His Forbidden Bride (10 page)

cutlery.

She began, 'Excuse me…' but he was off, weaving his way among the

tables to return a moment later with an ice bucket and a bottle of white wine.

This time, Zoe pushed back her chair with determination. 'I'm sorry,' she

said 'There's obviously been some mistake.'

'No,' Andreas said. 'No mistake at all.' And he slid almost casually into the

chair opposite and smiled at her. 'I hope you are hungry. Kostas has lobster

for us.'

She sat, frozen in fury, staring at him, while the waiter fil ed their glasses. As soon as he'd departed, she leaned forward. 'Let's get one thing straight,' she

said in an icy undertone. 'There is no "us".'

'No?' His brows lifted mockingly. 'Yet al it takes is for two people to be

together—and we are certainly that.'

'And just how did this togetherness come about?' Zoe demanded. 'How did

you know where I was planning to eat? Or did you book tables in every

taverna in town?'

He shrugged. 'Sooner or later, everyone comes to eat at Kostas' taverna. I

thought you would like it here, and took a chance.'

'Wel , it hasn't paid off,' she flung at him. 'I'm going.'

'You don't like lobster?'

'This has nothing to do with food.' She rose. 'I don't like being

second-guessed and manipulated. Particularly when I'd made it clear I was

lunching alone.'

He said meditatively, 'That word "alone" again.' He paused. Tel me,
pedhi
mou
, do you know what "Zoe" means in Greek?'

'No,' she denied curtly.

The dark eyes met hers, held them. 'It means life,' he said. 'So—how can

you be so afraid to live?'

Colour rushed into her face. 'That's a vile thing to say. And total y untrue.'

The dark eyes raked her harshly. 'Then why do you reject friendship when it

is offered?'

'Friendship?' she asked bitterly. 'Is that what your col eagues had in mind

just now?'

'You believe that I am like them?' His tone was incredulous.

She looked down at the table. 'How do I know?' Her voice was muffled. 'How

can I possibly tel ? We only met yesterday. We're barely acquaintances.'

'That is something I am trying to change,' he said. 'But not with any great

success. Sit down, Zoe
mou
, and I wil tel you anything you wish to know.'

'Besides,' he added gently as she hesitated, 'Kostas wil be sad if we waste

his wonderful lobster.'

Mutinously, Zoe resumed her seat 'I don't know why I'm doing this,' she

muttered.

'Because you're hungry,' Andreas said promptly. 'Also thirsty.' He lifted his

glass. 'To your eyes,
agapi mou
.'

Startled by the intimacy of the toast, and conscious that she was blushing,

Zoe reluctantly touched her glass to his. 'Cheers,' she said awkwardly.

The waiter reappeared with dishes of houmous and tzatziki, a bowl of black

olives and a platter of mixed salad.

'You like Greek food?' Andreas proffered the bread.

'Everything I've had so far has been wonderful.'

'That is just as wel ,' he said drily. 'On Thania, you wil find little else. No fast food or English pubs,' he added with a touch of grimness.

'Aren't they a fact of life in holiday resorts?'

'On other islands, perhaps.' He sounded quietly certain. 'But not here. We

do not wish to go down that road. Thania belongs to its islanders. They fish,

and grow their olives and make their wine, and are content with that.'

'And sometimes they garden for rich men,' Zoe said. She tore off a piece of

bread and dipped it into the tzatziki. 'Wil that make you happy for the rest of

your life?'

'Probably not,' he said. 'But gardening is only part of my duties, as I told you,

Zoe
mou
.' He smiled at her. 'And I enjoy variety.'

'I bet,' Zoe said under her breath.

His smile widened into a grin, leaving her with the uncomfortable feeling that

he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'And what of you,
pedhi mou
? Do

you plan to teach English for ever?'

She shrugged a touch defensively. 'Probably.'

He said softly, 'But what a waste. You are not tempted to marry—have

children of your own?'

She was assailed by a sudden memory of George doggedly proposing to

her in the wine bar, and bit down a giggle.

She met his gaze squarely. 'Not in the slightest. I have a very fulfil ing

career.'

His brows lifted. 'So, it also keeps you warm in bed at night?'

She flushed again. 'I don't think that's any of your damned business. And I

thought the point of this lunch was for me to find out about
you
.'

'Ask what you want,' he said. 'I am ready to answer.'

'Wel , your second name might be a start.' She tried to sound casual, not

easy when her nerves seemed to be stretched on wires.

Oh, what's the matter with me? she wondered savagely. Any other single girl

on holiday would relish being chatted up by someone with half his attraction

and sheer charisma. And any of my students would make a better fist of

responding than I'm doing. Why can't I just—go with the flow?

'My second name is Stephanos,' he said. 'Andreas Stephanos.' He paused.

'What next, Zoe
mou
? My age— weight—height?'

She bit her lip. 'I hardly think that's necessary.'

Besides, she thought, she already knew what there was to know in that

area. Every quivering sense she possessed had made sure of that. He had

to be in his early thirties, at least six foot, if not more, and she would bet

good money that he wasn't carrying a surplus pound.

'Then what else?' He leaned back in his chair, watching her with

amusement. 'My star sign—my income?'

She shrugged again. 'For the first, I'd say Scorpio. The second doesn't

concern me.'

He sent her an ironic look. 'Then you must be a very unusual woman.'

'I think so.' She paused. 'Was I right about your birthday?'

His mouth twisted wryly. 'As it happens—yes.' He poured some more wine

into her glass. 'So, why don't you ask another question?'

'Because I can't think of one,' she said baldly.

'No? You don't want to know if I'm married?'

She helped herself to more houmous while she considered how to reply. At

last she said, 'I'm not sure I should get a truthful answer.'

'What point would there be in lying?' Andreas asked flatly. 'On an island this

size, someone would soon tel you if I had a wife.' He grimaced. 'Probably

the wife herself— using her fingernails.' He was silent for a moment 'And

what of yourself, Zoe
mou
. You wear no ring, but that means little in this present world. Is there a man longing for your return? Unable to sleep

because you are not in his arms?'

'Oh, there's a whole string of them,' she told him airily. 'I'm the original party girl. Never a dull moment with me around.'

'Now that I can believe,' he said, drily. 'But not the rest.'

She drew a pattern on the tablecloth with the tip of her finger. 'I haven't had

much time for relationships lately. My mother became very ill, you see, and I

went to live with her.'

'I am sorry.' He hesitated. 'She's better now, I hope?'

Zoe went on looking down at the tablecloth, tracing meaningless circles.

She gave a silent and desolate shake of her head.

'Ah
pedhi mou
,' he said, and his voice was gentle. 'Then that is something we share—the loss of our mothers.'

'Oh.' She glanced up quickly, meeting his gaze. 'I—I'm sorry. Did it happen

recently?'

'Ten years ago. And she had been in poor health for a very long time before

that.' He paused. 'But when it happens, it is still no easy thing,
ne
?'

'Not easy at all.' She gave a small sigh. 'Do you stil have your father?'

'Yes.' His mouth curved faintly. 'Very much so.' He gave her a searching

look. 'But not you, I think.'

'No,' she said in a stifled tone. 'So now I have to make another life for

myself. And this holiday is just its beginning.'

He put a hand over hers, stilling the restless movement. 'Is this why you

wish to be alone?' he asked quietly. 'Because you think that if you shut

everyone out of this new life of yours, then you wil suffer no more pain?' He

shook his head. 'It does not work like that, I promise you. Sooner or later,

someone wil come into your world, and whether they bring heaven or hel ,

you will not be able to deny yourself.'

She looked down at the long brown fingers covering hers. And felt her whole

body clench in sudden yearning.

Hastily, she withdrew her hand, making a business of taking more bread,

fil ing her plate with salad and olives.

She said lightly, 'You make it sound rather frightening— and I've had

enough scares for one day.'

'Wel , they are over now,' he said. 'And no one else on Thania will make you

afraid. I guarantee that.'

Zoe gave him a sceptical look. 'You really have such influence?' She kept

her tone light.

'I am known as a man who keeps his word.' He sounded equal y casual but

she believed him.

'Then it's lucky I ran into you,' she said.

'Not luck,
matia mou
,' Andreas said softly. 'Fate. And here comes our lunch,'

he added prosaically as Zoe stared at him, the breath suddenly catching in

her throat.

The lobsters were wonderful, served plain gril ed, with a dish of melted

butter, and another containing a rich pink sauce made from the coral.

And it was impossible, Zoe found, to stay aloof, as she knew she needed to

do, during such an informal, messy meal, with Andreas showing her,

laughing, how to crack even the tiniest claws and extract every last delicious

scrap of meat.

Afterwards, there was a platter of cherries, their creamy skins just flushed

with red, and tiny cups of thick Greek coffee served with brandy.

'I don't think I can move,' Zoe confessed.

Andreas smiled at her lazily. 'Then don't do so,
pedhi mou
,' he advised.

'There is no hurry.'

One glance around her told her that he was right. After the earlier buzz, an

air of somnolence had settled over the taverna. Most of the customers

seemed content to settle back in the shade and let the afternoon pass. Even

the voices were hushed. Those drifting away were mostly couples, she

realised, and she found herself remembering, with a shiver of awareness,

what Andreas had said to her about cool shuttered rooms in the heat of the

afternoon. And wondered if he was remembering, too.

'I—I suppose not,' she said, trying to maintain her composure. 'But I'm sure

you have places to go, and things to do.'
And people to see
...

He had said he wasn't married, she thought, but there could still be a

woman or several in his life. He'd probably been fighting them off, but not

too hard, since puberty.

He shrugged. 'They can also wait.' His half smile was wry. 'Unless you want

to be rid of me.'

'Of course not.' Wel , it was partly true, she thought. Common sense and

recklessness were fighting it out in her head. 'And you've been very kind,'

she added hastily. 'It's just that I feel I've taken up quite enough of your

time.'

He gave her a slow, heavy-lidded glance. 'You think I am merely being kind,

Zoe
mou
?' he drawled. 'Are you real y so naive?'

'I'm not naive at all,' Zoe said jerkily. 'I was actual y giving you the benefit of the doubt. But I see I was wrong.' She reached for her bag. 'And I'd like to

pay for my own lunch.'

'You are wasting your time,' Andreas told her, unruffled. 'Kostas will not take

your money.'

She lifted her chin. 'Why not?'

He leaned forward, looking into her eyes. He had amazing eyelashes, she

found herself thinking inconsequential y, long, thick and curling. Astonishing

on someone so completely and disturbingly male.

'For the same reason that you may pursue your quest for solitude on the

town beach this afternoon, if you wish,' he told her softly. 'Because you have

been with me, and, by this time, it wil be known. Which makes you safe

from all annoyance.'

Zoe pushed back her chair and rose. She was trembling again, but this time

with anger at his sheer presumption.

'Except yours, I assume.' Her voice bit. 'And that's hardly reassuring. But I

don't choose to be patronised, and I certainly shan't be going back to the

town beach. There must be a corner of this island where your reputation

doesn't carry, and I intend to find it, and spend the rest of my holiday in

peace.'

'Peace?' he echoed derisively, getting to his feet in turn. 'You forfeited all

hope of that when you came to the vil a yesterday. And you know that as

wel as I do, my girl, so don't look at me with those innocent, injured eyes.'

Zoe drew herself up. 'Given the choice,' she said with icy clarity, 'I won't be

looking at you at al .'