He shifted them so they were once more in full view of the assembled guests, and that was it. They were married.
After the wedding came the party, and though it was filled with loud revellers and good wishes, Annie knew barely anyone and found she didn’t want to speak to many people. It surprised her that Theo had invited such a large number of guests. Then again, his business interests were enormous—he employed tens of thousands of people around the globe, so within those ranks, presumably he had large executive teams. No doubt they’d all received an invitation.
From what she could tell, none of the guests were particularly close friends with Theo. She watched him work the room though, the way he spoke to almost everyone, from what she could tell, his body language relaxed, his manner charming. She’d never seen this side of him before: she was surprised he possessed it. So debonair and sophisticated, you could easily imagine he’d been born to this sort of wealth and privilege. Perhaps that was the point.
She knew he guarded the truth of his upbringing with care; he probably preferred to interact with people who simply presumed he was every bit as entitled as they were.
At almost midnight, he circled back to Annie, who’d been having a mind-numbing conversation about childcare with two of her high school friends who were married with small children. They were debating the merits of their nannies, comparing the duties each performed, and Annie had to keep biting back a yawn.
‘You look exhausted,’ Theo murmured in her ear from behind, surprising her with his approach.
She startled, as his warm breath caressed her cheek. ‘Thank you so much. That’s just what every bride wants to hear on her wedding day.’
He shrugged insolently. ‘It is a point of fact.’ His eyes raked her face. ‘Shall we?’
‘Shall we what?’
‘Leave.’
She looked around. ‘Can we do that?’
‘Yes, Annie. It’s time.’ And from the way his eyes held hers, she guessed there was a double meaning to his statement. Her stomach twisted in knots as he reached down and laced their fingers together, guiding her from the wedding ballroom, and out into the night.
‘Honeymoon?’ Annie repeated drowsily, as his car pulled up—not, as she’d expected, to his Athens home—but rather at a small private airport. She’d fallen asleep almost as soon as they’d left the hotel, and it was only Theo’s words, ‘it’s time for our honeymoon’, that had wakened her. ‘But why?’
‘Is it not what usually follows a wedding?’
‘Yes, but this isn’t a real wedding,’ she said, as though she were talking to someone very dimwitted.
‘Tsk, tsk,’ he murmured, reaching over and unbuckling her seatbelt, then leaving his hand to hover on her hip a moment. ‘Remember that we agreed it would be real, in every way?’
A shiver of anticipation brushed through her. ‘Yes, but…’
‘This is not up for negotiation. The arrangements have been made.’ He pulled back and opened his car door, leaving her staring, frowning, at the black leather seat across from her. He then opened her car door, and stared down at her. ‘I will carry you, Annie, if you do not walk yourself.’
She stared at him, half tempted to act belligerently and remain in the car, just to feel his big strong arms wrap around her again. But what kind of stupid was that? Where was the dignity?
She clamped her lips together and glared at him as she stepped out, shivering for a different reason now. Despite the warmth of the day, the night had turned cool, and her slip of a dress was hardly adequate protection.
Theo immediately slipped out of his tuxedo jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. If she hadn’t known for herself how unfeeling he was, she might have experienced a sense of warmth at his thoughtfulness.
‘I’m fine,’ she said dismissively, starting to shake out of it.
But his strong hands pressed to her shoulders, keeping the jacket in place. ‘Wear it, Annie. It’s not going to kill you.’
She made a noise of skepticism, but chose not to fight with him.
A private jet was just across from them, and going by the ‘Leonidas’ on the tail, it clearly belonged to Theo. It was not a small jet, either, but rather the size of a commercial airliner. Curiosity propelled her forward, then up the stairs, and when she reached the top and stepped inside her eyes almost popped out of her head. For there she was confronted with the most incredible space she’d ever seen. It was more six-star hotelthan plane, from the plush lounge suite at the front, to a full dining table, an enormous flat screen TV on the back wall. She presumed there would be a bedroom and bathroom beyond that, and who knew what else?
‘Jeez, Theo, this is…’ She waved a hand in the air, searching for the right word.
He glanced from her to the plane, waiting without speaking.
‘This is a lot.’
‘Yes.’
She ran her hand over the back of one of the leather lounge chairs, moving deeper into the plane. ‘Did you have this when we dated?’