Ruthless Milllionaire, Indecent Proposal. Emma Darcy
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of Ari in looks. His wife, Sophie, was still quite a striking woman with a lovely head of soft wavy hair, warm brown eyes and a slightly plump, very curvaceous figure. Although they smiled at her as she was introduced, Tina was acutely conscious of their scrutiny—sizing her up as the mother of their grandson. It was a relief when they finally turned their gaze to Theo again.
‘And this is the birthday boy,’ Sophie Zavros said indulgently.
‘Five!’ Theo said proudly, pointing to his badge. Then he gave Ari’s father a curious look. ‘Your name is Maximus?’
‘Yes, it is. If it is easier for you, tonight you can call me Max,’ he invited, smiling benevolently.
‘Oh, no! I like Maximus,’ Theo said with a broad smile back. ‘Mama took me to a movie about a girl with very long hair. What was her name, Mama?’
‘Rapunzel,’ Tina supplied, barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes at what was bound to come next.
‘Rapunzel,’ he repeated. ‘But the best part of the movie was the horse. His name was Maximus and he was a great horse!’
‘I’m glad he was a great horse,’ Ari’s father said, amused by the connection.
‘He was so good at everything!’ Theo assured him. ‘And he saved them in the end, didn’t he, Mama?’
‘Yes, he did.’
Ari’s father crouched down to Theo’s eye level. ‘I think I must get hold of this movie. Maybe you and I could watch it together sometime. Would you like to see it again?’
Theo nodded happily.
‘Well, I’m not a horse but I can give you a ride over to the table.’
He swept his grandson up in his arms and trotted him to the table, making Theo bubble with laughter. It startled Tina that such a powerful man would be so playful. Her mother and Sophie were laughing, too—any awkwardness at meeting strangers completely broken. She glanced at Ari who was also looking on in amusement.
He quickly moved closer to her, murmuring, ‘Relax, Christina. We just want to make this a special night for Theo.’
‘Have you told them of your plan to marry me?’ she asked quickly, wanting to know if she was being sized up as a possible daughter-in-law.
‘Yes, but there will be no pressure for you to agree tonight. This is a different beginning for us, Christina, with our families involved, because it is about family this time.’
His eyes burned serious conviction into hers.
It rattled her deep-seated prejudice against believing anything he said. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to let her inner angst go. This was a different scenario between them with their families involved. She decided to judge the night on its merits, see how she felt about it afterwards. To begin with she told herself to be glad that Ari’s parents were the kind of people Theo could take to because there was no avoiding the fact they would feature in his future.
Maximus Zavros had seated Theo in the chair on the left of his own at the head of the table. Sophie ushered Tina’s mother to the chair next to Theo’s and to the right of her own chair at the foot of the table. Ari guided Tina to the chair opposite Theo’s, putting her next to his father before sitting beside her.
As soon as they were all seated a man-servant appeared, bringing two platters of hors d’oeuvres. Another followed, bringing jugs of iced water and orange juice.
Ari’s father turned to her, pleasantly asking, ‘Can I persuade you to try one of our local wines?’
She shook her head. ‘No, thank you. I prefer water.’
He looked at her mother. ‘Helen?’
‘I’m happy to try whatever you suggest, Maximus. I’ve tasted two of the wines that were sent to my room and they were quite splendid.’
‘Ah, I’m glad they pleased your palate.’ He signalled to the servant to pour the chosen wine into glasses while he himself filled Tina’s glass with water and Theo’s with orange juice. He beamed a smile at his grandson. ‘Ari tells me you can swim like a fish.’
‘I love swimming,’ was his enthusiastic reply.
‘Did your Mama teach you?’
Theo looked at Tina, unsure of the answer. ‘Did you, Mama?’
‘No. I took you to tadpole classes when you were only nine months old. You’ve always loved being in water and you learnt to swim very young.’ She turned to Maximus. ‘It’s important for any child to be able to swim in Australia. There are so many backyard pools and every year there are cases of young children drowning. Also, we live near Bondi Beach, so I particularly wanted Theo to be safe in the water.’
‘Very sensible,’ Maximus approved, nodding to the pool beyond the pergola. ‘There will be no danger for him here, either.’
That was just the start of many subtle and not so subtle points made to her throughout the evening, by both of Ari’s parents. They were clearly intent on welcoming their grandson into their life, assuring her he would be well taken care of and greatly loved. And not once was there any hint of criticism of her for keeping them in ignorance of him until now.
She fielded a few testing questions from Maximus about her own life, but for the most part Ari’s parents set out to charm and Tina noticed her mother having a lovely time with Sophie, discussing the forthcoming wedding and marriage in general.
After the hors d’oeuvres, they were served souvlaki and salad which Theo had informed Ari on the boat was his favourite meal. Then came the birthday cake and Ari reminded Theo to make a wish as he blew out the candles—all five of them in one big burst. Everyone clapped and cheered at his success.
The cake was cut and slices of it were served around the table. It was a rich, many layered chocolate cake, moist and delicious, and Theo gobbled his piece up, the first to finish.
‘Will I get my wish?’ he asked Ari.
‘I hope so, Theo. Although if you were wishing for a horse like Maximus, that might be asking for too much.’
‘Is wishing for a Papa too much?’
Tina’s hands clenched in her lap. Her lungs seized up. The silence around the table felt loaded with emotional dynamite.
‘No, that’s not asking for too much,’ Ari answered decisively.
Her mother leaned over and pulled Theo onto her lap, giving him a cuddle. ‘You miss your Papou, don’t you, darling?’ She gave Sophie a rueful smile. ‘My husband died a year ago. He adored Theo. We didn’t have sons, you see, and having a grandson was like a beautiful gift.’
‘Yes. A very beautiful gift,’ Sophie repeated huskily, her gaze lingering on Theo for a moment before shooting a look of heart-tugging appeal at Tina.
‘I think with Ari giving him such a wonderful time today.’ her mother rattled on.
‘Ari is very good with children,’ Sophie broke in. ‘His nephews love being with him. He will make a wonderful father.’
Ostensibly she was speaking to her mother but Tina knew the words were for her. Maybe they were true. He might very well be a wonderful father, but being a wonderful husband was something else.
‘Maximus and I very much want to see him settled down with his own family,’ Sophie carried on.
‘Mama, don’t push,’ Ari gently chided.
She heaved a sigh which drew Tina’s mother into a string of sympathetic comments about young people taking their time about getting married these days.
Tina sat in frozen silence until Ari’s father leaned towards her and asked, ‘Who is managing your family restaurant while you are away, Christina?’
She had to swallow hard