‘What sort of a man do you think I am?’ he demanded savagely.
‘A complete bastard,’ Sarah murmured helplessly from between compressed lips.
‘Had I believed that she was carrying my brother’s child, I would have behaved very differently,’ he emphasised from between gritted even white teeth.
‘Oh, I don’t think so. The cheque would have covered the cost of an abortion... I don’t think you were too concerned either way—’
‘How dare you?’ The atmosphere burst into flame with the sheer force of his fury. ‘There was no such thought in my mind. I would have played no hand in murdering my brother’s child!’
Surprisingly she found that she believed him. Surely he could not manufacture such outraged disbelief to order? She bowed her head. ‘I gather Damon didn’t tell you that she was pregnant.’
‘He did not.’ The confirmation was stark, dredged from him.
So there had been lies, Sarah registered in disgust. She wondered how many other lies Damon Terzakis had told to save face with his brother. No doubt Damon had also been responsible for Alex’s belief that Callie was promiscuous and greedy for money.
‘We’ll have lunch at my town house.’
Was she so awful-looking that he couldn’t bear to be seen in public with her? That was her first thought and swiftly she stamped on it, reminding herself that, unlike him, she was not hung up on physical appearance. In any case there were far more important things to dwell on. He was prepared to marry her...was she prepared to marry him?
The town house was part of an imposing Georgian terrace which overlooked a quiet square. Lunch was swiftly served in a lofty-ceilinged dining-room by a uniformed Greek maid. Alex’s silence was starting to set Sarah’s teeth on edge by the second course. He had spoken when he had to speak but not otherwise.
‘The coffee will be served in the drawing-room,’ he informed her finally, flinging down his linen napkin.
Sarah had been too tense to eat much. Their surroundings impressed her to death: the rich décor, the gleaming period furniture, the fresh flower arrangements and the exquisite dinner service, not to mention the servants. She preceded Alex into the drawing-room and found herself gaping at a Canaletto above the marble fireplace with helpless fascination and an increasing feeling of being badly out of her depth.
The maid poured coffee. As soon as the door closed behind her, Alex murmured, ‘Let’s get down to business. I will naturally expect you to sign a pre-nuptial contract. I have already instructed my lawyers to draw one up.’
Was she prepared to marry him? It would not be a normal marriage. It would be a business arrangement for Nicky’s benefit. Her nephew’s rights of inheritance and his welfare would be secured. Nicky would have her...and she would have Nicky, she realised with a flood of warmth and relief. It wouldn’t matter if Alex spent most of his time flying round the globe...in fact it would be a bonus, she decided. Why shouldn’t she marry him? Callie would certainly have wanted her son to have the very best, and in this one way Sarah could ensure that that was exactly what Nicky received. Not just the material advantages but the love and support that were equally important.
What did she have to lose? Her freedom... What freedom would she have anyway with a young child? It was not as though she had any desire for a man in her life. Alex would continue to visit Athens and Paris and Sarah would carve out her own existence round Nicky. The only real difference would be that, for the very first time that she could remember, she would have no financial worries.
‘I will not marry you without the contract.’
‘No problem,’ Sarah murmured, not even looking at him, quite unconcerned by what clearly most preoccupied him. His filthy lucre. And the conservation of it.
‘I’ll send someone over with any forms that need to be filled in and you’ll be informed of the wedding arrangements in due course. Do you have any questions?’
‘Why have you agreed to this?’
‘For the ch
ild’s sake.’ Hooded dark eyes with the merest glimmer of gold rested on her, and an odd little shiver ran down her backbone. ‘I want him to have what he needs most: security, love and a peaceful home.’
Why was it that she wasn’t convinced? Why was it that some sixth sense sought to warn her that he was not telling her the truth? She suppressed her uneasiness irritably. He could gain nothing else but Nicky from a marriage empty of love, desire and even liking. And then the bitterness surged up inside her, blurring the clarity of her thoughts.
It should have been Callie and Damon. Her fingers tightened round her fine porcelain cup. She wanted Alex Terzakis to pay for hurting and humiliating Callie and for denying her the man she loved. Her stomach knotted up sickly. Yes, he deserved to pay...and pay he would, if she had anything to do with it!
‘You don’t appear to have very much to say to me,’ he noted softly.
‘I’ve got what I wanted.’ Sarah threw him a malicious smile.
He might have been carved from marble. Not a muscle moved on his strikingly hard features. He would make a terrific poker player, she conceded. He had to be hiding his rage. His fierce pride would force him to conceal his fury at being forced into marriage with a woman he despised. And she wanted to humble that macho pride just as he had once humbled Callie.
‘You seem very sure of that,’ Alex commented with a curiously slumbrous look in his dark eyes as they rested on her delicate profile.
‘I am.’ A sense of triumphant righteousness was filling her to capacity. There was justice in the world, after all. Alex Terzakis was not untouchable. She had him right where she wanted him...in the palm of her hand.
* * *