The Greek's Marriage Bargain. Sharon Kendrick

she’d thought.

      She bent to pick up a shell as she thought about the possibility that her little brother could be in danger and the solution which Xenon was offering.

      There is always a price, he had said in that very Greek way of his. And surely the price was too high. How could she bear to spend time pretending to be his wife when barely an hour in his company had left her wanting to climb the walls?

      Yet could she deny her brother this chance because she didn’t have the guts to face the man she’d married? What was she so afraid of?

      Him. She was afraid of Xenon and the way he made her feel. She was afraid of the things he made her want. Things she could never give him.

      She put the shell in her pocket and headed for home. The breeze had whipped her hair into a wild frizz, but at least her cheeks had gained some colour by the time she got back to the cottage. She tried ringing Jason but as usual his phone was switched off and her imagination began to work overtime, and to scare her.

      If she denied him this chance for selfish reasons, then wouldn’t she spend her life waiting for the knock on the door? The sombre voices of the police telling her that her baby brother had been found in a ditch somewhere?

      She picked up the phone and dialled Xenon’s number, only to be told that he was in a meeting. But when she gave her name, the tone of the woman answering seemed to change and there was a click before Xenon himself came on the line.

      ‘Lex?’

      Still taken aback by the fact that he’d actually interrupted a meeting to speak to her, Lexi forced herself to respond. ‘Yes, it’s me.’

      ‘You’ve made a decision?’

      ‘I have.’ She kept her voice low and her answers short—afraid she would betray some kind of emotion if she said too much. And the most stupid emotion of all was the hunger welling up inside her. The terrible aching deep in her heart, which made her long for the love they’d once shared.

      Maybe it was because the telephone could sometimes play tricks with you. Speaking to someone without seeing the look in their eyes could make you feel as if nothing awful had ever happened. That you were still the same two people who would meet at the end of the day. Suddenly, it was frighteningly easy to imagine him pulling her into his arms and kissing her. Holding her tightly against his big, strong body as he’d done at the beginning. When for the first time in her life she’d felt safe.

      She gave a wry smile. She should have known it was too good to be true. What was it that they said? That the honeymoon never lasted. And they were right. Because almost as soon as they had returned from their trip to Rhodes, her husband had given himself over to his real love. The work which defined him and drove him and which had made him one of the world’s most successful businessmen.

      ‘I’m waiting, Lex,’ came the sound of his impatient voice in her ear.

      ‘You know that I don’t want to do it,’ she said. ‘And I’m asking you to reconsider.’

      ‘Ochi. Can’t be done. You will do what I want you to do.’

      ‘You’re a ruthless man, Xenon Kanellis.’

      ‘Insult me all you like,’ he said. ‘But my heart will not be swayed by your pleas.’

      ‘You have no heart!’

      ‘Then waste no more of my time with your futile protestations. Give me your answer, Lex—is it yes or no?’

      There was a pause while she tried to fight it, but she realised she had no choice. ‘Yes,’ she breathed reluctantly.

      ‘Good.’

      She heard the unmistakeable triumph in his voice. She could imagine him sitting in the chair at his desk, swivelling it around so that he could gaze out at the London skyline. And she could have screamed.

      ‘We need to discuss practicalities,’ he was saying.

      ‘I agree.’ She drew in a deep breath because this bit was much better done on the phone, away from the calculating gleam of his eyes. ‘So let’s kick off by saying that this is not going to be a real marriage in any sense of the word. Let’s call it a masquerade, shall we? The mask I’ll wear in public won’t come off in private. Do you understand?’

      ‘I think it’s a consideration which can be discussed at a future date,’ he answered smoothly. ‘When can you be here? Tomorrow?’

      ‘Are you out of your mind?’ Lexi gripped the telephone. ‘I can’t just pack up and go! There are things I need to take care of. It may surprise you to know that I have a life here.’

      There was a pause. ‘Or a man? An eager lover you can’t bear to leave behind?’

      Lexi almost laughed at how far he was from the truth. How she would have loved to tell him that, yes, there was a man. Someone who thrilled her whenever he touched her, as Xenon had always thrilled her. But there had been no one else. Sometimes she doubted that there ever would be. ‘I’m sure that your spies must have reported back to you that currently there’s no man.’

      ‘Currently?’ he echoed.

      ‘None of your damned business. One of the perks of being separated is that it means you’re free to start dating.’

      She heard what sounded like Xenon trying to control his angry breathing and she gave a small smile of satisfaction.

      ‘Don’t push me too hard,’ he growled. ‘What do you need to take care of?’

      ‘Well, there’s my goldfish, for a start. There’s also my jewellery business. I may work for myself but I still have some commissions which I need to finish. When is...?’ The lump which had suddenly risen out of nowhere now lodged itself deep in her throat. ‘When is the christening?’

      ‘Next week. I’ll send my car for you on Friday and we’ll fly out on Saturday. Make sure you’re ready at noon,’ he said, and cut the connection.

      Lexi was left clutching the phone, her hand shaking with rage. He was so authoritative. So used to getting what he wanted. He hadn’t even given her a chance to tell him that she would drive herself up to London. Or should she just let herself be whisked away in his fancy, chauffeur-driven car—no doubt in a demonstration of how easily he could flex his power?

      She drew in a deep breath, knowing that she shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. She was doing this for Jason—and all she had to do was to get through it.

      She spent the rest of the week finishing up her commissions and thinking about whether she should make something for Kyra’s baby. It would make sense and at least it would guarantee that her gift would be unique.

      Her career as a jeweller was building slowly, but surely—though at the moment it was confined mainly to locals, with the occasional holidaymaker. Learning how to make silver jewellery had been one of the best decisions she’d ever made. She’d liked the combination of the practical and the artistic and it still thrilled her every time someone liked one of her designs enough to buy one.

      Just last week an old man had ordered a chunky brooch for his wife, to celebrate fifty years of marriage. He obviously enjoyed chatting and started telling Lexi all about his long-ago wedding day. She had felt herself getting emotional as his rheumy old eyes welled up with tears and she thought it made her own marital record of two years seem like a mockery.

      Picking up a lump of silver, she thought again about the new baby and, although she always steered clear of designing for infants on the grounds that it was too painful, she set to work. Because she had adored Xenon’s little sister and she had felt almost guilty that the breakdown of her marriage meant that communication with her had been severed. Somehow this handmade gift for Kyra’s firstborn seemed important, and significant. She worked long into the night and most of the next day too, until she had fashioned the small silver charm to her satisfaction.

      On Friday, she had only just closed up her workshop