Cozakis Bride by Lynne Graham

Author:Lynne Graham [Graham, Lynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, General
ISBN: 9780373121038
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2000-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

LYNNE GRAHAM 107

causing another family rift, nor did I want you thousands of miles away in London.’

‘Yes,’ she acknowledged, shutting her eyes.

‘Do you want any more good reasons? Like the fact that a pregnancy would have been a disaster for both of us at that age? Or the simple truth that I honestly did want to try to wait until we were married?’

Olympia was so disconcerted by the ease with which he offered those explanations that she said nothing. On yet another count Katerina had lied. Nik had never found her unattractive. Indeed, Nik had merely been a remarkably sensible teenager.

She drifted off to sleep without being aware of it and wakened in the early hours to the dim glow of a lamp somewhere close by. When she opened her eyes, she tensed in dismay to find Nik barely a foot away. Still clothed, he was lying on top of the duvet in an indolent sprawl, hooded dark eyes coolly intent on her face.

‘What are you thinking about?’ she heard herself whisper.

His beautiful mouth twisted. ‘Lukas…’

‘Magic!’ Olympia snapped, and flipped over to present him with a defensively turned back.

‘We grew up together. He was a clown but I was fond of him,’ Nik breathed in a driven undertone. ‘When he died, I felt like I’d let him down.’

‘Died?’ Olympia flipped back over to focus on him with shocked eyes. ‘When did he die?’

‘In a drunken car smash a few weeks after you left Greece.’ Nik grimaced as he sat up. ‘Apparently he was rarely seen sober after that night. I don’t think he could cope with what he had done.’

Her face drained of all colour. ‘So you’re blaming me for that as well.’

‘No, I’m not.’

But she didn’t believe him. She felt hollow inside. Lukas Theotokas had been Katerina’s dupe. Had Lukas even appre-

ciated what he was getting involved in that night ten years ago? He had had to get very drunk to play his part in the brunette’s plans. It was sad, terribly sad. And if she told Nik now that his one-time friend had deliberately set out to break them up by the nastiest means available, Nik would no doubt go through the roof. She sensed that Nik now saw Lukas as more sinned against than sinning.

‘So much grief followed from that night,’ Nik stated curtly. ‘Katerina failed her exams, and for a while her family were very concerned about her. She was upset about Lukas—‘

‘I bet she was.’

Nik dealt her a chilling appraisal. ‘You think that Katerina should have lied to protect you because you were friends, but for a Greek family loyalty always takes precedence.’

Olympia’s face shuttered, bitterness choking her. No longer did she regret her own failure to defend herself against Katerina’s lies. What hope would she have had of being believed with a blood relative lying in the role of a witness?

‘Katerina lied, and so did Lukas. They both had their reasons, reasons you don’t seem to want to find or examine!’

Untouched by that accusation, Nik regarded her with re-flective cool.

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