He walked away from her and headed out of the door.
The clear indication that she wasn't welcome stung, although why she was surprised was beyond her.
He'd held ajar the possibility of continuing this thing between them and she'd slammed the door shut.
A small part of her was proud she hadn't grasped the suggestion with both hands, while the larger part, the part that had fallen head over heels in love with Theo in spite of all the chaos surrounding them, reeled with heart-wrenching pain at what the future held.
But, as she'd told herself over and over again on the plane as he'd shut his eyes and surprisingly dozed off, she was taking the right steps now to prevent even more heartache later.
Because there was no way Theo would ever reconcile himself to having her as a constant reminder. Certainly not enough to love her.
The reality was that they'd fallen into bed as a result of some crazy chemistry. Chemistry fizzled out. Eventually, the constant reminder that a part of her was responsible for his inner demons and outer scars would grate and rip at whatever remained after the chemistry was gone.
He was better off without her.
Her heart protested loudly at that decision. Ignoring it, she went into the bedroom and lifted her case onto the bed. The cream sheath she'd bought for the wedding needed to be hung out before it creased beyond repair.
Unzipping her case, she opened it and froze. A red velvet box, similar to the black one Theo had presented her with a few days ago lay on top of her clothes.
With shaky hands she picked it up and opened it. The stunning necklace sparkling in the sunlight made her gasp.
The platinum chain had a small loop at one end, with a large teardrop diamond at the other that slipped easily through the hoop. The design was simple and elegant. And so utterly gorgeous she couldn't stop herself from caressing the flawless stone.
Swallowing a lump in her throat at the thoughtfulness behind the necklace, she jumped when a knock came at the door. Thinking it was Theo who'd forgotten to take a key, she opened the door with a smile.
Only to stop when confronted by two stunningly beautiful women, one of whom was heavily pregnant, while the other carried a small baby in her arms.
'Sorry to descend on you like this, only Theo was a bit vague about whether you were actually resting or if you were up for a visit.' The women exchanged glances. 'I've never seen him so scatty, have you?' the pregnant redhead asked the blue-eyed blonde.
'Nope, normally he's quick off the mark with those hopeless one-liners. Today, not so much. Anyway, we thought we'd come on the off-chance that you were not resting and say hello … oh, my God, that necklace is gorgeous!' The redhead reached out and traced a manicured forefinger over the diamond.
Then she looked up, noticed Inez's open-mouthed gaze and laughed. 'Sorry, I'm Perla soon-to-be Pantelides. This is Brianna Pantelides, Sakis's wife. And this little heartbreaker is Dimitri.'
'I'm Inez da Costa. I'm a … ' she paused, for the first time holding up her relationship with Theo to the harsh light of day and coming up short on explanations ' … business associate of Theo's.'
The two women exchanged another glance and she rushed to cover the awkward silence. 'Please, come in.'
Brianna paused. 'Are you sure?'
'Sim … yes, I'm sure. I was just unpacking … ' she started and noticed Perla's frown.
'Why are you doing that yourself? We have two butlers and three villa staff attached to each residence.'
'I think Theo sent them away,' she said, then bit her lip as Perla's eyebrows shot upward.
'Did he? Ari did that once too, when we first arrived here four months ago. Then we proceeded to have an almighty row.' She smiled at the memory and placed her hand lovingly over her swollen belly.
Brianna laughed and walked to the sofa. Settling herself down, she opened her shirt and adjusted her son for a feed.
Perla sat on the sofa too and they both stared back at her. Their open curiosity made her nape tingle.
'We won't keep you long. I just wanted to run the itinerary by you because, frankly, I don't trust the men with the information. We have a casual dinner tonight, followed by a quick rehearsal. Most of the guests arrive in the morning and the wedding is at three o'clock, okay?'
'Okay.' She ventured a smile and Brianna's eyes widened.
'Gosh, you're stunning! How did you meet Theo again?'
'Brianna!' Perla admonished with a laugh.
'What?'
Inez fiddled with the clasp of the velvet box and pushed down the well of sadness that surged from nowhere. These two women were not only almost family, they were friends too. Whereas her family was in utter chaos and she had no friends to speak of.
She forced another smile. 'He had some business in Rio. I was … am helping him out with it.'
'Right. Okay.' Perla struggled upright and nudged Brianna. 'We'll leave you alone. I think the guys are rowing in about an hour. It's an experience you don't want to miss if you've never seen it before.'
Brianna gently dislodged her drowsy baby from her breast and laid him on her shoulder, gently patting his back as she stood.
The door opened as they neared it and Theo's large frame filled the doorway.
His gaze zeroed in on her, then dropped to the box still clutched in her hand before coming back up. Her throat dried at the sight of him and the ever present tingle that struck her deep within flared heat outward.
'Um, Theo?' Perla ventured.
'What?' he snapped without taking his eyes from Inez.
'You need to move from the doorway so we can leave.'
He snorted under his breath and entered the villa. He turned with his hand on the door, causing Brianna to roll her eyes. 'We've given Inez the schedule so you have no excuse to be late.'
'I'm never late.'
'Yeah, right. You were almost two hours late for Perla's engagement party and an hour late for Dimitri's christening.'
'Which therefore means I'll only be half an hour late for this wedding. Now, please go and pester your other halves and leave me alone.'
The women grumbled as they left. He turned from the door with a smile on his face but it slowly dimmed as his gaze connected with hers.
'Did they harass you?' he asked, a touch of wary concern in his eyes.
She shook her head. 'No. They were lovely.'
'I don't know about lovely but I tolerate them.' Contrary to his words, his voice held a fondness that made her chest tighten.
Theo understood family. Enough that he'd been devastated when his had been broken. And yet he'd wanted to rip hers apart.
Despite understanding the reason behind his motives, the thought still hurt deeply.
'Inez?'
She turned sharply and headed back to the bedroom. He followed and grabbed her wrist as she reached out to set the box down.
'What's wrong?'
Her throat clogged. 'What isn't wrong?'
His eyes narrowed. 'If Brianna or Perla said something to upset you-'
'No, I told you they were wonderful! They were kind and funny and … and incredible.' Tears threatened and she swallowed hard.
'You only met them for twenty minutes.'
'It was enough.'
'Enough for what?'
'Enough to know that I want what they have. And that I'll probably never have it. So far my record has been beyond appalling.'
He frowned. 'You don't have a record.'
'Constantine used me to get dirt on my father and-'
'I don't want you to say his name in my presence,' he interrupted harshly.
'And what about you? You make me hope for things I have no right to hope for, Theo. What sort of fool does that make me?'
'No, you're not a fool. You're one of the bravest, most loyal people I know.' He said the words gravely. 'It is I who is the fool.'
* * *
Theo's words echoed through her mind as she watched the brothers row in perfect harmony across the almost still resort water a short while later.
He took the middle position with Sakis in front and Ari at the back. She watched, spellbound, as his shoulders rippled with smooth grace and utmost efficiency.
'Aren't they something to watch?' Perla sighed wistfully.
'Sim,' she agreed huskily.
'I think they do that just to get us girls all hot and bothered,' Brianna complained but Inez noticed that she didn't take her eyes off her husband for one second.
When the men eventually returned to shore, the two women joined them and were immediately enfolded into the group.
Theo glanced her way, a touch of irritation in his eyes. Seconds later, he broke away from the group and came towards her.
'I didn't expect you to be down here. You should be resting.'
'I was invited. I hope I'm not intruding.'
'If you were invited then you're not intruding. Come and join us.' He grabbed her hand and led her to where Ari and Sakis were turning over the boat to dry the underside.