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PROLOGUE
SURROUNDED by fawning celebrity guests and reverential relations at his engagement party, Giannis Petrakos felt as claustrophobic as a lion in a circus ring His great-grand hiht opinions, and he guessed that she was eager to tell hiht of his fiancée Grim amusement assailed Giannis; as one of the richest men in the world, he had learned to prize the sheer rarity value of such honesty
Tiny in stature, Dorkas Petrakos settled snapping black eyes on her darkly handsorandson as he towered over her ‘Krista is a very beautiful young woman Every man here envies you’
Giannis inclined his arrogant dark head in acknowledgement of the obvious, and waited for the axe to fall
‘But what sort of mother will she make for your children?’ Dorkas enquired
Giannis almost winced, for neither he nor Krista was ready to settle down to that extent It had never occurred to hiht of her maternal instincts Perhaps in a few years they would have a child But if that did not happen Giannis was prepared to choose a suitable successor to inherit his power and fortune from his extensive array of relatives When it came to reproduction he had not a sentimental bone in his body
‘You think that doesn’t matter You think I’m out of date and out of touch,’ the old lady opined, with a hint of aggression ‘But Krista is vain and selfish’
His stubborn jawline tensed; such strong censure of his chosen bride was unwelcome It struck him as unfortunate that just at thatthe centre of attention His fiancée could not pass aa pose Blessed with turquoise eyes and white-blonde hair, Krista, with her stunning beauty, had attracted notice from the instant that she’d strolled into the public eye as a teenager Heiress to the Spyridou electronics e parents, Krista had been indulged frorandmother possibly understand her?
No tohter of a fisher poverty and had held fast to her unpretentious values Her refusal to conform to the ever ue had ensured that she idely regarded by them as a social embarrassment But there had always been a special bond between Dorkas and Giannis, formed er bent on self-destruction
‘You say nothing But if you lost all your money and your fine houses and cars and aeroplanes tomorroould Krista still be by your side?’ the old lady asked him drily ‘I think she’d run so fast you couldn’t catch her!’
As he rose to leave his great-grandhed out loud, for in such a scenario Krista would only be a burden, aith self-pity and recrimination She was, undeniably, the product of her rarefied luxury environment Did Dorkas truly believe that it was possible for him to find a woman impervious to the draw of his fabulous wealth? But the iht, had an eye to theof a tiny needle sliding below the skin
With a nod to his security chief, Nemos, to protect his privacy, Giannis strolled out on to the roof terrace He enjoyed the fresh air while he questioned the bleak edge that had overtaken hisKrista Spyridou How could he have? Everyone regarded her as the perfect ree and she was a terrific hostess They belonged to the same exclusive world and she understood the rules No matter what happened there would not be a divorce In that way the Petrakos power-base of wealth and influence would be protected for another generation
Yet Giannis did not forget that at nineteen years old, to the horror of his family and hers, he had dated Krista Spyridou and duirl in the world, he had discovered, seemed to have little else to offer Indeed, he had decided that she was as cold as charity in bed—and out of it
‘Please don’t wreck my hair…’ That had been a favourite refrain
‘I really, really need my beauty sleep…’
‘If you must…’
‘I hate getting sweaty…’
Krista would never set his bedsheets on fire with enthusiasm, Giannis reflected wryly Her lack of passion had been a deal-breaker when he was an idealistic teenager, powered by Dorkas’s assurance that his perfect wo for him to find her Well, nobody could say he hadn’t looked In fact, Giannis had packed incertain cynical and unapologetically selfish conclusions: his perfect woman did not exist Also, he no Krista’s flaws as positives that would ensure his e made the minimum possible impact on his lifestyle
He was used to doing exactly as he liked when he liked Marriage to Krista wouldn’t change that; she would not cling or inflict unreasonable expectations on hi attention, love or fidelity She would never care enough to do so And what better wife could be found for a workaholic h-powered pressure of business than a wife happy for him to keep his sexual options open? Krista would beher perfect body to feel neglected by her billionaire husband
As soon as Giannis rejoined the party Krista sped to his side, to beg him to share another photo opportunity Not an ounce of his ih he detested publicity, he was prepared to allow her her way at their engagement celebration
Relieved by his lack of objection, Krista tucked a hand over his arm and became chatty ‘Is that horrid old crone in the corner frole
Giannis glanced across the exquisitely furnished room and his eyes stilled on the little old lady dressed in unrelieved black and sitting erect Horrid old crone? As Dorkas seldonised outside the family circle His brilliant but seold
‘Why?’
‘She actually asked me if I could cook Hello!’ Krista rolled her eyes with the supre waited on hand and foot ‘Then she asked if I would be waiting for you when you got back from the office! As if…’ she mocked ‘Someone should’ve left that old biddy at ho’
‘If she isn’t, I won’t be either’ His response was smooth as silk
Giannis watched his fiancée take a few seconds to coave hi into his sleeve in a panic before he could walk away ‘Giannis, I—’
‘That old lady is randmother, and worthy of your deepest respect,’ Giannis delivered with cold emphasis
Aghast at having offended hirovelled To the list of her flaws he added the sins of vulgarity and insincerity
CHAPTER ONE
IN THE best ofat Petrakos Industries, Maddie bounced on to the bathrooe She winced at the reading Possibly it hadn’t been a good idea to juhtdress and her watch, she reset the weighing ly, the weight was identical
‘You can’t keep body and soul together on that salad stuff,’ old Mrs Evans who lived on the ground floor had opined, when Maddie had joined her and her daughter for a delicious three-course Sunday lunch, cos, just a couple of days earlier
Perhaps the ‘salad stuff’ would have been safer? Or possibly the bar of chocolate she had eaten on the way hoht before had been an over-indulgence too far? Could extra weight go on that fast? In truth, the long hours she worked just to pay the rent raised her healthy appetite to starvation proportions, and she still did not earn enough to eat well Her despondent green eyes travelled across the expanse of her full-breasted, generous-hipped reflection Generous h her torrent of long red hair, then anchored it back with a clip and got dressed at speed