Lys Theron was amazing. “Do you have any idea how grateful I am that you told no one about the will and came all the way to Italy to talk to me in person? Because of you, the secret is still safe.”
She studied him for a long time. “I’ll keep it. You’re worried that if your father knew the truth, he would believe you had a much greater friendship with Nassos than he’d been led to believe. I can see why you think it could ruin your relationship for life.”
How did someone so young get to be so wise? “I’m afraid it could,” Takis whispered.
“I think you’re wrong about it, but no one will ever know from me. I’ll talk to Danae so she understands how serious this is to keep absolutely quiet.”
No matter his feelings for her, he felt he could trust Lys with his life. “Thank you. But this brings us to our immediate problem. We’ll have to conduct business without anyone suspecting the real reason we’re together at all.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. When I leave you in a minute, I’m headed straight to the airport. I need to fly back to Milan and talk to my partners. Among other things I’ll have to make preparations to sell my hotel chain in New York and will probably be gone at least a week. When I come back, I’ll have a proposition for you.”
“Proposition?” she questioned.
“What goes around, comes around,” he teased, reminding her of their conversation yesterday when she’d made one to him.
“Aren’t you going to give me a hint?” The corner of her sensual mouth lifted, sending a burst of desire through him.
“Not yet. Certain things have to fit into place first.”
“You’re talking about the hotel in Milan. Do you plan to remain part owner?”
“Possibly.” But that wasn’t what he had on his mind while she filled his vision to the exclusion of all else. He had plans for them and knew in his gut that she wasn’t involved with another man. Otherwise he would have to come up with another idea, but nothing had the appeal of the one he had his heart set on.
“Would you like a ride to the airport? I have an errand to run anyway.”
Nothing she’d said could have made him happier. He still wanted to talk to her. “I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll just ring Giorgos to let him know my agenda.”
“That name isn’t familiar to me. What happened to the other manager Nassos relied on in the past?”
“Yannis? He had to retire because his knee operations didn’t work out well. He was hard to replace.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is Giorgos a good manager?”
“Six months ago Nassos hired him as a favor for a close friend, but he had one reservation.”
“What was that?”
“He was recently divorced, but he decided to give him a chance.”
“Why would that matter?”
“I asked Nassos the same thing. He said it was just a feeling he had that Giorgos might not be able to concentrate on the job, but only time would tell. After the letter Nassos left for me revealing his torment over divorcing Danae, I suppose his concerns about Giorgos made sense. The man moved here from Athens, where he’d been a hotel manager with an excellent reference.”
Interesting. “How do you like him so far?”
“I think he’s very good at what he does.”
“But?”
“I can tell he’s lonely.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Whenever I start to leave the office, he wants to talk for a while.”
Takis struggled not to smile. “Is he attractive?”
“So-so.”
“Does he have children?”
“No.”
“How old is he?”
“Thirtyish I believe.”
A dangerous age. Giorgos must have thought he’d died and arrived in the elysian fields when he discovered Lys on the premises.
While she made the phone call, the proposition he intended to put to her had grown legs.
WHEN HER PHONE RANG, Lys had been out on the patio of Danae’s villa talking with her about Takis and his fragile relationship with his father. She checked the caller ID before clicking on. “Yes, Giorgos?”
“I don’t mean to intrude on your day off, but there was a man at the front desk asking for you a few minutes ago. He didn’t leave his name. I told him I’d schedule an appointment, but I needed information first. All he said was that you would know who he was and he’d be back later.”
Lys shot to her feet out of breath. Takis? But surely he would have phoned her if he’d flown to Crete! He’d been gone a week, but it had felt like a month. Seven days away from him had proven to her how much he had come to mean to her, feelings that went soul deep.
“Did you hear what I said? Do you want security when you return?”
She’d forgotten Giorgos was on the phone. “Was this man threatening in some way?”
“No. But he had an attitude that sounded too familiar and possessive for my liking.”
If anyone sounded possessive it was Giorgos, whose observation surprised her. “Thank you for the warning, but I’m not worried. I’ll be back at the hotel later.”
After hanging up she told Danae what happened. The older woman cocked her head. “Who else could it be but Takis? Aside from Nassos, he’s the most exciting man I’ve almost ever bumped into.”
Lys chuckled.
“The man’s charm is lethal. I have no doubt it rattled Giorgos, who, according to Nassos, was interested in you from the moment he came to work.”
“You’re kidding—”
This time it was Danae who laughed. “When Nassos realized Giorgos was invisible to you, he stopped worrying that he’d hired him.”
“I had no idea I was that transparent.”
“There were two or three men you dated that gave us concern because you seemed so swayed by them. We felt you were too young and we ran interference for your sake. But it was when you started seeing Kasmos Loukos, whose father owns the Loukos Shipping lines in Macedonia, we grew very nervous.
“That spoiled young man had already been seen with too many wealthy celebrities. Nassos knew Kasmos was shopping around for the best female prospect to build on his father’s fortune. When we saw the way he went about seducing you, we were fearful you might really be in love with him. The problem was, you were an adult. We couldn’t do anything about it, and only hoped you could see through him before it was too late.”
“Which I did. One night he started talking to me about Nassos, asking questions that were none of his business. That’s when a light went on and I remembered all the lessons you’d tried to teach me. I was no longer blinded and told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. You should have seen his face—”
“Thank goodness that relationship didn’t last! I’m afraid neither Nassos nor I ever thought you’d met your match. Speaking of which, I think you’d better take the helicopter back to the hotel so you can meet up with this mystery man before you die of curiosity.”