he needed to run. Needed to clear the fog that was clouding his brain, the fog that sprang from changing time zones and hemispheres—and from a girl he should have forgotten long ago.
Who was he trying to kid? She was hardly a girl any more. One touch had confirmed that. His breath caught in his throat, he coughed and shot his rhythm to hell again. In rebellion, he cursed, kicking out one foot at the sand, spraying the heavy salt-encrusted grains far and wide, scattering seagulls up into the ever lightening sky.
Breath rasped and scratched his throat. He needed sleep. Long, uninterrupted sleep. Instead last night he’d been plagued with visions of a leggy teenager, sitting cross-legged and smiling up at him from the midst of a field of yellow wild flowers, her long blonde hair almost liquid in the gentle spring breeze.
She’d been nervous. But she’d come to meet him willingly, knowing that this was the day—their last together—and her shyness had faded under his touch and they’d taken each other to a place they’d always share.
Or so he’d thought.
Maybe he’d got it wrong back then. From the way Alexandra acted now, it was clear she wasn’t interested in sharing the time of day with him. He smiled to himself.
The way she’d reacted when he’d suggested staying in Australia! She obviously couldn’t wait for him to get out of her life. He didn’t even know why he’d said that; he had no intention of staying here. Although it was more than obvious that Sofia was keen he should hang around a while.
Maybe he should.
So far Dimitri was insisting that all was well with the business in Athens, and it was clear that Sofia needed his support here. Maybe that wouldn’t be as onerous as he’d first expected. Somewhere along the line Sofia had transformed herself from a pestering child into a dark-haired beauty. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt him to stick around a while—at least until she’d had time to come to terms with her loss.
A thin smile found its way to his lips as another reason to stay crystallised. For there was something infinitely satisfying about making Alexandra think she was not going to be rid of him too easily.
But then, that was foolish thinking. He wasn’t here to settle scores. He was here to make sure the business functioned well and prospered long into the future. He should be thinking instead whether there was even a place for her in the operation.
If he was going to leave the business in sound hands it was clear there’d have to be someone pretty damned capable in the financial area. Would a receptionist-cum-bookkeeper make the grade? He doubted it. It might be better to get someone better qualified in and just let her go. Although the employment agencies had had no success so far.
Maybe it would be better getting Dimitri to come out from Greece. He would know what the job required, so they could employ the right person.
Gulls wheeled overhead and a lonely swimmer hauled himself from the water nearby, shaking jewelled droplets from his body as he surged out of the shallows.
A swim. Maybe that was what Nick needed to clear his head of this infernal jet lag. Lord knows, the run didn’t seem to be helping. He turned back the way he had come and headed along the beach.
‘He’s cute, don’t you think?’
Alex looked up from her computer screen, in the middle of typing her letter. ‘Who’s cute?’ she asked innocently, keeping her face deliberately schooled as she minimised her computer screen. But Sofia was too busy closing the door to notice anything. She grabbed one of the visitor’s chairs by the arm and pulled it up close to the desk, hunkering down conspiratorially, her elbows on the desk, cupping her chin. She was grinning from ear to ear.
‘Nick, silly. Who else around here could I mean?’
Alex smiled indulgently. While ‘cute’ wasn’t exactly the word that sprang to mind whenever she thought about Nick, it was obvious who Sofia was referring to. Apart from the two of them, the office only employed a part-time woman for the phones, for whenever Sofia had had enough of playing receptionist, and an ageing property manager who looked after maintenance issues.
Still, she feigned surprise. ‘Oh, him. Sure, he’s not bad.’
It was easy to play along. Sofia was the happiest she’d seen her since her father had died. If having Nick here did that for her, then at least something good would come from his visit. With no one else to turn to, Sofia deserved it.
‘I think he likes me.’
Alex’s breath snagged in her throat. Oh, please, I don’t want to hear this!
She somehow forced a bare smile to her face. ‘Of course he likes you. You’re his cousin. You’re a nice girl. Why wouldn’t he like you?’
She shook her head. ‘No, you don’t get what I mean. I mean he likes me. You know—like, seriously likes me.’
‘That’s…nice.’ Alex wondered what else she was expected to say. She looked at the girl sitting opposite, her dark eyes shining with hope in her impeccably made-up face, her insanely long acrylic fingernails painted the exact shade of her crimson lips.
Sofia had never had the greatest history with boyfriends, and little wonder, given her domineering father and his ability to drive away potential suitors with a single bellow. If only his interest had been motivated by his daughter’s welfare. Instead, Alex suspected, he’d always had the future of the Xenophon Group foremost in his mind. Whoever married his daughter and sole heir would end up with the fruits of Aristos’s labour. How could any mere male qualify for such bountiful reward?
And then along came Nick, apparently with Daddy’s blessing, and for the first time in her life Sofia thought she was onto a winner.
Sofia and Nick. Why did that seem such an unlikely pairing? And why should she even care? It wasn’t as if she had any claim on the man, after all.
‘I was wondering,’ Sofia said, ‘if you could help me—while he’s out for a little while, talking to some of the tenants?’ She tilted her head to one side, making her large gold double-hoop earrings jangle. ‘Seeing you know Nick much better than me, what with being old friends and all.’
Alex shook her head. ‘You’ve got the wrong idea. That was a long time ago.’
‘But I haven’t seen him since I was six, and he hardly took any notice of me. Even though way back then I thought he was gorgeous. I just thought you might have some idea of what he likes, you know. You must have talked about something when you were in Crete together. What did you guys get up to anyway?’
The breath left Alex’s lungs so fast it made her cough. What on earth would Sofia think if she told her the truth? I gave him my virginity and he took me to heaven. No, definitely more information than Sofia needed to know. And much more information than Alex needed to be reminded of. Besides, they had done other things on Crete—it was just hard to focus on them now. Now that Nick was here. She licked her lips, buying time.
‘You know—the usual things one does over there. We visited ruins and museums. Remember, Nick was studying an archaeology unit back then. No doubt he’s still interested in the subject. Why don’t you ask him about it?’
Sofia screwed up her nose. ‘I guess. But that’s not really what I had in mind.’ She fidgeted with her bangles,
