An Offer She Can't Refuse (4 page)

‘Yes. Tina! Oh, it’s so good to see you again!’ she bubbled, dodging around the table to give her a hug. ‘George and I are staying in Ari’s apartment tonight and when we told him we were meeting up with you, he insisted on coming with us so you won’t be strangers to each other at the wedding.’

Strangers!

He hadn’t let the cat out of the bag.

Tina fiercely hoped it suited him not to.

Cass swooped on Theo, lifting him up in her arms and turning to show him off to Ari. ‘And this is my nephew, Theo, who is going to be our page boy.’

Ari smiled at him. ‘Your Aunty Cassandra told me it’s your birthday this week.’

He’d been checking, Tina thought grimly.

Theo held up his hand with fingers and thumb spread. ‘Five,’ he announced proudly.

‘It’s my birthday this month, too,’ Ari said. ‘That makes us both Leos.’

‘No. I’m Theo, not Leo.’

Everyone laughed at the correction.

‘He didn’t mean to get your name wrong, darling,’ Cass explained. ‘We’re all born under star signs and the star sign for your birthday is Leo. Which means a lion. And you have amber eyes, just like a lion.’

Theo pointed to Ari. ‘He’s got the same colour eyes as me.’

Tina held her breath. Her heart was drumming in her ears. Her mind was screaming
please, please, please
don’t claim parentage now.
It was the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong everything!

‘There you are, then,’ Ari said with an air of indulgence, taking Theo’s outstretched hand and giving it a light shake. ‘Both of us are lions and I’m very glad to meet you.’ He turned to Tina. ‘And your mother.’

Relief reduced her to jelly inside. He wasn’t pushing his fatherhood yet. Maybe he never would. She should be saying
hello,
but she was so choked up with nervous tension it was impossible to get her voice to work.

‘Tina?’ He gave her a slightly quizzical smile as he offered his hand to her. ‘Short for Christina?’

‘Yes.’ It was a husky whisper, all she could manage.

Then she was forced by the occasion to let his strong fingers close around hers. The jolting sensation of electric warmth was a searing reminder of the sexual chemistry that had seduced her in the past. It instantly stirred a fierce rebellion in her mind. No way was she going to let it get to her again, making her weak and foolish. If there was to be a fight over custody of Theo, she couldn’t let Ari Zavros have any personal power over her. She wriggled her hand out of his as fast as she could.

Seating was quickly re-arranged so that Cass and George could sit beside her mother. Uncle Dimitri produced an extra chair for Ari at the end of the table, right next to her and Theo. It was impossible for Tina to protest this proximity, given they would be partners at the wedding and apparently Ari had already stated his intention to
make her acquaintance.

The situation demanded polite conversation. Any failure to follow that course would raise questions about her behaviour. As much as Tina hated having to do it, she adopted the pretence of being strangers, forcing herself to speak to George’s
best
man with an air of natural enquiry.

‘When did you meet my sister?’

It was a good question. She needed information and needed it fast to help her deal with Ari in the most sensible way. If it was possible to avoid a showdown with him over Theo, grasping that possibility was paramount.

‘Only this evening,’ he answered with a wry little smile. ‘I knew of her, of course, because of her engagement to George, but within the family she was always referred to as simply Cassandra since she is famously known by that name in the supermodel world. I’d never actually heard her surname. I chanced to see it written on her luggage when she set it down in the apartment. Very opportune, given the circumstances.’

The fact that he’d immediately seized the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with her gave no support to the wishful thought of avoiding an ultimate showdown.

‘So you proceeded to draw her out about her family,’ Tina said flatly, feeling as though a trap was closing around her.

‘Very enlightening,’ he drawled, his eyes mocking the secrecy which was no longer a secret to him.

Fear squeezed her heart. Sheer self-defence demanded she ignore his enlightenment. ‘You live in Athens?’

‘Not really. The apartment is for convenience. Anyone in the family can use it, which is why George felt free to bring Cassandra there for tonight. More private for her than a hotel.’

‘Very considerate of him,’ she dryly remarked. ‘Where do you normally live then?’

All she’d previously known about him was he belonged to a wealthy Greek family with an involvement in the wine industry. During the time they’d spent together, Ari had been more interested in everything Australian than talking about himself.

He shrugged. ‘Various business interests require quite a bit of travelling but my family home is on Santorini.’

‘We’re going to Santorini,’ Theo piped up, looked at Ari as though he was fascinated by the man.

Ari smiled at him. ‘Yes, I know. Perhaps we could do something special together on your birthday.’

Tina’s stomach contracted. He was intent on moving in on her, getting closer to their son.

‘Like what?’ Theo asked eagerly.

‘Let’s wait and see what we might like to do, Theo,’ Tina cut in firmly, inwardly panicking at spending any more time than she absolutely had to with Ari Zavros. She didn’t know if it was curiosity driving him or he was dabbling with the idea of claiming Theo as his flesh and blood. She turned hard, quelling eyes to him. ‘You said
family home.
Does that mean you’re married with children?’

He shook his head and made an ironic grimace. ‘Much to my father’s vexation, I am still single. It’s his home I was referring to.’

‘Not exactly single, Ari,’ she tersely reminded him.

He knew she’d seen him with a woman in Dubai. She didn’t have to spell that out. If he thought he could start playing fast and loose with her again, cheating on the beautiful blonde, he was on an ego trip she would take great satisfaction in smashing.

‘I assure you I am, Christina,’ he replied without the blink of an eyelid.

Her teeth gnashed over the lilted use of her full name—a reminder of intimate moments that were long gone. She raked his steady gaze with blistering scepticism. The amber eyes burned straight back at her, denying the slightest shift in what he had just declared.

‘Another
charming episode
over?’ she sliced at him.

He frowned, probably having forgotten how he had described his relationship with her. Whether he recollected it or not, he shot her a look that was loaded with determined purpose. ‘Not so charming. In fact, it convinced me I should free myself up to look for something else.’

His gaze moved to Theo, softening as he said, ‘Perhaps I should become a father.’

Tina’s spine crawled with apprehension. This was the last thing she wanted. The very last! Somehow she had to fight him, convince him that fatherhood would not suit him at all.

‘I don’t have a father,’ Theo gravely informed him. ‘I had a grandfather but he got sick and went to heaven.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Ari said sympathetically.

‘I think people should be aware there’s a very real and lasting responsibility about becoming a parent,’ Tina quickly stated, hoping to ward off any impulsive act that would end up badly.

‘I agree with you,’ Ari said blandly.

‘Fly-by-night people shouldn’t even consider it,’ she persisted, desperately determined on pricking his conscience.

‘What are fly-by-night people, Mama?’ Theo asked curiously.

Ari leaned forward to answer him. ‘They’re people who come and go without staying around long enough to really be an important part of your life. They don’t stick by you like your mother does. And your grandmother. And your friends. Do you have some friends, Theo?’

‘I have lots of friends,’ Theo boasted.

‘Then I think you must be a happy boy.’

‘Very happy,’ Tina cut in, giving Ari a look that clearly telegraphed
without you.

‘Then you must be a very special mother, Christina,’ he said in his soft, seductive voice. ‘It could not have been easy for you, bringing him up alone.’

She bridled at the compliment. ‘I wasn’t alone. My parents supported me.’

‘Family,’ he murmured, nodding approvingly. ‘So important. One should never turn one’s back on family.’

The glittering challenge in his eyes spurred her into leaning over to privately mutter, ‘You turned your back first, Ari.’

‘I never have to any blood relative I knew about,’ he shot back, leaning towards her and keeping his voice low enough for Theo not to hear his words. ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Christina.’

‘Do what?’

‘Fighting over him is not in our son’s best interests.’

‘Then don’t fight. Let him be.’

‘You expect me to ignore his existence?’

‘Why not? You’ve ignored mine.’

‘A mistake. Which I will correct.’

‘Some mistakes can never be corrected.’

‘We shall see.’

The fight was on!

No avoiding it.

The rush of blood to her head as she’d tried to argue him out of it drained away, leaving her dizzy and devastated by his resolute counter to everything she’d said.

He straightened up and smiled at Theo who was tucking into a slice of watermelon. ‘Good?’ he asked.

Theo nodded, his mouth too full to speak but his eyes twinkling a smile back at Ari. Tina seethed over his charming manner to her son. He’d been so very charming to her once. It meant
nothing!
But it was impossible to explain that to a five-year-old boy.

Ari turned his attention back to her. ‘Cassandra told me you now manage a restaurant at Bondi Beach.’

‘Yes. It was my father’s. He trained me to take over when … when he could no longer do it himself.’ Another bad time in her life but she had coped. The restaurant was still thriving.

‘That surely means working long hours. It must be difficult, being a mother, too.’

She glared at him, fiercely resenting the suggestion she might be neglecting her son. ‘We live in an apartment above the restaurant. Theo attends a pre-school, which he loves, during the day. He can be with me or my mother at all other times. And the beach is his playground, which he also loves. As you remarked, he is a happy boy.’

And he doesn’t need you. For anything.

‘Mama and I build great sandcastles,’ Theo informed him.

‘There are lots of beaches on the Greek islands,’ Ari said.

‘Can anyone go on them?’ Theo asked.

‘There are public beaches which are for everyone.’

‘Do they have chairs in rows like we saw in Dubai?’

‘The private beaches do.’

‘I don’t like that.’

‘There’s one below where I live on Santorini that doesn’t have chairs. You could build great sand-castles there.’

‘Would you help me?’

Ari laughed, delighted he had won Theo over. ‘I don’t think we’ll have time for that,’ Tina said quickly.

‘Nonsense!’ Ari grinned triumphantly at her. ‘Cassandra told me you’re spending five days on Santorini, and Theo’s birthday is two days before the wedding. It would be my pleasure to give Theo a wonderful time—a trip on the cable-car, a ride on a donkey …’

‘A donkey!’ Theo cried excitedly.

‘… a boat-ride to the volcanic island …’

‘A boat-ride!’ Theo’s eyes were as big as saucers. ‘… and a trip to a beach where we can build the biggest sandcastle ever!’

‘Can we, Mama? Can we?’

His voice was so high-pitched with excitement, it drew her mother’s attention. ‘Can you what, Theo?’ she asked indulgently.

‘Ride a donkey and go on a boat, Yiayia. For my birthday!’

‘I said I would take him,’ Ari swiftly slid in. ‘Give him a birthday on Santorini he will always remember.’

‘How kind of you!’ Her mother beamed at him—the man gorgeous enough to be a movie star, giving his time to make her grandson’s stay on Santorini so pleasurable!

The trap was shut. No way out. With both her mother and Theo onside with Ari, Tina knew she would just have to grit her teeth and go along with him. Being a spoilsport would necessitate explanations she didn’t want to give. Not at this point. He might force her to make them in the very near future but she would keep it a private issue between them as long as she could.

Cass didn’t deserve to have her wedding overshadowed by a situation that should never have arisen. With that one crazy urge to slap Ari with the truth in Dubai … but the damage was done and somehow Tina had to contain it. At least until after the wedding.

With the whole family’s attention drawn to them, she forced herself to smile at Ari. ‘Yes, very kind.’

‘Cassandra mentioned you’ll be staying at the El Greco resort,’ he said, arrogantly confident of her agreement to the plan. ‘I’ll contact you there, make arrangements.’

‘Fine! Thank you.’

With that settled, conversation picked up around the table again and Theo plied Ari with questions about Santorini, which were answered with obvious good humour.

Tina didn’t have to say anything. She sat in brooding silence, hating Ari Zavros for his facile charm, hating herself for being such a stupid blabbermouth, gearing herself up to tolerate what had to be tolerated and savagely vowing that Ari would not get everything his own way.

Eventually Cass and George excused themselves from the party, saying they needed to catch up on some sleep. To Tina’s huge relief, Ari stood up to take his leave, as well. She rose from her chair as he offered his hand which she had to be civil enough to take in front of company.

He actually had the gall to enclose her hand with both of his with a show of enthusiastic pleasure. ‘Thank you for trusting me with Theo’s birthday, Christina.’

‘Oh, I’m sure I can trust you to give the best of yourself, Ari,’ she answered sweetly, before softly adding with a touch of acid mockery, ‘For a limited time.’

Which told him straight out how very little she trusted him.