Page 4 of Penniless Cinderella for the Greek
CHAPTER TWO
‘ISSHEPRETTY?’
Dimitris raised an eyebrow. ‘Who?’ He was aware that he was playing for time before he answered his sister, but he wanted to be sure his emotions were under control. He did not like surprises like the one he’d had earlier tonight.
‘Matt’s other woman, of course.’ Eleni wiped away her tears. She’d been crying ever since Dimitris had returned to his house in Richmond upon Thames, where his sister had come to stay while she prepared for her wedding, and gently broken the news that he’d found Collier at the hotel with a woman who was evidently his mistress.
‘I did not take much notice of her.’ Dimitris hated deceit, but he made no apology for the lie.Theós!He wasn’t going to admit to Eleni or himself that when he’d recognised Savannah his heart had crashed against his ribs with the force of a runaway juggernaut. He saw no point in revealing to his sister that her now ex-fiancé’s mistress was none other than Eleni’s old schoolfriend.
It was not the first time Dimitris had seen Savannah since he’d broken off their relationship, but photographs could not fully capture her intriguing mix of innocence and sensuality. Her image had graced billboards in major cities around the world when she had been ‘the face’ of a well-known cosmetics company and she’d also modelled for a designer brand of eyewear.
Savannah possessed exquisite facial features and her hazel-green eyes were mesmerising. Dimitris knew that their stunning colour had not been enhanced by the latest photographic technology. Her eyes were the first thing he had noticed about her when she’d been a teenager and had applied for a summer waitressing job in his grandfather’s restaurant.
‘Savannah is not like most of the other rich girls at school,’ Eleni had assured him when he’d been doubtful that the daughter of a wealthy businessman would be willing to work long hours for low wages. Hestia’s Authentic Greek restaurant, situated at the rough end of the high street in a north London borough, had been struggling to attract customers since several fast food places had opened up nearby.
‘She has never made me feel embarrassed about being the only scholarship pupil at Brampton Girls Academy, or that I use a wheelchair,’ Eleni had said. ‘Savannah is my friend. Please give her a chance, Dimitris. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with her.’
Dimitris swore silently as he was bombarded by memories of Savannah’s shy smile, her slender figure and pert curves, and the way she’d blushed when he had caught her watching him. At twenty-two he had been used to receiving attention from women, and he’d dated widely but never exclusively. He had told himself that Savannah was too young, and her air of vulnerability made her off-limits. He could not offer her a meaningful relationship that he sensed she hoped for.
It was a pity he hadn’t listened to the warning voice inside his head, he brooded. Their affair had been short-lived, and Dimitris had moved away. But he’d never quite forgotten the heady passion that had burned out of control between them. Ten years was a long time and people changed. He certainly had, and he should not be surprised that the half-undressed siren he’d discovered in a hotel room with the man Eleni had hoped to marry was different to the sweet girl he’d known a decade ago, who had affected him more deeply than he cared to admit.
A couple of months after he’d broken up with Savannah, he’d been working as a chef at a hotel in Rhodes and had flicked through an English newspaper. He’d been shocked to read about her engagement to the son of an earl or a duke—Dimitris could not recall the exact details. He had felt gutted that she’d made plans to marry another man so soon after she had declared her love for him. But he’d reminded himself that he did not deserve to be loved after he had destroyed the two people who had loved him most.
He guessed that Savannah’s father had approved of her marrying into the aristocracy. Thinking of Richard O’Neal reminded Dimitris of the deal he had been forced to make with Savannah’s father, and the secret that he’d kept from her.
He forced his mind from the distant past and frowned as he replayed the scene in the hotel suite. Savannah had denied knowing that Matt Collier was engaged, and she had seemed shocked. But they lived in an age when most people’s personal details were plastered over social media. Shemusthave known that Collier had promised to marry Eleni, Dimitris thought grimly.
‘I bet Matt’s girlfriend doesn’t walk with a limp.’ Eleni’s face crumpled. ‘I know you had doubts about Matt. I wish I had listened to you. I’ll have to call the caterers and the florist and all the guests to tell them the wedding is cancelled. I was due to have a final fitting of my dress, but I won’t get to wear it now.’
‘Hush,paidí mou.’ Dimitris put his hand on his sister’s shoulders that were shaking with the force of her sobs. He had spent his whole adult life taking care of Eleni, but at this moment he felt helpless. Her distress fuelled his anger with Matt Collier and Savannah for hurting her. ‘I will deal with everything and cancel the wedding arrangements. Go to bed and try to sleep.’
Guilt, his ever-present demon, slid a knife-blade between his ribs as he watched Eleni walk stiffly across the room. It was a miracle she was able to walk at all. For the past decade Dimitris had regularly worked eighteen-hour days, he’d seized every opportunity that had come his way and he was the first to admit that he’d had some lucky breaks. He had poured his passion into cooking and earned a fortune, and he was driven by a desire to try to recompense his sister for ruining her life.
He would never forgive himself for causing the accident that had destroyed his happy family. If he hadn’t distracted his mother, so that she had taken her eyes off the road, their car would not have swerved into the path of an oncoming lorry.
After all this time Dimitris still suffered flashbacks. He had been a troubled teenager, torn between his Greek and English cultures, and he’d felt he did not belong anywhere. He’d been drawn into a gang of older boys who had used and sold drugs on the streets. With hindsight Dimitris realised that his parents had been trying to protect him when they’d refused to let him stay out late, but at fourteen he’d resented their rules and curfews.
On that fateful day his parents had been taking Eleni to her dance class, and he should have ridden his bike to football training, but he’d overslept, and his mum had agreed to give him a lift. The argument had started in the car.
‘Would you mind helping in the restaurant this evening, Dimitris? One of the waitresses is ill.’
‘Oh, Mum. It’s Saturday night, and everyone’s meeting at Jack’s house.’
‘Well, you can go out with your friends, but I wantyou home by eleven. Dad will collect you so that you don’t have to walk back on your own.’
‘Stop treating me like a kid. No one else’s parents make a fuss. Can I at least stay out until midnight?’
‘It’s too late. And you’ve got homework to finish tomorrow. Eleni said she saw you playing games on your computer instead of getting on with your history project.’
‘Thanks for snitching, Eleni. Stay out of my room in future.’
Eleni had started to cry. Both parents had turned their heads to look at Dimitris in the back of the car.
‘Don’t be mean to your sister,’his mother had told him. Her voice had softened.‘Your family are concerned about you because we love you.’
Dimitris had seen the lorry the split-second before the crash.‘Mum—look out!’
His jaw clenched as he fought to block out his agonising memories. He focused on Eleni when she paused in the doorway. ‘I want to go back to Greece,’ she said in a choked voice. ‘At least I hadn’t relocated my business to London. What will happen to the flat in Canary Wharf?’
