Page 19 of Penniless Cinderella for the Greek
‘I can wait for a week while you help your mother move into the nursing home. This is a business proposition, Savannah. Nothing more,’ he said, as if he wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t interested in her for any other reason.
Perhaps working with him and staying at his home in Rhodes would allow her to see the real Dimitris instead of the man of her girlish fantasies or his public image as a sex idol, Savannah thought. She would prove to herself that she was over him.
‘I admit I have a personal reason for asking you to work with me.’
Her heart missed a beat atpersonal.
‘I would like to help your mother,’ Dimitris continued. ‘Evelyn was an art therapist at the rehabilitation centre where my sister spent a considerable amount of time when she was a child, recovering from her injures after the car accident.’ His voice revealed no emotion, but Savannah sensed that he found it difficult to talk about the life-altering injuries Eleni had sustained in the crash that had killed their parents.
‘When I was friends with Eleni at school she told me that she had done some art classes with Mum.’
‘Art therapy really helped Eleni to deal with her emotions. She had been a happy, sporty kid, but after the accident she was unable to walk, and she lost interest in everything. Evelyn was wonderful with her, and it is no exaggeration to say that your mother helped my sister to be happy again. Eleni developed her artistic talent and she went on to study jewellery design, and now makes bespoke jewellery for her clients.’
Dimitris looked intently at Savannah. ‘I would offer to pay your mother’s nursing home fees, but I have a feeling that you won’t accept.’
‘Mum is my responsibility.’ Savannah did not want to be beholden to anyone, least of all Dimitris.
‘In that case, I suggest you meet me in Rhodes next week with your camera.’
The following week Savannah fastened her seatbelt when the plane’s warning light above her head flashed on. Through the window she could see the spearhead shape of the island of Rhodes, surrounded by a turquoise sea. The guidebook said that Rhodes was the largest of the Dodecanese islands. As the plane began its descent the land below was a chequerboard of green and brown fields, and the towns had white cube houses. The ruins of several ancient landmarks were visible from the air.
Savannah gripped the armrests as the airport runway came into view, not because she was a nervous flier, but the doubts that had tormented her since the plane had left London felt as though butterflies had been set loose in her stomach. She had made the right decision to accept Dimitris’s job offer, she tried to reassure herself. It had been difficult leaving her mum, but Evelyn was settling into Willow Grange nursing home and was benefiting from using the hydrotherapy pool. Savannah’s priority was to earn enough money so that her mum could continue to receive the care she needed.
After the plane had landed and she’d collected her suitcase and cleared Customs, she walked into the arrivals hall. Dimitris had told her that someone would meet her, and she’d assumed he would send one of his staff. She hadn’t expected to see him striding across the concourse.
Her stomach swooped as she stared at Dimitris. She wasn’t alone in noticing him. Women of all ages turned their heads to watch him. He looked breathtaking, casually dressed in sun-bleached jeans and a navy-blue polo shirt. His designer shades were pushed onto his head, and he exuded a raw sex appeal that sent a coil of heat through Savannah.
Breathe, she ordered herself as she walked towards him.
‘Savannah.’ His deep voice with a husky accent sent a prickle of awareness through her. ‘How was your flight?’
‘Fine. Well...there was a two-hour delay. I’m sorry if you have been waiting at the airport for me.’
‘I checked the flight details and saw that yours was delayed. You should have accepted my offer to charter a private jet for you.’
She bit her lip, unwilling to explain to Dimitris that she did not want anything from him other than the money she would earn from the photoshoot. They would have a professional working relationship for the next six weeks.
They exited the airport building and he led her over to a sleek red Ferrari. ‘My new baby,’ he told her as he opened the passenger door. ‘Isn’t she a beauty?’
‘Beautiful, but not very practical,’ she noted a few minutes later, after he had abandoned trying to fit her luggage in the small boot of the car and wedged her suitcase and camera bag onto the back seat.
‘Maybe not. But she’s the love of my life.’ Dimitris’s grin made him seem boyish and reminded her of the young man she’d been besotted with years ago. He was even more gorgeous now, Savannah thought ruefully, conscious that her pulse was racing. ‘When I grew up in a rough London neighbourhood, all the kids dreamed of owning a car like this one,’ he told her. ‘I was determined to turn the dream into reality.’
Away from the busy roads around the airport the highway hugged the coast, and the views of golden sand beaches were spectacular. Dimitris put the electric sunroof down. The azure sky was cloudless, and the sea shimmered in the bright sunshine. Savannah gave a deep sigh.
‘That’s how I feel every time I return to Rhodes,’ he murmured. ‘I can breathe here. I imagine the past week was tough when you moved out of Pond House and took your mother to Windsor.’
‘Yes.’ Her voice was thick as emotions she had been suppressing for days caught in Savannah’s throat. Pond House had been her childhood home, but she had mixed feelings about it since she’d learned that her father had bought the house with money from his criminal activities. She had looked up to her father and respected him for being a brilliant businessman. She’d trusted him even though she’d felt confused and hurt that he did not care about her. Now she was wary of trusting anyone. Her goal was to build her career so that she was financially independent and not reliant on anyone.
This was a new chapter in her life, but Savannah was aware that her mum’s life might end prematurely because of her illness. She wiped away a tear and stiffened when Dimitris took his hand off the steering wheel and reached across to squeeze her fingers.
‘Witnessing someone you love suffer is the hardest thing,’ he said gruffly. Savannah guessed he was thinking of his sister.
‘Thank you for arranging a private ambulance to take Mum to the nursing home.’
‘Does your mother talk much about your father?’
‘Mum has hardly mentioned him since he died. It was a shock at his trial to learn about my father’s illegal business dealings.’ She turned her head to stare out of the window. ‘On the surface we were a happy family, but there were tensions, and however hard I tried at school I felt I was a disappointment to him.’
