The Passionate Greek Read Online Free PDF Page A

more
successful, though on the last call she did succeed in getting past
the switchboard to what she presumed was an outer office, only to
be told the same. Well, if he’s that unavailable maybe he won’t
turn up on Friday, Melanie thought crossly.
    But he had, ringing her doorbell on the dot
of 7.30. Grabbing her handbag she opened the door to him and made
to step out but he forestalled her with a light touch. Striding
through into her sitting room his tall broad shouldered presence
seemed to her to fill her small apartmernt.
    She loved her home, loved where it was, too.
A vibrant melting pot of a community where the streets and markets
rang with myriad different dialects in a part of London tourists
rarely saw. Melanie hadn’t really given it a thought when she
offered her address. Now she smiled to herself picturing the top of
the range car he was no doubt driving parked in her small side
street. Had he ever even visited such a neighborhood?
    ‘So, this is where you live,’ he said,
gazing around him.
    Melanie bridled. She had bought her
apartment on a large mortgage as the moment her business had
started to make a small profit and had furnished it carefully with
a mixture of modern and antique furniture from markets and
salerooms. ‘If I catch as much as a hint of a sneer he’s out of
that door,’ thought Melanie savagely. But he surprised her, saying,
‘You have excellent taste.
    He was gazing at her, his eyes over her
body, lingering on her breasts, his look predatory and frankly
appraising. Unsure of where he was taking her to dinner Melanie had
settled on a soft, floaty chiffon top over her only pair of
designer jeans paired with high-heeled sandals. The cut of the
jeans, she knew, flattered her long, slim legs. Even with her
three-inch heels she still barely came up to his shoulder. Under
his gaze sexual warmth coursed through her body, startling her with
its intensity.
    ‘Yes, a truly very beautiful woman.’ He had
spoken almost as if to himself.
    Melanie felt herself color. To cover her
confusion offered him a drink.
    ‘Chivas Regal,’ he said, his manner
off-hand. ‘No ice.’
    Melanie had only one brand of Scotch and it
wasn’t one of the most expensive on the supermarket shelf.
Indignation with him had risen inside her once more. He had to be
the most arrogant man she had ever met. ‘The ‘no ice’ bit I can
do,’ she had rejoined, her tone cool. ‘The Scotch will have to be a
little more downmarket.’ He smiled that lazy smile of his and said,
‘Then I will have to get you a supply of what I drink as I intend
to be a regular visitor.’
    True to his word that is what he has become.
As the days and weeks past Melanie found herself falling more and
more under his spell. She discovered that underneath the arrogant
exterior he sometimes displayed there was a kind, caring man,
interested in everything and everybody.
    She was amused that he took such an interest
in her catering business. ‘But it’s a minnow compared to the mega
deals your company does,’ she laughingly protested. ‘All businesses
start small,’ he’d said. ‘It takes nerve and courage and the will
to succeed. You have proved you have those qualities. But you must
be tough, too and sometimes in life we do things people don’t
always approve of.’
    Melanie looked away disconcerted. She had
done something in her life very wrong, even though she had not done
it for herself but for someone else. It was still wrong and she
knew it. Would Nicos understand? She wanted very much to tell
him.
    ‘I want to tell you something about me.’ she
began. He interjected, ‘I want to know everything about you and if
we are going to spend the rest of our lives together I want you to
know everything about me.
    Melanie’s heart sang. She had hardly dared
hope for a future with him. However hard she tried to keep her
emotions in check she could not help but know that she had fallen
deeply and dangerously in love with him. All thoughts of