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Perhaps that was easy for him, but it wasn’t easy for Cleo, who was ridiculously conscious of their quiet surroundings and his admirable ability to behave as though eating in an empty public dining room was normal for him. She selected her menu choices, sipped at the rich wine that arrived and tried not to stare at Ari.
Only that was a challenge she could not meet, for he was breathtakingly beautiful no matter what angle she looked at him from. The way his black luxuriant hair fell across his brow, the exotic slash of his high cheekbones, those perfectly moulded lips surrounded by a faint shadow of dark stubble, but most of all she was enthralled by his eyes, a dark and volatile mix of bronze, gold and caramel, accentuated by glorious black lashes longer than her own. She looked at him and it was his spectacular eyes that captured her every time.
‘Tell me,’ Ari urged quietly as he glanced up after the appetisers had been delivered. ‘Why, after we were first together, were you so dismayed by my suggestion that I help you find other office employment?’
Cleo tensed and tried to savour the tiny sliver of wild mushroom on her fork. She pondered for a moment and then murmured, ‘My father meddled with my mother’s employment choices and it was to her detriment. I grew up with her bitterness. To protect his position in the same company, he persuaded her to resign hers. She agreed to keep him happy and because she believed they had a future together,’ she advanced ruefully. ‘But, of course, they didn’t have a future and, unluckily for her, she never got that high up the career ladder again.’
‘A sobering tale,’ Ari remarked thoughtfully. ‘Only we don’t have a similar history and why would I wish to damage your prospects?’
‘I have to be sensible and look out for me because nobody else will,’ Cleo parried, refusing to get into the topic because it would be embarrassing. Nobody would take her seriously in any new job if she only got the job in the first place on Ari’s personal recommendation. She would have to be stupid to think otherwise.
‘I don’t like feeling responsible for your resignation from my HQ,’ Ari admitted bluntly.
Cleo shrugged. ‘I was only a temp. It’s not that big a deal, but I did the right thing when I left—’
‘Only it didn’t work,’ Ari pointed out silkily. ‘After all, here we still are...together.’
‘And it’sstillagainst all common sense,’ Cleo said roundly.
Ari lounged back in his chair and grinned, that slashing charismatic smile making her heart clench inside her chest. He looked utterly gorgeous and utterly unrepentant. ‘That’s a risk I’m prepared to take.’
‘Will you tell me what you’ve found out about the baby?’ Cleo pressed inquisitively as the first course arrived.
‘She’s only recently left hospital and she is still receiving medical attention in foster care. She’s suffered a lot in her short life...but yes, she is, according to the DNA tests, my flesh and blood. Her mother was also an orphan. I am presently the only relative waiting in the wings, although her aunts are obviously still out there but it will take time to track them down,’ Ari conceded. ‘I have expressed an interest in meeting my niece—’
‘When?’ Cleo prompted with interest.
‘Possibly later this week. I was hoping that you would consider accompanying me—’
Cleo was taken aback by the suggestion.‘Me?’
‘I know nothing about babies, and your presence would make me more relaxed—’
‘I spent years babysitting as a teenager. That’s my only experience of young children,’ Cleo confessed in a rush, but she was pleased by his request. ‘I would love to meet her, though. How old is she?’
‘They think she’s ten months old, but apparently she’s very small and she has developmental delays, which makes it hard to be more accurate.’
‘Does she have a name?’ Cleo asked.
‘Someone came up with Lucinda by contracting her parents’ first names... Lucas and Cindy,’ Ari proffered wryly. ‘Considering that their addiction almost killed her, I’m not sure how happy an association that is to give their daughter.’
‘They were still her parents, and I think that until you know all the facts, it’s probably better not to make judgements,’ Cleo suggested quietly. ‘Particularly when you’re hoping to find your other siblings, because it’s possible that Lucas’s sisters may have a very different outlook on what happened to their brother.’
Ari nodded. ‘A fair point,’ he commented with a smile. ‘Making snap judgements is a habit of mine—’
‘You’re an only child. You’ve never had to bite your tongue to keep the peace. I haven’t either,’ Cleo remarked reflectively. ‘But I saw what it was like when my mother married my stepfather, who has three adult children. Watching them interact was an education. You and I had nobody to argue with us and challenge us as kids.’
‘It doesn’t even occur to me to think about stuff of that nature,’ Ari admitted. ‘When did your mother meet and marry your stepfather?’
‘When I was seventeen. He’s a kind man and she’s very happy with him.’
By the time they were leaving by the rear entrance, Cleo was on a high following a relaxing evening. Ari was letting her into his life, trusting her with secrets and taking her opinions on board. Of course, she felt a little giddy and had a sense of accomplishment. When he curved an arm round her in the back of the limousine that collected them, her cheeks blazed as she voiced the awkward words that had been in the back of her mind all evening. ‘I can’t stay with you tonight...’
‘No expectations here,glykia mou,’ Ari responded.
‘It’s just...er... It’s just that—’
Ari laughed. ‘It’s fine, Cleo. You’re dealing with a fully grown adult male...but, to be frank, you’re a welcome guest in any condition.’
