that knowledge. She’d no doubt get things wrong again in the future, but she’d always strive to put them right. She would never stop trying when it came to Thea.
‘I can’t wait to hear you play again,’ she said warmly when a few of Thea’s friends gathered round. ‘I think you’re amazing—all of you.’
Lizzie’s heart melted when Thea turned a beaming smile on her friends, as if to say, This is my mother and she really gets us.
‘Love you, darling!’ Lizzie called out as Thea raced away with her friends.
Glancing across the playing fields, Lizzie could see Thea and her group of friends gathering up a feast from the buffet, to carry off and eat beneath the shade of the olive trees. Sensing Lizzie was still staring at her, Thea turned and gestured vigorously that Lizzie must join them.
Lizzie drew a deep breath and told herself firmly that whatever happened next she could deal with it. She had dealt with things for eleven years now, and would continue to do so. She would do anything to protect Thea.
And Damon? What about him?
She’d lost him before she’d had chance to know him. He could never be part of her life now—though he would surely be part of Thea’s. That would be up to Thea, Lizzie determined as she hurried across the parched playing field to join the children.
‘There he goes!’ Thea yelled, pointing to the sky as Lizzie approached.
Shading her eyes, Lizzie stared up as the rhythmical thwack of a helicopter’s rotor blades passed overhead. Damon would be flying off to wherever he was needed most, she guessed.
Guilt flooded her again. She’d worked so hard to get things right for Thea, and now she’d fallen at this, the last hurdle. She might never get the chance to speak to Damon again except through lawyers, and she had always planned to bring Thea and Damon together carefully, sensitively—anywhere but in a courtroom.
She shuddered at the thought. There was no excuse, although her reasons for not telling Damon sooner were complex and mostly rooted in the past. Believing he’d deserted her too, so soon after her father’s rejection, she’d vowed never to love again, never to risk her heart again—and she had kept that vow until Thea was born, when she had discovered a love so deep it had almost drowned her.
Her father’s rejection, coming at such a vulnerable and hormonal time in Lizzie’s life, had left her with an overwhelming desire to protect Thea from that same pain.
Looking back, she saw that the world her father had aspired to was shallow, and based on what people had in the bank rather than what they were really worth, and that in turn had left her with a lifelong suspicion of wealth. She knew deep down that Damon was a different kind of rich, and that he’d not only worked hard for everything he’d got but had done good with that money. But the glamorous world he inhabited still troubled her. She would never belong in a world like that—though in time Thea might, Lizzie allowed.
‘Okay…’ Thea looked up expectantly at her mother.
‘Okay, what?’ Lizzie asked lightly, pinning a smile to her face.
‘Do. You. Like. Him?’ Thea asked, testing her facial muscles to their limit. ‘Damon Gavros,’ she explained impatiently. ‘I saw him sitting next to you. We all did,’ Thea added, grinning as she gazed around at her friends.
So now she had an audience. Lizzie’s stomach sank. She shrugged and smiled through it. ‘Of course I like him. What’s not to like?’
‘Well, that’s good,’ Thea said. ‘Because he’s on his way over—’
‘What?’ Lizzie’s world tilted as she swung around in panic.
Damon was not supposed to be here. He’d just flown away in his helicopter.
‘We’re all thrilled you like him,’ Thea said, her voice penetrating Lizzie’s fog of incomprehension, ‘because we need ice cream and we’re hoping he’ll buy some.’
If only life were that simple, Lizzie thought. She almost laughed. Impending hysteria, she guessed. It took a child to point out the obvious. There was ice cream, and there was a man with enough money to buy each of them a serving. Damon was no more complex or disturbing than that as far as Thea was concerned.
And long may it remain that way, Lizzie thought.
‘Why don’t you stay here with your friends while I go and see what he says to your suggestion?’ she offered.
‘Not he—Damon,’ Thea insisted. ‘You have to use his name if you stand a hope of getting close to him.’
‘Right…’ Lizzie pressed her lips together in a thin smile.
She had no chance of getting close to Damon, but now wasn’t the time to disillusion Thea. There was no more time to waste. She had to head him off before he reached them and Thea sensed that something was wrong.
‘Damon—Damon Gavros!’ Thea called after her. ‘He has the same name as this island. You can’t forget it.’
She would never forget it, since it was gouged on her heart, Lizzie thought as she called back to Thea, ‘Back soon. Sit tight and I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Not too soon!’ Thea yelled after her. ‘We’ve got stuff to do…so you’ve got the whole evening with Damon. See you tomorrow!’
As the children’s giggles rose behind her Lizzie knew she had to make things right before they got a lot worse. She had to reach a compromise with Damon if they weren’t going to end up fighting each other through every court in the land. Though how she was supposed to fight Damon Gavros and his legal team, she had no idea.
Not yet, Lizzie thought, firming her jaw, but when it came to Thea she’d fight to the death.
He was feeling icy calm as he strode across the field towards Lizzie. Business could do that for him. He could always see the way ahead where his work was concerned. It cleared his head when other areas of his life were complicated. He had given precise instructions to his aide so the fallout after the fire would be dealt with. Everyone would receive the care and compensation they deserved. He wouldn’t stint. He never did where family was concerned.
And now for Lizzie, who was coming to meet him, diverting him away from the group of children—which was just as well. When they were a few feet apart he jerked his head to suggest she follow him. He noticed Thea was watching, and smiled for her benefit.
The multinational conglomerate he controlled with such ease was nothing compared to the complexities of human relationships, he decided. This was the minefield, right here. He felt no animosity towards Lizzie. He felt nothing. But his mind was made up. The direction they would take from here was clear. Lizzie might have procrastinated for eleven years, but making fast decisions based on the evidence in front of him had always been his forte.
He led the way to his helicopter and noticed the moment when realisation struck Lizzie. Damon had two helicopters. In fact he had a fleet of helicopters. He never knew when he or one of his executives would need to move fast. He had never needed to move faster than he did now.
He opened the passenger door and made sure Lizzie was settled before helping her to fasten her harness and explaining how her headphones worked. There was no tension or anger in his voice. There was nothing. Lizzie’s face paled, as if she found his manner more chilling than if he’d raged at her.
The short flight brought them above his beach house. It was here that the future would be spelled out.
A kaleidoscope of images flashed through Lizzie’s panicked mind as the helicopter hovered over Damon’s spectacular beach house—or mansion, as Lizzie thought of it. The contrast of the simple home