Bought: One Island, One Bride. Susan Stephens

himself to a curt nod of dismissal.

      ‘Goodbye, Kirie Kosta,’ Ellie intoned with matching formality.

      She met his gaze fearlessly. Her mouth was compressed in an angry line and her eyes were still blazing fire at him. She stood in front of him long enough for him to notice that her curly hair was sun-streaked to the point of being blonde at the temples, and however hard she tried to flatten those lips they still curved in a perfect Cupid’s bow.

      ‘Kiria Theodopulos?’ she said, looking past him into the room.

      He had forgotten the old lady was even there, and yet he noticed everything about Ellie. There was a smudge of oil on her cheek that drew his attention back to the ugly scar…As she brought her hand up to cover it he wondered at the shame she was feeling—the shame that showed in her eyes. It puzzled him. It even softened him, just a little. ‘Make an appointment if you want to see me again,’ he said gruffly as the two women walked past him.

      ‘When can I see you?’ Ellie demanded like a shot.

      ‘My PA keeps my diary.’ He refused to be pressured by a child. She looked so young standing beside Kiria Theodopulos…and, of course, good Greek manners dictated that he should escort the old lady back to the shore. This wasn’t over yet. He offered his arm to Kiria Theodopulos, and when she took it Ellie had no option but to follow on behind.

      When they reached the shore something made him throw Ellie a lifeline. ‘I’m holding a meeting tomorrow. You should attend. It’s on neutral territory,’ he added with some irony.

      ‘Where?’ She looked at him with interest.

      ‘In the council building.’

      ‘I know it.’

      Her remorseless enthusiasm for her cause niggled at him. ‘It’s at eleven. Miss it and you won’t get a second chance.’

      ‘Thank you,’ she said, as if he had offered her something graciously.

      Maybe he should have added that she would get a hearing by people on his payroll, but why not let her find that out for herself? It might have more impact that way; show her she was defending a lost cause. ‘Do you have a problem?’ he said, realising she was still standing there, looking thoughtful.

      ‘My wardrobe is somewhat limited.’

      The elders of Lefkis were a formal group who wouldn’t take kindly to someone turning up in a boiler suit—even if that someone was Ellie. ‘I have a secretary who might be prepared to lend you something to wear,’ he offered.

      ‘I can afford my own clothes, thank you, Kirie Kosta,’ she said, tilting that chin of hers again.

      ‘Alexander,’ he reminded her. ‘And don’t be late.’

      ‘I’ll be there,’ she assured him with suppressed excitement.

      This was just the opportunity she had been waiting for—what a shame, he thought; it really wouldn’t do her any good. ‘Ellie…’

      ‘Yes?’

      He had been about to offer her an advance on the compensation she would receive for quitting her berth to give her funds to buy some formal clothes, but why should he? Why not let her climb out of the hole she’d dug herself? ‘Forget it,’ he said.

      ‘You will let me speak tomorrow?’ she said suspiciously.

      ‘You’ll never know if you don’t turn up, will you?’

      Her eyes were round and wounded. He moved in for the kill. ‘If you’d troubled to read the papers my agent served on you, you would know the compensation I’m paying is enough for you to buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes and the best boat on the market—’

      ‘I already own the best boat on the market. And as for money, contrary to what you believe, it counts for nothing here—’

      ‘Oh, really? So the economy of this island works on a different system from the rest of the world? Get real, Ellie. Come to the meeting, or call it a day. It’s the only offer on the table—’

      ‘And if I don’t like the outcome?’

      He gave her a look.

      ‘I have no right of appeal, is that right?’

      She understood now.

      

      No right of appeal? Ellie fumed. So, Lefkis was about to become a dictatorship under the heel of Alexander Kosta. Having survived the rule of one tyrant, it was going to suffer another. Her mind was in ferment as she walked briskly down the quay. Maybe she had been too long on an island surrounded by people she could trust and had lost her sense of what was and what wasn’t acceptable behaviour, but Alexander Kosta had really gone too far.

      And she was going to take him on single-handedly?

      Yes, if she had to; what other option did she have?

      Ellie glanced up as she reached her berth. She had been distracted by the braying laughter coming from the towering white yacht moored up next to her boat. The occupants of the super-yacht would be well into their champagne by now, which meant she had another sleepless night to look forward to.

      And how would Alexander sleep? Ellie wondered, gazing back at the Olympus. The last thing she wanted to think about was Alexander stretched out on his palatial bed, but…

      Perhaps he never slept. Perhaps he just stood by the window, staring out at his well-packed marina, gloating over the revenue the super-yachts would bring him.

      Taking hold of the familiar rope that said she was home, Ellie ground her teeth in anger as she padded lightly up the gangway. She was wasting her time imagining Alexander might one day change and use all that power he wielded for good. But she’d have another go, tomorrow at the meeting. And as for wondering if that stern face of his ever cracked a smile…

      Perhaps he didn’t have any teeth…She laughed to herself.

      Buoyed up by that thought, Ellie strode purposefully across the deck. Closing the hatch door behind her as she climbed down the companionway, she bolted it securely. Alexander wasn’t the only one in Lefkis who kept his life locked up tight.

      Turning on the low-voltage lights that made everything so cosy, Ellie started making plans for the meeting. She suspected Alexander was only humouring her, with his decision about the race and the harbour already made, but still, she had to try to shake people out of their apathy. If she didn’t succeed Alexander’s stranglehold on the island would be complete.

      Reaching inside her neatly stowed fridge, she got out a carton of milk and poured a glass. Moving back across the cabin to the porthole, she peered out. She could see the Olympus, where no doubt right now Alexander was busy ticking off another tame local willing to rubber-stamp his ideas. Big mistake. She tipped her glass in an ironic salute.

      But there was nowhere else she would rather be, so she had to tread carefully and at least appear to play by his rules. The neighbouring islands were just as beautiful as Lefkis, but they didn’t exert the same hold over her. Not that she wanted to become part of some ritzy set-up, which seemed to be Alexander’s plan for Lefkis.

      Ellie pulled back from the window. The thought of more conflict with Alexander had made her heart thunder uncontrollably. She’d seen the lights of the Olympus reflected in the water. Could Alexander see her staring at him?

      Ridiculous! Of course he couldn’t…

      Rinsing out her glass, she put it away, then, going to the small tin where she kept her cash, she counted it out. There was enough ‘just in case’ money to buy a cheap two-piece at the market, and maybe a pair of proper shoes as well…

      

      She was on time, which he might have expected, but what on earth was she wearing? Alexander’s discerning gaze swept over Ellie’s market-stall outfit. The jacket, in an alarming shade of sludge-green, was far too small for her. Under that