The Diakos Baby Scandal. Natalie Rivers

Kerry’s voice trailed away and she stared at him in shock. But she did understand. Theo no longer wanted her.

      He’d already turned his back on her and was walking away, as if from that moment she was dead to him. She was already out of his life.

      ‘Wait,’ she called. ‘There is something I have to tell you. It’s the reason I came to talk to you in your study in the first place.’

      Theo spun on his heel and looked at her dispassionately. He was giving her a moment more of his time, and she knew she had to use it wisely.

      ‘This evening I found out—’

      Kerry stopped speaking abruptly and covered her mouth with her hand. Suddenly she was afraid to tell him that she was pregnant.

      After the events of the evening, it was almost as if Theo was a different man. She would never have thought him capable of taking a child from his mother—but he had defended his intentions even when Kerry had challenged him.

      And if they planned to do that to Hallie—who’d been married to Corban for several years—what would happen to her if they found out she was carrying a Diakos baby? Theo had made it plain he didn’t want her. But would he want to take the baby?

      ‘Get on with it,’ Theo said, with undisguised impatience.

      ‘I don’t feel like I know you any more,’ she said.

      ‘The feeling is mutual,’ he replied coldly. ‘Now, get out.’

      CHAPTER TWO

       14 months later

      ‘THANK you for inviting me to your home.’ Theo held out his hand to the old man, who was sitting at a small wooden table drinking coffee under the shade of an ancient gnarled olive tree. ‘Your island is charming—a very peaceful place to live.’

      Drakon Notara ignored Theo’s hand and snorted rudely, not looking up from his treacly Greek coffee. He was a moody and eccentric old man, but Theo had met him several times in Athens and was not fazed by his bad manners.

      ‘Don’t tell me you care about peace,’ Drakon said. ‘I know why you want to buy my island. You want to build one of your flashy hotels here—or maybe several. Bars, thumping music, people drunk and rowdy.’ He paused, finally lifting his head and meeting Theo’s eye. ‘I can’t have that happening here.’

      Theo gritted his teeth and stared straight back, refusing to rise to the old man’s provocation. No one spoke to Theo Diakos with such disrespect and got away with it—but he had a compelling reason to do business with Drakon Notara.

      Theo needed to buy this island. It was his only chance to fulfil his mother’s dying wish. And if he had to tread carefully to seal the deal, then that was what he would do.

      He had not been invited to sit, nor offered any refreshment. The paving stones under the trees had not been swept before his arrival and were deep with browning piles of olive blossom. It was clear the old man was going to be as bloody-minded as usual, and was not going to make any transaction easy.

      ‘That’s not what I intend for the island at all,’ Theo said smoothly. ‘Perhaps if we talk—’

      ‘No,’ Drakon barked. ‘Talk is cheap. And so are the scandal sheets. Don’t think because I spend most of my time out here that I don’t know what your family is like—rich and spoiled, caring only about money and excitement. Your brother…his drunken wife crashing her car with that child on board.’

      ‘You have been misinformed.’ Theo’s tone was clipped as he suppressed the surge of anger that ripped through him. Whenever he thought about the night of the accident, which was over a year ago now, he felt his temper flare. ‘My family is not as the media has portrayed it. The newspapers do not always report things exactly as they are.’

      ‘Are you telling me it didn’t happen?’ the old man scoffed.

      ‘I’m saying that my personal affairs are not relevant to our business,’ Theo said. ‘However, if you will allow me to set out my proposal, I believe we will be able to come to an arrangement we are both happy with.’

      ‘I don’t want to talk to you now—I don’t want to hear the smooth and readymade business spiel you have prepared.’ Drakon leant heavily on the table and levered himself up. ‘If you’re serious about buying my island, come and stay for a few days—so I can find out what kind of man you really are. Bring your pretty girlfriend—the one I met last year. I liked her—no airs and graces, which I found surprising in someone associated with you and your family.’

      For a fraction of a second Theo did not reply. The wily old fellow had completely wrong-footed him. He searched his memory, trying to recall any occasions when Kerry and Drakon might have met—and realised there had been several charity events when they could have spoken.

      Why did Drakon really want him to bring Kerry to the island? Did he know that she was no longer part of his life?

      ‘Or have you broken it off with her? Moved on to someone new?’ Drakon continued derisively. ‘From the way she…’ He paused, frowning as if he was irritated with himself. ‘What was her name?’

      ‘Kerry,’ Theo supplied in a tight voice, not missing the fact that Drakon had used the past tense—as if he definitely did know the relationship was over. ‘Her name is Kerry.’

      Hearing himself say her name sounded strange and painfully familiar at the same time. He had not said it aloud since the night he threw her out—but that had not stopped her name, and the image of her face, pressing forward in his thoughts more often than he would have liked.

      ‘Ah, yes. Kerry,’ Drakon said. ‘Utterly delightful young thing—reminded me of my dear wife when she was young. From the way she never left your side, I expected to see a wedding announcement in the press. But I suppose you’re several women down the line by now.’ He turned and started shuffling towards the house.

      ‘As I said, my personal affairs are not relevant to our business,’ Theo said, but a cold, fatalistic feeling had settled in his chest.

      He realised that as far as Drakon Notara was concerned the way he conducted his private life was as important as the way he did business. The fact that not one single woman had caught his attention since Kerry would not impress the old man. He would simply judge Theo harshly for not making the relationship work in the first place.

      And, to make matters worse, he seemed to have developed a real soft spot for Kerry.

      ‘I’m a traditional old man,’ Drakon said over his shoulder. ‘I don’t hold with the fast and wasteful way people live their lives these days. Fast cars polluting the air, fast relationships…everything is disposable.’

      ‘If we talk, you’ll discover that we share many of the same traditional values,’ Theo said.

      He wanted to follow Drakon and convince him that he did not plan to build hotels on the island. But his reasons for wanting the island were personal and he had no intention of sharing them with anyone—especially not a judgemental old man who thought it was his right to force his opinions on other people.

      ‘Then come back and visit properly,’ Drakon said, pausing on the threshold, as if to gather his strength before he disappeared inside. ‘And bring Kerry with you.’

      Theo watched him go. He might be physically frail, but his mind and his will were still as strong as ever.

      ‘Allow me to escort you back to the helipad,’ Drakon’s assistant said, stepping out of the shadows at the edge of the paved area.

      Theo nodded a curt acknowledgement, and turned to leave.

      ‘I know the way,’ he said, striding out of the shaded area into the bright Greek sunshine.

      He frowned as he walked along the rutted ridge path, completely oblivious to the breathtaking view across the azure Aegean Sea.