Chapter 14
Tiffany raised an eyebrow as the speculation morphed into calculation. It was chillingly rapid. The businessman had emerged and he seemed much more in his comfort zone now. Relaxed even, like he knew there was a deal to be made.
Asking her, presenting reasoned arguments, throwing himself on her mercy, had put the ball in her court. Had given her too much power and not produced the desired result.
She imagined he usually operated from a position of strength, and needing her like this had put him on the back foot.
But he was in his natural habitat. Incentivising was his territory.
What shape would his bribe take? Did he think she’d agree to this plan if he was to buy her a diamond ring or a sapphire necklace or a shiny red Porsche? What exactly did this hotshot business guy think her weakness was? Because Tiffany cared for none of those things.
The plain fact of the matter was helping a proud old man save face was probably impetus enough for her to agree to being a billionaire’s fake fiancée.
He just didn’t know her that well.
‘What if I was to buy your brother a new place that’s bigger and better than the one he has at the moment. A place he can live and create and display his art so he can just get on with being an artist without worrying about a mortgage or rent or the whims of a landlord.’
Tiffany blinked as the stunning offer dropped like a boulder into a deep black lake between them, plunging down, down, down but never finding the bottom, taking her stomach with it for the ride.
Well, hell. Maybe he did know her. Because he sure as hell managed to find her Achilles heel.
And her first instinct was to jump on it and grab it with both hands, but Tiffany had learned from the divorce between her parents that being beholden to someone financially could end up disastrously if that relationship ever broke down and the other party held the financial purse strings to your life.
Her father – despite being caught with his pants down – had screwed over the mother of his children for every cent he could.
Mikey had also learned that lesson when he’d left Balmain Downs with zero financial support from their father.
‘And leave it up to the whims of a billionaire instead? When my brother’s livelihood becomes part of your property portfolio? An asset that the company can decide, at any moment, to divest themselves of?’
Theo’s eyes turned to two chips of ice. ‘It would be his, free and clear.’ His voice went as chilly as his eyes; he clearly was not impressed that she had called his integrity into question. ‘A gift. No takebacks.’
Yeah… until there was.
All she did was cock an eyebrow. That was it. But he was getting good at reading her eyebrows. His mouth thinned in displeasure, but he didn’t give up either.
‘Okay… what about this. I know a lot of people throughout Europe in the art world. I could pick up my phone and have his art displayed in any number of galleries known for promoting emerging artists. A friend of my mother’s books exhibitions that do the avant-garde circuit from Porto to Prague.
I can also arrange very quickly to have several pieces of his on every ōceanós cruise ship in the fleet. ’
Okay… this proposal was a much different prospect.
This wouldn’t be about Mikey relying on someone else to take care of his financial burden.
This would be giving her brother an opportunity to prove himself in the art world and give him the financial means to not rely on anyone else.
Not Theo. Not her, even. It would be opening a door that hadn’t been open to him before, but it would be up to Mikey to make the most of it.
Take the openings that came from it, the connections, to grow and prosper.
He would be in control of his destiny, not reliant on the largess of a third party.
Bubbles of excitement frothed in Tiffany’s blood like a shaken bottle of champagne as a hope took flight in her chest. It was perfect.
Damn Theo Callisthenes to hell.
Breathing in slowly, she looked him in the eye. ‘And you really think we can pull this off? That Dimitri will actually believe it?’
Theo smiled. He knew capitulation when he saw it. To his credit, he didn’t gloat, he just got on with business. ‘Oh, he’ll believe it.’
‘Why? Because you’re that convincing?’ Which was an idiot question. He’d convinced her to go through with it, hadn’t he?
‘No.’ Another smile tugged at his beautiful mouth. ‘ We’re that convincing. Because we have chemistry. Every time I look at you I want to touch you. I want to drag you close and kiss you until neither of us can breathe.’
His voice had turned to gravel, so low and rough it was almost a physical caress, and his fingers curled around the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening like he was in imminent danger of following through and he was barely keeping himself in check.
A pulse beat slow and thick through her ears and between her legs.
‘I want to drag you to my suite, lay you on my bed, strip you naked, push your legs as wide apart as they’ll go and feast on your pussy until you beg me to stop because I haven’t been able to get the taste of you off my tongue or out of my brain for months.’
Tiffany’s clit contracted so hard at that visual it caused her breath to hitch, which was loud in the silence of the wheelhouse.
Theo had put her right back in the middle of the night he’d proved to her just how well a Greek billionaire could give head.
And he’d made her slick and achy in the process.
‘And I know you feel this crazy chemistry, too.’
Tiffany swallowed hard. Because she did. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded how good it had felt to have him inside her, big and thick, rammed to the hilt, puffing filthy Greek words into her neck.
Her expression must have told him all he needed to know because he just nodded and said, ‘That’s what Dimitri and his wife will see. They won’t need any convincing.’
Swallowing, Tiffany nodded. With her throat suddenly dry as the Sahara, she didn’t trust her voice for a beat or two. ‘And what do we tell them?’ she continued huskily. ‘About us? They’ll have questions.’
‘Keep things as close to the truth as possible. We met at the wedding. You’re Kelsey’s best friend and have worked on several ōceanós boats for the last eight years. You’ve been a guest on the yacht but things have turned serious and I just popped the question last night.’
She looked at him doubtfully. ‘What if we contradict each other?’
‘It’ll be fine,’ he assured. ‘Just follow my lead.’
Tiffany wished she could be as confident as Theo. But she wasn’t. She was going to have to be though, because Theo was offering Mikey his first big break and she had no doubt that her brother would meet the challenge and exceed it; she just had to play her part.
And if that meant she had to smile and laugh and make goo-goo eyes at Theo, then that was what she’d do.
‘Here.’ He reached into his back pocket, pulled out a slim wallet and handed over a black AMEX card. ‘Go out and buy yourself some suitable clothes for the next few days.’
Tiffany’s hand trembled as she took it, not quite believing how fast this was all happening or the fact she was about to live out some Pretty Woman fantasy.
She opened her mouth to object but shut it again.
She supposed Theo would want her to look the part, and it wouldn’t be any hardship to go and buy a bunch of beautiful things on Theo’s dime all in the name of helping her brother.
‘They arrive at five,’ he said as her fingers closed around the slim plastic card.
Tiffany nodded absently, a part of her still trying to comprehend the surreal turn of events.
One thing was for sure – she wouldn’t be telling Kelsey about this one…
* * *
Any concerns Theo had that Tiffany would be able to pull this off were immediately allayed as she stepped out onto the main deck two minutes after Dimitri and Helena Kouris came on board.
She’d been away until after two, returning to the ship with several bags from exclusive boutiques.
He’d told her that the crew had been informed of the situation and her bag was in his suite, and she could get ready in there.
And then he’d presented her with an oval, two-carat opal and diamond ring and she’d visibly paled.
He’d thought she’d appreciate the Australian touch, but it wasn’t until he’d assured her it was a loaner that she actually put it on her finger.
But here she was greeting his guests with all the aplomb and graciousness of royalty in a silky kaftan-style dress. It had a deep V at the cleavage and whorls of blue as fascinating as the Aegean as the fabric flowed against her body like water.
Dimitri, in long trousers and a white button-down shirt featuring panels of traditional Greek geometric embroidery, looked to Theo for context. His steely grey hair was perfectly coifed as he switched effortlessly from Greek to English, his accent heavier than Theo’s.
‘To what do we owe the pleasure?’
He may have been charmed by Tiffany’s bright smile, the quick offering of her hand and her own introduction, but the eyes he turned on Theo showed his displeasure. Dimitri was clearly miffed at having to share Theo and having his attention divided.
‘I asked Tiffany to marry me last night,’ he said, sliding an arm around her waist. He felt a small flinch before she relaxed and he snugged her close. ‘To my eternal relief’ – huge fucking relief – ‘she said yes.’
To say Dimitri was blindsided was an understatement.
He looked like a landed fish, mouth open, gawping at the two of them.
Helena, looking elegant as ever in a linen pantsuit, recovered first. ‘Theo Callisthenes, you kept this one quiet,’ she murmured with teasing accusation as she hugged him, her multitude of thin bangles tinkling at his back.
‘It’s been a whirlwind,’ he said.
She turned to Tiffany and gave her a quick fierce hug. ‘Congratulations, my dear. You have your hands full with this one.’