Tabby hesitated and then, feeling foolish as she hovered uneasily, she dropped back into her seat again, her colour rising. ‘What do you want from me?’ she asked boldly.
‘I want you to vanish and stop coming between me and Aristide,’ Imogen replied with a pained note in her voice. ‘I’m the love of his life and you are nothing but a pale facsimile of me. Have some pride…walk away—’
Another, more familiar masculine voice sounded without warning behind Tabby and made her jump. ‘Tabby, I’m so sorry, I was held up.’ Demetrius Romanos did indeed sound rather breathless. ‘Let me get you into the car where you’ll be comfortable,’ he urged, reaching down to grab her hand.
‘Aren’t you even going to speak to me?’ Imogen demanded imperiously of the older man.
Demetrius addressed her in low-pitched Greek at length and whatever he said made Imogen pale and look away. With that, he planted a supportive arm to Tabby’s spine and walked her out to the classic Morris Minor sparkling with perfect trim and paintwork by the side of the road. ‘I’ll run you home. I was at the garage to collect a part I’d ordered when the taverna owner called me to tell me that you were here and that Imogen had cornered you.’
In another mood, Tabby would’ve laughed. All hands on deck and to the rescue, she thought hysterically.A pale facsimile? The love of Aristide’s life?Admittedly she and Imogen did both have blonde hair and blue eyes, but Tabby’s hairwaspaler and even her eyes were a deeper shade. Plus, she reflected without amusement, Imogen was much taller and skinnier as well as being breathtakingly beautiful. Competition? No, of course not, she wasn’t entering any competition for a man and if Aristide wanted Imogen he knew where to find her, didn’t he?
‘Aristide’s been looking for you all morning. He drove up and down the coast road in search but it didn’t occur to him that you could have walked as far as the town.’
‘It’s a lovely walk.’
‘Yes, but it’s hot and you’re pregnant,’ he scolded in a fatherly tone that couldn’t have offended her. ‘I warned Imogen not to approach you again. That qualifies as harassment and she’s legally bound not to harass any member of the Romanos family—’
‘But I’m not a member of your family—’
‘Yet,’Demetrius slotted in.
‘Legally bound?’ she dared to query.
‘She caused trouble once before but fortunately she’s rarely here. Her grandfather being ill put us all in this situation. Theo’s not got long left.’ Aristide’s father sighed with regret. ‘Once he’s gone, however, she’ll have no reason to return to the island.’
Other than Aristide, Tabby almost quipped, and it was clearly Aristide who was her target and ultimate goal.
‘So, Theo, whom you went to visit, is Imogen’s grandad?’ Tabby gathered.
‘Yes, she’s his late son’s kid. When her mother died, she came here to live with her grandparents. She was twelve and she got into that modelling lark very young—tooyoung, I suspect—but her grandparents didn’t feel able to deny her the opportunity to make something of herself.’
‘Well, she’s certainly achieved that. She’s world-famous.’
The classic car chugged up the steep driveway and, seconds later, Aristide stalked out to greet them, lean, strong face clenched taut with fury. ‘Where the hell have you been?’ he raked down at her from his vantage point on the top step.
‘Don’t you dare speak to me like that! I’m not a child who went out without permission and got lost!’ Tabby fired back at him without hesitation.
Demetrius glanced between them, winced and climbed back into his car. ‘See you both soon,’ he called, unnoticed by either party, and drove off.
Tabby stalked up onto the veranda.
‘I was worried about you!’ Aristide exclaimed in his own defence. ‘I went looking for you. I started worrying that you’d gone swimming in the sea and got into trouble. I’ve been frantic!’
‘I walked into town.’
‘In this heat? Why didn’t you take the car?’
‘I wasn’t sure I’d be able to drive it. It has too many gears,’ she complained, ‘and I’ve only driven an automatic.’
‘You should’ve had security with you, at least.’
‘The worst thing that happened to me was meeting your ex again,’ Tabby recounted, moving into the blessedly cool air-conditioned interior of the villa with a relieved sigh. ‘And now I’m tired and I’m going for a nap—’
‘How did you run into Imogen?’
‘She approached me in the taverna and I’m not repeating anything she said. If there’s ever a next time, though, she’s getting a bottle of water thrown over her,’ she threatened as she stomped up the stairs.
‘I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to put up with her nonsense,’ Aristide grated. ‘She’s my past—’
