‘So where is this Xavier? Why isn’t he here with you?’

It was the look on her face that told him he’d demanded rather than asked his questions.

‘Because the opening is in less than two weeks. Apart from which, why should he be invited?’

‘You were the one who said he was your partner.’

She blinked, slowly and purposefully, and he immediately regretted pressing the point and giving the impression that it mattered to him in the least. It didn’t, of course; his interest was merely in shooting holes in her argument. There were bound to be plenty of those.

‘Xavier Delahunty,’ she began after a measured breath, ‘is my business partner, and together we own Paua International, a small but growing jewellery concern. Xavier handles the business side of things while I’m the head designer. We’ve been working with paua and silver designs in Auckland for a few years but slowly incorporating pacific pearls into the equation.

‘When the new gallery opens in Honolulu,’ she continued, ‘we’ll launch the new collection with it. If it goes well, we have plans to expand further into the US and Europe.’

Not many things took Yannis Markides by surprise. Not many people. But not for the first time, this woman did.

‘I didn’t realise you had a job.’

‘No? I suppose you imagined I’ve just been swanning around, princess-in-waiting these last few years. Whereas you’ve been amassing so much money you haven’t had time to breathe. Why are you so driven, Yannis? Is money so sexy that you’d rather have a fortune than a wife?’

Any hint of remorse that he might have misjudged her was consumed in the heat that speared up inside him, a tidal wave of resentment that brought with it more than a hint of satisfaction. This was more like it, more of what he expected from someone like her.

No surprises there at all.

‘Maybe,’ he replied, ‘it would have been nice to have had the choice.’

She looked up him, cat-like eyes narrowed and searching for the meaning behind his cryptic comment, the question already forming on those sultry lips. A question that never came as the maid interrupted with more coffee, and he turned back to his meal, suddenly reminded of his hunger and the reason he was out here on this terrace. Not to settle old scores, nor even to relive the circumstances that had given birth to them, but simply to break his fast. To slake his early morning thirst and hunger.

And that hunger had nothing to do with her!

Sienna was still enjoying a scented bubble bath when Marietta arrived at her suite. Her dresser, Carmelina, was fussing over her, bringing towels and catering to her every need, and Marietta was grateful to have a few moments to collect her thoughts. Meeting with Yannis on the terrace had rattled her, and much more than she’d realised at the time, leaving her feeling shaky, her emotions shredded. For Yannnis appeared determined to dislike her, even to hate her no matter what she did or said, and still she had no real inkling why. But whatever it was she was supposed to have done in the past, he certainly seemed to bring out the worst in her now.

She wasn’t a bad person, she was sure of it. She wasn’t perfect either, far from it, but why Yannis held her in such contempt was beyond her. She’d gone to his bed. Offered herself to him. Made a stupid fool of herself in the process. But beyond that, what had she done that was so unforgivable?

Forget him! Tomorrow would bring escape and escape couldn’t come soon enough. Tomorrow she would go to Hawaii and focus on the launch and the new gallery and getting back to her career and her life, and bury all thoughts of Yannis Markides in the process. His place was in the past. And in the past was where he would stay.

Sienna emerged from the bathroom, wearing a veil of steam and a smile so wide and joyous it rendered Yannis’s puzzling behaviour irrelevant. ‘I’m marrying Rafe today,’ she told Marietta, as if she had said, ‘I can’t believe it’s really happening.’ The love beamed out of her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s face as Marietta wrapped her in her arms and gave her a hug. And once again, the sheer wonder of witnessing a love so true—a love that was returned—blew her away. Marietta smiled and breathed in the good vibes, knowing without a doubt that her brother was one lucky man.

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