Page 48 of Vows of Revenge

He paused by the desk, giving his name, and telling the clerk that they would be meeting with Kyrios Andrakis first. Then, with Kassia on his arm, he walked into the restaurant, raking his eyes over the tables, looking for her father.

He saw him immediately.

His mouth tightened. Yorgos had only one dinner guest with him.

Cosmo Palandrou.

Damos’s eyes hardened. As they headed towards them he could see heads turning—Kassia, looking as sensational as she was, was drawing all eyes. But there were only two pairs of eyes he wanted to see her.

And see her they were...

He saw it happen. Saw her father, deep in conference with his dinner guest—hisonlydinner guest—glance up. Saw his eyes focus on who had just come into the restaurant. Saw, for a moment, complete blankness in them, as if he had no idea who the woman walking towards him was. Then, as they approached, the blankness changed to incredulous recognition.

In one slow-motion movement, his incredulous gaze took in Damos, at Kassia’s side. And his recognition changed to something else...a different expression taking hold of his face.

They reached his table, and Damos could feel Kassia’s hand gripping his sleeve. But right now he had no spare attention for her. No attention for anything except what was happening.

Tension speared through him. So much was at stake.

And yet...

I want this done. Over and done with. So I can get the hell out of here with Kassia. I want Andrakis and Cosmo to get the message I am sending them, and for Andrakis to know his plan is now impossible. That I have made it so, and that now Cosmo will be looking elsewhere for a bride. And for a buyer...

It would not take him long to achieve all that—it was happening right now...

Cosmo Palandrou had looked up too.

Damos’s eyes went from Yorgos to him. Then back to Yorgos. Then he smiled.

It was a smile, he knew, of victory.

Checkmate.

It was a sweet, sweet moment.

Kassia’s grip on Damos’s sleeve was rigid. Her father was staring at her as though he could not believe what he was seeing. Kassia could understand why.

Her eyes flickered for a moment, taking in the man dining with her father. Dim recognition plucked at her. It was Cosmo Palandrou. She’d met him before, at a larger dinner party a year or more ago, when her father had summoned her there. She took in the fact that the table was only set for three—which seemed odd. What was so special about Cosmo Palandrou that he was her father’s only guest? And why would her father want her here as well?

She hadn’t liked Cosmo Palandrou the first time she’d met him—he’d been as dismissive of her as her father always was, and he was physically repellent—overweight, with heavy jowls and small, pouchy eyes. His manner had been rude and abrupt, and she knew his company had often been in the press over a number of strikes and industrial disputes, as well as breaking environmental standards.

But she had no attention to give him now—all her focus was on her father. A tremor of trepidation went through her, and the sudden cowardly wish that she’d simply worn the unflattering green dress she’d bought in England and done nothing to her face and hair. Then she rallied. This was her golden chance to show her father that she was no longer the Plain Jane daughter he’d always castigated her for being. Maybe even finally to win his approval...

A stab of longing went through her, which she knew she should not allow. She had long ago given up on doing something right by his endlessly critical and dismissive standards...

But surely tonight there would be something different from the offhand way he usually noted her arrival? Surely this time he couldn’t help but react differently, given her stunningly altered appearance?

But he was still staring at her—just staring—so she decided to make an attempt to break the moment, to give him some kind of greeting.

She never got the chance. Abruptly, her father was thrusting himself to his feet, his bulk considerable. Colour was riding up in his cheeks, his face working. Alarm speared in Kassia as he saw her father’s beefy hands fist on the table.

Then words spat from him. Words that made her blench. Crude and explicit.

But they were not directed at her.

It was Damos who got them—full in his face.

Kassia’s head shot round, She was appalled at what her father had hurled at Damos.

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