Page 3 of Penniless Cinderella for the Greek
Matt ignored her and spoke to Dimitris. ‘Look, mate, I don’t know how you found me, but there’s no need to tell Eleni about tonight’s little indiscretion, especially as nothing happened.’
‘I am not yourmate, Collier.’ Dimitris’s voice dripped with icy disdain. ‘My sister read messages on your phone and discovered that you had lied about attending a golf tournament and planned to meet someone you referred to as S. I assume that person is Savannah.’
‘Matt is engaged toEleni?’ At last Savannah understood the reason for Dimitris’s barely suppressed fury. Years ago, he had been fiercely protective of his younger sister. ‘I didn’t know,’ she whispered.
Odd little things made sense now. Matt had used her initial in texts, joking that typing her name took too long. She’d believed him when he’d said he was taking a break from social media because constantly being online sucked out your soul. Matt had gone to great lengths to deceive her, and she’d fallen for his lies.
Dimitris scowled at Matt. ‘The wedding is off, Collier. My sister will want nothing more to do with you after this.’
‘Is that really Eleni’s decision or have you decided for her, Kyriakou? I’ll talk to her and convince her to give me another chance.’ Matt’s bravado slipped and he took a hasty step backwards when Dimitris’s jaw hardened aggressively.
‘Keep away from Eleni. I will do whatever it takes to protect her from scum like you,’ Dimitris growled.
He flicked his cold gaze over Savannah. ‘Does your lover know you are married?’ His lip curled when she looked startled. ‘Not long after I left London years ago, I heard that you had become engaged to a member of the English aristocracy. The wedding was expected to be the society event of the year.’ He shook his head. ‘You and Collier deserve each other.’
Before Savannah had a chance to gather her wits and defend herself, Dimitris strode out of the hotel suite. In his wake it felt as though an earthquake had struck, leaving her dazed and disorientated.
‘You didn’t mention anything about being married.’ Matt had the cheek to sound affronted.
‘I’m not,’ she muttered. ‘I was engaged, but I called the wedding off.’
‘It looks like my engagement is off.’ Matt seemed annoyed rather than upset. ‘Kyriakou has never approved of me marrying his sister and Eleni will do what he says because he pays for everything, including the luxury flat in Canary Wharf that was meant to have been a wedding present for us. It’s damned inconvenient. I’ve already given notice to leave my rented flat and I’ll have to look for somewhere else to live.’
He moved closer to Savannah and ran his finger down her cheek. ‘Perhaps I could come and live with you at your big house near Hampstead Heath. What do you say we open the champagne and drink to new beginnings, baby?’
She jerked away from him in disgust. ‘You’ve got a nerve. I hope I never see you again. Anyway, it’s my mother’s house.’
But in fact Pond House did not belong to her mother, Savannah thought bleakly. It had been yet another shock to discover that the title deed of the house only bore her father’s name, meaning that the property was an asset of Richard O’Neal’s. His creditors were demanding that the house must be sold to pay his debts.
Savannah remembered how Matt had been impressed with the house where she had grown up, and had returned to live after her mum had become ill, when he’d dropped her home after their second date. He had remarked that properties in the area were worth a fortune. Pond House, with its private swimming pool, tennis court and extensive grounds, had recently been valued at several million pounds. The sale of the house should raise enough money to clear her father’s debts, but Savannah knew it would break her mother’s heart to leave the home she loved.
‘Get lost, Matt.’ She did not know who she loathed most—Matt for being a creep, or herself for having been so gullible. ‘Why did you start dating me when you were planning to marry someone else?’
He shrugged. ‘It was obvious when we had drinks after the photoshoot that you were available and a bit desperate. I thought I’d covered my tracks and Eleni wouldn’t find out. Most blokes will seize an opportunity if it comes their way,’ he said sulkily. ‘Kyriakou can’t take the moral high ground. He’s a notorious womaniser and lurid details about his personal life regularly appear in the tabloids.’
Savannah had seen photos in the newspapers of Dimitris with a seemingly never-ending supply of beautiful women. Since his meteoric rise to fame as a celebrity chef who had amassed a multi-million-pound fortune from his bestselling cookery books, numerous TV appearances and a chain of hugely successful Greek restaurants, Dimitris was regarded as a highly eligible bachelor. Unfortunately for his legions of female fans, he was determined to maintain his single status and was on record saying that he had no desire to marry and settle down.
He’d said the same thing ten years ago when Savannah had laid her heart on the line and told him that she loved him. Remembering how naïve she had been made her cringe. She was dismayed that Dimitris still had a seismic effect on her. Her body was tingling all over, and he made her feel more alive and aware of her femininity than any other man ever had.
‘What’s the story between you and Kyriakou?’ Matt sounded petulant. ‘Why did he recognise you?’
‘I...knew him a long time ago.’ Her short affair with Dimitris had been passionate and intense, and she’d been obsessed with him, but she had not really known him. Savannah wondered if any woman had managed to break through the steel barrier around his emotions.
She was angry that he hadn’t given her a chance to explain how she had been duped by Matt. She did not care about Dimitris’s opinion of her, she assured herself. But she had been friends with Eleni, and she wanted to set the record straight about her involvement with Matt Collier.
‘Don’t try to contact me again,’ she told Matt as she gathered up her bag and the shreds of her dignity and hurried out of the suite. Up ahead she saw Dimitris was about to step into the lift.
‘Wait!’Savannah tore along the corridor. The doors were sliding closed, and she shoved her hand between them so that they automatically opened again. Time juddered to a standstill as she stared into the lift at Dimitris. Her nemesis.
His black hair was cut shorter than Savannah remembered, but it still had a tendency to curl. He was a work of art, beyond merely handsome. Anger emanated from his whipcord body. ‘I don’t have time for this,’ he grated. ‘I must go to my sister.’
Savannah’s eyes were drawn to the glint of the gold watch on his wrist that contrasted with his olive-toned skin. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows and his forearms were covered with black hairs. Wearing black trousers and a shirt, and with a scowl on his face, he was a dark avenging angel, determined to protect his sister from being hurt byher, Savannah thought bleakly. She had been an unwitting accomplice in Matt’s cheating. It did not make her feel better knowing that they hadn’t actually had sex.
‘I didn’t sleep with Matt,’ she repeated. There was no softening of Dimitris’s hard features. Savannah bit her lip. ‘Please don’t tell Eleni that you found me with her fiancé. She and I were friends before we lost touch, and I would never do anything to hurt her.’
Dimitris’s silence was damning, but with a jolt Savannah recognised a gleam of awareness in his eyes. Ten years ago their chemistry had been white-hot. She moved her hand up to the front of her dress to check it was still fastened and the lift doors instantly closed. Cursing, she jabbed her finger on the button to open the doors again, but the indicator arrow showed that the lift had started to descend.
She sagged against the wall, breathing hard as if she’d run a marathon. It was crazy how hurt she felt by Dimitris’s refusal to listen to her. He had accepted at face value finding her with his sister’s fiancé and had judged her unfairly. Even worse, seeing Dimitris again had forced Savannah to face the truth that she had tried to deny to herself since she was eighteen. She had never got over him and she compared all other men to him.
