Page 23 of Penniless Cinderella for the Greek
‘I expect you to accompany me to the party. It’s not negotiable. Promoting the book is part of your job,’ he said coolly before he strode over to the door. Savannah succumbed to the childish urge to stick her tongue out at his back as he left the room.
The next day, after working in the studio, Savannah went to her room and found a large flat box on the bed. Inside was a dress that she knew must have cost much more than she could afford. Hopefully, her credit card would take the strain. The money she’d earned from the Philpot’s shoot had nearly all gone on her mum’s nursing home fees.
She showered and blow-dried her hair before catching it in a loose chignon. The dress was a full-length silk sheath in olive-green with a low-cut bodice and narrow shoulder straps that meant she couldn’t wear a bra. The dress fitted like a dream, and she had to admit that the colour and the simplicity of the style suited her slim figure. Another box contained a pair of silver stiletto heel sandals and a matching purse.
Would Dimitris think she looked good in the dress he had chosen for her? She wished she didn’t care about his opinion, but her heart was thumping when she went to meet him.
He walked across the entrance hall while she was halfway down the stairs. When he saw her, his jaw firmed as an almost feral expression pulled his skin tightly over his hard cheekbones.
‘You look stunning.’ The flare of desire in his eyes lit a flame inside Savannah. But she was confused. After he hadn’t kissed her on the beach she’d assumed that he’d suppressed any attraction he might have felt for her.
Dimitris looked breathtaking in a black tuxedo. His hair was more groomed than usual, although it still curled at his nape, and the dark stubble on his jaw was neatly trimmed. When Savannah reached the bottom of the stairs and walked towards him, the spicy scent of his cologne evoked a tug of longing in the pit of her stomach.
‘Come into the sitting room. I have something for you.’ He ushered her into the room and handed her a slim velvet box. Inside was an exquisite peridot pendant on a gold chain and a pair of peridot and diamond earrings. Savannah closed the lid and gave a tiny sigh of regret as she held out the box to him.
‘The jewellery is beautiful, but I can’t afford it. The dress probably cost the earth.’
‘I don’t expect you to pay for the dress or the necklace,’ Dimitris said coolly. ‘I asked you to attend the party with me and I have simply provided you with an outfit to wear.’
Savannah bit her lip. The dress was one thing but... ‘I can’t accept the jewellery,’ she insisted.
‘Most of the women on the exclusive guest list at the launch party will be showing off their diamonds.’ Dimitris opened the box and lifted the pendant from its velvet cushion. He moved behind Savannah and fastened the gold chain around her neck. She could not disguise a shiver of reaction when his fingers brushed across her skin. ‘Wear the jewellery tonight, hmm?’ he murmured. ‘It’s not a big deal, but if you want to you can return it to me after the party.’
She could hardly refuse. Savannah stepped in front of the mirror and fixed the earrings to her lobes. The peridot pendant nestled in the hollow between her breasts and when she turned around Dimitris’s gaze lingered on the low-cut neckline of her dress. He moved away to collect her camera bag from the coffee table where she’d left it, and she released her breath. The simmering sexual attraction between her and Dimitris threatened her already shaky composure.
He had chartered a helicopter to fly them to Crete, the largest of the Greek islands and hugely popular with tourists. His new restaurant was located next to a pretty harbour full of fishing boats. When they arrived, the sun was a fireball sinking into the sea and staining the sky pink and gold. A steady stream of guests arrived in cars, boats and helicopters which landed on the helipad on the roof of the restaurant.
Dimitris had said the guest list was exclusive and Savannah recognised several international celebrities. During her short modelling career she’d attended many glamorous events, but nothing as grand as this. The paparazzi had gathered outside the front of the restaurant to snap pictures of the guests, who posed by the door before they stepped inside to enjoy a champagne reception.
She stiffened when Dimitris placed his hand on her waist to guide her to where they were to stand for the publicity shots. Intense media coverage of the opening night of the restaurant was important to attract customers to Hestia’s Crete. Dimitris was the star of the evening, and he was relaxed and smiling and drop-dead sexy in front of the cameras.
‘Smile,’ he instructed as she stood tensely beside him. ‘And try to relax. We have been working hard recently, and it’s time to have some fun.’
Savannah’s heart gave a jolt in response to the gleam in Dimitris’s eyes. She was determined to ignore her fierce awareness of him when he kept his hand on her waist as they entered the restaurant. After he’d greeted his guests he led her over to a few journalists, who asked questions about the new cookery book and Savannah’s role as the photographer. She coloured when Dimitris described her as one of the best food photographers in the business.
‘Let me show you the kitchen,’ he said, catching hold of her hand as he opened a door at the rear of the restaurant.
Unsurprisingly, the state-of-the-art kitchen was bustling and chaotic. The staff were clearly excited to see him. The head chef Kostas spoke English and explained to Savannah that several of the young chefs had received financial support during their training from Dimitris’s charity which helped youths from underprivileged backgrounds.
It was obvious that Dimitris was revered by the staff, and he spoke to each of them, asked about the food they were preparing and joked with them while Savannah unpacked her camera and took photos of the dishes for the promotional campaign.
‘All the youngsters want to be a famous chef like Dimitris,’ Kostas told her. ‘They are inspired by him. He devised the recipes on the menu when he came and spent days here in the kitchen. He asked for their ideas and suggestions and encouraged them. Dimitris is their hero. He made it to the top, but he never forgets that he started at the bottom.’
During the five-course dinner, which was superb, Savannah’s thoughts returned to the past. She had been devastated when her father told her that Dimitris had accepted a bribe to dump her. ‘I set your boyfriend a test,’ Richard O’Neal had told her. ‘If he genuinely had feelings for you he would have refused the money. But he took it, and it proves that he felt nothing for you.’
Dimitris had used the money to help his elderly grandparents to retire and he’d paid for his sister’s medical care for the injuries she had received in a car accident that Eleni had suggested he somehow blamed himself for. He had worked hard to become successful. Unlike Savannah’s father, who had made money from crime and who had left her mum destitute. She sighed. It would be so much easier if she could label Dimitris a villain and hate him for hurting her feelings when she’d been eighteen. But he was a complex man, and the truth was she had been searching for love that her father had withheld from her.
‘Do you not like the food?’ Dimitris murmured when Savannah toyed with her dessert.Kataifiwas made with chopped walnuts and flavoured with cinnamon, wrapped in a crispy, buttery dough and drenched in a lemon-scented syrup.
‘It’s delicious, but I’ve eaten too much,’ she said ruefully. ‘I’ll have to do some exercise to work off the pounds I’m sure to have gained.’
‘You could swim in the pool instead of watching me from your office,’ he said drily.
She gave him a startled look, mortified that he might think she had spied on him in the pool.
He quirked one eyebrow. ‘I wondered if you were avoiding me.’
‘We work together in the studio every day,’ she muttered.
