‘So it is you,’ he stated, his chin kicking up a notch.
She swallowed hard. In the eight-plus years since she’d seen Nick she’d often imagined what their first words would be and how he would say them if ever they met again. Not once had she imagined Nick would coldly and dispassionately come out with something like, ‘So it is you.’
‘Who were you expecting?’ she said, finally convincing her muscles there was no way out of it but to push open the door and enter the lobby. ‘Kylie Minogue?’
She winced inwardly at the harshness of her words. Damn, but how were you supposed to think in situations like this?
‘Alex?’ Sofia turned from one to the other, confusion apparent on her face. ‘I want to introduce you to my cousin, Nick Santos, who arrived yesterday. But…am I missing something here?’
She couldn’t talk. Her throat too tight, her mouth ashen. And all the while Nick just kept on watching her intently, until she felt pinned down in the accusing gaze of his bottomless dark eyes. He had a score to settle with her; that much his hard-edged glare made clear. Aside from that, he was obviously as unimpressed at seeing her as she was stunned at seeing him.
It was Nick who finally broke the impasse.
‘Alexandra and I have met before. Haven’t we?’
Under his continuing scrutiny the laptop in her hand suddenly felt unbearably heavy, threatening to slip from her damp palm. She screwed her fingers tighter around the handle till her fingernails dug painfully but reassuringly into her skin. That was her laptop taken care of. Now she just had to focus on making sure her knees held up.
‘I guess so,’ she managed at last. ‘At least I’m pretty sure we have. It was such a long time ago.’
A muscle twitched in Nick’s cheek.
‘Am I so hard to remember?’
Not as hard as you are to forget. The thought sprang from nowhere and, as much as Alex hated the truth of it, it was undeniable. Long nights alone, remembering their shared time back on Crete and wishing things could have turned out differently, were testament to that.
He hadn’t forgotten either. But the way he looked at her now told her he was remembering different things—like the way she’d turned her back on him. The way she’d left him cold.
She took a deep breath, but Sofia was too impatient to wait for her response in a conversation that was obviously far too personal for her liking.
‘Spill the beans, you two. So how do you know each other?’
Nick’s eyes bored into Alex. The cold heat of them was like a kick in the gut.
‘How about it? Or are you having trouble remembering that too?’
She raised her chin a fraction and shifted her gaze to Sofia. Her brain was still in shock at seeing Nick after all this time, and it was much easier trying to think while she wasn’t looking directly at him. Where the damning questions in his eyes couldn’t reach her.
And she had to think. Had to calm down. Sofia was still raw from the shocking death of her father. Even under the mask of her professionally applied makeup the shadows and puffiness around her eyes were all too evident. Sofia certainly didn’t need Alex’s baggage on top of her own.
‘Crete. About—’ She stopped and licked her lips. No need to be too specific. ‘Some years ago. I was on holiday with my family. Nick was working in his university break on an archaeological dig. We met at the palace of Minos.’
‘Cool,’ said Sofia, although Alex noted the word she’d used mirrored her tone. Sofia was obviously less than impressed. ‘So, did you know he was related to Aristos?’
‘No, I had no ide—’
A cold ooze of dread rolled over her. God, no! Not that relative of Aristos? Not the one who was taking over the company?
‘Way cool! Then I hardly have to introduce you to each other. That’s going to make it easier, with you guys working together.’
Alex couldn’t think of anything less cool as her world tilted and spun. When the direct line in her office rang, it was all she could do not to run and answer it.
‘Excuse me,’ she said instead, adding, ‘I’m expecting this call. We’ll have to catch up later.’ Then she moved as quickly as she could while desperately trying to keep her balance on a planet that was shifting further off axis with every step.
She shut the door, plonked her laptop on the desk and somehow dealt with the phone call while all the time her brain was registering only two words. Nick—here!
One hour later, Alex was still staring at the walls, the screensaver on her laptop the only sign of life in the room. How long she could stay secreted away in her office, she didn’t know—but she’d do whatever it took to have as little to do with Nick Santos as possible, and until she had some sort of plan she didn’t want to go anywhere near him.
It was weird, seeing him after so many years. Strange how they’d both thought themselves so grown up back then. He had seemed so strong and so much a man. At twenty-one he’d been more worldly and experienced than her. Yet now she could see how young they’d been. For it was obvious that the boy had become a man.
He looked every part the professional businessman. Gone was the long fringe that he’d used to flick out of his eyes with the toss of his head, replaced by a short, slick style. His dark features, even back then resonant with hidden depths, now seemed to sit more comfortably in a more mature face. Even his shoulders seemed broader.
He was a different person, clearly, from that boy she’d met so long ago.
Well, she’d changed too.
She was older, wiser, a mother.
The mother of his son!
Something like a garbled cry escaped from her lips.
Jason!
How in heaven’s name was she going to prevent him from finding out about Jason?
CHAPTER THREE
A BRIEF knock on her door made her look up, only to find Nick filling the space where the door had been.
She swallowed.
‘What do you want?’
Nick took a step into her office, eyebrows raised.
‘Is that any way to greet an old friend? It’s not as if we’re strangers after all.’
‘It was a long time ago. You almost feel like a stranger.’
He hesitated. Tilted his head to one side.
‘You have no idea how I feel, Alexandra.’
His words, and the flat way in which he delivered them, made her swallow. But that was nothing to how she felt when he moved closer to the desk. Panic pooled in her every cell.
Then he suddenly turned. For just a second Alex felt relief, but only for a second. She heard Nick mutter, ‘Just wait—I’ll be with you soon,’ before closing the door. Alex caught a flash of black as Sofia, looking indignant, rushed by, then it swung shut and Nick wheeled and moved back across the office until he was standing just across the desk from her.
And then he was looking down at her—dark, threatening