I’ve just seen Theo at the shop. He wanted some advice on this equipment he’s buying—’
‘And you allowed him to talk you into calling me! Andreas, I know you think a lot of your brother, but this goes beyond the line of duty—’
‘Hey, can I just stop you right there?’ he cut across her firmly. ‘For once Theo didn’t even mention you—I asked him for your number.’
There was a moment’s silence and Carrie wondered if she had misheard him. ‘Why did you do that?’
‘Because I have some free time this afternoon, and I wondered if you’d like to go out to the coral reef with me.’
The invitation was deeply tempting but she forced herself to take a deep breath and think sensibly. ‘Thank you, I appreciate the kind offer, but I’m busy—’
‘I thought you just said you were doing nothing?’ He sounded even more amused now.
‘Yes, I’m busy doing nothing and loving it.’
‘So come and be energetic with me and you’ll love it even more.’
The teasing husky words made her adrenalin surge wildly.
‘I’ll pick you up in about ten minutes.’
‘Ten minutes! I thought you were in Athens this morning!’ Her voice rose slightly.
‘I was, for an early breakfast meeting. That finished early enough for me to catch the ferry over, so now I’m just down the road from your hotel—I told you, I’ve been out to see Theo.’
‘Andreas, I won’t be ready—’
‘Then I’ll wait—but not for long, so get a move on.’
The phone went dead and Carrie held it away from her ear and glared at it as if it were a living entity.
How dared he take her acceptance for granted? Did he think that just because her friend had been so keen to set her up with him that she was some kind of sad charity case? Well, she would soon put him right about that! She wasn’t going to go out with him! He would arrive and she would still be lying here reading her book.
Carrie picked it up and adjusted her floppy hat down over her eyes and tried to focus back on the page.
But all she could think about was Andreas. Why had he suddenly phoned her like this? She really had thought she would never hear from him again.
Should she swallow her pride and go out with him? She had to admit she was more than a little curious about the feelings he had stirred within her last night—had it just been some flight of fancy on her behalf?
She glared at the printed page, hating herself for weakening. Andreas had made it abundantly clear he wasn’t interested in her last night—so this was probably some kind of sop to his brother’s feelings, because Theo had been as upset as Jo when he’d walked out.
She glanced up over the pages of her book as she heard a car pulling up outside. A few moments later she saw Andreas strolling in through the front gates of the property. He looked magnificent. There was no other word for it. His clothes were casual, a white linen shirt and sand-coloured trousers, yet he looked incredibly sophisticated and stylish—or was that simply the air of confidence that he wore like a well fitting cape?
Carrie immediately wished she’d rushed inside to get changed. Not that she had many stylish clothes with her. The dress she’d worn last night was it—everything else was shorts, tee shirts and jeans. But it was too late to even think about that now, she realized with a rapidly beating heart as he glanced over and caught her eye.
‘Ah, there you are.’ He cut away from the path and walked across the grass towards her and she noticed the interested glances he received from some attractive young women nearby.
She tried to pretend that she was engrossed in her book, only nonchalantly glancing up as he reached her side. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she too found it hard to take her eyes off him.
He seemed to tower over her, and that combined with the fact that she was only wearing a bikini made her feel suddenly extremely self-conscious.
She sat up a little straighter on the bed and then drew her knees up in an attempt to shield her body from his eyes. But she realized that wasn’t working as his gaze just moved over her long legs with swift male appraisal.
‘I don’t know what you are doing here, Andreas,’ she murmured nervously.
‘Don’t you…?’ His lips curved in a smile that made her heart rate start to increase. Then he took a chair from a nearby table and sat down beside her. ‘I thought I told you when we spoke on the phone.’
‘And I thought we’d dealt with this situation last night. Theo and Jo mean well,’ she continued briskly, ‘but we shouldn’t feel obliged to spend time together just to please them.’
‘Is that what you think this is?’ One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘I never do anything I don’t want to do, Carrie…I can assure you of that.’
‘Well, you turned up last night!’ she reminded him swiftly.
‘Yes, out of curiosity.’ He smiled. ‘You’re right when you say that I think a lot of my brother—but dating to please him…?’ He looked at her wryly and shook his head. ‘That was never going to happen.’
‘Yes, well, I feel exactly the same where Jo is concerned, so let’s just leave it like that.’ She flicked her chin up stubbornly.
‘Good, I’m glad you feel the same—because it means we can just be friends, doesn’t it?’
She liked the way he held her eyes as he said those words. Could a woman ever just be a friend with someone who looked like him? Carrie wondered.
‘I don’t do serious relationships anyway,’ he added gently. ‘I don’t want complications, nor have I got time for them, especially at the moment.’
‘Neither have I.’ She angled her chin up even further. ‘I’m on holiday to relax after working extremely hard for exams. And in nine days’ time I start a new job in the city.’
‘So a bit of light-hearted fun is in order all round.’ She wanted to ask him what kind of fun he was talking about, but she didn’t dare voice that question because it seemed far too dangerous.
‘So, the bottom line is that you’re at a loose end this afternoon?’ she said instead.
He laughed at that. ‘Maybe it is.’
‘Well, I’ll have to check my appointments diary.’ She nodded. ‘Because I’m really busy…’
He liked the playful gleam in her blue eyes.
‘Yes, I can see that.’ His glance moved towards the book that she was still holding in her hands and he reached out and took it from her. At first she thought he was taking it away, but he simply turned it around and handed it back and she realized she’d been holding it upside down!
She flushed
