Chapter Four #2
‘If I’m honest with you? How dare you! I’ve been nothing but honest, yet you have the hide to stand there and accuse me of—’
‘Calm down.’
When their short-lived marriage fell apart she’d tried so hard to contact him.
She’d needed to explain, make him understand after he’d listened to lies about her.
She didn’t know exactly what her horrible half-brother had told Panos, just that he’d somehow made contact—looking to turn a profit if she knew Charlie—and as a result Panos had called her a faithless gold-digger and cut her from his life.
Panos had been too smugly self-opinionated to listen and she’d craved a chance to tell him face-to-face all the ways he’d let her down. Now, standing toe-to-toe, he still tried to shut her down.
‘Your interpersonal skills haven’t improved, Panos. Telling anyone who’s justifiably angry to calm down, is only pouring fuel on the flames.’
His expression changed, his brown eyes gleamed darker than before, almost black, and a hint of a knowing smile played around his mouth.
‘You always were volatile, weren’t you, Dido?’
His knowing tone made her toes curl and heat scorched.
In every other part of her life she was calm and patient.
No one had been more surprised than she at the rampant flame of sexuality that burst into being when she met Panos.
Her physical responses to him had been so intense they’d almost frightened her.
He’d revelled in them, making his own carnal demands that she was only too happy to meet.
For a short time she’d delighted in how mutual their passion was.
At the time it had seemed proof of a perfect match.
Now she knew sexual compatibility had blinded her to his many faults.
‘Okay then, talk.’
‘Not here, in public.’
She looked around. Apart from a cyclist and a man walking a dog on the other side of the street, it was empty. ‘There’s hardly a crowd here.’
Besides, she didn’t want to be cooped up inside with him. Walls tended to close around her when he was near. He took up all her oxygen and though she hated to admit it, being too near him made her aware of his masculine charisma rather than his dreadful character.
He tilted his head as if reading her reluctance for what it was, nerves. Dido stared back, refusing to be intimidated. Let him think what he liked. That was his specialty, after all. She just wanted him gone.
‘No, there’s not a crowd. But it only takes one, doesn’t it?’
He nodded past her shoulder and she swung around to see the lace curtain of her neighbour’s front window falling into place as if suddenly dropped. The window was open too.
Her neighbour worked from home and took enormous interest in everything that happened in the street. She suspected he spent more time watching and listening to the locals than working. Worse was his habit of sharing gossip, so whatever happened out here would quickly be common knowledge.
That wasn’t an option.
Dido bit her lip, calculating how long she had and whether she could risk having Panos in her home. After the way he’d treated her three years ago, she’d vowed to exclude him from her life. He could do too much damage.
Not that any effort had been required. He’d shunned her, cutting her adrift with insulting alacrity.
She glanced at her watch. If they kept this short it would be okay.
‘Five minutes only,’ she said as she walked past him and down the steps to her front door.
With the key in the lock she had a momentary qualm about the state of the place. Panos Diamandis might have inherited his fortune but he was a successful businessman with a keen eye for detail. The last thing she needed was for him to poke and pry into things she considered private.
Opening the door, she led the way into the front room, quickening her pace to scoop a couple of items off the small lounge and stuff them into a box beside the desk where she worked. A quick scan told her the room would pass muster.
The front door clicked shut and he entered her space, too tall and vital for the cramped room. She saw his gaze travel around the space, taking inventory.
She put her bag on her desk and folded her arms. ‘Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You really are eager to get rid of me, aren’t you?’
‘Absolutely. I don’t want you here. Say what you must then go.’
For a long moment he regarded her silently and she wondered what he saw. Hopefully just implacable hostility, not nerves. If he sensed she had something to lose by him staying, he’d deliberately take his time. She couldn’t afford that.
‘You claimed you genuinely believed our wedding was legal. In that case, why didn’t you confront me earlier about ending the marriage?’
She huffed out a sigh. ‘It is legal. I told you that.’
They’d married on the spur of the moment but the idea for the beach wedding had come from seeing a similar ceremony performed by a local elder.
Dido and Panos had met on a small Pacific island. She’d been enjoying a couple of days’ free accommodation after organising a conference there, while he’d stayed in a private house at the far end of the beach.
Their affair had been remarkable for she wasn’t in the habit of being swept off her feet by handsome men. But with Panos everything had felt devastatingly simple and different.
Her mouth twisted. It had been different all right. A complete disaster.
But given her meticulous attention to detail, she’d investigated and found the ceremony was legally binding.
‘What does it matter? You don’t believe me.’
‘It matters because if you genuinely thought we were married, you’d have sought a divorce.’ That dark gaze bored into hers, trying to pry her secrets lose. ‘If you dislike me as much as you say, why stay tied to me?’
Dido couldn’t prevent the husky laugh that escaped her throat. ‘If I dislike you? You think there’s any doubt?’
But her laugh hid a stab of panic. She’d known he was astute but she’d hoped his dislike would stop him asking questions she didn’t want to answer. A thread of disquiet wrapped around her chest, tightening.
He looked at her, unblinking, and she had the unnerving sensation he saw the feelings she tried to conceal. ‘There was a moment in your suite in Tahiti when you were tempted to kiss me.’
‘You’re deluding yourself, Kyrie Diamandis,’ she said before he’d even stopped talking. ‘I have absolutely no desire to kiss you.’
Not after he’d dumped her so cruelly and later destroyed her career. As for her feelings that day in Tahiti…they were better forgotten.
Her words had no impact. It was like talking to a bronze statue.
But you learnt years ago that he never genuinely felt anything for you. For him the marriage was convenient, nothing more.
She had learned that lesson. So why did it still hurt? She’d moved on, put him behind her.
Except as soon as he strode back into her world, Dido discovered hatred didn’t necessarily squash attraction.
She clasped her hands before her and focused on the need to speed him on his way. ‘You wouldn’t talk to me, remember? You made up your mind about me and refused me the chance to explain. Then you threatened me with legal action if I tried to approach you.’
Slowly he shook his head. ‘Obviously if it was a letter from your lawyer to start divorce proceedings, I’d have been happy to proceed. If the marriage were valid.’
Dido swallowed, her throat dry. He wasn’t going to let this go. She had an excellent reason for avoiding him, but it wasn’t something she’d admit.
She’d do anything to protect her secret from this proud, pitiless man.
‘I can’t see that it matters. I didn’t want anything to do with you. I had no plans to see you again, or marry, ever, so I didn’t need a divorce.’
One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘Never? After all that talk about wanting a family?’ That searing stare turned needle-sharp. ‘So that was a complete lie too?’
Dido felt her skin heat and looked away, preferring not to meet his eyes. ‘I never lied to you.’
His inimical silence said he didn’t believe her.
They’d been virtual strangers when they decided to marry, fuelled by their passionate liaison and the discovery that they wanted similar things.
Both she and Panos had lost their families too early. From discovering that, it was a short step to learning they both craved family, and most specifically children. Both yearned for a sense of belonging, to be part of a family.
Dido had been stunned when he’d suggested marriage as a pragmatic way to get what they both wanted.
Foolishly, besotted with the charming stranger who’d brought only warmth and delight into her world, she’d acted rashly.
For she hadn’t been able to imagine ever meeting a man more simpatico or more attractive.
Her parents had fallen in love quickly, knowing from the first that they were meant for each other. While she knew Panos didn’t love her, she was more than halfway to loving him and full of ridiculous optimism.
She’d known he was well off but had no idea he was a billionaire.
On learning his surname she’d said she’d heard the name Diamandis, in relation to the family whose shipping empire had rivalled that of Aristotle Onassis.
Panos had shrugged then said he did own a boat, smiling as if inviting amusement at the coincidence of the name.
So she’d been stunned when, after the wedding, they’d boarded his private plane for Athens.
It was only then that he’d explained he was the sole surviving member of that Diamandis family, and CEO of a vast commercial empire.
Before that she’d thought little of the prenuptial agreement they’d signed. It had been simple and unequivocal. In the event of divorce each would take only the assets they’d brought into the marriage or earned since. That had seemed reasonable.
Dido remembered her shock on the flight when he’d told her of his wealth.