Dangerous Alliance. HELEN BIANCHIN

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