they were finished Stefano quickly dispatched the dinner dishes and brought the trifle Sara had prepared. He also brought a bottle of brandy from the sideboard and two snifters. Pouring hot coffee from a silver pot, he stepped back and eyed the table, then looked at Nikos.
“Thank you, Stefano. You can clear the rest in the morning.”
Stefano bowed slightly, set the coffeepot on the table and left.
As soon as Sara finished her trifle, she folded her napkin and looked at Nikos.
“Thank you for inviting me to eat with you. I think I’ll return to my cabin now.”
“So soon?” Nikos asked. “It is still early. What would you do in your cabin?”
“Read, make plans for the next few days’ breakfasts.” She felt her nerves stretched taut. She resisted drawing closer to the man, yet every minute she spent with him was making it harder to resist. She tried to remember all her mother had said about the strong Greek men who rode right over women and their interests. So far she had seen no evidence of that, but she scarcely knew the man.
“Stay. The night is young. If you like, we can take our brandy up on the bridge. It’s dry under the shelter, yet we’ll be able to see the resort lights through the rain.”
She placed her glass carefully on the table. “What do you expect from me? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re flirting. I’m confused. I thought rumors said you were on the verge of marriage with Gina Fregulia.”
Her question caught him off guard. What did he expect? She worked for him, which precluded any close tie. Was he just fighting against tying himself down with one woman when he married? Or did he really want to know more about this particular woman?
“I want nothing except a pleasant evening. And perhaps a diving partner when we reach the island. The only family members there right now are my grandparents, who are not quite up to the activities I enjoy. Consider this a perk of the job. Beyond that, I expect nothing. And for the record, I did not ask Gina to marry me.”
“A diving partner,” she clarified, confused.
He shrugged. He was surprised that she knew of his earlier plan. Yet it was no secret. Gina had not given any evidence of being upset when she had left, but he knew she too had expected a proposal on the cruise.
She dropped her gaze to her brandy.
“Still, if you are close to becoming engaged, it wouldn’t do to spend much time with another woman. It might give rise to the wrong impression.” She looked up at him thoughtfully and added, “Even if it might be more of a business arrangement than a love match.”
He laughed softly, amazed at her daring.
“Don’t you believe in love?” she asked.
He took a breath. Talking about his family didn’t come easily. His roommates at school had heard the complaints, the frustration and then the resignation. Usually he maintained a careful facade that revealed nothing of his true feelings. Sara wanted to know more. Did he wish to tell her? Where to start and where to stop? Should he share the history of him and Ariana as well?
“Never mind,” she said. “I changed my mind. You keep your secrets and we’ll see how it works to be diving partners.” She poured cream into her coffee and sipped, her brandy only half-gone.
Her disinterest acted as a goad. “It’s no great secret. I don’t want a marriage that would end up like my parents’.
They had one child—me, but I didn’t fit into their plans or lifestyle. Nannies, tutors and boarding school made up my childhood. The few times I returned home for summer holidays or Christmas, I was lucky to find them at home one night to catch up on my life before they were off to another function or short trip abroad. If it hadn’t been for the island and the time my grandparents took to be with me, I might as well have lived my entire childhood in a boarding school.”
She stared at him. “Not much of a family life for a child,” she said slowly. “So different from mine. It was just my mother and me. My father vanished shortly after I was born. She gave me the best home in the world, despite our financial difficulties. I always thought if we’d just had a bit more money, things would have been perfect. Maybe I was viewing things wrong. Time and love are far more important than all the money in the world.” As her mother knew when she’d lost both her parents’ love and their money. It had been the loss of family she mourned.
“My parents are too wrapped up in themselves to care for a child. I feel the same way about the resort. It is very demanding. It would be a mistake to marry, father a child and then ignore him or her while putting the resort first.”
She tilted her head slightly, thinking. “I don’t believe you would do that. Firstly, you know what it’s like and would cherish your child too much to put him through what you experienced.”
He shook his head. “How can anyone be sure?”
Sara bit back her comment. She thought his view of marriage and families was sad. He’d obviously never experienced the close tie that love brought. Was that the Greek way? Marry for business or convenience, not for love.
Not that she had fallen in love, but she knew what it was like from observing her married friends. And one day she hoped she’d discover it for herself. She wanted an emotional tie as well as the legal one. As had her mother. Only, she hoped her marriage, should she ever have one, would end up much happier than her mother’s.
She drank the last of her coffee. She liked being around Nikos too much even when their opinions differed. He kept her guessing where he would lead the conversation next.
Time to leave, however. She dare not risk her emotions on a man who would do perfectly well without her.
She rose. “I really am retiring now,” she said.
He rose and bade her good-night.
She turned toward the door feeling just a twinge of disappointment that they hadn’t connected on a basic level.
“Sara,” he said softly.
When she turned, his eyes were focused on her.
She licked her lips, her heart racing. Butterflies had a field day in her stomach, and Sara felt as if time stood still. She recognized desire. That much was clear. She yearned for another kiss, but hesitated. It would only make her compare him to every man she kissed after Nikos; what if she became spoiled by his kisses and never found another to measure up?
Granted, she’d only been kissed in the sea, hardly the stuff of romance. Yet she had dwelt on that experience more than any other in her life.
“Sara?” he said again, stepping around the table and walking directly to her.
She stepped closer and lifted her face, her gaze fastened on his.
He closed the distance and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.
CHAPTER SIX
HIS lips were warm as they pressed against hers. Slowly he swept his tongue against her lips, seeking entrance to her mouth. Sara complied, stepping closer, longing
