The Greek Tycoon's Wife Read Free Page B

chestnut highlights in the deep glossy brown strands.
    Tom was waiting. His face lit up as she appeared and his obvious pleasure made Katie glad she had decided to wear the dress Sadie had given her with a plea for her to make use of it.
    Tom kissed her hard on the mouth, which was surprising; he was normally quite undemonstrative in public. ‘You look beautiful!’ he said huskily as they drew apart.
    â€˜You sound surprised…’ Her teasing hid a secret worry. Was it entirely normal to be thinking about whether you’d remembered to unlock the cat flap while you were being passionately kissed by the man you were going to marry? ‘It must be the dress.’ Though he never openly criticised the way she dressed, Katie knew he would have liked her to dress up more.
    â€˜I didn’t even notice the dress,’ Tom replied huskily.
    â€˜Well, there’s not a lot to notice, is there?’ she responded, glancing uncertainly down at the midnight-blue slip dress that clung to the soft curves of her body a little too lovingly for her comfort. ‘You don’t think it’s a bit… obvious ?’
    The appeal made Tom throw back his head and laugh. ‘You couldn’t look anything but cool and classy if you tried, and I’m the luckiest man in the world.’
    He might not think so soon.
    Katie took a deep breath. There was never going to be a good time to tell him this, so now, she reasoned, was as good a time as any other.
    â€˜Tom, there’s something I need to tell you,’ she told him urgently.
    A flicker of impatience crossed her fiancé’s boyishly handsome features. ‘We’ll talk about it later, sweetheart,’ he said, grabbing her hand. ‘We’re late as it is, and Nikos isn’t used to people keeping him waiting.’
    The name was so unexpected it hit her like a blow, snatching the air from her lungs and the thoughts from her head. There was a loud whooshing noise in her ears and it took several heart-thudding seconds before the room stopped spinning.
    â€˜Nikos…?’ she faltered. ‘That’s a pretty unusual name.’
    â€˜Not in Greece.’
    No way could fate be that cruel. ‘He’s Greek…?’ she asked with extreme casualness.
    Tom nodded. ‘That’s right. We were at Oxford University at the same time, though Nik dropped out before he graduated.’
    â€˜That doesn’t sound like someone you’d know…’ Katie gulped hoarsely. Dropping out equated with someone being reckless, someone who might at a push get into debt, someone who might resolve the problem by… Stop this, she told herself sternly, you’re getting paranoid.
    â€˜You mean I’m a boring old stick.’ Tom pouted, exploiting his boyish charm for all it was worth.
    â€˜You’re not old…’ Katie protested, subduing a flicker of irritation. ‘Or boring,’ she added hastily. ‘You’re solid and responsible.’
    â€˜That makes me feel a hell of a lot better,’ Tom responded, his charm fading abruptly.
    Conscious she had hurt his feelings, Katie tried to soothe his injured pride.
    â€˜Women don’t actually want to marry exciting men,’ Katie told him, believing it. ‘They’re too unreliable.’ She stopped, unhappily aware that she was only making matters worse.
    To her relief Tom recovered his humour and laughed loudly.
    â€˜No, they just want to make mad passionate love to them,’ he suggested, thinking she looked especially adorable flushed and confused.
    â€˜Some women might, but not me,’ Katie insisted firmly. ‘Men like that are vain and shallow and only interested in looking cool,’ she sneered.
    Tom winced. ‘You’ll not share that with Nikos will you, sweetheart?’
    â€˜I shall hang on his every word like it’s inscribed in stone,’ she promised dutifully, willing to flatter his friend if