The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

the occasional ‘ohi’, which she remembered from a holiday phrasebook meant ‘no’, but that was about it.

      ‘Ne. S’agapo,’ Theo said. ‘I love you too.’ And then he replaced the receiver.

      Was he going to tell her who had called? Madison wondered.

      Not that it was any of her business. The caller’s voice had definitely been female—but she could have been one of his three sisters, or his mother, or an aunt he was close to. And given that she and Theo were just friends, she had no right to feel jealous.

      The fact that she did feel jealous…well, that was just ridiculous.

      Theo flung himself onto the sofa beside her. ‘One of these days, I am going to strangle my parents.’

      She blinked. ‘Any particular reason why?’ she enquired mildly.

      ‘I just wish they would stop trying to fix me up with someone.’

      She smiled. ‘Tell them you’re a big boy and you can do it yourself.’ The fact it wouldn’t be with her…She pushed the thought away.

      ‘Do you have any idea what a Greek family is like?’ He stood up again, raking a hand through his hair, and started to pace from one side of the living room to the other. ‘Apart from the fact that we give our older generation rather more respect than you do here in London, there’s this relentless pressure to settle down, and when I lived in Greece they were forever setting up big dinner parties where I was introduced to some suitable girl.’ He shook his head. ‘I thought maybe moving countries would give me some space but, no, they have the daughter of a friend arriving in London and would I be so kind as to show her around?’

      ‘Maybe they just thought it would be nice for her to hear a familiar voice in a strange land,’ Madison pointed out.

      ‘More like they’re shoving yet another potential bride at me. They’ve been trying to marry me off for years.’ He was still pacing. ‘I told them, no, I’m a doctor and I have responsibilities—and although I might not actually be at the hospital all the time, I could be on call and have to go in if there are complications. I cannot let my patients down. I love my family,’ he continued, ‘but they drive me crazy.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I suppose I should be grateful that they let me off being in the family business. As the eldest son I should have followed in my father’s footsteps.’

      Was he actually going to tell her something about his family? ‘What does he do?’ Madison asked carefully.

      ‘He’s in the leisure industry.’ He shrugged. ‘But I always knew what I wanted to be and my parents never stood in my way.’

      ‘So maybe they don’t really expect you to settle down.’

      He smiled thinly. ‘Unfortunately, they do. Hence the string of potential brides. If I’m not going to be in the family business, the next best thing is that I marry someone who’ll be in the family business in my stead.’

      She frowned. ‘But your sisters and brother aren’t.’

      ‘My sisters are,’ he corrected. ‘And my brother will be, when he graduates.’

      She remembered what he’d told her about them when he’d shown her the photographs. A PR consultant, an interior designer and a chef. Where did that fit in with leisure? But she knew there was no point in asking Theo. He’d probably already let slip a lot more than he’d intended.

      Theo glanced at Madison as he paced the room. He really wasn’t being fair to her. Here, in London, his background wasn’t an issue. She saw him as Theo the man, the doctor, not the heir to the Petrakis hotel chain. And it wasn’t her fault that his family drove him crazy.

      He sighed and sat on the sofa next to her. ‘Signomi, Maddie. I’m sorry. I should have explained. My family owns a chain of hotels—little romantic boutique hotels. Expensive hotels.’

      ‘So you’re telling me you’re rich?’

      ‘My family is.’ He paused. ‘Though I’ve told Dad that because I’m the only one who hasn’t joined the family firm, I don’t expect to inherit anything. The others have worked for it, so my share belongs to them. And if he ignores me, I’ll divide up my share between them anyway.’

      Her approving look warmed him.

      ‘But they still keep trying to set me up with a suitable bride. The daughters of friends who also own hotel chains and whose families are all very involved in the business.’ He grimaced. ‘It’s one of the reasons I left Greece. I’m tired of them trying to marry me off to form a dynasty.’

      ‘You never wanted to be part of the business?’

      He shook his head. ‘I’m a doctor, Maddie. It’s who I am. It’s what I’ve always wanted to be.’

      ‘If they know how you feel and they love you,’ Madison said softly, ‘then they’ll accept it.’

      ‘They do…know how I feel and love me, I mean. And they sort of accept it, but I suppose they’re still hoping I’ll change my mind and go back to Greece. They miss me.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘And I miss them.’

      ‘So go back to Greece and make your peace with them. Properly.’

      ‘There’s no peace to make.’ He shook his head. ‘We didn’t fight. They knew I wanted to come to England and get to know the other side of my family.’

      ‘Your English grandparents.’

      She remembered that? ‘Yes. But it’s…complicated.’

      ‘And you’re a very private man. On the surface, you’re all fun and fantastic company. But if anyone gets too close, they hit the barrier you’ve thrown up.’ She smiled wryly. ‘I know the rules, Theo. And I’m not going to nag you or push you into talking about things you’d rather not discuss.’

      ‘Even though you want to make everything perfect for everyone?’

      ‘Hey. We all have our bad habits.’

      ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should talk about it.’ He took a deep breath. ‘It’s messy. And I don’t even know where to begin.’

      Gently, she took his hand. Squeezed it. ‘Don’t worry about it being messy. I’m not going to judge you. Talk to me, Theo. It doesn’t matter where you start. Just talk to me.’

      He was silent for so long she began to think that he’d changed his mind.

      And then he spoke.

      ‘You know my mother was English.’

      ‘Mmm-hmm.’

      ‘Her parents didn’t approve of her seeing my father. They thought he was a waiter, not good enough for their daughter.’ He smiled wryly. ‘He was a waiter when he met her, admittedly—but that’s because my grandparents owned the hotel and insisted he spend a fortnight in every single job in the business, so he could understand exactly how things worked and what kind of issues the staff faced.’ Then his smile faded. ‘Dad loved my mother. Really loved her. And she loved him. He married her, even though her parents refused to come to the wedding. When they found out they were expecting me, they were overjoyed.’ He swallowed hard. ‘And she died giving birth to me.’

      Madison’s heart contracted. Now at last she understood why he’d been so adamant about not having children of his own, even though he adored babies. She’d assumed that he and a former partner had lost a baby and their relationship hadn’t survived the tragedy, but she really hadn’t expected this. And if he’d been feeling this way for years and years…Something so deeply rooted he might never be able to let go.

      She said nothing, just put her arms round him and held him close. Because giving him a hug was the only thing she could think of to make him feel better.

      ‘Dad fell apart. And he couldn’t face seeing me because I reminded him of my mother