Dangerous Alliance
Helen Bianchin

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

THERE was a soft thud as the Boeing’s wheels hit the tarmac, followed by a shrill scream of brakes as the powerful jet decelerated down the runway.

The flight had been smooth and uneventful, and merely one in a series of many which Leanne had taken between the Gold Coast and Melbourne during the past five years.

With one exception. This time Paige wouldn’t be waiting to meet her, and there would be no joyous reunion and exchanged laughter as mother and daughter attempted to catch up with each other’s news.

An ache began behind her eyes, and she blinked quickly in an effort to dispel the threat of tears as she gazed sightlessly out of the window.

It wasn’t fair that her beautiful mother should fall prey to a rare form of cancer, or that its stealthy invasion had proven to be so extensive that the medical professionals could only issue a grim prognosis. Within twenty-four hours of receiving the news, Leanne had arranged her flight and assigned a senior assistant to manage her beauty therapy clinic.

The engines wound down to a muted whine as the large jet wheeled off the runway, then cruised slowly towards its allotted bay.

Customary procedure completed, Leanne joined the queue of passengers vacating the aircraft, unaware of the appreciative glances cast in her direction. Vivid blue trousers and matching top in uncrushable silk accented her slim curves and were a perfect foil for her shoulder-length ash-blonde hair.

Within minutes she emerged into the arrival lounge, and she moved with ease towards the luggage carousel, her eyes skimming the conveyor belt for a familiar bag.

‘Leanne.’

The sound of that faintly accented drawl tore the breath from her throat, and her heartbeat stilled imperceptibly, then kicked in at an accelerated rate. It took only seconds to compose her features before she turned slowly to face the man standing within touching distance.

His tall, broad frame was sheathed in impeccable suiting, and strong, sculptured facial features, piercing grey eyes and dark well-groomed hair completed an arresting composite that few women could successfully ignore.

As head of the vast Kostakidas empire, he emanated a dramatic sense of power that was coveted by his contemporaries and viewed with supreme caution by those who chose to oppose him.

Dangerous, compelling, and intensely ruthless. Lethal, she added silently as she summoned a smile in greeting.

‘Dimitri.’

Five years ago she would have flung herself into his arms, accepted the teasingly affectionate brush of his lips against her cheek, and laughingly indulged in a harmless game of flirtatious pretence.

Now she stood quietly, her eyes clear and unwavering, their blue depths masking pain. ‘I thought you’d still be in Perth.’

One eyebrow rose slightly, and his expression assumed an edge of cynicism in silent reproof. ‘Like you, I rearranged my business affairs and caught the first available flight east.’

Her features were a carefully composed mask that hid a host of emotions. ‘It wasn’t necessary for you to meet me.’

He didn’t say anything. He had no need. She was Paige’s daughter and his late father’s silver-haired angel. As such, he would accord her every consideration, and refuse to concede her desire for independence.

Leanne felt her body quiver slightly, and she forced herself to maintain rigid control. ‘Have you seen Paige? How is she?’

His eyes held hers for a few timeless seconds, then his features softened. ‘An hour ago,’ he revealed. ‘She is as comfortable as it is possible for her to be.’

Paige had earned Dimitri’s affection ten years ago when she’d married his widowed father, and her warmth and generous nature had turned Yanis’s house into a home, softened the hard edges of a cynical, world-weary man whose sole focus in life appeared to be escalating his empire to monumental proportions while grooming his only son to follow in his footsteps. The ensuing five years had resulted in an abundance of love and harmony, until tragedy had struck with a boating accident that robbed them of husband, father and stepfather, and placed Dimitri at the helm of the vast Kostakidas corporation.

‘Which bag is yours?’

Dimitri had been educated in a number of countries, and his faint accent was an indistinguishable inflexion that lent itself easily to a fluency in several languages; Leanne shivered faintly as she attempted to maintain a mental distance from an intrusive memory.

‘The tan,’ she acknowledged, indicating its position on the carousel, and she watched as he extricated it with ease.

‘Shall we go?’

It was crazy to feel so incredibly vulnerable, she chastised herself silently as she walked at his side to the sleek, top-of-the-range maroon-coloured Jaguar parked at the kerbside immediately adjacent to the entrance.

Within minutes Dimitri urged the powerful vehicle into the flow of traffic exiting the terminal, and Leanne directed her attention to the scene beyond the windscreen, feeling strangely loath to indulge in idle conversation.

The car’s air-conditioning provided relief from the midsummer heat, and the sun’s glare was diffused by tinted windows through which the sky appeared as a clear azure, with only a whisper of soft cloud evident on the horizon.

Nothing appeared to have changed, Leanne mused as the Jaguar picked up speed on the freeway. Weathered brick homes dulled by pollution and age-lined suburban streets, and narrow steel tracks embedded into main arterial roads provided a linking tracery for electric trams as they whirred noisily to and from the city.

She drew a deep breath, then released it slowly. Melbourne was a large, bustling metropolis of multinationals with a culture that was wide and varied. It was the place where she was born, where she’d grown up and attended shool.

There was an intrinsic desire to turn back the clock. Except that that was impossible, for you could never recapture the past, she reflected sadly.

Now she’d stay for as long as Paige needed her, and afterwards she’d return to the Gold Coast where, thanks to Yanis’s generosity, she owned her own apartment and a successful beauty therapy clinic, ensuring not only financial independence, but a safety net that would enable her to sever the one remaining link to the Kostakidas family.

‘No attempt at polite conversation, Leanne?’

His voice held musing humour, and she cast him a pensive glance.

‘Your success in the business arena is well-chronicled in the financial reviews.’ She kept her eyes steady, and she even managed a faint smile. ‘Likewise, your social activities are reported in the tabloid Press.’ She paused, then allowed her gaze to rove carefully over his superb frame. ‘You’re obviously in good health...’ She trailed off, and effected a slight shrug. ‘I’m sure we can spare each other a rundown of our respective love lives.’

For a brief millisecond his eyes resembled dark ice, then soft, husky laughter emerged from his throat, and unless she was mistaken there was a degree of brooding respect evident in the glance he spared her.

‘You’ve grown up,’ he drawled lazily, and pain momentarily clouded her eyes.

‘At twenty-five, one would hope so,’ she responded sweetly.

‘I promised Paige I’d take you straight to the hospital,’ Dimitri said minutes later as he eased the car off the freeway.

A chill fear clutched her heart, and she searched his chiselled features for a hint of reassurance, and found none. It was two months since she’d seen her mother, and she agonised that she hadn’t detected even a glimmer of concern in Paige’s voice, a slight hesitancy—anything that might have betrayed a glimpse of anxiety relevant to a worrying health problem.

How could such a thing happen? she raged silently. Paige ate all the right foods, exercised and played tennis, never smoked, and drank minimally. Why?

Ten minutes later the Jaguar swung through open wrought-iron gates and traversed a wide, pebbled driveway to park at the rear of one of Melbourne’s most exclusive private hospitals.

As they passed through Reception the nurse spared Dimitri a smile tinged with a degree of wistful envy, whereas the sister in charge had no such qualms.

‘Mrs Kostakidas is resting quite comfortably.’ Her eyes held liquid warmth and a silent invitation, should the man at Leanne’s side choose to give the merest indication of interest.

Leanne watched with detached resignation, and wondered whether her exalted stepbrother would choose to make another conquest. In his late thirties, he was an intensely sensual man whose power, wealth and sheer physicality drew women like bees to a honeypot. Yet he had a select coterie of women friends with whom he chose to dine and indulge in social proclivities. Inevitably, there were some he surely bedded, but not, she suspected, indiscriminately. A newsprint photo taken at a recent glitzy function came vividly to mind; it had named his female companion as Shanna Delahunty, only daughter of Reginald Delahunty, the insurance magnate.

‘Paige’s suite is to the right.’

The quietly spoken words served as a timely warning, for they gave Leanne the few essential seconds necessary to seek control before she walked into the luxurious suite.

Despite having been given the grim medical facts, Leanne found it impossible to relate the gaunt, pale-featured woman lying propped against a nest of pillows with her mother.

It wasn’t easy to smile, and it took a tremendous strength of will to keep the tears at bay as she crossed to the bed and carefully embraced the slight figure. Paige’s bones appeared fragile, and her skin felt like fine tissue paper. It was if the essence of her mother had gone, and Leanne wanted to scream out against the unkind hand of fate.

‘Hello, darling.’ The words were softly spoken, the smile truly beautiful, as if the flickering flame deep within had gained a small measure of renewed life. A hand lifted, and faintly trembling fingers brushed the length of Leanne’s cheek. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’

The desire to weep was almost irrepressible, and Leanne gave a slight start as Dimitri curved an arm round her shoulders. His silent strength acted as a protective cloak, and she stood perfectly still, her features carefully schooled as Paige feasted her eyes lovingly on her daughter’s diminutive frame before shifting to the man at her side.

‘Thank you.’ The words were a soft whisper, and Dimitri’s eyes were dark, liquid with affection, yet when they slid towards Leanne they became vaguely smoky in silent warning, and she stiffened fractionally as his fingers shifted and began a subtle massage of the fine bones at the edge of her shoulder.

‘We’ll leave you to rest,’ he said as he leant forward to brush Paige’s cheek with his lips. ‘Leanne will call in after lunch, and we’ll both visit this evening.’

‘Yes.’

Paige’s voice was barely audible, and Leanne managed to contain her tears until they were in the corridor, then they spilled over and began trickling in twin rivulets down each cheek.

The corridor seemed longer than she remembered, and by the time she slid into the passenger seat she was an emotional wreck.

‘Why didn’t I know she was ill?’ Leanne demanded with a mixture of impotent rage and deep anguish, then, as a thought occurred to her, she turned towards the man who had just slid in behind the wheel. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Simply because I didn’t know,’ Dimitri assured her hardly. ‘Paige and I maintain weekly telephone contact, and I dine at the house every few weeks.’

In between business trips that took him from one Australian state capital to another, and numerous countries around the world, his base was a spacious penthouse suite atop a stylish apartment block barely two kilometres distant from his late father’s Toorak mansion.

‘Paige showed no signs of illness? Nothing?’ Leanne queried with disbelief.

‘I last saw her five weeks ago, and, although pale, she assured me she was recuperating well from a virulent flu virus.’ His eyes were dark, his expression reflective. ‘I left the next day for a series of meetings in the States, then Paris, Rome, followed by a stop-over in Perth. A fax from Paige’s medical adviser was waiting for me at the hotel,’ he relayed bleakly. ‘I rang you as soon as I had all the facts.’

‘She must have suspected something, surely?’ Leanne agonised huskily.

‘The medical professionals informed me she’s been aware of the severity of her condition for several months. It was her express wish to keep it private until such time as she required hospitalisation.’

Her throat felt painfully constricted, and she was barely managing to keep the tears at bay. Dammit, where was the slim pack of tissues she always carried? Moisture spilled over and ran down her cheeks, and her fingers shook as she brushed the tears away.

She heard his unintelligible oath, then a soft white square was pushed into her hand and he pulled her into the protective curve of his shoulder.

Her initial instinct was to move away, but she lacked sufficient strength to break free. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks and dampened his shirt, and she was vaguely aware of his fingers slipping beneath the weight of her hair to trace a soothing pattern across a collection of fragile bones.

She had no idea how long she remained there before she regained a measure of control. Only minutes, surely, she agonised despairingly

‘I’m sorry,’ she profferred in a slightly muffled voice as she attempted to pull free.

‘For what, Leanne?’ he drawled in cynical query. ‘Dropping your guard long enough to accept my compassion?’

‘I didn’t—’

‘Want to display any emotion in my presence?’

‘No,’ she retaliated bleakly, unwilling to show so much as a chink in her armour. She sat still and stared sightlessly out of the window, remembering all too vividly the numerous occasions when she’d deliberately sought his attention. Attention he’d affectionately fielded without hurting her vulnerable feelings, until the fateful night of her twenty-first birthday.

Leanne closed her eyes in an attempt to shut out a memory that was hauntingly clear in every detail.

Paige had provided a wonderful party with many invited friends, and Leanne had been so happy. No guest had been more important to her than Dimitri, and the secret wish she’d nursed that at last he would recognise her as a woman. Flushed with a dangerous sense of exhilaration, she’d flirted a little with every male friend, and enjoyed one glass too many of vintage champagne. At the end of the evening, when everyone had left and Paige had retired upstairs to bed, she’d reactivated the stereo system, selected a tape and teasingly begged Dimitri to share a dance.

Emboldened, she’d pressed her body a little too close to his and lifted her arms to clasp them around his nape. The top of her head had barely reached his chin, and she’d arched her neck, offered him a bewitching smile and teased that he had yet to bestow a birthday kiss.

It had begun as a teasing salutation, and had rapidly transgressed to something so infinitely sensual that she had simply discarded any inhibitions and given herself up to an exotic alchemy without any clear thought as to where it might lead.

She’d had no idea of the passage of time until she had been forcibly put at arm’s length, and his harsh words had sent her running upstairs to her bedroom to weep until almost dawn.

The next day he’d flown to Sydney, and during the ensuing weeks she had convinced Paige of the necessity to exert a new-found independence away from home, electing, despite Paige’s protests, to choose Queensland’s Gold Coast as her base.

Paige had become a frequent visitor, and Leanne had carefully arranged her weekends and holidays in Melbourne to coincide with Dimitri’s absence, although it had been impossible to avoid him completely. If he was on the Coast, he made a point of phoning and insisting on taking her out to dinner, or to a show, or both...in the guise of dutiful, stepbrotherly affection. His invitations had become a challenge she coolly accepted, for she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he still possessed the ability to ruffle her composure.

‘Paige is a rare jewel who succeeded in capturing my father’s heart, affording me unconditional affection without attempting to usurp Yanis’s loyalty to his son.’ Dimitri’s voice intruded, and she turned her head to look at him. ‘You,’ he added with quiet emphasis, ‘were an added bonus.’

Latent anger rose to the surface and threatened to erupt in speech. ‘You...’ Words momentarily failed her. ‘Bastard,’ she finally flung in whispered anguish. It was the wrong appellation, and, worse, an unforgivable insult. But at that precise moment she didn’t care.

The silence in the car was deafening, and she could sense his palpable anger. For a second she closed her eyes against the harshness of his features, then slowly opened them again.

Dimitri activated the ignition, then reversed out of the parking bay, and the crunch of tyres sounded abnormally loud as he eased the car towards the designated exit.

The exclusive suburb of Toorak hosted numerous homes belonging to the rich and famous, and the elegant residence that Yanis had built was no exception, she decided as Dimitri brought the Jaguar to a halt before a set of impressive wrought-iron gates, then activated the remote-control modem to open them.

The car swept down a wide, palm-lined driveway and drew to a halt beneath the porte cochère of a magnificent Mediterranean-style mansion whose white-rendered exterior and terracotta-tiled roof conjured up images of the hillside vineyard estates of the Côte d’Azur.

A grandly proportioned home, it contained over a hundred square feet of luxury living on two levels, with five bedrooms and six bathrooms in the main house, a guest cabana which included a lounge and bar, a free-form swimming-pool and a full-size tennis court.

Scrupulously maintained, its gracious formal rooms had been used to entertain Yanis’s business associates, and family friends. A generous man, he’d lent his name to a few worthy charities, and a small fortune in much needed funds had been raised through a variety of functions held here over the years.

Leanne slid from the car, then followed Dimitri through double leadlight doors to the formal entrance hall—a stately marble-tiled room with a crystal chandelier and sweeping mahogany staircase.

Although it had been her home for the past ten years, Leanne never failed to experience a feeling of awe at the sheer magnificence of displayed wealth.

Cream marble-tiled floors graced the ground floor, and there was an abundance of expensive Chinese silk rugs woven in designs employing mushroom, pink, pale blue and green against a cream background. Expensive tapestries graced the pale cream silk-covered walls, and vied for supremacy with original works of art. Yanis had indulged Paige her love of Louis XVI furnishings, and much of the furniture had been imported from France and Italy.

Now a chill slowly traversed the length of Leanne’s spine, and she had consciously to still the sudden shiver that threatened to shake her slender frame with the knowledge that, although Yanis had bequeathed this beautiful mansion to Paige for her exclusive use during her lifetime, upon her death it would inevitably revert to his son.

Which meant that within weeks Leanne would no longer be able to regard it as her home, for afterwards she knew she wouldn’t be able to bear seeing Dimitri here with the woman he would inevitably choose to take as his wife.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to reduce contact gradually to an occasional telephone call, a few brief, friendly written missives, followed by a card at Christmas.

‘Leanne, it is so good to see you.’

A heavily accented voice broke into her reverie, and she turned at once to exchange a warm greeting with Eleni Takis—cook and housekeeper who, together with her husband George, took care of the house and grounds.

‘Eleni.’ There was evidence of barely contained tears, and a wealth of genuine affection.

‘George will take up your luggage,’ Eleni declared as she stood back. ‘And lunch will be ready in thirty minutes.’

‘You shouldn’t have gone to any trouble,’ Leanne protested, knowing she’d have difficulty in consuming more than a few mouthfuls of anything.

‘Nonsense,’ Eleni admonished, and her appraisal of Leanne’s slender frame became faintly critical. ‘You have lost weight. In one so small, that is not good.’

‘If I ate even a half of what you served me, I’d go back to the Coast half a stone heavier and one dress size larger.’

Eleni looked slightly perplexed. ‘But this time you stay. Yes?’

‘Any messages, Eleni?’ Dimitri drawled, and Leanne intercepted an unspoken warning in his tone.

‘Your secretary rang. She is sending you faxes.’

Leanne shot him a quick, enquiring glance as Eleni departed, and met his dark, discerning gaze.

‘Paige requested I take up temporary residence, as she didn’t want you to be in the house on your own.’

Her stomach churned at the thought of having to live, even for a short time, in such close proximity to a man with whom she felt the antithesis of comfortable.

She drew a deep breath, then exhaled it slowly as she sought to keep her voice light. ‘I fail to see why, when I’ve lived alone for the past five years. Besides, Eleni and George live above the garages.’

His eyes narrowed fractionally. ‘Go upstairs and unpack. We’ll talk over lunch.’

About what, for heaven’s sake?

Her bedroom was spacious, airy, and had a splendid view of the pool and gardens. The muted colour scheme was restful, the furniture the epitome of elegance with its imported silk upholstery, and the adjoining en-suite bathroom was a feminine delight in the palest pink travertine marble with crystal and gold fittings.

Without further thought, she discarded her clothes and stepped into the shower cubicle, emerging minutes later to select elegant trousers and a top in pale sage-green cotton, then, dressed, she tended to her hair and make-up.

It was almost one when she entered the kitchen, and Eleni cast her a warm smile.

‘You are just in time. Everything is ready, except for the bread.’

‘I’ll take it through,’ Leanne offered promptly as she crossed to the oven. ‘Anything else?’

‘Just the lamb. The salads are on the table.’

It looked like a feast fit for a king, and far more than two people could possibly eat. There was chilled wine resting in a silver bucket, two exquisite crystal flutes, silver cutlery and the finest bone china.

Eleni took extreme pride in the house, preparing food and presenting a fine table. Paige was a gracious employer who attested that material possessions were useless if they reposed in cupboards and cabinets merely for visual display.

Dimitri entered the room within minutes, smiled indulgently at Eleni’s fussing, then took a seat opposite Leanne as the older woman retreated to the kitchen.

‘Wine?’

‘No—thank you,’ Leanne refused with the utmost politeness.

‘The keys to Paige’s Mercedes are in the top drawer of the cabinet in the foyer,’ he informed her as he filled his glass.

‘Thank you.’

His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘You’re hardly a guest, Leanne. The car, or anything else you need, is at your disposal.’

She was about to utter thanks for the third time, then opted against it, choosing instead to attempt to do justice to the excellent Greek salad Eleni had prepared.

Perhaps if she concentrated on food, this crazy ambivalence would disappear. It was quite mad, but she felt as if she was teetering on the edge of a precipice, and nothing could shake her acute feeling of apprehension.

Overwrought, overtired and consumed with anxiety—all of which was quite logical in light of her mother’s state of health, she qualified as she speared a segment of feta cheese and attacked an olive.

The delicately roasted lamb fared little better, and she forked a few mouthfuls then pushed the remaining meat and accompanying vegetables round her plate before discarding it completely.

‘Not hungry?’

‘Eleni will disapprove,’ she offered ruefully.

Dimitri pushed his napkin on to the table and leaned back in his chair. ‘Relax, Leanne.’ His eyes were dark, enigmatic, yet there was a tinge of mockery evident.

‘What topic would you suggest we politely pursue? The state of the nation, the weather? Your latest property acquisition?’

‘Paige,’ he insisted quietly. ‘Her wishes, and what we intend to do about them.’

Dear lord, he didn’t pull any punches—just aimed straight for the jugular. ‘There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do to please her,’ she assured him without hesitation.

‘Without exception?’

She didn’t need to think. ‘Of course.’

Dimitri regarded her in silence for several long seconds, his gaze infinitely speculative beneath faintly hooded lids. ‘Even assuming the pretence of a romantic alliance with me?’

CHAPTER TWO

FOR an instant Leanne was robbed of the power of speech, then the colour drained from her face, leaving it pale.

‘I don’t find that suggestion very amusing,’ she said at last.

Dimitri’s eyes never left hers, their dark depths faintly brooding, and she had the instinctive feeling that he had already weighed all the angles and was intent on playing a manipulative game.

‘I’m perfectly serious.’

The breath seemed suddenly locked in her throat, and she swallowed compulsively in the need to regain her voice. ‘Why?’

‘Paige is concerned for your future,’ he offered, noting the faint wariness which was apparent.

Logic vied with rationale, then mingled with a degree of angry resentment. ‘I’ve lived an independent life for more than four years. My future is secure, and afterwards...’ She trailed to a halt, then forced herself to continue. ‘I’ll simply return to the Coast.’

‘Where you’ll become an easy prey for fortune hunters,’ Dimitri accorded indolently.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she denied at once. ‘This house, everything, will revert to you.’

‘The house, yes. However, there are annuities you will inherit from a number of Kostakidas-affiliated corporations. There’s also an apartment in Athens, a home in Switzerland, and a villa in France. Jewellery, stocks, shares. Gifts Yanis bestowed on Paige during his lifetime. All of which will become yours.’ He paused slightly, watching her expressive features carefully as the effect of his words sank in. ‘Added together, their worth totals several million.’

It was almost impossible to comprehend, for, although she’d known her late stepfather’s personal wealth had been measured in millions, she’d had no idea of its extent. It wasn’t something she or Paige had ever discussed.

‘Yanis gifted me the Gold Coast apartment, and the beauty clinic,’ she said at once, perturbed beyond rational thought. ‘I don’t want or need anything else.’

‘Those weren’t my father’s wishes. Nor,’ he added quietly, ‘are they mine.’

‘I’ll contest Paige’s will in your favour,’ she declared vehemently.

‘Impossible. That eventuality has already been foreseen and legally negated.’

‘It can all accumulate and be held in trust.’

His smile held a tinge of cynicism. ‘Idealistic, Leanne, but scarcely practical.’ He regarded her carefully. ‘Paige and Yanis nurtured the hope that we might eventually become romantically attached, and it would give Paige peace of mind to believe that their fondest wish has eventuated. As it is, she’s consumed with anxiety over the men who will beat a path to your door, professing undying love in order to enjoy a free meal-ticket for life.’

Her eyes widened, their blue depths darkening measurably as she wrestled with a desire to please her mother and the fear that she’d never emerge from such subterfuge unscathed.

‘I’m no longer fifteen, and I do possess a degree of common sense. I don’t think I need a protector.’ Not you, she added silently. Dear lord, never you.

‘We’re discussing Paige,’ he reminded her, with velvet softness.

‘I don’t want to deceive her,’ she offered slowly.

‘Yet you love her very much,’ he pursued, and she shivered inwardly. ‘Enough to enter into a pretence that will make her happy, and ensure her peace of mind?’

‘What do you want, Dimitri? My unequivocal agreement to enact a lie?’

His eyes hardened fractionally, and his mouth curved to form a wry smile. ‘Will it prove so difficult given the limited time-span?’

She closed her eyes, then slowly opened them. ‘You know how to twist the knife, don’t you?’ she countered with a trace of bitterness.

His gaze didn’t falter as he reached for his glass. ‘Will you have some fruit, or would you prefer coffee?’

How could he sit there and switch so calmly from something of such personal magnitude to a mundane selection over lunch? Even as she contemplated the silent query, the answer followed. Dimitri was an astute businessman, well-versed in the cut and thrust utilised by power-brokers all over the world. He clinched deals worth millions, dealt with hardliners in the financial arena, and undoubtedly annihilated lesser minions on a day-to-day basis. Against such a formidable force, what chance did she have?

‘Chilled water,’ Leanne indicated, viewing him with circumspection as he took the carafe and refilled her glass.

‘Tell me about the beauty clinic,’ he encouraged with apparent interest, and she suffered his appraisal with unblinking solemnity, all too aware of what he saw, for it was an image she knew in detail.

Pale, fine-textured skin, a delicate bone-structure, a wide, generous mouth framing even white teeth, a nondescript nose, wide-spaced deep blue eyes, and shoulder-length natural ash-blonde hair.

‘It’s successful,’ she dismissed with a negligible shrug. ‘Women like to look good, and most are prepared to spend money in the name of beauty.’

‘Merely for self-gratification?’

‘Of course. And pleasing a man.’ She could recall instantly the features of several socialites who devoted much of their morning hours on a regular basis to one beauty treatment or another. Aromatherapy, a facial, brow and lash-tinting, massage, waxing, manicure and pedicure, to mention a few. When that failed to revive the passage of nature satisfactorily, they resorted to the skill of cosmetic surgery. Chasing elusive beauty and maintaining it was an expensive pastime, and Leanne was a skilled beautician, dedicated to her craft.

Dimitri reached forward and extracted a peach from the fruit bowl which he proceeded to peel and stone before offering her a segment. ‘No?’

The need to be free of his disturbing presence was overwhelming, and she excused herself from the table.

‘I’ll be caught up in the city for most of the afternoon,’ he revealed as she got to her feet. ‘Be ready at six. We’ll visit Paige, then go on somewhere for dinner.’

Leanne was unable to resist the query. ‘Won’t Shanna object?’

His gaze was remarkably level. ‘Shanna has nothing to do with my taking you to dinner.’

‘You could always drop me home, then meet her later.’

‘This conversation is going nowhere, Leanne,’ Dimitri drawled hatefully.

‘In that case, I’ll give Eleni a hand clearing the table, unpack, then visit Paige,’ she returned with the utmost politeness, and his husky laughter made her want to lash out in anger. Except that such an action would invoke his temper, and she’d already insulted him. To do so again on the same day would be the height of folly.

* * *

It was almost two-thirty when Leanne entered her mother’s suite and her heart contracted as Paige complimented gently, ‘Darling, you look so well.’

What could she say in return? It was difficult, much more difficult than she’d envisaged, and she simply pulled a chair close to the bed and sat holding Paige’s hand.

‘Dimitri is very fond of you,’ Paige offered huskily. Perhaps medication had eased her pain, for she didn’t seem to be under quite so much strain. ‘Anything you need, he’ll advise and guide you. He’s given me his word.’

Leanne wanted to cry, and her vision began to shimmer with the onset of tears. Oh, dear God, she agonised, help me.

‘Yanis loved you so much, almost as much as I do. He adored having you as his daughter.’

‘He was a wonderful man.’

‘Yes,’ Paige agreed simply. ‘As is his son.’

No. The single negation was a silent scream which seemed to reverberate inside her brain. Don’t do this to me. She longed to say that Dimitri had been the embodiment of her fantasy hero, as seen through the eyes of a teenage child. Her problem was in discovering he had feet of clay.

‘Everything I have will be yours. Property, jewellery,’ Paige continued after a long pause. ‘It amounts to a very sizeable inheritance, darling.’

Leanne felt her chest tighten with emotional pain, and her throat began to constrict as she attempted to gain some control over her turbulent emotions. ‘I don’t think I want to talk about it. It hurts too much,’ she whispered.

‘But I’m not afraid. Really,’ Paige assured her gently, her eyes a soft blue without any hint of fear. ‘My beloved Yanis will be there. And I don’t want you to be sad.’ Her eyes misted, and her lips curved into a soft, tremulous smile. ‘If I could have one wish, it would be to see you happily settled with a man who will love and care for you. Marriage,’ she continued quietly, and her fingers stroked Leanne’s hand with an absent, abstracted movement. ‘And children.’

Grandchildren you’ll never have the pleasure of seeing, Leanne said silently. It wasn’t fair. Paige would have made a wonderful grandmother.

Leanne was aware that any moment now she’d burst into tears. ‘I am happy,’ she said quickly. Too quickly. Paige’s illness and level of medication hadn’t diminished her perceptiveness in any way.

‘Are you, darling?’

Unable to find any adequate words that wouldn’t sound defensive, Leanne offered a shaky smile and launched into an amusing anecdote about something that had happened at the clinic. Then she left Paige to rest for an hour, and returned briefly with some of her mother’s favourite roses as well as some fresh fruit in the hope of tempting her appetite.

It was almost five when she arrived home, and after alerting Eleni that she was back she moved swiftly upstairs, shed her clothes, donned a swimsuit and then made her way down to the pool.

Perhaps if she set herself a rigorous number of lengths she would be able to dispel the haunting image of her mother’s pale features and the infinite sadness beneath her gentle smile.

It didn’t work; nor did attempting to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Consequently she was feeling infinitely fragile when she descended the stairs a few minutes before six.

Dimitri was in the lounge, a tall glass of chilled water in one hand, and his dark eyes speared hers as she entered the room.

‘A cool drink?’ He indicated a crystal water-pitcher liberally filled with ice-cubes and decorated with sliced lemon and sprigs of mint.

‘Please.’

He took a glass and filled it, then handed it to her, his expression musingly speculative as she carefully avoided touching his fingers.

He looked what he was: a well-educated man, well-versed in the analysis of humankind and aware of the limits of his control. It was a mantle he wore with uncontrived ease, and she felt a thousand light-years removed from his particular brand of sophistication. Which was crazy, especially as she’d been privy to an elevated lifestyle during the past ten years, and could converse knowledgeably on a variety of subjects.

It was Dimitri himself who unsettled her, for his degree of sensuality was a heady, potent entity she constantly fought against, aware that if she were ever to lose her inner battle the results would be totally cataclysmic.

He subjected her to an thorough appraisal, then let his gaze rest thoughtfully on the contoured pink fullness of her mouth.

‘When you’ve finished, we’ll leave.’

In the car he slotted a cassette into the stereo system and concentrated on negotiating the early evening traffic. Leanne conjured up a number of conversational subjects to pursue, only to discard each one, and she sat quietly as the sleek, powerful vehicle ate up the distance.

Paige had already eaten, and she brightened as Leanne preceded Dimitri into the room.

‘You look lovely, darling,’ Paige complimented her gently. ‘That shade of blue does wonderful things for your eyes.’ Her gaze shifted to the man at her daughter’s side. ‘Don’t you think so?’

‘Stunning,’ Dimnitri agreed as he crossed to the bed and brushed his lips against Paige’s temple. ‘How are you feeling?’

There was such a depth of affectionate concern in his voice that Leanne’s body quivered slightly, and she was conscious that her voice sounded a little too bright as she greeted her mother, then sank into a chair which Dimitri had pulled close to the bed.

He merely stood close behind her. Much too close. She was conscious of him with every muscle in her body, every nerve-end, and it was all she could do not to visibly jump when his hand came to rest on her shoulder.

Paige noticed the implied intimacy, and smiled. ‘Where are you going for dinner?’

He named a restaurant that was not only ruinously expensive, but well-known for its fine cuisine.

Paige’s eyes took on a luminous sheen. ‘Is it a celebration of some kind?’

‘Not quite,’ Dimitri drawled, and Leanne felt his fingers tighten slightly over the fine bones at the edge of her collarbone. ‘I’m hopeful that the combination of an excellent vintage wine and superb food will persuade Leanne to accept my proposal.’

The air became trapped in her lungs, impeding her breathing, and she could have sworn that the beat of her heart stopped before it went racing into overdrive. Words froze in her throat as he curved his free hand round the sensitive arch of her nape.

You bastard, she longed to cry out at him. An angry denial rushed to her lips, then died as she caught sight of her mother’s expression.

Joy, pure joyous relief intermingled with a happiness so vivid it lit her features and turned them into something so incredibly beautiful that it brought any verbal negation that Leanne might have uttered to a halt.

As Dimitri had known it would. Just as he knew she wouldn’t have the heart to do anything other than go to her mother’s outstretched arms and accept the loving embrace, share her tears, then watch with a sense of stunned disbelief as Dimitri extracted a slim pouch and slid a large, pear-shaped diamond on to the appropriate finger of her left hand.

‘You didn’t breathe a word this afternoon,’ Paige said huskily.

‘Quite simply because I had no idea of Dimitri’s intention,’ Leanne responded with a calm she was far from feeling. The ring felt heavy, and she barely resisted the temptation to tear it from her finger.

‘Yanis would have been so happy. As I am.’ Her mother’s words were faintly breathy, emotion-filled, and somehow Leanne managed a suitable response.

Presenting the façade of a newly engaged fiancée took all her acting ability, and it was a minor miracle that she managed to emerge almost forty minutes later from Paige’s suite without having resorted to histrionics.

Leanne was silent all the way to the car, and she didn’t utter a word as he reversed out of the car park and eased the vehicle on to the main thoroughfare, then her tightly controlled anger erupted in a heated flow of words designed to blister his hateful hide.

‘How dare you?’

‘Pre-empt your decision? It was a foregone conclusion, knowing the depth of your love for Paige.’

‘That doesn’t give you the right—’

‘I care for Paige very much. Enough to give her pleasure for what limited time she has left. Surely we can put aside our own differences long enough to perpetuate an illusion?’

‘That isn’t the point!’

‘What is the point, Leanne? Your resentment, your anger? Surely the focus should be Paige herself?’

She was too incensed to accede to his dictum, and she flung furiously, ‘I don’t want to have dinner with you.’

‘I’ve made a reservation, and we both need to eat. Why not share a meal together?’

‘Because I’m so mad, I’ll probably pick up the soup plate and tip the contents over your head!’

‘I shall consider myself forewarned.’

‘Or the salad,’ she muttered direly as he pulled into a car park adjacent to one of Toorak’s well-known restaurants.

The ring was an alien manacle, and she slid it off, ready to hand it to him the instant he cut the ignition.

‘Leave it on,’ Dimitri ordered as she thrust it at him.

‘Why?’

‘It stays on, Leanne.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s far too valuable, and too—’ She had been going to say beautiful, because the stone in its setting was exquisite. ‘Everyone will notice.’

‘Precisely,’ he conceded with dry cynicism, and her eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

‘You mean to go public with this?’

‘Paige has a phone beside her bed,’ he enlightened her. ‘Her weakened state doesn’t prevent her from making calls.’ He viewed Leanne’s dawning horror with musing cynicism. ‘It will take only one friend to spread the news and within a matter of days it will have circulated among the social set.’

‘You really mean to go through with this pretence openly?’

‘Of course. It has to be seen to succeed.’

‘Define succeed, Dimitri,’ she insisted, aware that the whole thing was rapidly getting out of hand. Like a snowball accumulating in size as it gained momentum and assumed the very real threat of becoming an avalanche.

‘A formal announcement in the Press tomorrow.’

‘You mean you’ve actually gone that far?’ Her voice rose. ‘You damned egotistical, proprietorial bastard!’

‘Watch your unwary tongue,’ he warned silkily.

‘Forgive me,’ Leanne flung with unaccustomed sarcasm. ‘I wasn’t aware I shouldn’t put up any resistance to a scheme I’m not happy with—or,’ she added vengefully, ‘dare to upbraid you for taking charge without my sanction.’

‘Come and eat.’

‘I don’t want to eat, and I especially don’t want to eat with you.’

‘Nevertheless, you will.’

‘I refuse to sit at the same table and pretend. The food would choke me.’

‘Aren’t you being overly dramatic?’

‘Don’t patronise me, Dimitri,’ she said darkly.

‘You used to be such an obedient child,’ he relayed musingly.

‘What would you know?’ she flung. ‘You were rarely there.’

‘Did you want me to be?’

That was too close to the bone for comfort, and her eyes were startlingly clear in the subdued overhead lighting. ‘You were thirteen years my senior, more sophisticated, and a thousand light-years ahead of me. Besides, a teenage stepsister would have cramped your style.’

‘Yet there were occasions when I partnered you to several functions Paige and Yanis chose to attend,’ he alluded with deceptive mildness.

She remembered them well, each one etched permanently in her brain. Now she felt resentful that he’d adroitly defused the immediate situation by orchestrating a subtle shift from her heated anger.

‘This restaurant is one of your favourite haunts,’ she reminded him stoically, then added the rider, ‘What if Shanna is there?’

‘We’re all civilised adults,’ Dimitri returned smoothly.

‘This—this farce,’ she said in a tight voice, ‘is solely for Paige’s benefit. If you dare to act out the part of adoring fiancé anywhere else but at the hospi-tal—’

‘Difficult to confine our actions, when it will be news in a variety of papers tomorrow,’ he drawled.

‘I’ll never forgive you,’ she vowed with renewed vehemence.

‘Our first public appearance à deux is inevitable,’ he told her drily. ‘Besides, what excuse will you give Paige for a change in plan? That we couldn’t wait to be alone together?’

She barely restrained herself from hitting out at him, and angry resolve prompted her to reach for the door-catch. ‘Do you always use such devious tactics in a bid to achieve your objective?’

She didn’t wait to hear his answer, and slid out from the passenger seat, choosing to walk on ahead of him. A fruitless exercise, for she’d scarcely taken half a dozen steps before he reached her side.

The restaurant was one she’d frequented occasionally with Paige, and its elegant décor projected an ambience that was frequently sought by the city’s upper social echelons. Which was probably why Dimitri had selected it, she decided darkly as the maître d’ proffered an effusive greeting before leading them to a prominent table reserved, Leanne instantly surmised, for the chosen, favoured few.

Dimitri ordered champagne, Dom Pérignon, and at Leanne’s faintly raised eyebrow he merely smiled and asked the wine steward to fill her glass.

The lighting was subdued and attuned to intimate dining, but she felt as if she and Dimitri were the room’s central focus. The diamond on her finger flashed with a fiery brilliance from myriad facets, and she pushed her hand out of sight on her lap, supremely conscious of its significance.

The restaurant catered for leisurely dining, and she selected the soup de jour, followed it with a prawn starter, refused a main course, passed on dessert and opted against the cheeseboard. The serving of each course seemed to take an age, and by the time coffee was brought to the table she was seething with impatience to leave.

To attempt to maintain a polite façade almost killed her, yet inherent good manners wouldn’t permit a public display of anger.

And he knew, damn him, for he kept up a divertissement that was masterly, with an ease she could only admire but inwardly seethe at as he tempted her to try a morsel from his fork and refilled her flute with champagne.

The coffee was strong and aromatic, and she sipped it abstractedly, wishing only for the evening to conclude. She was tired, emotionally exhausted, and suffering the onset of a headache.

A predominate waft—wave, Leanne corrected wryly—of exotic perfume assailed her nostrils, and was immediately followed by the tinkling sound of a feminine voice.

‘Dimitri, what are you doing here? I understood you weren’t due back from Perth until next week.’

‘Shanna.’ Dimitri’s greeting was warm, but not effusive.

Courtesy ensured an acknowledgement of his companion. ‘Leanne.’ The brunette proffered a brilliant smile. ‘How are you? Are you down on holiday from the Coast?’

‘Not exactly,’ Leanne managed in polite response.

‘Is this a family tête-à-tête? Or may I join you?’

‘Leanne and I were just about to leave,’ Dimitri imparted smoothly.

‘Surely you could stay,’ Shanna suggested persuasively. ‘There’s a group of us, just friends—we’d love you to join us.’

‘Thank you—but not tonight.’

The maître d’ hovered discreetly as Dimitri signed the credit slip, then moved unobtrusively out of sight.

Shanna’s eyes moved to the empty champagne bottle. ‘Celebrating a recent success, darling?’

‘You could say that,’ he responded, shooting Leanne a musing smile. ‘Personal, not business.’

‘You’ve aroused my curiosity. Is it confidential?’

‘I’ve persuaded Leanne to marry me.’

Shanna’s smile slipped for the space of a second, and Leanne could only commend her superb control, for, although the brunette’s features portrayed surprised pleasure, her eyes held a darkness that contained bitter disappoint-ment.

‘You must tell me how you managed to convince Dimitri to make a commitment,’ she said to Leanne.

A degree of humour was the only way, and Leanne tempered her reply with a musing smile. ‘He simply slid a ring on my finger.’

Dimitri stood and held out his hand to Leanne. ‘You’ll excuse us, Shanna?’

Leanne had no recourse but to follow his lead, and she felt a certain sympathy for the attractive model. Rejection hurt like hell. Hadn’t she suffered at Dimitri’s hands more than four years ago? As she would again, a tiny voice taunted. How long after Paige’s passing would he retract the engagement—a few days, a week?

‘You’ve burned your bridges,’ Leanne said as the Jaguar picked up a cruising speed, and she incurred Dimitri’s dark glance.

‘There were no bridges to burn,’ he replied with deliberate mockery.

‘She was your—’ She couldn’t say it.

‘Lover?’ he prompted.

‘Yes!’

‘We visited the opera on a few occasions, took in the theatre, and attended several parties and functions.’

‘I don’t care what you did together.’

‘No?’

‘You could have bedded a hundred women, for all I care.’

‘I’m very particular as to who shares my bed.’

She was unable to resist the taunt, ‘I’m not the one you should be attempting to reassure.’

He didn’t answer, and there was something heady about having the last word. It lifted her spirits, and prompted an appraisal of her surroundings.

A dark indigo sky with a sprinkling of stars was at variance with the light summer shower that was as sudden as it was fleeting, necessitating only a few swishing turns of the wiper blades. Bright neon street-lights provided inter-mittent illumination, and cast long, deepening shadows from numerous trees standing guard on both sides of the suburban road.

There was the slight but distinctive sound of tyre-treads traversing wet bitumen, then the car slowed and paused as Dimitri activated the remote-control module that electronically opened the gates.

Within minutes another button released the garage doors, and the Jaguar slid to a halt between Paige’s Mercedes and a luxurious four-wheel drive.

Once inside, Leanne made her way towards the stairs.

‘Will you join me in a nightcap?’

‘No,’ she declared evenly. ‘I’m going to bed. I’m tired and I have a headache.’

‘I’m disappointed,’ he said with studied indolence. ‘I imagined the instant we reached the house you’d fly at me in a rage.’

‘I want to,’ Leanne assured him tightly. ‘Badly. Unfortunately I don’t possess the energy to launch an attack.’

A slight smile curved his mouth, and there was a gleam apparent in his dark gaze. ‘In that case, I’ll see you at breakfast.’

The words she wanted to hurl at him remained unsaid, and she ascended the stairs to her room where she undressed and removed her make-up before slipping between the cool, freshly laundered sheets.

She should have fallen asleep the instant her head touched the pillow. Instead, her mind was filled with a host of images, not the least being Paige herself, and the inimicable man who had temporarily taken charge of her life.

She had little comprehension of how long she lay staring at the darkened ceiling as the painful throbbing in her head deepened until she began to feel physically ill. Her body broke out in a sweat, then began to cool, and she knew any attempt at sleep without some form of medication would be useless.

Slipping out of bed, she crossed to the en-suite bathroom and rummaged through the bathroom cabinet for some pain-killers, only to curse softly on discovering that there were none.

She lifted a hand and pressed it wearily against her temple. Maybe there was something in the cabinet in Paige’s suite. If not, she’d have to venture downstairs.

It took only a few minutes to discover that there was nothing stronger available than paracetamol, and she closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them again in restrained exasperation. Maybe if she took two now it would take the edge off the pain sufficiently so that she could sleep.

There was a tumbler on the marble-topped vanity unit, and she half filled it with water only to have it slip through her fingers and crash down into the marbled basin.

‘Dear God,’ she whispered shakily at the explosive sound of shattering glass. It was enough to wake the dead. The last thing she needed was to have to face Dimitri at this hour of the night.

Yet he appeared in the doorway within seconds, his features dark and forbidding.

She could visualise the scene through his eyes. A slight figure attired in a long cotton nightshirt, dishevelled hair, and pale features overshadowed by large eyes darkened with pain.

‘I’m sorry the noise woke you.’ Her eyes felt heavy and impossibly bruised. She lifted a hand, then let it fall helplessly down to her side. ‘I’ll pick up the glass.’

‘Leave it,’ Dimitri instructed brusquely. ‘Eleni can attend to it in the morning.’ His eyes swept to the foil strip of tablets, then to her pale features. ‘Headache worse?’

‘Yes.’ She winced painfully, closing her eyes against his forceful image and the degree of sexual magnetism he exuded. The white towelling robe he’d hastily donned merely enhanced his height and breadth, and she was in no fit state to arm a mental defence against him. ‘I’ll just take these, then go back to bed.’

Without a word he leaned forward, extracted another tumbler, half filled it with water, then placed it in her hand.

When she’d swallowed the tablets, she replaced the tumbler, then made to move past him only to give a gasp of surprise as he leaned forward and lifted her into his arms.

‘Put me down.’ The protest was adamant, for the shift in gravity had caused her nightshirt to ride dangerously up her thighs, and she was acutely conscious of a loss of modesty.

His strength was palpable, and this close she could smell the faint muskiness of his skin mingling with a trace of aftershave. She had only to turn her head fractionally for her lips to come in contact with the edge of his neck.

‘I can walk. There’s nothing wrong with my legs.’ Even a severe headache couldn’t diminish the heightened degree of sensual awareness she felt at being held so close against him. ‘Put me down!’

‘Why so nervous?’ Dimitri queried lazily as he gained the hallway and headed towards her suite.

‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ Leanne accused, choosing to emphasise her point by balling a fist and aiming it at his shoulder. A totally ineffectual gesture that reminded her of a butterfly senselessly batting its wings against a tiger.

‘You possess an over-active imagination.’

He sounded amused, darn him, and she aimed a more forceful punch. ‘Put me down, damn you!’

They reached her room, and he crossed to the bed and settled her carefully between the covers. ‘I’ll fetch the tablets in case you need them through the night.’ Leanne closed her eyes against the sight of him, and prayed she might be asleep by the time he returned.

A hopeless appeal, for she was acutely aware of the moment he re-entered the room.

Her eyes flew open at the touch of his fingers as they brushed idly down her cheek.

‘Sleep well,’ he bade with teasing amusement, then he turned and left the room before she was able to summon a stinging response.

CHAPTER THREE

LEANNE woke feeling refreshed and without any lingering trace of a headache. Quickly tossing aside the sheet, she crossed to the large expanse of panelled glass and drew back the drapes.

It was a beautiful day, the sun bright, the sky clear of any clouds. Without pausing for thought she caught up a swimsuit and made for the en suite, emerging five minutes later to pull on shorts and a T-shirt before making her way down to the kitchen.

‘Morning, Eleni.’ She greeted the older woman who was busily occupied scouring a skillet at the sink.

An affectionate smile creased Eleni’s features as she dried her hands and turned to give Leanne her undivided attention. ‘Ah, how is the headache this morning?’

‘Gone, thank goodness,’ Leanne said with relief, and, crossing to the large refrigerator, she extracted fresh orange juice and filled a glass, then sipped from it with undisguised appreciation.

‘Dimitri has already left for the city.’

Thank heavens for small mercies, Leanne said silently. Facing Dimitri at the start of her day would have been too much.

‘He intends calling into the hospital this morning,’ Eleni continued, relaying the message she’d been requested to convey. ‘And he’ll be home at six, so you can both go and visit Paige together.’ Her dark eyes filled with expressive warmth. ‘The news you are to marry gives me much joy.’

It was on the tip of Leanne’s tongue to take Eleni into her confidence and reveal that the engagement was a sham conceived entirely for Paige’s benefit. Except that something held her back, and she accepted the housekeeper’s af-fectionate hug with equal warmth.

‘Thanks, Eleni.’ It was difficult to look suitably starry-eyed, but she managed a credible smile.

‘What can I get you for breakfast? Eggs? French toast?’

Eleni adored making a fuss, and Leanne’s smile widened as she wrinkled her nose in silent negation. ‘We play this game every time I come home,’ she responded musingly. ‘A banana, toast and coffee will be fine, and I’ll get it after I’ve had a swim.’

It was almost ten when she slid behind the wheel of the Mercedes and drove to the hospital. Frequent short visits would prove less tiring for Paige, and Leanne divided up the day accordingly.

If anything, her mother seemed a little brighter, and, although pale, her features no longer looked quite so drawn.

‘Darling, let me have a look at your ring,’ Paige requested within minutes of Leanne’s entering the suite, and Leanne dutifully extended her hand. ‘It’s simply beautiful, and a perfect fit.’

She managed a suitable rejoinder, and endeavoured to display a degree of fascinated pleasure in the diamond’s multi-faceted brilliance.

Paige’s eyes assumed a faint, dreamy expression. ‘I saw the announcement in this morning’s papers.’

Leanne hadn’t thought to look. She’d spent ages in the pool, enjoyed a late breakfast, then rushed upstairs to shower and change.

‘A small, private ceremony held at home next week,’ her mother relayed wistfully. ‘In the gardens. Isn’t that wonderful?’

‘Yes, wonderful.’ What else could she do but agree?

‘Have you decided what you’ll choose to wear?’

‘Not yet.’ There was a rack of gowns in her wardrobe, any one of which would be eminently suitable for an informal engagement party.

‘Dimitri has already conferred with my doctor, and, with a nurse in attendance, there’s no reason why I can’t be at the house for a few hours. A wedding-gown is so special,’ Paige enthused gently. ‘You’ll look stunning in white.’

Wedding. Who said anything about a wedding? The feeling of panic momentarily robbed the breath from Leanne’s body. ‘Paige—’

‘I wish I was able to go shopping with you,’ her mother continued wistfully. ‘There’s that lovely boutique in Toorak, and you must ring Vivienne. She’ll put everything aside and give you her undivided attention.’

A sense of disbelief washed over Leanne’s body, and she felt stunned...but not for long. A slow-burning anger ignited and began to flare, coursing through her veins until she was consumed with it.

‘Paige,’ Leanne began, making every effort to maintain control. ‘Dimitri and I—’

‘Have known each other for years. Ten in all.’ Beautiful blue eyes glowed with the immensity of Paige’s pleasure. ‘This wedding will be so special. I’ve longed for the day you get married, and I’m overjoyed that you’re bringing the date forward for my benefit.’ She lifted a hand and covered Leanne’s fingers. ‘I’m going to have Vivienne bring in some gowns so I can make a suitable selection for myself as mother of the bride.’

Dear God. What had begun as a harmless conspiracy was now raging out of control. The question was, why?

She had to remain calm. No matter how angry she felt, she couldn’t allow Paige to suspect that things were not as they seemed.

‘Has Dimitri been in to see you this morning?’ she queried gently, and her mother gave a slight nod.

‘Early, darling. On his way into the office.’

Dimitri was incapable of being manipulated, not even by the circumstances of Paige’s illness. Which meant he had to be a willing participant.

It killed her to smile, but she managed a credible facsimile. ‘I shall take him to task for breaking the news.’ The chiding amusement in her voice masked the threat of intent. She planned to slay him. She also had to get out of Paige’s suite before her animosity became visible.

‘I’ll leave you to rest for a while,’ she said in a light voice. ‘I have to ring Vivienne, and begin some serious shopping. I’ll be back after lunch.’ Leaning forward, she touched her lips against her mother’s cheek, then swallowed quickly against the lump that rose in her throat as she glimpsed the faint misting of tears which was evident.

The moment she left the suite a cold, hard anger rose from within her, and by the time she reached the car she was so maddened it was a minor miracle that she reached the city without incident.

The Kostakidas corporation had offices on a high floor in an ultra-modern steel and glass tower that held the ultimate in executive furnishings.

It was years since Leanne had visited its revered portals, and she moved with calculated calm towards Reception, unnerved by the stylishly attired young woman whose hair, make-up and clothes would have done credit to a model straight out of Vogue magazine.

‘Dimitri Kostakidas,’ Leanne stated with quiet authority.

‘Mr Kostakidas is in conference,’ the receptionist relayed with polite regret. ‘Do you have an appointment?’

Leanne’s expression was equally polite. ‘Perhaps you could inform Dimitri’s secretary that his fiancée is waiting to see him?’ She even took the faint sting from her words by proffering a slight smile. ‘I’m sure he won’t object to the interruption.’

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