felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She’d been attending a fund-raiser for the mayor with Charlie Galvin.
“Sooner or later you’re going to have to decide between those two men.”
“I can’t. I can see that Roman and Philly are meant to be together. And I knew the moment I saw Demetrius that he was the one for me. But with Charlie and Mason, I can’t tell—I like them both. They’re very different. Charlie is so outgoing while Mason is reserved. Philly says to give it time and I’ll know. But maybe I’m not meant to be with either of them.”
Kit squeezed his aunt’s hand. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.”
3
ROMAN STEPPED OUT of the car he’d hired in Corfu Town. A sense of urgency had been growing in him ever since his plane had touched down. His decision to come to Greece had been made shortly after Kit had left his office two days ago. The trip was business related. Meeting personally with Gianni Stassis in Athens would allow him to finalize the details of their project. Oliver–Stassis Ltd. would be officially launched, and his dream of taking Oliver Enterprises into the global market would be realized. But Roman wasn’t a man who liked to lie to himself. He’d also come to Greece to check on Philly.
If his plane had been on time, he would have landed at the Corfu airport before Philly. His plan had been to have a reasonable talk with her and persuade her to go back to San Francisco. Or if that didn’t suit her, he’d take her with him to Athens for his business meeting with Stassis. At least he could keep an eye on her there.
Exactly what he was going to say to her still hadn’t come to him yet, even though he’d had plenty of time to think about it on the long flight. But he was a first-rate negotiator. Surely he could make Philly see the risk in coming to Greece to make love with a perfect stranger. And he had no doubt that was what she intended to do. A mix of fear and frustration streamed through him. She might be propositioning someone right now.
When his flight had been delayed, he’d had to reschedule his meeting with Gianni Stassis and switch to plan B—follow Philly to the Villa Prospero. The driver he’d hired had promised in broken and minimal English that he knew exactly where it was. Now, after a two-hour drive, the hotel was nowhere in sight.
Tamping down his temper and his growing sense that Philly had already gotten into some kind of trouble, Roman paid the driver, tipping him generously, and asked, “The villa?”
For a moment, the driver looked puzzled.
Roman made a sweeping gesture with one hand and repeated the question.
This time the driver shot him a beaming smile, motioned for Roman to follow and then grabbed his carry-on and led the way up the white-graveled driveway. Around the first curve, Roman spotted the small hotel and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe his luck was turning. Nodding his thanks to the driver, he shouldered his bag and strode up the drive.
Once inside the lobby, he let his gaze sweep the room. It was a pleasant airy space, with doors opening onto a sunny terrace where people were enjoying food and drinks. In the distance he caught a glimpse of an incredibly blue sea.
He turned his attention to a young girl behind the registration desk and read her name tag. He prayed that Demetria’s English was better than his driver’s. When he smiled at her, she responded by directing a worried glance at his bag.
“Welcome to the Villa Prospero. Do you have a reservation?”
He hadn’t made one because he’d expected to settle things with Philly in Corfu Town. Setting his bag down, he turned up the wattage on his smile. “No, I’m sorry—my plans changed at the last moment. I’m afraid I was depending on luck to get a room. I’ve heard so many good things about the Villa Prospero.”
Concern filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry, but we’re full. There’s a huge party going on at the Castello Corli the day after tomorrow, and we’ve taken in the overflow. I could try to find you a room in the village.”
When she reached for the phone, Roman stopped her. “That won’t be necessary. I actually came to surprise someone—Ms. Philly Angelis. Is she here?”
“No.”
Roman frowned. “She should have arrived by now.”
“She has, about an hour ago. Mrs. Kostas and I were in the middle of serving lunch, so Ms. Angelis went for a walk on the beach.”
Just the word beach had an image forming in his mind of Philly rolling around in the sand with some strange man. “How do I get there?”
For the first time, Demetria smiled. “Just follow the path at the end of the driveway. You can’t miss it.”
He almost did miss the path, and even though he was at the Villa Prospero and it was only a matter of minutes before he would see Philly, Roman found himself growing more and more anxious. Like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, he felt that he was late for a very important date. He didn’t possess any of the Angelis psychic powers, but his instincts seldom failed him in business. Right now his gut was telling him that Philly was in some kind of trouble. Was he too late?
In spite of the rugged terrain, the question had him stepping up his pace. He nearly stumbled when he saw the white cat burst out of the woods and streak across his path. Philly appeared next. There were pine needles in her hair and fear in her eyes. He barely had time to absorb those details before she crashed into him, threw her arms around him and held on for dear life.
At last. Roman threaded his fingers through her hair and pressed her close against him. For the first time since he’d landed on Corfu, he felt his anxiety ease. For a few seconds, there was only the sound of Philly’s ragged breathing and the rustle of the wind in the trees. He’d never held her like this before, never felt that slender, firm body pressed to his. She fit perfectly.
“There’s…a man,” Philly said, her breath hitching.
“Did he hurt you?” Roman drew her away so that he could study her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m…” Her breath hitched again. “…fine. He’s on the beach. He’s…”
“Shh,” he murmured. She wasn’t hurt, he told himself. Frightened, yes. Fury at whatever—or whoever—had scared her threatened to rise up, but he tamped it down. Something had happened on that beach, and as soon as she settled he’d get it out of her. Then he’d handle it. But for now, she was safe. She was here. For the first time he noticed that she’d cut her hair very short. The curls and even that straight sophisticated bob were gone. In the dappled light, filtering through the trees, she made him think of one of Shakespeare’s more ethereal woodland creatures.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, but Roman felt the air around them grow thick and charged. Desire sprang from the same place the fury had a moment ago, and he couldn’t block it. Or he didn’t want to.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
For this. Unable to stop himself, Roman lowered his mouth to hers.
Her lips parted. In surprise? In acceptance? Roman couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t care. Kissing her was a mistake, and there would be consequences. But he’d waited forever to really taste her. Just this once, he told himself. But once her flavor flooded his mouth,
