Kate Hewitt - Greek Mavericks - The Greek's Unforgettable Secret

‘Eat—drink—dance—make love!’ Iannis exclaimed helpfully, with a wide smile. ‘That’s all that’s allowed tonight.’

So long as they weren’t all compulsory, Lizzie thought, while Damon’s wicked smile reached his eyes and stayed there.

‘Oh, and there are some gifts waiting for you on the bed upstairs,’ Iannis added.

‘Gifts for me?’ Lizzie glanced at Damon.

‘They’re nothing to do with me,’ he said.

So gifts from whom? Lizzie wondered.

‘I’ll see you downstairs as soon as you’ve had chance to freshen up,’ Damon called after her as she left the kitchen.

She turned at the door. ‘I’m not sure I’ll be coming down again.’

‘Of course you will.’

He said this in a way that made her run up the stairs as if the hounds of hell were after her.

Closing the door on her apartment, she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep, steadying breath. Damon only had to look at her for lust to surge through her veins, and that was dangerous. She was a very different person now from the girl she’d been at eighteen. She had far more sense, Lizzie told herself firmly as she switched on the light and looked around.

The first thing she saw were the ‘gifts’ laid out on the bed. She knew immediately who they were from, and rushed across the room to pick the dresses up and hold them to her face. Then she reached for her phone.

‘Sundresses for the old lady!’ she said, laughing happily as Thea came on the line.

Thea giggled. ‘Do you like them?’

‘I love them—but you shouldn’t be spending your money on me.’

‘I bought them at the market on our first day here. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to buy them for you. I fell in love with the sunny yellow one right away, and the blue’s so pretty.’

‘I love them both,’ Lizzie admitted. She would never have wasted her scant funds on buying anything so frivolous for herself.

‘Do they fit?’ Thea demanded.

‘They’re perfect.’ Hugging the dresses close, she battled to contain her emotions.

‘Be sure to wear one of them for the concert.’

‘I will,’ Lizzie promised. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t wait to hear you play.’

‘Playing the violin isn’t everything,’ Thea informed Lizzie, stalling her thoughts in a way that had never happened before.

‘What do you mean?’ Lizzie asked, wondering if she’d said or done something to discourage Thea.

‘Just that. Love’s far more important than anything else,’ Thea explained loftily. ‘Love is all I care about now. I’m in a romantic phase.’

‘I see…’ Lizzie said faintly.

She didn’t see at all. Instead she wondered if she’d ruined two people’s lives now.

She had to stop this, Lizzie accepted. She was always feeling guilty about something, and she had done so since her father’s trial. As soon as she had discovered how many innocent people he’d harmed, and thought about the many expensive gifts he’d bought for her over the years, she had been plagued with guilt until it had become part of her psyche.

‘Gotta go,’ Thea said, startling Lizzie back into the moment. ‘I’ll send you a text!’

‘Bye, sweetheart…’

She was the luckiest woman on earth, Lizzie thought, smiling as she stared at the small screen filled with kisses. She was so lucky to have Thea in her life, and she would never take that joy for granted.

The joy in which Damon should be sharing?

GUILT HAD SNUFFED out Lizzie’s happiness. She hated deception above all things. It was too strong a reminder of her father’s betrayal. But the rules still applied. She had to tell Thea before Damon. And she couldn’t just blurt it out down the phone. Thea had to be warned first…prepared. It would have to be done with the utmost sensitivity, and it was hard to find enough time to do that with a child who was always rehearsing.

Clinging to practicalities—as she always did when she couldn’t see her way ahead clearly—Lizzie explored her small apartment. It was such a luxury to have all this space after the confines of her tiny bedsit back in London. The walls were simply whitewashed, and the floor was polished wood. There was a small kitchen at one end, with a fridge thoughtfully stocked with essentials, and a balcony where she could eat breakfast overlooking the sea. The bed looked big and felt comfy, and it had a lovely sky-blue throw at the foot that matched the rug on the floor… All the colours of Greece.

So, had she finished procrastinating? Was she going to freshen up now and go downstairs to see Damon?

Of course she was. Soon…

She spotted a local bus timetable amongst some magazines. She’d need those times for when she went to the school tomorrow to hear Thea play…

Glancing at her watch, she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. So, heading to the bathroom, she stripped off and took a shower. Turning her face up to the refreshing spray, she hugged herself and thought of Damon… Damon holding her… Damon kissing her… Damon making love to her—

She had to forget about it!

Forget Damon making love to her when he was in the same building, downstairs?

And another thing—if she didn’t tell him about Thea soon he’d find out for himself.

Thea first and then Damon.

It seemed a long time ago since she’d discovered she was pregnant with Thea, and now every second seemed to be flying past, Lizzie thought as she towelled down.

On an impulse, she chose to wear one of the sundresses Thea had bought. She smiled when she put it on and felt better immediately. There was a lot of truth behind Thea’s statement. Love was all that mattered. Sometimes Lizzie wished she could see life as clearly as a child. One thing was certain. She had to right this wrong.

Putting it off over the years had a lot to do with the heartache she’d felt when her father had rejected her. Add to that her fear of losing Thea, and Lizzie would be the first to admit that she was just plain scared. She had always met problems head-on before, but the problems had never carried such a risk before.

Where was she? He shot another impatient look towards the stairs. His work was done. The second shift of people in his team had just arrived to take over the work in the kitchen. He was determined that Iannis and his staff would have a wonderful evening to thank them for all the work to come. He and his team had made sure of it. There was no reason for him to stick around.

No reason except Lizzie.

‘Leaving so soon?’

His stare flashed up. Lizzie’s comment had surprised him. She was calling to him from the top of the stairs.

He rested his fist on the wall. ‘And if I am…?’

She shrugged. Her face was in shadow, so he couldn’t see her expression. ‘If you want to go—go. I won’t hold you to your promise’

As she came slowly down the stairs her wildflower scent assaulted his senses. Her hair was still a little damp, and was hanging in tight curls, and her face was make-up-free. She was wearing a pretty sundress that exposed her pale, fragile skin and clung lovingly to the outline of her breasts. She had teamed this with simple sandals.

The punch to his senses was extraordinary. She eclipsed all the society beauties he’d dated put together. His body responded accordingly, and it took all his willpower to rein it in.

He’d wasted a lot of time dating women who made no demands on him and barely scratched the surface of his interest. Lizzie was different. She’d always been different. She was the one woman who intrigued him, who made him want to know more.