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‘You danced too.’
Her comment did nothing to alleviate his temper. He muttered something in Greek that she just knew would be better off not translated.
‘I ought to congratulate you.’ He switched back to English, his derisive tone suggesting that congratulations were the last thing on his mind. ‘I thought I’d been on the receiving end of every possible trick, but you took the whole thing to an entirely new level.’
‘You’re obviously very angry, but—’
‘You’re right, I’m angry. Over the years various women have gone to enormous lengths to attract my attention. They pose as businesswomen, they apply for a job with me, they book tables in restaurants where I am dining, they hover outside my house in the hope of bumping into me. Sometimes they just turn up in my office wearing next to nothing, in the hope that they’ll attract my attention.’
‘Really?’ Astonished that some women had the confidence to go to those lengths to meet someone, Chantal gaped at him. ‘Gosh. That’s amazing.’
‘It is not amazing. It is intrusive and unacceptable.’
‘It must be one of the drawbacks of being a billionaire, I suppose. Can’t you laugh about it?’
He threw her an incredulous glance and sucked in a breath. ‘It is not amusing. Particularly when a woman stoops so low as to target my father in order to gain my attention.’
‘Ah.’ Finally sensing the direction of the conversation, Chantal gave an awkward shrug. ‘Actually, that wasn’t exactly what happened.’
The expression on his handsome face was grim as he surveyed her. ‘That is exactly what happened. Having danced with me, you then targeted him—like the greedy, unscrupulous, predatory woman you so clearly are.’
‘I didn’t know he was your father until you arrived with the drinks. And he approached me.’
‘Of course he did. My father’s fatal weakness is beautiful women—a fact of which you were well aware.’
‘I knew nothing about your father until that night.’ Until he’d rescued her. ‘I really liked him.’
Angelos shot her a look so fierce it would have stopped a riot. ‘I’m sure you did. He’s rich. And you have a taste for rich men—don’t you, Isabelle?’
‘Do I?’
‘Obviously. Given that you have already fleeced two in divorce settlements—one of them older than my father. For a woman of twenty six, you’ve been extremely busy.’
Chantal gasped. This Isabelle woman had married two men? One of them considerably older than her?
Perhaps continuing to let him believe that she was Isabelle hadn’t been such a sensible idea, after all.
The situation was going from bad to worse, and it was obvious that she just needed to walk away from it and try and put the whole thing behind her.
‘I’m obviously not your favourite person right now,’ she ventured cautiously, ‘so why am I here? Why did you come looking for me?’
‘Because of the lies you told my father.’
‘Lies?’ Shrinking at the memory of that particular conversation, Chantal stood there helplessly. She couldn’t explain without revealing things about herself that she’d spent her life concealing.
‘You told him that we were in love—that you fell in love with me the first moment you saw me. Is it coming back to you yet, or do you need me to carry on?’
‘Well—I didn’t exactly—it was more that he assumed—’
A muscle flickered in his lean jaw. ‘And did you correct him?’
Chantal breathed in and out. ‘No.’
‘Of course you didn’t.’ His tone was silky smooth. ‘Presumably because your plan was all coming together nicely.’
‘How does talking to your father bring me closer to marrying you?’ Chantal wondered briefly what had made him so suspicious of women.
‘You saw his face. You saw how delighted he was when he thought we were together.’
‘He’s obviously very keen to see you married,’ Chantal said, her expression softening at the thought of his father. ‘But I’m sure when you explained that it was all a misunderstanding he understood.’
Angelos tensed and turned away from her, his broad shoulders rigid with tension. ‘Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that.’
‘Why not?’
He turned back to face her and a muscle flickered in his lean jaw. ‘My father had a heart attack that night. He was in hospital here in Paris for a week and then I had him flown back to Greece.’
‘No!’ Genuinely distressed by that piece of news, Chantal lifted her hand to her mouth and shook her head. ‘Please tell me that isn’t true—’
His eyes darkened ominously. ‘You think I would joke about such a thing?’
‘No! I just—’ She felt as though something was crumbling inside her and she rubbed her fingers across her forehead, trying desperately to pull herself together. What was the matter with her? He wasn’t her father. It was ridiculous to feel this way. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just that—is he going to be all right?’
‘Why would you care?’
‘Because I liked him so much. Is he recovering?’
‘According to the doctors, his recovery so far has been nothing short of miraculous. Apparently he has been clinging to life, determined to live long enough to witness my marriage to the wonderful woman he saw me with that night at the ball.’ His tone was acid. ‘It seems that our “relationship” has given him a reason to live.’
‘I’m glad he’s going to be all right, but—’ Chantal stared at him in growing dismay as his words sunk in ‘—you didn’t—you haven’t told him the truth, then?’
‘What do you think?’
That he was a man who loved his father. Greek. Family mattered to Greeks. ‘Obviously you didn’t want to as he was poorly, and no one would blame you for that.’ Feeling awkward, she cleared her throat. ‘So that means he still thinks that we—that we’re—’
‘In love,’ Angelos slotted in helpfully. ‘Crazy about each other. All the things you told him that night. When he finally regained consciousness he distracted himself from the stresses of hospital by lying in bed naming his grandchildren.’
‘Oh—’ Chantal breathed out heavily and thought quickly. ‘So obviously you’re waiting to find the right time to explain that there was a misunderstanding?’
‘And when do you think he’d like to hear that piece of unwelcome news?’ His tone was biting. ‘Before or after his next heart attack—which, according to the specialists, is a distinct possibility.’
Chantal was horrified. ‘I seriously hope they’re wrong about that.’
‘So,’ he said grimly, ‘do I.’
‘I hope he’s resting.’
‘He is currently staying on my island in Greece.’
‘Your island?’ He had an island? It was just as well she hadn’t known who he was, Chantal thought weakly, because she never would have had the courage to talk to him in the first place. ‘He’s on his own on an island? Is that the best place for him?’
‘He has a team of nurses and doctors attending to him and I intend to join him shortly.’
‘Well, in that case—’ she licked her lips ‘—I’m sure once you’re there you’ll find the right time to tell him that we’re not exactly—together.’
‘I don’t intend to tell him. Not until he’s well. On the contrary, the doctors have instructed that he should be kept as relaxed as possible over the coming weeks. No stresses. No worries. He should be surrounded by people he loves and trusts.’
‘Right. Well, that sounds sensible.’ Chantal stared at him. ‘So—what does this have to do with me?’
His mouth tightened. ‘Unfortunately for both of us you played your game rather well the night of the ball. My father enjoyed your company enormously. He is looking forward to your arrival on the island so that he can get to know his future daughter-in-law.’
CHAPTER FOUR (#u76146323-4af4-565b-81f8-c255ca4dcd7f)
SHE LOOKEDthe picture of innocence, Angelos thought savagely. There was a gentleness in her eyes and a softness to her face that was totally at odds with her reputation as a man-eater. Not just a man-eater, he reminded himself grimly. Her tastes were more refined than that. She was a clever, manipulative, rich-man-eater.
‘He thinks we’re getting married?’ Her eyes were wide and shocked, and Angelos fought back his distaste.
He couldn’t believe he’d actually allowed himself to be manipulated in this way. Only once in his life before had he ever been taken in by a woman, and on that occasion he’d had inexperience as his excuse. He’d been just eighteen years of age, and dizzy with lust. Lust—love—how easily those two became intertwined. His mouth tightened at the thought.
He was no longer eighteen.
So what was his excuse this time?
He resisted the temptation to turn the full force of his anger onto the woman standing in front of him. ‘You told him that you were crazy about me. That we were madly in love.’ Angelos struggled to keep his voice level. ‘As far as my father is concerned, the next step is marriage.’
Her gaze softened. ‘He is such a lovely man. I thought that at the time.’
I’ll just bet you did. Angelos made a mental note not to leave her alone with his father for too long. Despite her protests, he had no doubt that once she discovered her ‘relationship’ with him had no long-term prospects she would have no compunction about turning her attentions to his more vulnerable father. ‘Before you start congratulating yourself on your success, remember that this is me you’re dealing with—not my father.’
‘You want me to go to Greece with you? That’s what you’ve brought me here to ask me?’
‘I don’t want you to go to Greece with me. But that is what is going to happen.’
Obviously the two men she’d duped hadn’t been able to see past those sapphire eyes, he thought grimly. And this time she’d obviously decided to go for the jackpot. The sheer audacity of her plan amazed even him. His views on marriage were well known, as were his views on his father’s two very public and very expensive divorces. The fact that she’d believed that she might be successful said a great deal about her ego.
‘I don’t understand why you would think it’s a good idea. Your father would never believe that we were together!’
‘Thanks to your convincing display at the ball, he already believes that we are together,’ Angelos told her. ‘Your role is simply to produce more of the same. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll be working for most of the day. You will get to sit by a pool with a drink in your hand and a view of the Aegean Sea, singing my praises. From what I can gather, you’re in between men at the moment. Think of it as a free holiday—which isn’t quite on the same level as a meal ticket for life, but given the stunt you pulled you’re lucky even to get that from me.’
She watched him, and he could almost see her brain working as she thought about what he’d said.
‘No.’
‘Don’t try and negotiate with me,’ he warned softly. ‘There won’t be a better offer.’
‘I’m not hoping for a “better offer”.’
‘Then why refuse?’
‘Because it wouldn’t be fair on your father. I don’t understand why you think it’s a good idea.’ She frowned slightly. ‘When he finds out that you’re lying, he’ll be devastated.’
The same uncomfortable truth had occurred to Angelos, but he’d been unable to find any other solution. ‘It is a shame this conscience of yours didn’t emerge a little sooner. Thanks to you, I don’t have a choice. When my father is stronger, I’ll tell him that we weren’t as compatible as we thought.’
‘It would never work.’
‘Why not?’
‘If you glare at me the way you’re glaring at me now, he’s never going to be convinced that our relationship is real.’
‘The mere fact that I am bringing you to the island will be enough to convince him.’
‘Why?’
Angelos tensed. ‘I don’t take women there.’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘Never?’
‘It is a place for family.’
‘And none of your previous women have earned that distinction?’
‘You are not family either, Isabelle,’ Angelos warned her softly. ‘Do not forget that. You’re merely a necessary part of my father’s convalescence.’
She frowned. ‘I’m not sure—’
‘I don’t understand why you’re hesitating. I’m offering you an all-expenses-paid luxury holiday.’
She looked at him, her gaze disturbingly direct. ‘That’s why I’m hesitating.’
He thought he could buy her.
But she didn’t accept gifts from men, or hospitality. Ever. She lived her life by that principle.
Chantal gave a shiver, acknowledging the irony of her situation. She’d taken the ticket of a woman who clearly didn’t share her scruples.
‘I can’t do it,’ she said hoarsely and his eyes narrowed.
‘You will do it—if I have to drag you there myself.’
‘No. My answer has to be no.’ Something dark and ugly uncurled inside her and she gave a little shake of her head. ‘You don’t understand.’
‘I understand perfectly. And that’s what frightens you, isn’t it? For once you’re dealing with a man who does understand you. All your declarations about liking my father have proved to be as meaningless and empty as I believed them to be.’
‘That isn’t true.’
‘If it were true then you would be doing everything possible to aid his recovery.’
Chantal turned away, remembering just how kind his father had been to her that night of the ball. She remembered the warmth of his hand on hers and how he’d stood next to her, protecting her.
