from my accident. My cousin Vaso is going to attend in my place.”
Alex turned her head to look out the side window. No matter which member of the illustrious Pandakis family was sent, the officials would be disappointed because it was Dimitrios they wanted. Instead, he was going to be with her.
If he didn’t have worries about her being able to get around the country without his help, then the only other reason she could imagine him showing up like this was that he needed a legitimate excuse to put space between him and his nephew.
Maybe there’d been another unpleasant episode with Leon this morning, and Dimitrios hadn’t recovered enough to deal with it yet. Ananke Pandakis hadn’t said more than two words to her at breakfast.
Alex had wanted to ask the other woman to tell Leon how sorry she was for having offended him with her insensitive remarks. But the negative tension radiating from his mother had made conversation impossible. As soon as the taxi arrived, Alex had been only too glad to slip away from the villa.
“What should we do about the Ilias?”
“Don’t worry. I canceled your reservation.”
“Some desperate tourist is going to be very happy.”
“But not you?”
He was playing the relentless inquisitor again. When he was like this, there was no stopping him.
“I’m perfectly content to spend the night anywhere, you know that. Is there something special about Dadia?”
“It’s the forest that’s famous. As a boy, I explored every centimeter of it with my brother.”
“Your favorite place?” She couldn’t help asking. His love of mountaineering must have been born there.
He nodded. “I’ve been back several times, but I haven’t climbed to the top of Gibrena Peak since my brother Leonides died.”
He’d spoken of his brother’s death to Mrs. Landau, but this was the first time he’d mentioned it to Alex. Moved by his tone, her hands clutched together. “You’ll see it through different eyes this time.”
“That’s true. You can’t return and expect things to be the same. But knowing you and your passion for life, I shall enjoy watching your reaction. Tell me now if you didn’t bring suitable clothing. There’s a store in the village we’re coming to where we can buy what you need.”
Panic gripped Alex in its vise.
“I—I didn’t bring any walking clothes to Greece.”
“No problem.”
Perspiration broke out on her hairline. “Why don’t you drop me off in Soufli to do my work? It will leave you free to visit your old haunt unencumbered. We can meet at the silk mansion in the morning for the trip back.”
“Have you forgotten your hotel room is gone?”
She shifted in the seat. “I’ll find something else.”
“It’s already noon. Too late in the day to make other arrangements.”
“Is it very steep in the forest?”
“I suppose that all depends on your definition of the word steep.”
“Can I explore it in this outfit and my sneakers, or are you talking about scaling walls?”
Deep-throated laughter rumbled out of him. “I’m not asking you to climb a mountain.”
“That’s good.” She could have wept in relief. “A picture of all those plaques and trophies in your closet flashed before my eyes. It almost gave me a heart attack.”
“So that explains why you took so long to find the garment bag.” He was still chuckling.
Heat filled her cheeks. “I admit I’m a bit of a snoop.”
“I prefer to call it an inquiring mind. It’s what makes you an irreplaceable secretary. If I haven’t said it before, you’ve redefined the word for me, and I’m indebted to you, Alexandra.”
Whenever he said her name, he made it sound so beautiful.
“Thank you,” she whispered in agony. A nagging voice cried, Is it worth it to be the bridesmaid, but never the bride?
“Tomorrow will be soon enough to inspect the exhibits. Today I’d like to reward you for all your hard work by showing you a national treasure. How does that appeal to you?”
Oh, Dimitrios. If you only knew. “That sounds lovely.”
Convinced she’d arranged to spend the night with her American boyfriend, Dimitrios should have felt guilty for thwarting her plans. But heaven help him, all he could feel was a sense of elation that they were going to be alone together far from the horde.
Since they’d been driving, he hadn’t heard her cell phone ring. For that matter, she hadn’t tried to use it. He was surprised she didn’t want to stop at a local shop, if only to excuse herself long enough to make contact with Michael.
Of course she could have planned to get in touch with him later in the day. Then again, maybe she was meeting her Greek boyfriend, and Michael didn’t have a clue.
Dimitrios grimaced at the thoughts assailing him.
Was it possible Yanni had flown up from Athens? Why not enjoy a private interlude with her before she had to return to Thessalonica where her other lover was waiting for her at the hotel.
Did both men resent the time Dimitrios demanded of her? The late nights at his office? The early-morning conferences?
He wondered how Michael felt about having to pick up the costume she’d had made for him, let alone be asked to bring it all the way to Greece on the plane.
Had it upset him to learn she’d be staying at the villa instead of the hotel? Or was he so sure of her, it would never occur to him to worry what she was doing with her employer.
If Dimitrios were in either man’s shoes, the thought of her making love to anyone but him caused a blackness to sweep over him. The feeling was so staggering, so powerful, it took him a minute to recognize it for what it was.
“Shouldn’t we have taken that turnoff for Dadia?” Her voice seemed to come from far away.
“There’ll be another one in a minute,” he muttered, still gripped by the sheer force of emotion too painfully raw for him to shake off. Jealousy had never touched his life until now.
“Oh, Dimi—listen to me. You’re barely twelve. Not quite old enough for a man’s feelings to have taken over inside you yet. When that day comes, your body will react when you see a beautiful woman. You’ll want to hold her, make love to her. The pleasure a woman can bring you is to die for.”
Dimitrios struggled to control his rapid breathing.
The night she’d brushed those magic fingers of hers across his forehead had brought him pleasure
