The Helen Bianchin Collection by Helen Bianchin

Author:Helen Bianchin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women, General, Romance, Erotica, Collections & Anthologies
ISBN: 9781474050036
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Published: 2016-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nikos met her eyes as she took the seat beside him, and he refilled her glass and handed it to her as the young man led his sister onto the floor.

‘Did you let him down gently?’

‘He asked me out.’

‘Naturally you refused.’

She decided to tease him a little. Heaven knew he deserved it. ‘I gave it considerable thought,’ she said demurely. ‘And I decided I would—’ She paused deliberately, then offered an impish smile. ‘Dance with him again.’

Nikos pressed a forefinger to the centre of her lips. ‘Just so long as the last one is mine.’

‘I’ll try to remember,’ she responded solemnly.

‘Minx,’ he accorded. ‘Do you want some coffee?’

‘I think so,’ Michelle said solemnly. ‘Any more champagne, and I might not be held responsible.’

His smile almost undid her. ‘Responsible for what?’

‘Doing Saska an unforgivable harm.’

‘She’s a friend.’

‘I know, I know. It’s just that the boundaries of her friendship with you seem to be expanding.’

‘At the moment. Soon they’ll shift back to their former position.’

‘I admire your faith in human nature, but don’t you think you’re a little misguided?’

‘No.’

A waitress appeared with a carafe of coffee and she poured them each a cup. Michelle reached for the sugar and stirred in two sachets.

‘Nikos? Perhaps we could dance? Michelle, you don’t mind, do you?’

She gave Saska a brilliant smile. ‘Of course not I intend to finish my coffee.’

‘You and Nikos appear to be getting along together exceptionally well,’ Chantelle inclined when Nikos and Saska had moved out of earshot.

She wanted to tell her mother the truth, but what was the truth? She wasn’t sure any more. ‘Yes,’ she responded carefully. How would her mother react if she relayed they fought like hell on occasion and their lovemaking resembled heaven on earth?

Be amused, probably, offer a good argument cleared the air, and add the making up was always the best part.

‘We’re leaving soon, darling,’ Chantelle relayed. ‘It’s quite late, and your father has an early flight to catch tomorrow. Maybe we could have lunch together ? I’ll call you, shall I?’

Nikos and Saska resumed their seats, and Michelle tried to ignore the arm he draped across the back of her chair. It brought him close and implied a deliberate intimacy.

‘Please, Maman. I’ll look forward to it.’

‘Saturday, perhaps?’

‘Not the weekend,’ Nikos disputed. ‘We’ll be in Sydney.’

She cast him a challenging look. ‘We will?’

‘I have business there,’ he enlightened with a mocking drawl that didn’t fool her in the slightest.

‘The break will do you good, cherie,’ Chantelle enthused.

Since when had Nikos gained the God-given right to organise her life? Since he first walked into it, she acknowledged cynically.

Which didn’t mean she’d simply give in without a struggle, and she said as much as he drew her on to the dance floor.

‘I don’t like being told what to do.’

‘Especially by me, hmm?’

‘Look—’

‘No, pedhi mou,’ Nikos stated with deceptive mildness. ‘This is the way it is.’ His eyes were at variance with his voice. ‘Tomorrow I have a two o’clock meeting in Sydney, which will conclude with a social dinner.

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