‘The rabble?’ She grinned, closing her laptop. ‘Not a very nice way to describe your friends, Alex.’ She glanced across at him, struck by how vibrantly attractive he looked, wearing a cream open necked polo shirt and matching chinos, his handsome face tanned a deeper brown from a day spent in the sun.
‘You haven’t met them yet.’ One brow lifted and his mouth twisted in an amused smile. ‘Unlike your cerebral friends, mine are all too physical.’ And, deftly popping the champagne cork, he filled two glasses and handed one to Lisa.
‘That sounds ominous,’ she replied, sipping the champagne.
His intense gaze caught and held hers, and for a second something hardened the depths of his eyes and she had the ridiculous notion she had angered him.
‘Well, I will have to watch you like a hawk. No hardship in that dress,’ he teased, allowing his dark gaze to skim across the soft curve of her breasts, revealed by the low neckline of her dress. ‘Given half a chance they will throw you in the swimming pool, a favourite initiation rite, left over from boyhood.’
Alex was right about the party. It was a riotous affair. Yet Lisa couldn’t help thinking that her arrogant, autocratic husband appeared much younger and much more open with his Greek friends than he had with the business friends they had met on their honeymoon. And she said so, when they finally got to bed at three in the morning. Alex’s response was to laugh and to make love to her.
On Monday they left Kos. It had been a wonderful weekend, and Lisa watched through the aeroplane window as the island disappeared from view with a tinge of sadness.
‘When do you think we’ll come back?’ she asked turning in her seat. Beside her Alex, immaculately dressed in a light suit and snowy white shirt, once more the consummate Greek tycoon, didn’t hear her. His briefcase was open on his lap, his whole attention on the document he was reading. With a slight sigh Lisa returned to looking out of the window. Their dream weekend was well and truly over…
CHAPTER NINE
LISA signed off her computer and, with a contented sigh, sat up straight and stretched her slender arms above her head, easing the kinks out of her shoulders. That was her last job completed.
She glanced around the room, a soft smile playing around her full lips. It was hard to believe, but in the five weeks since they had returned from Kos Alex had bought the house at Stoneborough and three weeks ago they had moved in. Bert and Mrs Blaydon had accompanied them. A girl from the village had been hired to come in daily to help with the cleaning, and last Saturday they had had their first dinner guests.
Jake, who had been Alex’s best man at their wedding, but who had vanished immediately after his speech, and his wife Tina had joined them for dinner. Apparently they lived a mere five miles away. Lisa had also discovered the reason Jake had exited the wedding reception so quickly. Tina had gone into labour that morning, but had insisted Jake could not let Alex down. Luckily Tina hadn’t given birth until late in the evening, to a little girl, their second child.
Now, it seemed, they had a near perfect marriage, a beautiful home, a fantastic sex life. Alex made love to her until she didn’t know if she was on her head or her heels. She drove to Stratford-upon-Avon and Lawson’s one or two days a week, and the rest of the time she worked from home.
They could spend hours talking about books and music, politics, even business. But for all that, Lisa felt beneath the surface of the relationship a certain tension, and she was incapable of doing anything about it. If she was honest she knew it was her own fault. But she could not forget Alex didn’t believe in love. The fact that he seemed perfectly happy with their marriage simply added to her confusion, because she wanted it all.
Sighing at her own stupidity, she glanced at her watch. Almost nine; about time she thought about eating. Mrs Blaydon and Bert had gone to visit friends in London and were staying overnight, so she was alone in the house. Alex was in Singapore on business, and was due back tomorrow, Friday. Lisa couldn’t wait to see him; she had missed him dreadfully.
She placed the cover on the computer’s keyboard and reached to the printer, picking up the E-mail she had printed from Jed. It gave the address of the hotel he was staying in the following weekend. He was actually coming to London with a group of students from his college; they were on a guided tour of Europe: London, Paris, Madrid and Rome. Lisa had arranged to meet him at his hotel on the Saturday afternoon, the only time he was free. She was really looking forward to seeing the man who had been her confidant for so long. But she had never heard of his hotel, so she had taken the precaution of printing out the address. A taxi driver would have no problem.