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CHAPTER ONE

ANGELOS PETRAKOS eased his broad shoulders in the wide-backed dining chair and reached a long-fingered hand for his wineglass He took ait His glance flicked around the crowded, fashionable Knightsbridge restaurant, momentarily diverted from his host, hom he was in discussion about a particular joint venture with Petrakos International

I him

A lint to his obsidian eyes How much of their interest was in hilohly profitable portfolio?

It was a distinction his ed father had been incapable ofthe Petrakos eeted by one financially predatory feelos had been repelled by it He’d hated to see his vulnerable father exploited, lured into loaning the invest their careers with his wealth and contacts Angelos had learnt his lesson well, and so, however alluring the wo it was to have an affair with her, he was ruthless in keeping business and pleasure scrupulously separate

Such self-control could be irksome, but his rule was inflexible and absolute—he never allowed any beautiful and ae of his interest in them It was simpler and safer that way

His gaze continued its swift sweep of the restaurant, ignoring the attempts to catch his eye, while his attention re about the co Then, abruptly, his grip on his wineglass tightened His gaze honed down between the heads of other diners to the far side of the rooainst the opposite wall

A wo in profile to him

He stilled colass to the table His gaze had not , aze i across whatever his host had been saying, he said, ‘Excuse me one moment’ His voice was terse As hard as his eyes

He pushed back his chair, getting to his feet, discarding his napkin on the table Then, with a lithe, powerful tread, he headed across the restaurant

Towards his target

Thea lifted her glass, s across at her dinner partner, and took a delicate sip of her flavoured e Chablis, she never drank alcohol herself It was not just eerous For a second so brief she did not register it by time the flicker of a shadow feinted over her skin Then Giles spoke, dispelling it

‘Thea …’

His voice was tentative She sly, despite the nerves which ate her inside Please let him say it …

She had worked so hard, so long for this ered for so much was almost within her reach

‘Thea—’ Giles said again, his voice sounding more determined now

And again Thea found herself willing him to continue Please let him say it! Please!

But even as the words begged in her head she saw him pause

A shadow fell over the table

It was curious, Angelos found hi with an abstract part of his nised her It had been, after all, nearly five years Yet she had been instantly identifiable in the first second his eyes had lighted on her just now The same abstract portion of his brain felt a flicker of emotion He dispelled it swiftly

Of course he had recognised her He would know her anywhere There could be no hiding place for her

Now, as he reached the table she was sitting at, he could just what she had done to herself It was, he acknowledged, re, for the moment, what she wanted the world to see