‘Cassia, you have to tell him you love him tonight. If you don’t, he’ll never know. You’re going home in two days, next year you’ll be at college or working…this is it, your last chance to tell Calix how you feel.’Cassia’s arms were gripped by her older cousin, Lyra, her dark face close to Cassia’s, her eyes fervent. In some dim part of herself, she did wonder at that moment why Lyra cared so much about this. and stifled the thought, feeling mean. Hadn’t Lyra been her confidante, having had to listen to her wax lyrical about Calix for years on every summer holiday? She was only helping her.Nerves made her voice shaky. ‘But, Lyra, I haven’t seen him in ages, he’s always in Athens now…’ She shivered. And a little remote. Which he’d never been before…Lyra shook her head emphatically. ‘Doesn’t matter. He’s always had a soft spot for you. He’s exactly the same, the only difference now is that he’s loaded.’Cassia gulped. And much more mature... he's going to laugh at me."Cassia, come o
‘Cassia…why did you come out here? You should go back, it’s getting dark.’She looked at him, hurt in her eyes. ‘I just… I don’t mind just sitting here with you.He groaned softly and ran hands through his hair. ‘Sorry. I’m just…not the best company tonight.’She laid a hand on his arm, and looked at him. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’He stared at her for a long time, causing something to coil deep within Cassia's abdomen, something alien and tight...hot.He seemed to be fighting an inner battle, struggling with something. Then it passed. She held her breath as he reached out a hand and caught a lock of her hair, letting it slide through his fingers."Your coloring is amazing, do you know that?"Cassia grimaced, felt like squirming under his gaze. ‘It’s horrible. I burn too easily. I blush too easily.’And I’m too fat.Every insecurity rose up all too easily.He shook his head. "No, you’ve got your mother’s coloring." "A classic English rose...""That’s why my father says he fell in
When Cassia woke up the next morning, the tight ache in her chest didn’t seem to have dissipated one bit and she had the horrible sensation of thinking it could have all been a bad dream, but of course it hadn’t. Her only consolation was that she knew Calix would probably be in Athens, and that she was due to go back to England the next day. She prayed Calix would stay in Athens till she was gone. And that no one would ever know what had happened. Except them. And Lyra. Who at least, Cassia thought with a shudder of relief, hadn’t witnessed her humiliating efforts.However, she came downstairs to noise, confusion, and commotion, with her parents and Calix in the middle of it all. Her father was shouting at him, thrusting a newspaper in his face."How could you?" We trusted you. She’s seventeen, for God’s sake. little more than a child. Isn’t it enough that you’re getting married to one of the most beautiful women in Athens? "You had to mess around with Cassia."They didn’t see her com
Seven years later, The Ritz Hotel, ParisCalix Petrakis was bored. It was like a heavy mantle around his shoulders. a black cloud that spread outwards from his very depths, pervading everything. He was oblivious to the fact that he was surrounded by opulence. The opulence that came with being one of the wealthiest men in the world, in one of the world’s most exclusive hotels Hushed whispers encircled him. He tuned them out, the superlatives bouncing off him. They’d surrounded him for years, but he’d never courted them or needed any assurance.So young and so handsome!The most successful shipping magnate since Onassis... Even more money... Most eligible bachelors...Now the constant murmurs that followed him wherever he went only added to the ennui he felt. He’d achieved a pinnacle of success attained by just a very few and only imagined by most. And it had been hard won, which should make it all the more sweet. But was this it? How could he be feeling like this when everything he’d ev
He tore his gaze away with more of an effort than he liked to admit and looked down at Isadora again. As he remembered wanting to leave, he smiled smoothly, her harsh beauty even more jarring now.He murmured, "Forgive me... I have an important early meeting tomorrow. Would you mind if we left?"Not at all, darling." I’ll get my coat from the cloakroom.She squeezed his arm and smiled, clearly anticipating, somewhat misguidedly, that he wanted them to be alone, and walked away.As he watched her walk away, Calix felt no compunction or guilt at what he was about to do. A woman like Isadora was well versed in the way he worked, as were men like him. He had no doubt she’d be put out, but as no emotions were invested, he knew it’d be for the loss of his money, his largesse, and the social standing that came with being seen on his arm. It was the state of affairs he was used to. He enjoyed the thrill of the chase. But lately, if he were honest, every conquest had become stale, even flat. A
Her uncle was getting more agitated, looking slightly shifty. ‘The thing is, Cassia… I didn’t tell you before now as I knew it might upset you, but I’ve started doing business with him again. Since your parents died, that is. Obviously your father wouldn’t have approved, but, you see, I had to, Cassia. I had no one else to turn to, and when he gave me an appointment... He laughed a sudden, brief laugh, sounding like a little boy. ‘Me! An appointment. It would appear he’s willing to let bygones be bygones, at least with me. Now, if it had been your father, that would have been a different story— He seemed to catch himself, realizing he was starting to babble, and gripped Cassia’s hands tighter. "However, if he sees you..."The familiar clench of grief at the mention of her parents went unnoticed for once. Her uncle was referring, of course, to the scandal that had gripped Greece for weeks. The press had devoured the story of how Calix Petrakis had taken advantage of his family friend’s
Two spots of color burned in her cheeks, and her eyes flashed. Calix had to suck in a breath against his will.She was magnificent…and how had she transported him back to a time he had believed he’d forgotten for good, so easily and so quickly?He reeled. Reeled with the shock of coming face to face with the very woman who’d captivated him across the room. Reeled with the force of her beauty up close. And now reeled with the knowledge that it was Cassia Baros. The girl who had taken petty spite and used it to almost ruin him. He looked down at her. Except now she wasn’t a girl. She was a woman. A very sexy woman. A woman who was making the blood hum in his veins and an arrow of desire shoot straight to his groin. An instant chemical reaction.Cassia had opened her mouth again to speak, but before she could, a blonde vision appeared beside Calix, a scarlet-tipped hand on his arm. a blatant indication of ownership. And who could blame her? Cassia thought fuzzily, closing her mouth, her
Cassia took the phone away from her ear for a second and looked at it. Calix was up to something. That was one thing she was sure of. She existed somewhere on his list of people to call for dinner, alongside Attila the Hun. He whizzed around the world on his private jet, doing billion-dollar deals, meeting heads of state, and dating what seemed to be an endless stream of models and actresses, like Isadora. It was only afterwards, when she’d gotten away from him, that she’d realized who the other woman had been: a famous actress. He certainly didn’t call people he despised to ask them out for dinner. People who had ruined his chance for marital happiness and even, by some accounts, a huge merger with his fiancée’s family shipping company, but she wasn’t sure about that. She’d avoided listening to anyone talk about it at the time, and in England, at least, it hadn’t hit the news with the same force."Somehow I don’t think you do, Calix.""But I do, Cassia." "I'd like us to catch up," he