It was the best party Saffron had ever attended, though, as the hostess, she knew it was conceited of her to think so. Sixteen sat down at the elegant dining-table for the formal meal. The food was superb, the conversation scintillating, and everyone appeared to be having a marvellous time. Alex was at the head of the table and Saffron at the opposite end, but it did not seem to matter; she felt closer to him tonight than met before. Occasionally their eyes would meet and a swift secret smile pass between them. He gave her confidence with just a glance.
Luckily she had Ka
therina and Spiros, Maria and James nearest to her, so it was not as if she was among total strangers. The rest of the guests were fashionable and wealthy and regarded Saffron with avid interest, trying to decide just what there was about her that had captured the mighty Alex. She could not suppress a smile at some of the more blatant questions, but with Alex's help managed to field them expertly.
Coffee was served out on the terrace, and the party became informal. Soft music played from strategically placed speakers and a few people elected to dance, but most settled into comfortable groups, chatting about friends and relatives, and, as with most Greek parties, the alcohol flowed as freely as the conversation.
Saffron stepped back out of the circle of light and leant against the balustrade, surveying the laughing faces of her guests—a moment's breather, she thought. Then James approached her.
'Congratulations, Saffron, on your marriage and on your first house party. You're a natural.'
'House party?' she queried. 'Dinner party surely?'
'No, Saffron, most of us are staying on the yacht, the rest here, for the next two days. Surely Alex told you?'
'Yes—yes, of course.' But he hadn't! Though she refused to let James see her embarrassment, was it pity she saw in his pale eyes?
'Don't worry, I'm a push-over for a beautiful lady. If you need any help, give me a call.'
"That's highly unlikely,' she said with a slightly forced smile. 'But thanks for the offer.'
'James, Maria needs a drink; see to it.' Alex's curt command put an end to what for Saffron was a disturbing conversation. 'OK, Saffron?' he queried, reaching her side and putting a possessive arm around her waist.
She shot him an angry glance. 'Yes, of course. Why? Were you worried that I would be incapable of looking after your friends for two days? Frightened I might disgrace you?' she snapped, James's words lingering in her mind.
Alex muttered a curse under his breath and in full view of everyone turned her in his arms, his hard mouth hovering inches from hers. 'Foolish girl, you're far too sensitive, and for what it's worth I don't think you could disgrace yourself if you tried. You're too much a lady—my very lovely lady.'
Their breath met and mingled, and his lips, firm and tender, moved against hers. Saffron vaguely heard the cheers of encouragement, and not so proper comments, but, locked in his arms, she forgot her anger and her doubt; she knew no shame, no embarrassment, only a deep, abiding love for the man who held her so close to his heart.
CHAPTER NINE
Two days later Anna and Saffron stood in the garden and watched the yacht carrying the guests depart for Athens.
'That was without a doubt the best house party ever, Saffy, dear,' Anna remarked complacently. 'You're a natural when it comes to putting people at their ease. Maybe it has something to do with your training. But I want you to know I couldn't have wished for a better daughter-in-law. You make Alex the perfect wife and it was obvious to everyone he loves you dearly.'
'That was your son's fault.' Saffron raised one finely arched eyebrow at Anna. 'He saw me talking to James and decided to take action.'
Anna laughed. 'Yes, a good dose of jealousy was just what my arrogant son needed to appreciate you fully. I've watched him and he has never been more than an arm's length away all weekend.'
A secret smile curved Saffron's lips. And at night he had been a whole lot closer, she thought dreamily. It was going to work; her marriage was going to be a great success, and she was slowly beginning to believe that there was such a thing as happy ever after.
Life took on a new zest. Anna was a marvellous companion, and a great raconteuse, and as October and most of November slipped by Saffron had never been so happy. The discovery that Alex had never intended to keep her a prisoner on the island only added to her respect for him. The first week of her mother-in-law's visit
Saffron had been stunned when Anna had said one morning, 'Come on, let's go to Athens.'
When Saffron had said there was no transport, Anna had laughed out loud. Apparently, the male bar Saffron had not dared enter was also the local ferry. She could have walked in any time and asked the proprietor, and his son would have taken her to the mainland in his speedboat for one thousand drachma—next to nothing!
'Well, what do you think?' Saffron walked the length of the bedroom and back, an exaggerated sway to her slim Mps. 'Your mother loved it.'
She had been shopping in Athens with Anna; the older woman was leaving for England the next day and had insisted on one last shopping trip, then had quite shamelessly encouraged Saffron to use her husband's credit card like a woman with ten hands, saying that Saffy needed a winter wardrobe.
With dinner over, and in the privacy of their own bedroom, she was putting on a fashion show for Alex. Fresh from the shower, he lay sprawled on the bed, a towel covering the essentials, his dark eyes following her around the room.
She glanced back over her shoulder at him. 'So. . .?' she prompted, slowly turning and running her hands lightly over her hips, smoothing the already figure-hugging fabric of the electric-blue jumpsuit even tighter to her body. She watched Alex's eyes darken as he followed the trail of her hands, and then lazily he allowed his glance to meander up her body, stopping at the proud thrust of her breasts, the nipples clearly outlined by the clinging wool jersey, the deep cleavage where she had left the zip only partly fastened. She was tempting Mm and loving it. . .
'So, my sweet, sexy wife,' he drawled finally, raising his gaze to hers, 'Two questions. Do you expect me to take you skiing? And as a man I'm no expert on these all-in-one things, but isn't it an effort to go to the lavatory?'
'Oh, Alex, how prosaic,' she groaned. 'Here I am trying to seduce you and you come out with a question like that.'