‘I do like.’ He released her wrist, his fingers skimming up her forearm, making her shiver when they reached her inner elbow. Abruptly he dropped his hand but the expression in his eyes turned that shiver into a languid shudder of arousal. ‘Have I told you you’re beautiful?’
Pleased, she stroked her hand down the smooth fabric. ‘Thank you. I wasn’t sure what to wear to a village wedding.’
‘What you’re wearing is perfect. Dressy but not fussy. But I wasn’t talking about the dress, I meantyou.’
To Rosamund’s surprise, she felt flustered as well as delighted. She was used to compliments, just as she was used to criticism about what she wore or how she carried herself. It came with the territory. People either flattered royals or found fault.
But this was different, not a careless compliment but meaningful.
‘So are you.’ There was beauty in the hard-hewn lines of his face and as for his body… Her breathing quickened.
Something flared in his eyes and he whipped around to face the mirror, concentrating on his tie. ‘Maybe it’s best if you wait in the bedroom. Otherwise we’ll be late.’
Rosamund was still secretly smiling as they drove down the winding road in his four-wheel-drive.
‘You asked why I’m interested in protecting children.’ That tore her attention from the stunning view and to the man beside her, easily handling the vehicle down the narrow road. ‘They bear the brunt of social problems. They’re vulnerable and too often we take it for granted that their families will look after them. That’s not always the case.’
‘I know. Sometimes families and children struggle.’ That was a factor in her own work. As well as bringing joy, she hoped her stories encouraged resilience in the children and young people who read them.
‘Plus…’ He paused and she deliberately turned her attention from his strong profile to the road, giving him space. ‘Things happened that make me want to make changes for the better.’
He’s talking about his mother, trying to steal his inheritance. What else did she do?
Rosamund suppressed a shiver. She suspected this wasn’t going to be pleasant, but for his sake, and her own, she needed to hear.
‘I understand that.’
After a pause he said, ‘My mother was beautiful and vivacious but not maternal. I assume she had me to please my father and after he died her focus was on finding another rich man to support her. I realised much later that I cramped her style so she sent me off to boarding school. But when she sent for me again, I thought she’d changed and wanted to be with me.’
Another pause. Longer this time. ‘It turned out her lover wanted kids and she wanted to prove what a doting mother she was. It was confusing. She’d never played with me or read bedtime stories before. Only myBabahad done that. She got angry when I asked why she’d changed.’
Rosamund couldn’t help it, she reached out and touched his sleeve. ‘One loving parent and one cold and distant. It sounds like my parents but in reverse. But your situation—’
‘It’s okay. I was safe and well fed.’
Yet her heart squeezed for the little boy confused to find himself at the centre of his mother’s affection for the first time.
‘Did they marry?’
‘They did and I was glad. I liked my stepfather and I wasn’t sent back to boarding school because he liked having me at home. Then my half-brother was born. Little Nico used to follow me around.’
‘And you were a protective big brother.’
His head swung around. ‘How did you know?’
‘It’s there in your voice.’ That made her terribly sad, because she guessed this didn’t have a happy ending. She knew how loyal Fotis was to his father’s friend, Costas, and the man’s granddaughter. She couldn’t imagine Fotis being so isolated now if his brother were around.
‘He was a good kid.’ Fotis steered them around a curve. ‘But my mother didn’t have luck with her husbands. Mine died in an accident and Nico’s was diagnosed with aggressive leukaemia when he was still young. She was widowed again, but that time she had more money to enjoy herself. She packed us both off overseas to boarding school.’
Rosamund cleared her tight throat. Now she understood his coldness when speaking of his mother.
‘Nico was a quiet kid and little. He got bullied. I was continually in trouble, fighting the bullies. It didn’t help that Nico didn’t speak English, plus I stood out because of my maths skills. Being called a prodigy didn’t make me many friends. It didn’t endear me to the maths master either. He seemed to take it as a personal affront, always looking at ways to take me down a peg or two.’
‘What happened?’
Fotis’ hands tightened on the wheel. ‘The older boys waited until I was away from the school at a chess tournament, then locked Nico in an unused cupboard next to the maths classroom. He was there for hours. When the door was finally unlocked he was unconscious. He was asthmatic and would have been terrified.’ Fotis’ voice had a steely ring. ‘He died.’
‘I—’ Words failed her. ‘That’s appalling.’
