Secret Heirs: Baby Scandal. Кейт Хьюит

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       CHAPTER SIX

      NIKOS WAS STUNNED into silence as Serena came out of the guest room, ready for the party. He knew he was staring at her like an unpractised youth. But what man wouldn’t? He’d never seen her dressed like this, and wondered how she’d ever thought she couldn’t compete with other women. She’d outshine them completely—and not just in his eyes.

      She was utterly gorgeous and he wished he hadn’t accepted the party invitation. Right now all he wanted was to be alone with her, to taste the desire they’d shared and experience the passion once more.

      The uncertainty in the green depths of her eyes tugged at his heart. A heart he had thought to be frozen since the moment his mother had walked out of his life, showing him the cruel side of love. But his heart would have to remain icy-cold, devoid of emotion. It would be better that way—for both of them.

      His attention was caught by her heels daintily tapping out a beat as she walked towards him—a beat that matched the throb of desire within him, which was increasing with each second.

      ‘I had no idea what was needed for this evening, but the shop assistants assured me, as best they could in Greek, that this was it. I trust it meets with your approval?’

      He let his gaze blatantly slide down her, marvelling at her resolute composure. ‘It is more than everything I anticipated,’ he said forcefully. The words You look so beautiful were suppressed, along with the weak-willed wish that things were different.

      ‘I don’t want to stand out too much,’ she said, and she lowered her gaze to fiddle with her clutch bag.

      A surge of unfamiliar protectiveness flared within him. ‘You will stand out—but it will be for the right reasons.’

      ‘It will be bad enough not understanding what’s being said all night, without wearing the wrong thing.’

      ‘Bad enough?’

      Most women he knew would be desperate for the chance to be bought a pretty dress and taken out for the evening—but Serena wasn’t most women. He was fast realising she was different. Too different.

      ‘The headlines,’ she said quickly, then looked at him, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. ‘Have you forgotten that all of Greece now believes we are engaged?’

      ‘No, I have not—and I will be with you at your side all night.’

      His swift reply banished any further discussion.

      He did have business connections to make, and originally his intention had been simply to halt any rumours that might be growing about her arrival. But as he looked down at Serena he knew having her at his side would make a nice change from the frivolous models he usually chose as company for such occasions. Not one of the women he’d dated had ever affected him the way Serena had—and still did.

      If he was honest with himself it went back to their time in Santorini—to a time when his guard had been lowered...a time when he’d tasted what might have been if only his life had been different.

      ‘We will leave now, if you are ready?’

      She nodded, briefly looking nervous before smiling. ‘I’m ready.’

      * * *

      The party had been underway for some time when they arrived, and he felt Serena tense as they entered the large room. The hum of chatter continued, but he was aware of speculative glances being cast their way, and whispers that were far from discreet.

      With his arm around her, and his hand resting at her waist, he guided her through the throng of the elite of Athens society. It seemed the fundraiser had pulled people in from far and wide.

      ‘Nikos!’

      He paused at the mention of his name and saw Christos Korosidis, the head of a rival shipping company. In the boardroom they would be enemies, but in the buzz of a party—especially a fundraising event—they would assume the air of friendship.

      ‘So the rumour is true?’ Christos said, his admiring gaze sweeping over Serena, sending a zip of totally alien jealousy hurtling through Nikos. ‘I would never have thought you were the marrying kind, Nikos.’

      He could hear the conjecture in the other man’s voice and knew Serena’s sudden appearance in his life was causing as much controversy as his bid to take over Adonia Cruise Liners. A company Christos also had his sights on.

      Nikos wondered if Christos would use the current news of his engagement to slip in under the radar and make another bid. He should have been angry at the idea, but he wasn’t. If the deal failed—it failed.

      This was a completely new way for him to look at things. He didn’t care if Christos put a new offer in and won. Right now all that mattered was his child, his heir, and in order to be a part of its life he had to keep Serena at his side. As far as he was concerned his marriage was the most important deal right now. It would legitimise his son and heir. Not that he’d ever hint at that to Christos.

      ‘Appearances can be deceptive,’ he said with a smile as he took a glass of champagne and handed it to Serena.

      She frowned, making it clear she wasn’t drinking alcohol, but took it from him, holding it with elegantly manicured hands. In that second he cursed his stupidity. She might not have chosen to disclose the reason for her return to Christos, but he was an astute man. Her reaction to the champagne hadn’t gone unnoticed.

      ‘Nikos and I met several months ago in Santorini.’

      Serena’s soft voice broke through his turmoil and his body heated as she moved closer against him, her smile distracting Christos instantly.

      ‘Serena has thankfully just returned to Greece,’ Nikos said, and looked down at her when she glanced up at him. He brushed his lips over her forehead lightly, then turned his attention back to his sparring partner in business, trying to ignore the warmth that flooded through him. ‘And not a moment too soon.’

      Beside him he felt Serena stiffen and try to pull away, but he kept her close. Her light floral scent was invading his senses, stirring them evocatively and unbalancing him further. But it was as she remained stiffly at his side that the implications of his words sank in. All he’d meant was that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her—which in itself had been truthful—but what he’d just said could be taken another way. Or was that his guilty conscience at work...?

      ‘Nice СКАЧАТЬ