Trish reached into her pocket and pulled out the business card she’d forgotten to give him earlier. “If you change your mind or just want to talk about the offer some more, I hope you’ll give me a call.”
Theo hesitated for only a moment before his fingers curved around the card she held out. “I won’t change my mind.”
“I understand you feel that way now,” Trish said. “But sometimes things change. Just remember I really want your business. I think we’d make a great team.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“The contract is important to me,” she said. “Now that I’ve seen them, helping these horses is important to me, too.”
“We need to get to the van,” he said. “So you can get back to the ship on time.”
Okay, so he hadn’t said he’d do it. But given time she knew she could persuade him. Unfortunately time was the one thing she didn’t have.
CHAPTER FOUR
AT SLIGHTLY BEFORE eight o’clock in the evening the harbor area in Corfu Town teemed with tourists. Many of them, exhausted after a day of tours and shopping, stood quietly, waiting to get back on the ship. Theo took his place at the end of the line.
Not in the mood to converse, he popped in some earbuds and let the music drown out the conversations around him. If only he could block out his thoughts as easily. But no matter how he tried, Theo couldn’t get Trish’s face out of his head. All the way down the mountain, every minute of the boat ride back to Corfu, he’d felt her eyes on him.
There was something about the woman that got under his skin. Coming on his tour, for example, had taken a helluva lot of nerve. And then approaching him again with that offer…
He stepped onto the gangway of Alexandra’s Dream, the flagship of Liberty Line. It had been a long day and it was going to be an even longer night. This evening he would meet his half sisters, Katherine and Helena Stamos, for the first time.
Theo’s looked up at the brightly lit ship. His mother thought he was crazy. Of course, she hated everything to do with Elias Stamos, including his children by his now-deceased wife, Alexandra.
The fact that Alexandra had enjoyed the life which Anastasia had thought should have been hers only fueled his mother’s bitterness. She was adamant that Theo have no contact with any of them.
But Theo was curious. Curious what they were like. Over the years he’d seen them on television many times so he didn’t think he’d have any trouble recognizing them. But what was there to talk about? They didn’t move in the same social circles or share the same lifestyle. And why had they even contacted him? A sliver of dread crawled up Theo’s spine.
His mother had been right. Having anything to do with the Stamos family was a mistake. For the briefest of seconds Theo considered leaving. But he’d given his word and, just like a handshake, his word meant something. Besides, he hadn’t gotten to where he was by running from difficult situations.
He paused halfway up the gangway and removed the earbuds, slipping them into his pocket. Sounds of music and laughter spilled over from the upper deck. The ship was supposed to pull out in the morning. This was one of those overnight port stays intended to give the passengers more time to enjoy Corfu Town by night.
He continued up the gangway behind a couple of chattering women. When he reached the top, he hesitated. Katherine had said she’d be there to meet him at eight. But it was already five after and there was no woman waiting. Only two staff members screening the returning passengers and a security guard sitting on a chair stood between him and the entrance to the ship.
His tour operator’s license had gotten him this far but it wouldn’t be enough to get him on board.
“Welcome back,” one of the staff said with a smile. “Your boarding pass, sir?”
Theo shook his head and offered an easy smile. “I’m not a passenger. I’m meeting—”
The man’s smile disappeared. “I’m sorry, sir. Only passengers are allowed on the ship.”
“I understand that,” Theo said amiably. “However, I’m here to meet—”
“It doesn’t matter, sir,” the man said.
“But—” Theo began.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the guard stand. He wasn’t surprised. Because of security concerns, most cruise ships were reluctant to allow non-passengers on board. That’s why Katherine was supposed to be here, to navigate him through security.
“I am so sorry I’m late.”
Theo heard the feminine voice even before the beautiful woman rounded the corner. Stylishly slim with light brown hair and a fair complexion, she looked more like her English mother than her Greek father.
“Gentlemen, it’s my mistake,” she said, in a soft, melodious voice. “I planned to be here with this before he arrived but I was detained.”
She showed the man the security pass and he scanned it then waved Theo forward. Katherine waited until they were in the hall before wrapping her arms around him in an impulsive hug that seemed to surprise her as much as it did him. He stiffened but didn’t pull away.
Her arms dropped to her side and she took a step back then held out her hand. “By the way, I’m Katherine.”
He took her hand in a brief shake. “Theo Catomeris.
“Thank you so much for coming.” The merest hint of pink touched her cheeks. “And just so you know, I’m not in the habit of hugging complete strangers. But the resemblance to…well, the resemblance is uncanny.”
Theo had seen Elias Stamos on television many times. He knew he bore a strong resemblance to the man, but in his family that was never mentioned. He didn’t know how to respond to Katherine’s comment so he remained silent.
“I’m so happy you decided to come.” Katherine punched the elevator button then gave a nervous laugh. “I think I already said that before, didn’t I?”
Theo just lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. This was a difficult situation for all of them to navigate. At least she was talking. His ability to make small talk seemed to have vanished.
“I was surprised to get the invitation,” Theo said finally. “I wasn’t aware you knew I even existed.”
“Well, I…we…haven’t always known,” Katherine said. “But we do now.”
Theo sensed she shared his unease on how to manage the situation. Obviously meeting your father’s bastard son wasn’t something covered in most etiquette books.
“Have you had dinner yet?” she asked.
Theo shook his head.
“Good,” Katherine said, and he could almost see a little of the tension ease from her face. “Helena and I considered having dinner brought to the penthouse but we thought you might enjoy seeing some of the ship. The Empire Room is the main dining room.”
Her speech had taken on a nervous, edgy quality that he found oddly reassuring. At least he wasn’t the only one stressed over this meeting.
Katherine took a deep breath and continued. “It serves international cuisine so I’m sure you’ll find something to please your palate. It’s very impressive.”
“Spoken like a true PR person,” Theo said before he could stop himself.
Surprise skittered across Katherine’s face. “You know what I do?”
“Just what I read in the papers,” he said. “I know that Liberty is one of your firm’s biggest accounts.”
“Well, right now you seem to have the advantage,” Katherine said. “Because I don’t know a whole lot about you.”