffee without bothering to ask Kate what she wanted.
In the banquette seat opposite him, Kate had to wait for the waitress to bring their order before she could start her interrogation.
‘So, what’s this all about?’
She plunged right in, anxious to get this ordeal over with as quickly as possible. The sooner Nikos told her what he wanted from her, the sooner she could inform him that it wasn’t going to happen and he could disappear from her life again.
Nikos took a sip of coffee, slowly replacing the cup to its saucer. ‘You remember Philippos?’
The question was as direct as it was surprising.
‘Yes, of course.’ Kate replied quickly. ‘Your friend in Agia Loukia.’
‘He died.’ His voice was cold, unemotional. ‘Two months ago.’
‘Oh!’ Kate’s hand went to her chest. ‘I’m very sorry to hear that.’
Nikos shrugged as if her sympathy was of no consequence.
‘What happened?’
‘An accidental overdose.’ Nikos continued matter-of-factly. ‘He was self-medicating while the balance of his mind was disturbed.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Kate repeated, recalling the awkward young man Nikos had introduced her to during that summer in Crete, describing the reluctant individual as his ‘genius new business partner’.
Kate remembered how Philippos hadn’t been able to meet her eye, instead flashing a panicked look at Nikos because he might have to interact with this alien female creature.
‘I know what good friends you were,’ she said.
‘He was a good friend of mine, certainly, but I’m not sure the same could be said of my friendship with him.’ Nikos looked away.
Kate stared at his profile in surprise.
‘Anyway...’ He turned his head back, the shutters coming down to conceal that chink of vulnerability. ‘Philippos has a younger sister—Sofia.’
‘Yes, I remember.’ Kate thought back. ‘She would be how old now? Fourteen? Fifteen?’
‘She’s fifteen.’
‘This must be so terribly sad for her. Didn’t you say that their parents died in a road accident some time ago?’
Nikos nodded.
‘So she’s all alone in the world. Poor Sofia.’
‘One thing she is not is poor. When she comes of age she will inherit Philippos’s largely untouched fortune.’
‘I didn’t mean that sort of poor. I meant—’
‘I know what you meant.’ Bluntly interrupting her, Nikos folded his arms across his chest. ‘But because of her wealth Sofia needs protecting. There are people out there already making moves to try and get their hands on her money.’
‘She must be grieving so badly I don’t suppose she cares about that now.’
‘She might not care, but I do.’ His shoulders stiffened. ‘Which is why I have applied to the courts to become her legal guardian.’
‘Her guardian?’ Kate couldn’t hide her astonishment. She had already seen Nikos undergo one transformation, from laid-back lover to hotshot businessman. But this was not a role she would ever have put him down for. ‘But what do you know about raising a teenage girl?
‘That is none of your concern.’ Nikos brutally cut her short. ‘The important thing is I will be able to protect her fortune, invest it wisely for her, until she is old enough to know what she wants to do with it.’
Kate looked down, tracing the grains of sugar on the tabletop with her finger as she imagined how Sofia must be feeling. She had never met the teenager, the summer she had been in Agia Loukia—Sofia had been away on some sort of exchange scheme if Kate remembered correctly. But even so her heart went out to her.
Kate’s own family was far from perfect, but at least she still had a mother. Did Sofia really have no one to care for her?
‘Surely the most important thing is to find her a secure home?’ She faced Nikos again. ‘Somewhere that she feels safe...loved. Where all her emotional needs will be met.’
‘Then I will do that too.’ Fierce determination lit Niko’s eyes. ‘But let me make one thing clear, Kate: I am not here to seek your opinion on child welfare. Your role in this is quite straightforward.’
He pushed his coffee cup decisively to one side.
‘It is a condition of the courts that in order to become Sofia’s guardian I have to prove I am in a stable relationship—preferably married.’
He paused, gauging the way the penny was dropping. And drop it did—clattering through Kate like a cold weight.
‘What I need now is an agreement from you that you will be my wife.’
Kate blinked, reminding herself to breathe. This was the second time Nikos had proposed to her, but the circumstances couldn’t be more different. The first time had been such a tender, joyful experience. They had been so much in love, and Kate had been convinced their happiness would last for ever. How wrong she had been.
And now this. A cold, calculated business deal, delivered by a man with no emotion. No heart. Kate closed her eyes against the pain that suddenly lanced through her. Pain she had told herself she no longer felt. She had been wrong about that too.
She opened her eyes again to see Nikos staring at her, waiting for an answer. From the firm set of his jaw she could see how important this was to him, and the cold, steely determination in his eyes left no room for doubt.
But no... No! The whole idea was sheer madness. She needed to end this now.
‘My answer is no, Nikos.’ She shook her head for emphasis, desperately trying to ignore the thud of her heart. She could see Nikos’s features hardening as she spoke. ‘I can’t do it. It wouldn’t be right.’
‘And to see Sofia delivered into the hands of a distant relative—a great-uncle whom she has never met, who has only come crawling out of the woodwork now because of Sofia’s fortune, who doesn’t give a damn about her or Philippos for that matter—that would be right, would it?’
Nikos’s reply was hot and harsh, and anger flared his nostrils. The strength of his conviction was unmistakable, and his tautly held frame, the fierce glare in his eyes, were all saying one thing. He was serious about this. Deadly serious.
‘But there must be someone else who could act as her guardian. Some other relative—or a family friend, maybe?’ Kate raised her brows hopefully.
‘There is no one else. I am the only person to have Sofia’s best interests at heart. I know this is what Philippos would have wanted.’
‘But he didn’t name you as her guardian in his will?’
‘There is no will. Philippos never made one.’
This didn’t surprise Kate. She hadn’t known him well, but Philippos had struck her as the kind of guy who struggled with the practicalities of life. His brilliant mind had been able to conjure up amazing new ways to revolutionise the software industry, but somehow his shoelaces would always come undone.
‘Why me?’ She pulled nervously at her earlobe again. From the storm of questions still buzzing around her head it was the first one to form on her lips. ‘Why do you want me to marry you when no doubt there is a host of beautiful, eligible women who would be only too happy to be your bride.’
‘I’m flattered you think me such a catch.’ Nikos gave her a complacent smile. ‘But the fact is it’s you that I want.’
A surge of ridiculous optimism bloomed inside Kate, appearing from nowhere and spreading hot and fast to every part of her body. Was it possible that Nikos still had feelings for her? That he might want to try and make amends? To win her back?
She slammed the brakes on her ridiculously wayward thoughts. It was terrifying the way Nikos could make her feel...the power he still had over her.
‘But why?’ She repeated the question, fighting to keep herself grounded.
‘Because I know how desperate you are.’
Ha! If Kate had needed a shot of realism there it was, delivered with unerring accuracy, straight to the heart. She felt herself crumple inside, that foolish hope creeping back to wherever it had come from. How had she even let that happen? Had she not learned her lesson? Had the intervening years taught her nothing?
She sat up straighter, steeling herself to meet his gaze. ‘I may be desperate.’ Somehow she managed to hold her voice steady. ‘But I’m not that desperate.’
‘No?’ His reply was immediate. ‘Are you sure about that, Kate?’
‘Quite sure.’
Silence fell between them, punctuated only by the sound of Nikos’s fingers drumming lightly on the table.
‘Look, just consider the facts.’
Kate could hear the effort it was taking him to make himself sound reasonable.
‘You need money. I need a wife. You would be foolish to make any decision until you’ve heard my proposal.’
‘Not as foolish as I would be to consider getting involved with you again. In any capacity.’ The painful memories were a useful tool to stop her bravado from slipping. ‘My decision is made, Nikos.’
‘Well, it’s the wrong one!’
Nikos’s paper-thin patience was ripped apart. A tell-tale muscle ticked in his cheek as he drew in a sharp breath, clenching his hands on the table before him.
‘Think about it, Kate.’ He’d reined in his temper, but his knuckles were pulled white. ‘This arrangement will suit us both. You agree to be my wife until the court rule in my favour and I get legal custody of Sofia. In return I will save Kandy Kate. I will provide whatever funds are necessary to pay off your creditors, get the business thriving again. We are talking about pretty much a blank cheque here, Kate. Imagine what you could do with that...’
Kate imagined. A large injection of money was exactly what Kandy Kate needed. Once the business was stable again she was confident she would be able make a success of it. It was like being in the bottom of a pit—she just needed a boost to get out, then she could run.
‘And, of course, you will have the benefit of my business knowledge and my contacts—many of whom are extremely influential. There is no reason why you shouldn’t massively expand Kandy Kate...grow the business as big as you want.’ Nikos pressed on relentlessly.
Kate closed her ears. She mustn’t let herself be seduced by this daydream.
‘No, Nikos—’
She started to speak but just then the waitress reappeared to refill their cups, so she paused, watching the way the young woman hovered around Nikos’s side as if she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave. When Nikos looked up to thank her, a pretty flush spread to her cheeks.
‘Then do it for Sofia.’ When the waitress finally moved away Nikos jumped in, cutting Kate off before she could speak. ‘Think about her.’
‘I... I am thinking about Sofia.’ Kate’s heart twisted. ‘I genuinely feel very sorry for her.’
‘Then do something about it—feeling sorry is not enough.’ The full glare of his attention was on her now. ‘Marry me and you will help secure her future. Walk away and that greedy, manipulative uncle of hers may well be granted legal guardianship.’
‘I don’t know...’ Kate took in a panicked breath. ‘I mean, just supposing we were to marry, and the courts did award you guardianship of Sofia, what then?’
‘Then we divorce. Sofia will be legally protected, and you will have resurrected your business. It’s the obvious solution.’
Kate swallowed. Nikos made it sound so practical, so easy. Perhaps it was. She didn’t doubt that if she turned him down Nikos would find someone else to do his bidding. That small interaction with the waitress had proved the power he had over women. If she didn’t do this someone else would benefit from the money she needed so desperately to save Kandy Kate.
‘But what about Sofia? Won’t she be expecting us to be a proper married couple? How will she feel if we divorce as soon as she’s legally your care?’
‘You will leave Sofia to me.’ Nikos’s tone left no room for discussion. ‘Your role is to help me secure guardianship. Nothing more.’
A heavy silence fell between them, and the hiss of the coffee machine, the babble of voices in the diner, faded away into the background as Kate found herself staring into the mesmerising deep brown eyes of this all-powerful man.
‘So what do you say...?’ His voice had lowered, become dark, seductive, compelling.
Taking in a gasp of air, Kate forced herself to break his gaze, looking around her for some sort of respite from the intense focus that was making it so impossible to think straight. But her brain was blocked by the man in front of her, by what he was offering her—the dream of being able save Kandy Kate was hanging there, tantalisingly within reach.
When Nikos reached for her hand, lying on the table between them, his touch jolted through her like an electric shock, whipping her gaze back to his face. Once again she was caught.
‘Do we have a deal?’
And from somewhere deep inside her, a hidden part that should never even have had a voice, she heard words bubbling up inside her. Before she knew it they were on her lips, spoken.
‘Okay.’ She held her breath. ‘I’ll do it.’
* * *
Nikos exhaled with satisfaction. And not a little relief. He’d got her. The minor triumph felt good.
For all his outward confidence, and his brusque, businesslike assertiveness that Kate would accept his offer as the only sensible course of action—snatch his hand off, in fact—deep down he’d been none too sure how she’d react.
Kate O’Connor was a law unto herself, and after the way they had parted anything could have happened. But he’d done it. Now he just had to close the deal.
He leant back in the booth, his arms behind his head as he surveyed the space where Kate had sat before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. She hadn’t been able to get out fast enough, sliding across the seat and straightening those long legs before disappearing into the depths of the diner behind him. If she was regretting her decision, trying to think her way out of it, it was too late. She had already sealed her fate.
