Jacqueline Baird - Mediterranean Tycoons

‘To my darling wife.’ Alex held her gaze for a few heart-stopping seconds, his eyes darkening sensually with muted desire. She knew he was doing it deliberately, but she still had to fight to control the sudden upsurge in her pulse rate, and hastily took a deep drink of the wine and looked away.

Surprisingly, Leo Solomos turned out to be a witty, convivial host. He asked Lisa about her work and family, and congratulated her on her business acumen. The food was cooked to perfection and Lisa slowly began to relax. In fact she discovered she quite enjoyed the company. Though when Leo tried to fill her glass for the fourth time, she refused.

Three bottles of champagne were consumed, and Lisa couldn’t help thinking that for a woman who was so bothered about her appearance, Fiona could certainly down her drink. The only time the conversation flagged was when Fiona spoke. She seemed to have a perfect memory for every modelling assignment she had ever been on, and complete recall of every gown she’d worn. Thankfully, Leo had the happy knack of distracting her by placing a finger on her lips or with a kiss.

Alex on the other hand, played the part of the perfect husband, with reassuring smiles for Lisa or a quick aside to enquire if she was okay. By the time dessert arrived Lisa was happy to concede that Leo was a charming man. His only fault appeared to be his penchant for young women.

She had just stopped laughing at Leo’s tall tale about a donkey that snored, on the island of Kos, and was about to resume eating her fruit salad, when a disturbing realisation hit her like a blow to the stomach. She replaced her spoon in the dish and pushed it away; she could not eat another thing.

‘What is the matter?’ Alex demanded, turning slightly in his seat, his dark head angled towards her. ‘The fruit is not to your liking?’ His thoughtful gaze searched her suddenly pale face, and she realised her husband was a very astute man; he saw far too much.

She forced a smile to her lips. ‘No, it’s fine, but, really, I’ve had enough.’ More than enough, she thought with a heavy heart. It had suddenly occurred to her the friendly smiling Leo opposite was not just Alex’s father, he was also his business partner. If Alex was trying to take over her company, then obviously his father was aware of the situation. The older man’s good humour and friendly interest about Lisa’s work were as false as the marriage vows he kept repeating…

‘Are you sure?’ Alex insisted, placing a finger under her chin and turning her head to face him. She was unaware of the pain shadowing her blue eyes, but it was apparent to Alex. ‘You’re tired and not quite yourself; I forgot,’ he murmured huskily, as he smoothed his finger down her throat. Her pulse leapt at his touch and he noted the fact with a slight twist to his sensual mouth.

‘We can leave now, if you like,’ he prompted softly. ‘An early night would suit both of us.’

‘No, no I’m fine.’ Lisa confirmed, forcing a smile.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived at that moment, and Leo demanded quite loudly, ‘We will have coffee in the lounge. I don’t enjoy a meal without a good cigar afterwards.’

Seated next to Alex on a low leather sofa, his arm casually placed around her shoulders, his fingers on her flesh playing havoc with her nervous system, Lisa chewed on her bottom lip, torn between wanting the evening to end and anxiety about being alone with Alex again. When the waiter deposited the coffee tray on the low table in front of them Lisa leant forward, displacing Alex’s arm, and took a cup of coffee from the tray before the waiter had a chance to hand it to her. Lounging on the sofa to the left of her was Leo, a huge cigar clamped between his teeth, and the stomach-curling smell as he blew smoke out was making her feel sick. At least that was what she told herself as she quickly drained her coffee cup and leapt to her feet, excusing her departure with the need to visit the rest room.

In the cool confines of the marble-walled room, she heaved a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived, as Fiona walked in. With a brief smile at the other woman, Lisa opened her purse and withdrew a lipgloss. She eyed her reflection in the mirror; there was nothing in her expression, she thought gratefully, that revealed the fraught state of her emotions. The social mask was still in place, and carefully she outlined her full mouth with the rose gloss.

‘Funny to think after this weekend I will be your stepmother-in-law,’ Fiona remarked, standing beside Lisa at the mirror, primping her dark hair. Her brown eyes clashed with Lisa’s in the mirror. ‘And I’m only a year or so older than you.’

More like ten, Lisa thought, but didn’t say so. ‘Yes, well, I don’t suppose you’ll want me to call you Mum.’ She responded with a tinge of sarcasm. She found it very hard to believe Fiona was marrying Leo for any other reason but money.

‘Good God! No! But there’s no reason why we can’t be friends, you and I, after all, we have a lot in common,’ Fiona said with a smug grin. ‘The way you hooked Alex was absolutely brilliant.’

‘The way I hooked Alex?’ Lisa prompted, her blue eyes puzzled. She had not ‘hooked Alex’; it had been the other way round.

Oblivious to Lisa’s surprise, Fiona carried on, ‘So quickly. I couldn’t have done better myself. Well, I didn’t, did I?’ She grimaced. ‘But I’ve got Leo. Though I don’t mind admitting when I met the pair of them in March, at Leo’s sixtieth birthday in Nice, I had every intention of going after Alex. It was obvious to me—feminine intuition, if you like—that he was fast losing interest in that Margot creature. He was distinctly cool towards her. No, if I hadn’t had to go to the Caribbean on a modelling assignment, I would have given you a run for your money over Alex. Still, Leo’s not too bad—and, let’s face it, they’re both as rich as Croesus.’

‘But surely you must love Leo,’ Lisa prompted. To think a woman was marrying for money was one thing; to be told she was seemed quite extraordinary to Lisa.

‘Oh, I do. I love his money, and he’s not a bad old stick.’ With a last casual flick at her hair she turned to leave. ‘Come on, we’d better get back. You can’t leave a couple of wealthy men like those two on their own for too long, there are a lot of predatory women out there.’

Lisa chuckled; she couldn’t help herself. Anyone more predatory than Fiona would be hard to find. She followed the other woman back to the lounge and her blue-eyed gaze instinctively settled on Alex.

He was the epitome of male sophistication, lounging back on the deep leather sofa, his long legs stretched out before him in casual ease. The man was sinfully attractive. A tiny shiver of excitement quivered deep inside. And, as she knew only too well, he was a deeply passionate and wickedly sensual lover. Fiona was wrong about the pulling power of the Solomos wealth, she thought, a wry smile curving her mouth as Alex stood up at her approach. He could be a pauper and he would still have women falling at his feet.

‘You’re smiling; you must be feeling better.’ Dark eyes scrutinised her slightly flushed face. ‘But I think it is time we left.’ He lifted a large tanned hand and let his fingertip trace the purple shadows under her eyes in a fleeting gesture that made her whole body tense. ‘Okay?’

Lisa looked up into his eyes, the smile fading from her face. It wasn’t okay, but she really had no alternative. ‘Yes,’ she agreed, and managed not to flinch when his dark head lowered and he pressed the lightest of kisses on her soft lips.

After reiterating their congratulations on Leo’s forthcoming nuptials, they said goodnight and left.

Lisa stepped outside into the mild night air, and took a deep breath to clear her head and to steady her wildly fluctuating emotions. She loved Alex; he only had to look at her and she ached for him. To deny him was to deny herself the wonder of his lovemaking, the pleasure she found in his arms. Yet she no longer trusted him.