The Greek Tycoon's Secret Heir Read Free Page B

now.”
    “And that is, sir?”
    “A playboy masquerading as the head of a Greek shipping line, a man of the sea like my father and brother.”
    “I’ve known you a long time, Christos, and you are nothing like either of those men.”
    “Enough,” he said.
    Antonio left the room with a small nod of his head. The butler’s disapproval was something he’d deal with later. He respected Antonio. Despite Antonio’s insistence on keeping up appearances, Christos knew he wouldn’t fail to drop him some advice.
    The doors opened a few seconds later and Ava stepped into the room. She’d changed. Dammit. She now wore a pair of faded old jeans that clung to the slim length of her legs and a cashmere sweater that matched the blue of her eyes. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders.
    Theo stood next to her dressed in a pair of baggy navy sweat pants and a matching fleece top. They both thanked Antonio as the older man left.
    “Have a seat,” Christos said.
    “Thank you for seeing us,” Ava said.
    “I was expecting you,” he said. True, not this soon, but he’d figured she’d come to him with her answer.
    “I know,” she said, quietly.
    She glanced at her son and then back up at him and he saw a hint of protectiveness in her gaze along with that other emotion he could never identify.
    She cleared her throat. “I was discussing your proposal with Theo and he has a few questions.”
    He was surprised. But in a good way. Theo would one day run a multibillion dollar corporation. Learning to weigh options and make decisions was an important step to learn.
    “What are your questions, Theo?”
    “I want to know about Greece, Baba.”
    Baba . He hated hearing that from the little boy. He was Theo’s uncle, not his father. He needed to talk to Ava and deal with this. But not in front of Theo. “Perfectly understandable. Come over here and I’ll show you some pictures of our home.”
    The boy hesitated and Ava bent over to pick him up. “Ava, put him down.”
    She set him on his feet.
    “Are you afraid of me?” he asked Theo.
    The boy shrugged, his eyes the dark obsidian that Christos saw every morning in the mirror. He didn’t want the boy to fear him. But, to be honest, he had no idea what to do.
    He glanced at Ava and she straightened. “Come on, Theo. I’m curious about how the Theakis household has changed since I was last there.”
    They crossed the room together. And though he knew he held all the cards in this situation, he felt like an outsider.

    “Does this mean that you’ve decided to accept my offer?” Christos asked.
    “We’ve been talking it over. I want to make sure that Theo will be happy.” Ava tried to keep her voice cordial. She’d spent the entire afternoon on the treadmill in her bedroom, running off the anger that had sprouted deep inside when he’d said he was willing to marry her.
    She’d wanted to tell him to take a flying leap into the ocean and swim back to Greece, but Theo was enthralled by Christos. He’d spent all afternoon asking her questions about him. And then finally asked if he was going to have a father. And Ava’s heart had broken. She did the best she could for her son, but she couldn’t be a father.
    Christos nodded at her in a way that revealed nothing of what he felt. Ava didn’t know what she wanted from this meeting with Christos, but him sitting, aloof, behind that large walnut desk wasn’t it.
    He thought he held all the cards, she knew that. She could tell from the way he was staying seated in his position of power. She’d come to him. The problem was she was drawn to that arrogance. To the utter confidence that he exuded.
    His chest was bare and she struggled to keep her gaze from it. From that gold medallion nestled in his chest hair. He’d always been in good shape and he certainly hadn’t let himself go in the five years since she’d seen him.
    Too bad, because it would be so much easier to resist him if he’d developed a beer gut like many of