formality, and Aleksi’s easy use of his parents’ Christian names came as a surprise.
‘Some of your Queensland beer,’ Alexandros requested, taking a seat beside his wife. ‘It’s refreshingly light.’
‘I’ll have mineral water,’ Rachel acknowledged with a faint smile. ‘Anything stronger will put me to sleep.’
‘Alyse?’
‘Mineral water,’ she told him, then turned to Rachel. ‘Unless you’d prefer tea or coffee?’
‘My dear, no,’ the older woman refused gently. ‘Something cold will be fine.’
Georg woke a few minutes later, his lusty wail sounding loud through the intercom system, and Alyse dispensed with her glass and hurriedly rose to her feet.
‘I’ll change him, then bring him out.’ She met Rachel’s anxious smile. ‘Unless you’d like to come with me?’
‘I’d love to,’ the older woman said at once, and together they crossed the lounge to the hall.
By the time they reached the master bedroom Georg was in full cry, his small face red and angry.
‘Oh, you little darling!’ Rachel murmured softly as his cries subsided into a watery smile the instant he sighted them.
‘He’s very shrewd,’ Alyse accorded, her movements deft as she removed his decidedly damp nappy and exchanged it for a dry one. ‘There, sweetheart,’ she crooned, nuzzling his baby cheek, ‘all ready for your bottle.’
His feet kicked in silent acknowledgment, and Rachel gave a delighted laugh.
‘Georgiou used to do that too.’
Alyse felt a pang of regret for the older woman’s sorrow. ‘Would you care to take him? I thought you might like to give him his bottle in the lounge.’
Rachel’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. ‘Thank you.’
It was heart-wrenching to see the effect Georg had on his grandparents, and Alyse had to blink quickly more than once to dispel the suspicious dampness that momentarily blurred her vision.
An hour later the baby was resettled in his cot for the night, and Rachel retired upstairs to freshen up while Alyse put the finishing touches to dinner.
After much deliberation, she had elected to serve a chicken consommé, followed by roast chicken with a variety of vegetables, and settled on fresh fruit for dessert. Unsure of Alexandros’s palate, she’d added a cheese platter decorated with stuffed olives and grapes.
The meal was a definite success, and with most of her nervousness gone Alyse was able to relax.
‘Tomorrow you must rest,’ Aleksi told his parents as they sipped coffee in the lounge. ‘In the afternoon I’ll drive you into town and settle you both into the apartment, then in the evening we’ll dine out together.’
Startled, Alyse felt her eyes widen in surprise, and Rachel quickly intervened in explanation.
‘Aleksi owns an apartment in the heart of Surfers Paradise. Alexandros and I will stay there until we leave for Sydney to visit with my sister, after which we’ll return and spend the remainder of our holiday on the Coast.’
Her expression softened as Alyse was about to demur.
‘Yes, my dear. We value our independence and respect yours. The circumstances regarding your marriage are unusual,’ Rachel added gently. ‘You and Aleksi need time together alone.’
Alyse wanted to protest that the marriage was only one of convenience, and would remain so for as long as it took for her to escape to Perth with Georg. Except that she wouldn’t consider voicing the words.
‘And now,’ Rachel declared, standing to her feet, ‘if you don’t mind, we’ll retire.’ Her smile wavered slightly as it moved from her husband to her stepson. ‘It’s been a long trip, and I’m really very tired.’
Alyse rose at once. ‘Of course.’ Her heart softened at the older woman’s obvious weariness. ‘There’s everything you need in your suite.’
‘Thank you, my dear.’
It seemed good manners to walk at Aleksi’s side as his parents made their way into the foyer, and it wasn’t until Rachel and Alexandros were safely upstairs that she turned back towards the lounge.
‘I’ll make some more coffee,’ Aleksi said smoothly. ‘I have a few hours’ work ahead of me in the study.’
‘There’s plenty left in the percolator,’ Alyse said with a slight shrug. ‘It will take a minute to reheat. I’ll bring it in, if you like.’
With a curt nod he turned towards the study, and it was only a matter of minutes before she entered that masculine sanctum and set a cup of steaming aromatic brew on his desk.
He was seated, leaning well back into a comfortable leather executive chair, and he regarded her with eyes that were direct and faintly probing.
‘What do you think of my parents?’
‘I hardly know them,’ she said stiffly, longing to escape. In the company of Rachel and Alexandros she had been able to tolerate his company without too much difficulty, but now they were alone she was acutely aware of a growing tension.
‘You like Rachel.’ It was a statement, rather than a query, which she didn’t bother to deny. ‘And my father?’
‘He seems kind,’ she offered politely, and saw his mouth curve to form a cynical smile.
‘Far kinder than his son?’
Her polite façade snapped. ‘Yes. You seem to delight in being an uncivilised tyrant!’
An eyebrow rose in sardonic query. ‘Whatever will you come up with next?’
Her eyes flashed a brilliant blue. ‘Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something!’
The creases at the corners of his eyes deepened. ‘I have no doubt you will.’
The temptation to pick something up from his desk and throw it at him was almost irresistible, and her hands clenched at her sides in silent restraint as she turned towards the door.
‘Goodnight, Alyse.’
His drawled, faintly mocking tones followed her into the hall, and she muttered dire threats beneath her breath all the way into the kitchen.
An hour later she lay silently seething in bed, plotting his figurative downfall in so many numerous ways that it carried her to the edge of sleep and beyond.
It was almost midday when Rachel and Alexandros came downstairs, coinciding with Aleksi’s arrival home, and after a relaxing meal Rachel eagerly saw to her grandson’s needs, gave him his bottle, then settled him down for the afternoon.
Over coffee there was an opportunity for Alyse to become better acquainted with Aleksi’s stepmother, and it
