“Our luggage is following on,” Tito said smoothly. “But I assume you have the usual basics available in our suites? Ms. Silver is in need of a lie down.”
The butler nodded and smiled.
Fire ignited in her empty belly. “Excuse me—” How dare he talk about her as if she wasn’t there and make decisions for her?
However, Tito seemed completely unfazed by her irritation and taking her by the elbow gently encouraged her towards the sweeping central staircase that lay at the far end of the hall. “You can order up as much food and drink as you both want when you’re ready. And anything else you need is just a phone call away. We are the only guests staying here for obvious reasons, so the staff are ready and waiting for all eventualities.” He lowered his voice, and she felt his breath on her ear. “But please don’t choose now to make a fuss. It would be very embarrassing.”
“Fuss?” She wrenched her arm away. “I don’t like people making decisions for me. I’m big enough and ugly enough to deal with stuff myself. I don’t need you organizing my life for me, thank you.”
She heard him exhale loudly. “We could eat together right now in the dining room, if you prefer.”
Sometimes only blunt sarcasm would do. “No, I would not prefer.”
“You would like to be alone in your suite where I can’t boss you around, I imagine?”
“Spot on, Sherlock.”
She caught a glimpse of his tight smile. “Then let’s carry on the way we were, shall we?”
Erica felt her cheeks heat as her sneakers moved silently over the massive blue and gold Turkish rug that ran almost the full width of the café au lait colored marble floor. The pale blue-walled hall was bigger than her entire apartment, sporting its own huge fireplace with a wood burner flickering quietly away to the right and an eight-foot-plus console table on the left made from aged, blackened oak. Its thick legs were carved into barley sugar twists that reminded her of giant water eels, dark as pitch with an unworldly shine to them. At each end were matching wide chairs with antique tapestry seat covers. Heavy golden carved frames showcased a collection of oil paintings: landscapes, various animals, and grand people with large hair.
She hitched the car seat into the crook of her arm. “I don’t think I’ll be letting Nick loose down here.” She nodded towards a huge Chinoiserie vase containing the biggest arrangement of roses and lilies she had ever seen. “He could cause a few thousand pounds worth of damage in under thirty seconds with zero effort.”
“I’m sure they’re used to all kind of guests here.” He offered his hand to take the car seat from her. “Would you like a hand with him? It is heavy and there are a lot of stairs.”
Her arm was aching however stubborn she was feeling. “Okay, thanks, but be careful.”
“Careful should have been my middle name,” he said wryly as they effected a tentative swap of hands at the bottom of the stairs.
They reached the next floor, and Tito lowered the car seat gently to the carpet outside a large door on the left. Opposite was an identical door, just two of them on the entire square landing separated by yards of Chinese silk carpet. Erica turned to face him. “So what is your middle name?”
Tito shook his head. “Never mind, it’s ridiculous.”
“Oh, go on. It can’t be that bad,” she said and slid the palm of her hand silkily over the polished wooden doorframe. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was actually squirming a bit. She had found a nice soft and vulnerable spot on his underbelly and couldn’t resist giving it a sharp poke.
“No way.” He turned the brass doorknob, and their shoulders brushed. She looked up into eyes that glittered like crème de menthe on the rocks. He wasn’t squirming anymore; she was. Her tummy flipped as his mouth moved dangerously closer to hers, and she held her breath waiting for his flesh to make contact with hers. “The only way you get to find that out is on our wedding day, Erica. When we make our vows.”
“Not sure I need to know, in that case,” she whispered coldly.
“We will talk over dinner tonight. At eight. There are two nannies at your disposal to care for Nick so that we are not disturbed. There is a lot to discuss.” He slid a hand into his inside pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Before I forget, here’s the form giving your permission for Nick’s DNA test. Sign and date it on the back page and pass it on to the housekeeper when she arrives. My people will do all the rest.”
She was annoyed with herself for expecting a kiss that hadn’t come, so much so that she didn’t have the bluster to fight him over the dinner, DNA form, and nanny directive. He had out fooled her, and she felt like kissing him really hard just to shock the life out of him. Instead she pressed her lips together, picked up Nick, stepped through the door, and shut it behind her with a firm click. She leaned back against the cool wood of the door and closed her eyes for a second. It was highly inconvenient that he affected her in that way. He was uptight, bossy, and old-fashioned. Everything she disliked in a man. It was such a nuisance that he was so damn good-looking, smelled so enticing, and turned her on in a way that made her shiver.
It had been a long time since she’d been with a man, and the memory of Tito’s touch in the club was still firing sparks off in her head and in her belly. A tiny voice begged a question in her mind and the answer was yes. Yes, she would sleep with that man at the drop of a hat. No question about it. And did he feel the same about her? Who knew? She should forget all about the burning ember of desire that glowed within her or be prepared to tread very, very carefully.
Chapter Five
Tito wrenched off his tie and threw it onto the huge bed in the center of an enormous room with ceilings that reached ten feet high. His jacket followed, and he strode toward the French windows that led onto a panoramic balcony and flung them wide open. He didn’t care about the chilly air, the wind, and the clouds that had finally stopped gushing rain. He’d felt suffocated from the minute he’d set foot in England. The club, the cars, her shoebox of an apartment…the only respite had been the rat place with the mattress and the hideous rain-lashed walk to Nick’s childminder.
He stared out across the grounds of the house at the gray tumbling clouds and the wet acres of grass and woodland as he considered how his life had veered horribly off track. A marriage he didn’t want and a child he had to protect because he shredded his heartstrings with every innocent, trusting breath and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was also hyperaware that there could be a crisis that would hit his businesses if he didn’t get all this right. The stakes were high. Damn whoever set off that bomb, which was another job on his to do list—find them and shut them down.
His fiery wife-to-be also had a determined will of her own and a seedy past that wouldn’t bear close scrutiny. He was going to have to answer a lot of awkward questions on the matter eventually. And he couldn’t even console himself with the prospect of having sex with his beautiful spouse. How could he when she probably hated him, and he had nothing but tempered contempt for her. Or did he? His head was so messed up he couldn’t even begin to unravel the emotional mess he was keeping close inside himself.
God, why had fate brought him to his knees like this after everything else that had happened in the last three decades? Perhaps now would be the time to contemplate becoming a Buddhist, he thought wryly. At least he might come back as someone who had a much less complicated life next time. Although that idea would have to go on hold until after he’d eaten the sausage sandwiches that had just arrived. Hopefully the food would help get rid of the headache that had been plaguing him all morning.
There was a loud knock on Tito’s suite door and it opened violently without bidding.
“Ilias!” Tito’s heart leaped at the sight of his old friend, ignoring the way the floral arrangements still trembled at his exuberant entrance. “Great to see you!”
“And you, Tito, you elusive bastard.” The dark-haired man’s smile was broad, and he pulled Tito in a bear hug.
Tito hugged him
back and then disengaged. “Is it any surprise I’ve been elusive after what you hijacked me with before New Year’s Eve?”
Ilias laughed, and his deep brown eyes glinted with amusement. “Took you by surprise, huh? That wild party was your fault for not taking advantage of having your birthday on Christmas day. You’ve had it coming to you for years. ”
“My mother never forgave me for being born that day and ruining all her festive plans, remember? It’s not a good day for me on many levels.”
“You never asked to be born, mate.”
“Yeah, you’re right. And now I remember why I love you so much, you dick.”
“I’m still deeply offended that you sent away that gorgeous escort I hired for you. Such a waste of money. She was top drawer.” Ilias snatched up a sandwich and opened the bread to see its contents. “She canceled a hot date with an oligarch to be with you as well. Got any brown sauce for this?”
Tito passed him a bottle of HP Sauce. “Sorry, but perhaps that will teach you not to buy me extravagant ‘gifts’ without doing your research.”
Ilias’s eyes opened with incredulity as he munched on Tito’s breakfast. “You need it, man!”
“I do not. I don’t need anything from a woman who has no feeling for me, so let it drop. And don’t do it again. Put the money towards a charity. Please.”
Ilias threw back his head and laughed loudly. “Somebody has to try and get your miserable ass out there to have some fun now and again. All work and no play will turn you into the Capricorn goat of your star sign if you’re not careful.”
“You don’t believe in all that astrology crap, do you?”
“I pay lip service to it for my wife’s sake. She says our marriage was made in heaven by virtue of the alignment of the stars when we first met. So she can’t ever leave me or the world will end.” He tipped his head to one side and winked. “Or something like that.”
Tito chuckled. “You and Francesca met at some hippy music festival, didn’t you? Must have been a lot of hash in the air that night.”
Ilias slumped down into a leather sofa. “It was love at first sight.”
“You guys were made for each other. And thanks for arranging this place for me, it’s perfect.”
“I thought you’d like it: five star, utter privacy, intense security, and lots of space.”
“I don’t like being on the wrong side of a locked door, as you know, so I’m grateful.”
Ilias draped a long arm over the back of the sofa and the blue pin stripe material of his suit jacket opened to display a chest almost as broad as Tito’s. “So, what the hell are you doing here in the middle of nowhere needing my legal advice so urgently you can’t come and see me in my office in London?”
“It’s a long story, but basically I’m getting married.”
Ilias’s jaw dropped open, and his smile faltered. “What the hell?”
“Yes, kind of a surprise, right?”
“Tito, you are not and have never been the marrying kind. You’ve always said so. She must be some kind of a woman. Oh hang on, she’s pregnant…”
“No, nothing like that.” Tito took a breath and locked his fingers together around the back of his head. “To cut a long story short, it’s a marriage of convenience, a means to an end, not a love match or anything quaintly destined by the stars. I want a prenup and some legalities sorted out before I make any vows or sign anything.”
Ilias smirked and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Now that’s much more in character, Makris, but I’d kind of like to hear the long story if you don’t mind.”
“We don’t have a lot of time.”
“And we’ll have even less time if I don’t get all the details right the first time because I didn’t know exactly what you’re up to.”
“You’re just damn nosey.”
“Kind of comes with the senior legal partner territory, so spill.”
Tito sighed and sat down on the sofa opposite Ilias’s, resting his feet on the coffee table between them. “You remember Yannis and all the mess sorting out the Frangos estate after he died?”
“How could I not? That case took the Athens department over a year to sort out.”
“But the fees you guys racked up were considerable, I imagine?”
Ilias’s smile was wry. “It made for some reasonable bonuses. But it’s all over now. I hear on the grapevine that there may be a secret heir.”
Tito felt a shadow pass over his previously good mood. “Word travels fast.”
“There are few secrets that don’t make it into the dark corners of London’s gentlemen’s clubs over a few gin and tonics. You know that.”
Tito frowned. “I’ve found the heir, a baby boy called Nick. He’s across the corridor.”
Ilias’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
“I’m marrying his mother who is also across the corridor.”
Ilias whistled through his teeth. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were trying to get close to some of that Frangos money, to be the ‘caring stepfather’ and husband who wants to look after things until the kid is grown up. Meanwhile, all manner of contracts and deals with your own companies get signed and embedded for the next twenty years…”
“What a cynic you are.” Tito frowned. “But there’s an element of truth in what you say. Any destabilization of the Frangos business structure could have a direct impact on my own interests as well as the thousands of people it supports financially. It needs managing, and I’m the best person to do that.”
“Without a doubt, but why marriage? This mother has no claim in the legacy, does she? She didn’t marry Yannis? And naturally, you’re not in love with her…”
Tito’s chin jutted upwards. “No. They weren’t married, and the legacy passes to the child alone. However, until he is an adult the family court in Athens has appointed a group of trustees to oversee his wealth, future, and welfare. It’s normal practice. The trustees, in their wisdom, have decided that the child can only inherit if he comes to live and be raised in Greece, but his birth mother is not welcome.”
“Not welcome? Because she didn’t marry Yannis? Seems harsh.”
“She’s not welcome because of her immoral lifestyle, past and present. She pole dances with next to no clothes on.”
Ilias chuckled. “Seriously? Those Greek women would attempt to separate mother and child because of something like that? I know some of these orthodox families could be strict, but—”
“They wouldn’t back down however hard I tried to reason with them. The fact her own mother solicits men for paid sex didn’t help matters much either.”
Ilias shook his head. “The mother should challenge the trustees in court. They can’t get away with that. The child is entitled to his legacy unfettered.”
“She is penniless, so private legal action in two different legal systems would be out of the question. It could also take years to resolve, in which time Yannis’s son would be living in poverty and danger, and I can’t let that happen. They both need to get out of the UK immediately for their own safety and, of course, she refuses to let me take him to Greece without her.”
Ilias nodded. “She’s not beyond redemption, then. Or did you not offer her money?”
Tito shook his head. “Tried that and no.”
“Okay, I get it now.” He stretched out his long legs and glanced up at the ceiling. “If you marry the mother before you arrive in Greece with the Frangos heir, there’s nothing the Frangos women can do about it. They have no choice but to accept her into their society as your wife and the authorities won’t ask any immigration questions either. Smart.”
Tito inclined his head and smiled. “Thank you.”
“It won’t do your straitlaced reputation any harm either,” Ilias said with a knowing look. “About time you shocked a few people by misbehaving.”
“It’s a means to an end. It won’t be a real marriage. We will live separate lives. And before you ask, no, won�
�t be having sex.”
“Do I write that into the documentation?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“And the lady, is she in agreement to all this?”
“She is right now, but I don’t want her to have too much time on her own to dwell on it. I don’t want her to have a change of heart before we get this done.”
Ilias pulled out his smart phone and began typing. “Her name?”
“Erica Silver.”
Ilias fixed Tito with a stare for a few seconds and tapped his phone against his chin. “Financial settlement to the lady on your eventual divorce? Hush money, no scandal allowed.”
“I believe that’s usual. Ten million index-linked reasonable?”
The lawyer nodded. “Want me and someone else discreet to witness the paperwork?”
“You and the chauffeur will do.”
Ilias eased himself up from the sofa and held out his hand to be shaken. “I’ll have everything with you by morning.”
“Bring it up to the private airstrip, will you? We can seal it all on the jet tomorrow. I’ll text you when we’re on our way.”
Ilias gripped his friend’s hand hard. “Cool.”
Erica quickly glanced around the enormous living room she was standing in as Nick began to stir and make the snuffly noises that usually preceded a noisy outburst. He wasn’t used to a car seat and judging by the fuss he had made when they’d gotten him into it, he was unlikely to be best pleased when he awoke to find he was still in it.
Two floor to ceiling sash windows were to her right and another two were straight ahead. Light flooded through the uneven eighteenth century glass and the crisscross of the glazing bars, creating a box pattern on the cream carpet. The wind was picking up outside, and she could hear the whoosh of sound turning the bare tree branches outside into nature’s flute reeds. There had to be acres of cream and gold fabric in the room. Heavy swags drooped like toupees over the floor length drapes, along with matching frilly pelmets and a vintage rag rug that lay by the hearth.
The Greek Tycoon's Tarnished Bride (Men of the Zodiac) Page 6
