The Greek's Acquisition. Chantelle Shaw

abrupt question was a welcome interruption to her wayward thoughts. She released her pent-up breath on a faint sigh.

      ‘I need to talk to you.’

      ‘That’s funny,’ he said sardonically. ‘I remember saying those exact words to you once, but you refused to listen to me. Why should I listen to you now?’

      Louise was startled by his reference to the past. She’d assumed that he would have forgotten the brief time they had spent together. They had been magical, golden days for her, but she had meant nothing to him—as she had later found out.

      She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. ‘I think you’ll be interested in what I have to say. I’m putting Eirenne up for sale—and I thought you might want to buy it.’

      Dimitri gave a harsh laugh. ‘You mean buy back the island that belonged to my family for forty years before your mother persuaded my father on his deathbed to amend his will and leave Eirenne to her? Morally, it is not yours to sell.’ He frowned. ‘Nor do you have the right to sell it. Kostas named Tina as his beneficiary, and the island belongs to her.’

      ‘Actually, I am the legal owner. My mother transferred the deeds into my name and I can do what I like with Eirenne—although Tina is in agreement with my decision to sell it.’

      The first part of that statement at least was true, Louise thought. Her mother had been advised by her accountant to transfer ownership of the island for tax purposes. But Louise had never regarded Eirenne as hers, and her decision to sell it was a last resort to raise the huge sum of money needed to pay for Tina to have lifesaving pioneering medical treatment in the U.S. She had not discussed it with her mother, who was too ill to cope with anything more than getting through each day. Tina’s chances of survival were slim, but Louise was determined she would have a chance.

      She held Dimitri’s gaze and tried not to feel intimidated by the aggression emanating from him. ‘The island has been valued at three million pounds. I’m prepared to sell it to you for one million.’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’

      She understood his surprise. The real-estate agent had clearly thought she was mad when she’d told him she was prepared to offer the small but charming Greek island set amid the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea for considerably less than its market value.

      She shrugged. ‘Because I need a quick sale.’

      She did not attempt to explain that she had never felt comfortable with the fact that Kostas Kalakos had left the island to her mother rather than to his family. For one thing she doubted Dimitri would believe her, and for another she did not want to bring personal feelings into what was essentially a business proposition. She needed to sell Eirenne and she was sure Dimitri would be keen to buy it. End of story.

      ‘I know you tried to buy the island from my mother shortly after Kostas died, and she refused to sell it. Now I’m giving you the chance to own it again.’

      Dimitri snorted. ‘Let me guess. Tina wants you to sell Eirenne because she has spent all the money my father left her and has decided to cash in her remaining asset.’

      His comment was painfully close to the truth, Louise acknowledged heavily. Since Kostas’s death her mother had lived an extravagant lifestyle, and failed to heed warnings from the bank that her inheritance fund was running out.

      ‘I don’t intend to discuss the reason for the sale. But if you turn down my offer I will advertise Eirenne, and I’ve been told that it should attract a lot of interest.’

      ‘Interest, possibly. But in case you hadn’t noticed the world is in the middle of an economic recession and I doubt you’ll sell quickly. Businesses in the leisure industry won’t be attracted to Eirenne because it isn’t big enough to be developed as a tourist destination—thankfully.’

      Dimitri’s words echoed what the real-estate agent had told Louise. ‘Buying a private island is not a top priority for most people right now. Even billionaires are being cautious in this uncertain economic climate, and it could be months before a buyer comes forward.’

      Panic coiled in her stomach. Her mother did not have months.

      Dimitri studied Louise speculatively, curious when he saw the colour drain from her face. She gave the impression of self-confidence, but he sensed a vulnerability about her that reminded him of the younger woman he had known seven years ago.

      She had been in her first year at university, just stepping out into the world and brimming with enthusiasm for life. Her passion for everything, especially the arts, had captivated him. Although he’d only been in his twenties, he had already been jaded by a diet of sophisticated socialites who fell into his bed with a willingness that he’d begun to find tedious. But the Loulou he had met on Eirenne that spring had been different from any other woman he’d ever known—just as she had been different from the shy teenager he’d largely ignored on the few previous occasions when he had seen her at his father’s villa.

      He had been intrigued by her new maturity, and they had talked for hours. Not pointless small-talk, but interesting conversations. As the days had passed he’d found that he valued her friendship and her honesty as much as he was entranced by her beauty, which was not just skin-deep but truly came from within her.

      He had thought he had found something special—someone special. But he had been wrong.

      Dimitri was conscious of a faint feeling of regret, which he immediately dismissed as he slammed the door on his memories.

      ‘There’s more to this than you’re telling me,’ he guessed intuitively. ‘Why are you prepared to sell the island for significantly less than it’s worth?’

      When she did not reply he shrugged dismissively. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I am no longer interested in Eirenne.’ He shot her an intent look. ‘It holds too many memories that I’d prefer to forget.’

      Louise wondered if he deliberately meant to hurt her. He could have been referring to his father’s affair with her mother, of course. Kostas had left Dimitri’s mother to live with Tina on Eirenne. But somehow she knew he had been talking about more personal memories—of the few wonderful days they had spent together and that one incredible night.

      He drew back his shirt-cuff and glanced at his watch. ‘Your three minutes are up. A member of my security staff will escort you from the building.’

      ‘No … Wait!’ Shocked by his abrupt dismissal, Louise jerked forward and reached out to prevent him from picking up the phone on his desk. Her fingers touched his and the brief contact sent a quiver of electricity shooting up her arm. She could not restrain an audible gasp and snatched her hand back.

      She felt his eyes on her, but she was so shaken by her reaction to him that she could not bring herself to meet his gaze. She was stunned by his refusal to buy the island. She had been sure he would agree.

      Her mind whirled. If Dimitri did not want to buy Eirenne she could advertise it at the same below-value price she had offered it to him. But there was still no guarantee that it would be sold quickly, and time for Tina was running out.

      She pictured her mother’s painfully thin face the last time she had visited her. The slash of bright lipstick Tina still applied every day with the help of a nurse had looked garish against her grey skin.

      ‘I’m scared, Loulou,’ Tina had whispered, when Louise had leaned over the bed to kiss her the day before she had flown to Greece.

      ‘It’s going to be all right—I promise.’

      She would do everything in her power to keep the promise she had given her mother, Louise vowed. Somehow she had to raise enough money for Tina to have that treatment in the U.S., and her best chance of doing that was to persuade Dimitri to buy back the island that she believed in her heart should be his.

      That was why she had offered Eirenne to him for less than it was worth. Her conscience was torn between wanting to help her mother and a