The Greek Claims His Shock Heir. Lynne Graham

warming her son’s lunch while studiously ignoring Eros’s silent presence by the door.

      Teddy grasped his spoon and ate, making more of a mess than usual, showing off because a stranger was present.

      ‘I assume your sisters look after him while you’re at work?’ Eros prompted.

      ‘Yes...’ Winnie glanced worriedly at him. ‘They’re very good with him.’

      ‘A father would have been even better.’

      Breathing in deep and slow to restrain her temper, Winnie concentrated on cleaning up Teddy and the table, unstrapping him to lift him.

      ‘Allow me...’ Disconcertingly, Eros stepped right into her path and simply scooped her son out of her hold. ‘Where to now?’

      ‘Upstairs,’ Winnie said thinly, reluctantly leading the way.

      She pushed open the door of Teddy’s room.

      ‘This is a little girl’s room,’ Eros objected, only slowly lowering her son into his cot, his attention pinned to the pink cartoon mural of princesses on the wall.

      ‘We haven’t got around to redecorating yet,’ Winnie retorted, sidestepping the truth that the sisters had decided not to go to that trouble and expense when they were unsure how long their grandfather would allow them to make the house their home. Stepping over to the cot, she slipped off her son’s shoes and his sweatshirt and settled him down before tugging the string on the little musical mobile that had been his from birth.

      Closing the curtains, she walked back to the door, watching Eros hover by the cot. ‘Why’s the cot in the middle of the room?’ he asked.

      ‘Because if you put it beside the furniture, Teddy will use it to climb out and I don’t want the hassle of trying to persuade him to stay put in a junior bed. He’s too young to understand.’

      ‘A nanny would remove much of the burden of childcare,’ Eros commented smoothly. ‘It must be hard for you to work and care adequately for him at the same time.’

      ‘Not with my sisters around,’ Winnie countered steadily, refusing to rise to the suggestion that she wasn’t doing the best mothering job possible.

      Eros strode down the stairs only a step in her wake and she walked into the lounge. ‘I suppose I should offer you coffee,’ she said stiffly.

      Eros sent her a winging hard glance. ‘No, thanks. Let’s not procrastinate.’

      ‘If you must know, I was trying to be polite.’

      Eros shrugged a broad shoulder, the edge of his jacket falling back to expose a shirt front pulling taut across his muscular torso, delineating sleek bands of abdominal muscle. As she watched, her mouth ran dry and she looked hastily away, colour warming her cheeks.

      ‘Why bother?’ Eros incised drily. ‘We’re neither friends nor casual acquaintances.’

      ‘What do you want from me?’ Winnie fired back at him, anxiety biting through her.

      ‘Answers,’ Eros framed silkily. ‘And I’ll keep on coming back at you until I get them.’