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“I have to marry him, baby. We won’t survive if I don’t.”
Theo heard the echo of his mother’s trembling voice. He leaned against the railing of his yacht, gripping his phone in his hand. Pushing the memory away, he said, “It’s a free country.”
“What happened between you two?” Nico said suddenly. “I thought Emmie quit to take care of her family. But it seems strange she didn’t invite you to the wedding.”
“We were never good friends,” he said evasively. “You know that.”
“But still, it seems like... Oh, no.” Nico sucked in his breath. “You seduced her, didn’t you? Tell me you didn’t seduce her.”
Damn him for seeing too much. He gritted his teeth.
“Theo?”
“No,” he said heavily. “I didn’t seduce her.”
And he hadn’t—not exactly. But what had happened that night was still entirely his fault. His alone.
Theo had long since come to terms with who he was. Three years ago, his last real girlfriend had thrown a plate at his head when he’d dumped her at Le Bernardin on their six-month anniversary.
“You’re a selfish, heartless bastard, Theo Katrakis!” she’d screamed in her French accent.
The plate had missed, smashing against the wall, but the words hit their target.
How could he deny words that were so obviously true?
Being a selfish, heartless bastard had made him who he was today. If women chose to love him after he specifically warned them not to, well, that wastheirmistake.
Then his previous secretary had stormed off the job in the middle of a critical deal in Tokyo, all because she claimed to have fallen in love with him. He’d lost millions in his most expensive love affair ever, which was ironic since he’d never even slept with the woman.
Searching for a replacement, he’d been dutifully attending Nico’s summer party in the Hamptons when he’d suddenly looked at Emmie Swenson, the plain, prickly friend of Nico’s wife, and realized she had three excellent qualifications: she was utterly trustworthy, she was a whiz with numbers, and she despised him to the core.
It had made him laugh how annoyed Emmie had been to accept his job offer. But she’d needed money to pay medical bills for her mother, who’d been sick with cancer, and her father’s plumbing business was in trouble. He’d offered to quadruple her salary, so she had no choice.
“Just promise me you’ll never fall in love with me,” he’d said.
Her violet eyes had turned merry, making her almost pretty.
“That’s a promise that’s easy to make. Pigs would fly before I’d ever love you, Theo Katrakis.”
And they’d shaken hands on the deal.
He’d turned out to be right. Theo’s risky bet on her paid off, as his riskiest bets usually did. After a rough beginning, Emmie had learned the intricacies of the new job and became the best secretary he’d ever had: precise, accurate, a champion at protecting him from things he didn’t want to deal with. For over a year, she’d organized his schedule perfectly, taken excellent notes and correspondence, and excelled at fierce gatekeeping.
Until that night he’d discovered that beneath the unattractive oversize suits she wore like armor, Emmie Swenson was a soft and sensual woman, unutterably beautiful, with a kiss like fire.
Until that night in Rio—
No. He couldn’t think about it.
Gripping his phone, Theo had stood at the lonely railing of his yacht and stared at the red sunset.
Maybe Emmie getting married was for the best, he’d tried to convince himself. Even if her groom was some old man who was just a friend of the family. Maybe the guy could make her happy. Maybe he could share his feelings. Maybe he actuallyhadfeelings.
Unlike Theo. And at his age, facing down forty, he would never change. At least not for the better.
He opened his mouth to tell Nico he was out of it, that he’d have his new secretary send some bland gift, that he didn’t care.
Then—
