‘Shall we go in?’ There was an edge of mockery apparent. ‘I imagine Sophie has heard us arrive, and your father will be curious as to why we’re taking so long.’
CHAPTER FOUR
JONATHAN GREETED THEM at the door, and Lexi returned his affectionate embrace with enthusiasm, smiling as he put her at arm’s length.
‘Come inside. I thought we’d relax out on the terrace. David will be delayed by about ten minutes, and Sophie has organised dinner for six-thirty.’
Home. The house where she had grown up, she mused as she followed Jonathan indoors. It was amazing how secure she felt within these walls, how protected.
It took only a few minutes for him to notice the significance of the ring on her finger. His pleasure brought her close to tears, and she could hardly protest when he brought out a bottle of Dom Perignon to celebrate the occasion.
‘I’m delighted to have you both as my guests.’
The genuineness of her father’s enthusiasm couldn’t be doubted, and Lexi managed a suitable smile in response.
Georg, damn him, stayed close to her side, and even David’s arrival did little to diminish his attention.
The warmth of his smile appeared so honest it was all she could do not to reel from its impact, and she was forced to suffer the touch of his hand on her elbow as he led her into dinner.
Sophie served the first course, a delicious beef consommé, and followed it with deep-fried prawns in a nest of finely shredded lettuce. The main course was a superb duck à l’orange with tiny roast potatoes, honeyed carrots, courgettes and beans.
David took care to ensure that the appropriate wine accompanied each course, although Lexi sipped at the contents of her glass and declined to have it refilled, opting for chilled water instead.
Conversation flowed, touching on a variety of subjects that pertained primarily to business and mutual acquaintances, and to all intents and purposes it appeared to be a convivial family gathering.
It proved, Lexi perceived a trifle wryly, what excellent actors they were.
‘When do you go into hospital, Daddy?’ It was a question she had to ask, and there was nothing she could do to mask her anxiety.
‘Sunday week, darling,’ Jonathan revealed gently. ‘Surgery is scheduled for the following day.’
‘You’ve always been so careful, eating the right foods, not smoking, exercising each day. I can’t believe something like this could happen to you.’
‘Let’s admit it, Father is a human dynamo,’ David declared with a slow smile. ‘Always accepting a new challenge, fighting to make it succeed. Continually pitting his wits against unforeseen obstacles.’
Lexi captured her father’s eyes and held them with her own. ‘I think you’d better re-evaluate your life and slow down.’ Without thought, she added with a light laugh, ‘I want you around to appreciate your grandchildren.’
‘Indeed,’ Georg acceded with musing enthusiasm, and there was nothing Lexi could do in protest as he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss each finger in turn—a deliberately blatant gesture that taxed all her strength not to snatch her hand from his grasp.
‘Grandchildren,’ Jonathan repeated bemusedly. ‘I like that idea.’
‘You’ll forgive me if I agree,’ Georg declared with a husky chuckle, leaving no one in any doubt just where his thoughts lay.
Lexi reached out and deliberately traced the tip of her highly polished fingernail across the back of his left hand as she directed him a brilliantly warm smile. ‘Steady, darling. I’ve only just accepted your engagement ring.’
As if sensing her protest Georg lifted a hand and his gaze was infinitely disturbed as he touched a finger to her lips. ‘Something which has made me a very happy man.’
She wanted to kill him. Yet all she could do was smile.
‘Have you made any plans for the wedding?’
‘We thought a quiet affair, confined to family and close friends. Five weeks from now,’ Georg indicated, and, on hearing Lexi’s slightly audible gasp, he leant forward and bestowed a fleeting kiss on her as she opened her mouth to protest. ‘If I had my way we’d obtain a special licence and marry within a matter of days.’
How could he sit there and announce such a thing? Lexi was so utterly furious that it was a wonder she didn’t erupt with rage.
He turned towards Jonathan, totally ignoring her. ‘That will give you time to recuperate sufficiently from surgery. Are you happy to leave all the arrangements to me?’
Her father couldn’t have looked more delighted. ‘Of course. I can’t begin to tell you both how happy this makes me. Now I can enter hospital with a clear mind, knowing that if anything happens Lexi will be taken care of by someone who has my utmost respect.’
Oh, dear lord! After such fulsome enthusiasm how could she possibly refute it? Lexi groaned with frustration. But how far did it have to go? Surely specific arrangements for a wedding were hardly necessary?
‘A church wedding, darling?’
‘I don’t think so, Daddy,’ she negated quietly. ‘I had all that before.’ She lifted a hand and smoothed back a stray tendril of hair in a purely defensive gesture.
‘The gardens are lovely—so colourful at this time of year,’ Jonathan enthused. ‘Would you consider marrying at home?’
‘A marvellous idea,’ Georg conceded, slanting Lexi such a warm glance that she almost reeled from its implied intimacy. ‘Early afternoon? Followed by champagne and hors-d’oeuvres. Unless there is any objection, I would prefer the reception to be held in the restaurant. It is regarded as something of a family tradition, and would give my mother immense pleasure.’
The tension robbed her of her appetite, and she declined dessert and the cheeseboard, and opted instead for coffee laced with liqueur and cream.
Consequently her nerves had tightened almost to breaking point by the time they took their leave.
‘Take good care of Lexi for me,’ Jonathan bade Georg as he escorted them to the door.
‘I fully intend to,’ Georg declared with quiet emphasis, and Lexi was forced to suffer his arm about her waist as he led her down to the car.
Almost as soon as they were clear of the driveway she burst into angry, voluble speech.
‘Did you have to be so—’ she paused as words momentarily failed her ‘—proprietorial?’ Her fingers clenched until the knuckles showed white as she gripped the clasp of her evening-bag. ‘You sat there so damned calmly, looking at me as if…’ She trailed to a frustrated halt, loath to say what Georg had no compunction in voicing.
‘I couldn’t wait to get you home and into bed?’ he completed in a drawling tone, adding with cynical mockery, ‘Is it so surprising that I might want to?’
‘Discussing a wedding and prospective grandchildren!’ Outrage brought her anger to boiling point. ‘It was totally ridiculous!’
‘If I remember correctly, it was you who brought up the subject of grandchildren,’ he alluded in droll tones, and she clenched her hands in an effort not to physically hit him!
‘What on earth do you think you’re doing, for heaven’s sake?’
‘Driving you home.’
An impossible fury rose within. ‘Don’t be facetious!’
‘We’ll discuss it rationally over coffee.’
‘You’re being deliberately evasive, skilfully utilising boardroom tactics to avoid the issue!’ she accused heatedly.
‘I am merely attempting to defuse your temper sufficiently until I’m in a position to satisfactorily deal with it.’
‘Don’t you dare patronise me. I won’t stand for it!’
He didn’t respond, and she sat in angry silence for several seconds before turning towards him. ‘Stop the car. I’ll hail a taxi.’ She was so incensed that she reached for the door-handle without even caring that the car was travelling along the main arterial road towards Rose Bay.
‘Don’t be a fool!’
His words were harsh, demanding obedience, and she instinctively braced her body as
he brought the Ferrari to a smooth halt alongside the kerb.
The handle refused to function, and she pulled at it fruitlessly for a number of seconds before becoming aware that he’d activated the locking mechanism.
‘Release it, damn you!’
‘I will, when you’ve calmed down,’ Georg voiced implacably, switching off the engine and turning sideways to face her.
Incensed almost beyond endurance, she turned and lashed out at him, an action that was swiftly stilled as he caught hold of her hands and held them in a bone-crushing grip.
‘You unspeakable fiend!’ Topaz eyes glittered with fury as she made a futile attempt to break free.
His hands tightened, and she cried out in pain. ‘You’ll only succeed in hurting yourself.’
Part of her was appalled by the enormity of her actions while the other deplored the extent of her behaviour. ‘Then let me go.’
His hard, intent stare played havoc with her nerve-ends, and she stifled a silent scream at the strength of purpose in those chilling depths. ‘Your hands, yes,’ he agreed, relinquishing them, and she rubbed them to ease the bruised bones.
She felt like a steel rope that had been rendered taut almost to breaking point. At any second she was in danger of snapping. Her mouth quivered as she drew a deep calming breath, and her hands shook uncontrollably.
‘Perhaps you would care to tell me why you react so violently at the thought that a man might want to make love to you?’
Her thoughts scattered into a deep dark void where she couldn’t retrieve them, and she stared blankly out of the windscreen, unable to summon her voice through the physical lump that had risen in her throat.
No one, not even Jonathan—dear lord, especially not Jonathan—knew just how deep were the scars from her association with Paul. The night she’d left him would be indelibly imprinted in her brain for as long as she lived. The explosive argument, one of many they’d had over money, had resulted in her expressing an intention to leave him and had ended in physical abuse of the worst kind. Paul had forced her to submit to sex, and afterwards she’d simply pulled on some clothes and ordered a taxi to take her to a motel. The next day she’d rung Jonathan and David and told them the marriage was over.
Lexi had little idea of the passage of time. It could have been five minutes or fifteen; she retained no recollection. At last she moved her head slightly, and her pale profile stood out in sharp contrast against the night’s darkness.
‘There’s a beach not far from here. I’d like to walk for a while.’
Her voice sounded strangely quiet, almost disembodied, and she wasn’t conscious of him reaching for the ignition until she heard the refined purr of the engine.
She sat in silence as he traversed the distance then pulled to a halt alongside a short flight of steps leading down on to the sandy foreshore.
Georg slid out from behind the wheel and walked round to open her door, watching with narrowed eyes as she slipped off her shoes.
He followed her actions, pushing the elegant handcrafted imported shoes on to the floor before bending low to turn up the cuffs of his trousers. Then he straightened and locked the car, taking care to activate the alarm before moving to the head of the steps where he stood, impossibly tall and vaguely forbidding, silhouetted against the skyline.
The stretch of beach appeared deserted, and she longed for solitude. ‘I can walk on my own.’
‘I go with you, or you don’t go at all,’ Georg declared inflexibly.
Without a further word she moved past him, and, once down on the sand, she wandered out towards the gentle out-going tide, then began following its edge as the bay curved towards an outcrop of rocks.
There was a faint breeze, and she felt it tease loose a few strands of hair so that they brushed against her face.
The sand was wet beneath her bare feet, and there was just the soft sound of water lapping gently against the distant rocks. Every now and then a car sped past on the road, but the noise was far enough away not to intrude.
Somehow she expected Georg to attempt conversation, but he walked at her side in silence, and she was grateful for his perception.
On reaching the rocks, they turned as if by tacit agreement and began retracing their steps. Lexi felt the cool air on her face, and in an unbidden gesture she lifted her hand to her hair and freed the knot so that its length fell down her shoulders.
A sense of peace invaded her being, rather like the calm after a storm, and she tried to tell herself that it had nothing to do with the man at her side.
Instinct warned her that he was someone she would infinitely prefer to have as a friend than an enemy, for in opposition he’d prove a formidable force.
A slight shiver shook her slim frame, although it had nothing to do with feeling cold, and she gave a start of surprise when he shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
His fingers brushed her nape as he lifted her hair free, and Lexi spared him a quick glance, unable to read anything from his expression, and her murmured thanks sounded indistinct on the night air.
For some strange reason she felt as if she’d been enveloped in a security blanket, and she wasn’t sure whether to feel alarmed or relieved.
The smooth jacket-lining was silky against her skin, and still held the warmth from his body. It was far too big for her, and its weight brought an awareness of his height and breadth. Evident, too, was the clean smell of the fine woollen material and the elusive woody tones of his cologne.
They reached the short flight of steps leading up on to the road far too quickly, and after dusting sand from their feet they each retrieved their shoes prior to sliding into the car.
Within a matter of minutes the Ferrari drew to a halt in the courtyard adjoining her apartment block, and she was powerless to prevent him from following her indoors.
Any argument seemed futile, and she simply extracted her key while they took the lift to her designated floor.
‘Coffee?’
Lexi closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again in utter frustration. ‘If you want coffee, you make it!’
He took the key from her fingers and unlocked the door, then he pushed her gently inside. ‘I fully intend to,’ he drawled. ‘I merely asked if you would like some.’
‘Oh—go to hell!’
His eyes speared hers, dark and fathoms deep with the silent threat of an emotion she didn’t even begin to comprehend. ‘Believe that I could take you there, and you would hate every second of it.’
Her whole body froze in seemingly slow motion, and her eyes became wide as they assumed a haunted, hunted quality. A glaze seemed to dull their expression as she stared sightlessly ahead, oblivious to her surroundings, the man a few feet distant—everything except a vivid event that would never be erased from her memory.
When he lifted a hand towards her she visibly flinched and averted her head to one side, instinctively shielding her face with her hands, and therefore missing the brief hardness that flared in his eyes.
‘Cristos!’ The harsh, softly husked oath sounded savage in the silence of the room, but it barely registered. He made a compulsive movement, then checked it as he demanded in a dangerously soft voice, ‘Did Paul hit you?’
She blinked slowly, and the glaze gradually dissipated. A shiver shook her slender frame, and she hugged her arms together across her breasts in an attempt to contain it.
‘Answer me, Lexi.’
The quietness of his voice didn’t deceive her, and she stood, hesitant, loath to resurrect that fateful night.
‘Yes.’
‘Nothing more?’
She looked at him fearlessly as the silence between them became a palpable entity. Her breath hurt in her throat, constricting it almost beyond the ability to speak. ‘Does it matter?’
She sensed his inner rage as he murmured something viciously explicit in his own language, and her chin lifted in an unbidden gesture as she sought a measure of strength.
‘I thin
k I’d like that coffee,’ she indicated, meeting his compelling gaze with courage and dignity.
Georg’s stance didn’t alter for several heart-stopping seconds, then he turned and made his way towards the kitchen.
When he returned he placed a tall handled glass into her hands. ‘Drink all of it.’
Lexi tasted the contents, and effected a faint grimace in recognition of the measure of brandy he’d added to the cream-topped brew. She almost never touched spirits, and it was more than a year since she’d had to resort to taking the occasional sleeping-pill. Obediently she sipped until the glass was empty, then set it down on a nearby table.
‘Would you mind leaving now? It’s late, and I’d like to go to bed.’
He slowly drained his glass, then held it between his hands. ‘Have lunch with me tomorrow.’
‘Today,’ Lexi corrected absently. ‘And no, I think I’d rather be alone.’ The beginnings of a faint smile tugged one edge of her mouth. ‘We’re dining with your mother. I’ll need to harness all my resources.’
‘My family is not in the least formidable.’
She moved towards the lobby, and paused by the front door. ‘That’s a matter of opinion.’
Gentle fingers lifted her chin, and her lashes swiftly lowered as she felt his fingertips trace the outline of her mouth. Beneath his feather-light touch she was unable to control the slight trembling, and she stood very still as he brushed his lips against her temple.
‘Be ready at six.’
As soon as he had gone she locked up and moved back into the lounge, activating the television set in a bid to discover a programme that would catch her interest until exhaustion set in and provided an escape into oblivion.
CHAPTER FIVE
LEXI CHOSE TO wear a stunning gown in emerald-green silk, its smooth lines hugging the delicate curves of her breasts, her waist, then flaring out from the hips to fall in generous folds to calf-length. Matching shoes and evening-bag completed the outfit, and her make-up was deliberately understated. In a last-minute decision she opted to leave her hair loose, using side-clips to hold its thick length away from her face.
The Greek's Bride of Convenience Page 6
