But why?
If it really was a case of ‘sex being just sex’, as he’d claimed, why should it be such a big deal? Did he realise the contradictions in what he said? One minute it was an easy, physical thing, the next, she deserved her first time to be ‘special’. And what did that even mean? Did he think that having careful, slow sex in a bed with some other man would have beenmorespecial than what they’d done?
Irritation built inside of her, stretching like a rubber band, and yet she’d presumed it would stretch and then snap, eventually. She’d presumed that at some point, he’d look at her and say something, or reach for her, or they’d share a moment and things would return to a more normal footing.
But the flight was almost completely silent, as was the drive to his mansion, on the other side of town. At some point during their honeymoon, all of Annie’s belongings had been relocated from her father’s to Theo’s, and she tried not to think about how that must have pained her dad. And how Theo had probably enjoyed that knowledge. Had probably organised it for that reason.
His hatred of her father—and late mother—was like a constant niggle in the back of her mind; so too her betrayal for being able to ignore it, and fall into the way of craving him, despite that.
When they’d made love, she’d thought the ocean was like a wiping clean of their past, a rebirth of sorts, but she’d been wrong. There was far too much water under the bridge for that.
He said she’d made him what he was. That her rejection was the reason he was so cold now, so famously ruthless. And for Annie? Theo had hurt her, too. Why hadn’t he understood that she’d had no choice? Why hadn’t he seen that her parents were acting out of love?
His resentment had scored marks deep in her heart.
Maybe it just wasn’t possible for either of them to move past that.
Maybe she was stupid to even hope.
But why would she hope? This was a temporary arrangement, the purpose of which was to rebuild her family’s company. Why did she need to heal their past? Was it just a case of wanting to know that Theo was alive, and no longer angry with her? Or was there something more at the heart of it?
From the minute they got back to Athens, Theo launched himself into work, leaving the house before seven each morning and often not returning until close to midnight. She knew he worked long hours—he was renowned for it—but she’d become so used to him on their honeymoon. Even when they were pretending not to notice one another, he’d alwaysbeenthere, in that enormous, open-plan beach house. She’d been able to glance up and see him, to hear him, to breathe in and taste him in the air if he happened to walk close enough. Now she had to put up with just seeing little signs of him—like his toothbrush and his coffee cup.
It was pathetic. The whole thing.
She was no wallflower, waiting to be acknowledged by her husband, on his terms. She refused to be that woman.
A week and a half after returning to the city, she gave up on sitting around waiting for things to change, and began to formulate a plan. He was a workaholic, which made it easy to know where to find him, at least. She dressed with care in a black mini dress, styled her hair in big loose waves, applied a minimum of make-up that included her dark red lipstick, and added a pair of killer heels before stepping out of his mansion and hailing a cab—though she supposed she could have taken her own car, she didn’t want the hassle of parking.
He owned the entire building in which his office was located, and when the cab pulled to a stop at the bottom of it, she took a second to glance up, right to the top, where she knew Theo would be, and took a beat. She could go home again. She didn’t have to do this.
But then what? Eighteen months was a very long time of living with someone whose very presence had the ability to set your nerve endings alight, and who also seemed determined to pretend to ignore you.
The security for the building was tight. She had to give her name, so she knew he’d be expecting her, which wasn’t exactly as she’d planned it, but so what?
She caught the elevator to the top floor, where an elegant woman in a pale-coloured suit was waiting with a polite smile.
‘Mrs Leonidas,’ she greeted deferentially. ‘Mr Leonidas is expecting you.’
Half of Annie’s lip twisted in an amused smile at that. He hadn’t been, until about two minutes ago?
‘Thank you,’ she said, falling into step beside the other woman to a set of double doors that led to the Theo’s office. The assistant knocked once, and Theo was there, drawing the door inwards.
‘Thank you, Helen,’ he murmured, barely glancing at her.
He only had eyes for Annie, and it was a very necessary shot in the arm.
She strode into his office, heels clicking against the large pale tiles. When she was in the middle, she put a hand on her hip and turned to face him. But the way he was looking at her was so smouldering that she completely lost her train of thought.
‘Did you wear that out in public?’
She glanced down at her admittedly very short dress, and shrugged, her eyes daring him to complain. Daring him to pick this fight.
‘Is there something wrong with it?’
A muscle throbbed at the base of his jaw, but he wisely stayed quiet. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I’d like to discuss the terms of our marriage.’