An Offer She Can't Refuse
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Emma Darcy
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Chapter One
‘IT’S like a great big sail, Mama,’ Theo said in awe, staring up at the most famous building in Dubai—Burj Al Arab, the only seven-star hotel in the world.
Tina Savalas smiled at her beautiful five-year-old son. ‘Yes, it’s meant to look like that.’
Built on a man-made island surrounded by the sea, the huge white glittering structure had all the glorious elegance of a sail billowed by the wind. Tina was looking forward to seeing as much of its interior as she could. Her sister, Cassandra, had declared it absolutely fabulous, a must-see on their two-day stopover before flying on to Athens.
Actually staying in the hotel was way too expensive—thousands of dollars a night—which was fine for the super-rich to whom the cost was totally irrelevant. People like Theo’s father. No doubt he had occupied one of the luxury suites with butler on his way back to Greece from Australia, having put his charming episode with her behind him.
Tina shut down on the bitter thought. Being left pregnant by Ari Zavros was her own stupid fault. She’d been a completely blind naive fool to have believed he was as much in love with her as she was with him. Sheer fantasy land. Besides, how could she regret having Theo? He was the most adorable little boy, and from time to time, knowing Ari was missing out on his son gave her considerable secret satisfaction.
Their taxi stopped at the checkpoint gates which prevented anyone but paying guests from proceeding to the hotel. Her mother produced the necessary paperwork, showing confirmation that they had booked for the early afternoon tea session. Even that was costing them one hundred and seventy dollars each, but they had decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience they should indulge in.
The security man waved them on and the taxi drove slowly over the bridge which led to the hotel entrance, allowing them time to take in the whole amazing setting.
‘Look, Mama, a camel!’ Theo cried, delighted at recognising the animal standing on a side lawn.
‘Yes, but not a real one, Theo. It’s a statue.’
‘Can I sit on it?’
‘We’ll ask if you can, but later, when we’re leaving.’
‘And take a photo of me on it so I can show my friends,’ he pressed eagerly.
‘I’m sure we’ll have plenty of great photos to show from this trip,’ Tina assured him.
They alighted from the taxi and were welcomed into the grand lobby of the hotel which was so incredibly opulent, photographs couldn’t possibly capture all of its utter magnificence. They simply stood and stared upwards at the huge gold columns supporting the first few tiers of inner balconies of too many floors to count, the rows of their scalloped ceilings graduating from midnight-blue to aqua and green and gold at the top with lots of little spotlights embedded in them, twinkling like stars.
When they finally lowered their heads, right in front of them and dividing two sets of escalators, was a wonderful cascade of dancing fountains, each level repeating the same range of colours in the tower of ceilings. The escalators were flanked by side-walls which were gigantic aquariums where hosts of gorgeous tropical fish darted and glided around the underwater rocks and foliage.
‘Oh, look at the fish, Mama!’ Theo cried, instantly entranced by them.
‘This truly is amazing,’ Tina’s mother murmured in awe. ‘Your father always liked the architecture of the old world. He thought nothing could beat the palaces and the cathedrals that were built in the past, but this is absolutely splendid in its own way. I wish he was here to see it.’
He had died a year ago and her mother still wore black in mourning. Tina missed him, too. Despite his disappointment in her—getting pregnant to a man who was not interested in partnering her for life—he had given her the support she’d needed and been a marvellous grandfather to Theo, proud that she’d named her son after him.
It was a terrible shame that he hadn’t lived long enough to see Cassandra married. Her older sister had done everything right; made a success of her modelling career without the slightest taint of scandal in her private life, fell in love with a Greek photographer—the right nationality—who wanted their wedding to take place on Santorini, the most romantic Greek island of all. He would have been bursting with pride, walking Cassandra down the aisle next week, his good girl.
But at least the bad girl had given him the pleasure of having a little boy in the family. Having only two daughters and no son had been another disappointment to her father. Tina told herself she had made up for her mistake with Theo. And she’d been on hand to take over the management of his restaurant, doing everything his way when he’d become too ill to do it all himself. He’d called her a good girl then.
Yet while Tina thought she had redeemed herself in her father’s eyes, she didn’t feel good inside. Not since Ari Zavros had taken all that she was and walked away from her as though she was nothing. The sense of being totally crushed had never gone away. Theo held her together. He made life worth living. And there were things to enjoy, like this hotel with all its splendours.
There was another glorious fountain at the top of the escalator. They were escorted down a corridor to the elevator which would whiz them up to the SkyView Bar on the twenty-seventh floor. They walked over a large circle of mosaic tiles, a blazing sun at its centre, over a carpet shaped like a fish in red and gold. Her mother pointed out vases of tightly clustered red roses, dozens of them in each perfect pompom-like arrangement. The doors of the elevator were patterned in blue and gold—everything unbelievably rich.
On arriving in the shimmering gold lobby of the bar, they were welcomed again and escorted into the dining area where the decor was a stunning blue and green, the ceiling designed like waves with white crests. They were seated in comfortable armchairs at a table by a window which gave a fantastic view of the city of Dubai and the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah where the very wealthy owned mansions with sand and sea frontage.
A whole world away from her life in every sense, Tina thought, but she was having a little taste of it today, smiling at the waiter who handed them a menu listing dozens of varieties of tea from which they could choose, as many different ones as they liked to try throughout the afternoon. He poured them glasses of champagne to go with their first course which was a mix of fresh berries with cream. Tina didn’t know how she was going to get through all the marvellous food listed—probably not—but she was determined on enjoying all she could.
Her mother was smiling.
Theo was wide-eyed at the view.
This was a good day.
Ari Zavros was bored. It had been a mistake to invite Felicity Fullbright on this trip to Dubai with him, though it had certainly proved he couldn’t bear to have her as a full-time partner. She had a habit of notching up experiences as though she had a bucket list that had to be filled. Like having to do afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab hotel.
‘I’ve done afternoon tea at The Ritz and The Dorchester in London, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and at The Empress on Vancouver Island. I can’t miss out on this one, Ari,’ she had insisted. ‘The sheikhs are mostly educated in England, aren’t they? They probably do it better than the English.’
No relaxing in between his business talks on the Palm Jumeirah development. They had to visit the indoor ski slope, Atlantis underwater, and of course the gold souks where she had clearly expected him to buy her whatever she fancied. She was not content with just his company and he was sick to death of hers.
The only bright side of Felicity Fullbright was she did shut up in bed where she used her mouth in many pleasurable ways. Which had swayed him into asking her to accompany him on this trip. However, the hope that she might be compatible with him on other grounds was now comprehensively smashed. The good did not balance out the bad and he’d be glad to be rid of her tomorrow.
Once they flew into Athens he would pack her off back to London. No way was he going to invite her to his cousin’s wedding on Santorini. His father could rant and rave as much as he liked about its being time for Ari to shed his bachelor life. Marriage to the Fullbright heiress was not going to happen.
There had to be someone somewhere he could tolerate as his wife. He just had to keep looking and assessing whether a marriage would work well enough. His father was right. It was time to start his own family. He did want children, always enjoying the time he spent with his nephews. However, finding the right woman to partner him in parenthood was not proving easy.
Being head over heels in love like his cousin, George, was not a requirement. In fact, having been scorched by totally mindless passion in his youth, Ari had never wanted to feel so possessed by a woman again. He had a cast-iron shield up against being sucked into any blindly driven emotional involvement. A relationship either satisfied him on enough levels to be happily viable or it didn’t—a matter of completely rational judgement.
His dissatisfaction with Felicity was growing by the minute. Right now she was testing his patience, taking millions of photographs of the inside of the hotel. It wasn’t enough to simply look and enjoy, share the visual pleasure of it with him. Using the camera to the nth degree was more important, taking pictures that she would sift through endlessly and discard most of them. Another habit he hated. He liked to live in the moment.
Finally, finally, they got in the elevator and within minutes were being led to their window table in the SkyView Bar. But did Felicity sit down and enjoy the view? No, the situation wasn’t perfect for her.
‘Ari, I don’t like this table,’ she whispered, grasping his arm to stop him from sitting down.
‘What’s wrong with it?’ he asked tersely, barely containing his exasperation with her constant self-centred demands.
She nodded and rolled her eyes, indicating the next table along. ‘I don’t want to be next to a child. He’ll probably play up and spoil our time here.’
Ari looked at the small family group that Felicity didn’t like. A young boy—five or six years old—stood at the window, staring down at the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Seated beside the child on one side was a very handsome woman—marvellous facial bones like Sophia Loren’s—dark wavy hair unashamedly going grey, probably the boy’s grandmother. On the other side with her back turned to him was another woman, black hair cropped short in a modern style, undoubtedly younger, a slimmer figure, and almost certainly the boy’s mother.
‘He won’t spoil the food or the tea, Felicity, and if you haven’t noticed, all the other tables are taken.’
They’d been late arriving, even later because of feeding her camera in the lobby. Having to wait for Felicity to be satisfied with whatever she wanted was testing his temper to an almost intolerable level.
She placed a pleading hand on his arm, her big blue eyes promising a reward if he indulged her. ‘But I’m sure if you ask, something better could be arranged.’
‘I won’t put other people out,’ he said, giving her a hard, quelling look. ‘Just sit down, Felicity. Enjoy being here.’
She pouted, sighed, flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder in annoyance, and finally sat.
The waiter poured them champagne, handed them menus, chatted briefly about what was on offer, then quickly left them before Felicity could kick up another fuss which would put him in a difficult position.
‘Why do they have all those chairs on the beach set out in rows, Yiayia?’
The boy’s voice was high and clear and carried, bringing an instant grimace to Felicity’s pouty mouth. Ari recognised the accent as Australian, yet the boy had used the Greek word for grandmother, arousing his curiosity.
‘The beach belongs to the hotel, Theo, and the chairs are set out for the guests so they will be comfortable,’ the older woman answered, her English thick with a Greek accent.
‘They don’t do that at Bondi,’ the boy remarked.
‘No. That’s because Bondi is a public beach for anyone to use and set up however they like on the sand.’
The boy turned to her, frowning at the explanation. ‘Do you mean I couldn’t go to that beach down there, Yiayia?’
He was a fine-looking boy, very pleasing features and fairish hair. Oddly enough he reminded Ari of himself as a child.
‘Not unless you were staying in the hotel, Theo,’ his grandmother replied.
‘Then I think Bondi is better,’ the boy said conclusively, turning back to the view.
An egalitarian Australian even at this tender age, Ari thought, remembering his own experiences of the people’s attitudes in that country.
Felicity huffed and whined, ‘We’re going to have to listen to his prattle all afternoon. I don’t know why people bring children to places like this. They should be left with nannies.’
‘Don’t you like children, Felicity?’ Ari enquired, hoping she would say no, which would comprehensively wipe out any argument his father might give him over his rejection of this marital candidate.
‘In their place,’ she snapped back at him.
Out of sight, out of mind, was what she meant.
‘I think family is important,’ he drawled. ‘And I have no objection to any family spending time together, anywhere.’
Which shut her up, temporarily.
This was going to be a long afternoon.
Tina felt the nape of her neck prickling at the sound of the man’s voice coming from the table next to theirs. The deep mellifluous tone was an electric reminder of another voice that had seduced her into believing all the sweet things it had said to her, believing they had meant she was more special than any other woman in the world.
It couldn’t be Ari, could it?
She was torn by the temptation to look.
Which was utterly, utterly stupid, letting thoughts of him take over her mind when she should be enjoying this wonderfully decadent afternoon tea.
Ari Zavros was out of her life. Well and truly out of it. Six years ago he’d made the parting from her absolutely decisive, no coming back to Australia, no interest in some future contact. She had been relegated to a fond memory, and she certainly didn’t want the fond memory revived here and now, if by some rotten coincidence it was Ari sitting behind her.
It wouldn’t be him, anyway.
The odds against it were astronomical.
All the same, it was better not to look, better to keep her back turned to the man behind her. If it was Ari, if he caught her looking and recognised her…it was a stomach-curdling thought. No way was she prepared for a face-to-face meeting with him, especially not with her mother and Theo looking on, becoming involved.
This couldn’t happen.
It wouldn’t happen.
Her imagination was making mountains out of no more than a tone of voice. Ridiculous! The man was with a woman. She’d heard the plummy English voice complaining about Theo’s presence—a really petty complaint because Theo was always well-behaved. She shouldn’t waste any attention on them. Her mind fiercely dictated ignoring the couple and concentrating on the pleasure of being here.
She leaned forward, picked up her cup and sipped the wonderfully fragrant Jasmin Pearls. They had already eaten a marvellous slice of Beef Wellington served warm with a beetroot puree. On their table now was a stand shaped like the Burj, its four tiers presenting a yummy selection of food on colourful glass plates.
At the top were small sandwiches made with different types of bread—egg, smoked salmon, cream cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, cucumber and cream cheese. Other tiers offered seafood vol-au-vents with prawns, choux pastry chicken with seeded mustard, a beef sandwich, and basil, tomato and bocconcini cheese on squid ink bread. It was impossible to eat everything. Predictably, Theo zeroed in on the chicken, her mother anything with cheese, and the seafood she loved was all hers.
A waiter came around with a tray offering replenishments but they shook their heads, knowing there was so much more to taste—fruit cake, scones with and without raisins and an assortment of spreads; strawberry and rose petal jam, clotted cream, a strawberry mousse and tangy passionfruit.
Tina refused to let the reminder of Ari Zavros ruin her appetite. There wasn’t much conversation going on at the table behind her anyway. Mostly it was the woman talking, carrying on in a snobby way, comparing this afternoon tea to others she’d had in famous hotels. Only the occasional murmur of reply came from the man.
‘I’m so glad we stopped in Dubai,’ her mother remarked, gazing at the view. ‘There’s so much amazing, creative architecture in this city. That hotel shaped like a wave just below us, the stunning buildings we passed on the way here. And to think it’s all happened in the space of what…thirty years?’
‘Something like that,’ Tina murmured.
‘It shows what can be done in these modern times.’
‘With the money to do it,’ Tina dryly reminded her.
‘Well, at least they have the money. They’re not bankrupting the country like the aristocrats did in Europe for their grand palaces in the old days. And all this has to be a drawcard for tourists, bringing money into the country.’
‘True.’ Tina smiled. ‘I’m glad we came here, too. It certainly is amazing.’
Her mother leaned forward and whispered, ‘Seated at the next table is an incredibly handsome man. I think he must be a movie star. Take a look, Tina, and see if you recognise him.’
Her stomach instantly cramped. Ari Zavros was an incredibly handsome man. Her mother nodded encouragingly, expecting her to glance around. Hadn’t she already decided it couldn’t—wouldn’t—be him? One quick look would clear this silly fear. Just do it. Get it over with.
One quick look…
The shock of seeing the man she’d never expected to see again hit her so hard she barely found wits enough to give her mother a reply.
‘I’ve never seen him in a movie.’
And thank God the turning of her head towards him hadn’t caught his attention!
Ari!—still a beautiful lion of a man with his thick mane of wavy honey-brown hair streaked through with golden strands, silky smooth olive skin, his strongly masculine face softened by a beautifully sculptured full-lipped mouth, and made compelling by thickly lashed amber eyes—eyes that Theo had inherited, and thank God her mother hadn’t noticed that likeness!
‘Well, he must be someone,’ her mother said in bemusement. ‘One of the beautiful people.’
‘Don’t keep staring at him, Mama,’ Tina hissed, everything within her recoiling from any connection with him.
Her mother was totally unabashed. ‘I’m just returning the curiosity. He keeps looking at us.’
Why??? screamed through Tina’s mind.
Panicky thoughts followed.
Had the Australian accent reminded him of the three months he’d spent there?
He could not have identified her, not from a back view. Her hair had been long and curly when he’d known her.
Did he see a similarity to himself in Theo?
But surely he wouldn’t be making a blood connection to himself personally, unless he was in the habit of leaving love-children around the world.
Tina pulled herself up on that dark thought. He had used condoms with her. It was unlikely he would think his safe sex had ever been unsafe. Whatever had drawn his interest…it presented a very real problem to her.
Since he and his companion had arrived late at this afternoon tea, it was almost inevitable that she and Theo and her mother would leave before them and they would have to pass his table on their way out. If he looked straight at her, face-to-face…
He might not remember her. It had been six years ago. She looked different with her hair short. And he’d surely had many women pass through his life in the meantime. But if he did recognise her and stopped her from making a quick escape, forcing a re-acquaintance, introductions…her mind reeled away from all the painful complications that might follow.
She did not want Ari Zavros directly touching her life again. That decision had been made before her pregnancy had to be revealed to her parents. It would have been unbearable to have him questioning an unwelcome paternity or sharing responsibility for Theo on some dutiful basis—constantly in and out of her life, always making her feel bad for having loved him so blindly.
It had been a wretched business, standing firm against her father’s questioning, refusing to track down a man who didn’t want her any more, insisting that her child would be better off without any interference from him. Whether that decision had been right or wrong she had never regretted it.
Even recently when Theo had asked why he didn’t have a father like his kindergarten friends, she had felt no guilt at telling him that some children only had mothers and that was the way it was for them. She was convinced that Ari could only be a horribly disruptive influence in their lives if, given the chance, he decided to be in them at all.
She didn’t want to give him the chance.
It had taken so much determination and hard work to establish the life she and Theo now had, it was imperative to hold onto the status quo. This terrible trick of fate—putting Ari and herself in the same place at the same time with Theo and her mother present—could mess up their lives so badly.
A confrontation had to be avoided.
Tina pushed back the sickening waves of panic and fiercely told herself this shouldn’t be too difficult. Ari had company. Surely it would be unreasonable of him to leave his tete-a-tete with one woman to re-connect with another. Besides, he might not recognise her anyway. If he did, if he tried to engage her in some awful memory-lane chat, she had to ensure that her mother had already taken herself and Theo out of this possible scenario.
She could manage that.
She had to.
