The three resumed their seats. Conscious of their eyes on her, Trish walked away with her head held high, making a determined effort to hide her disappointment. The encounter may have gone badly but she was only down, not out. She would regroup. Plan her next move. She wasn’t ready to give up yet.
Still, when she got to the table and saw everyone enjoying their dessert, Trish found herself wishing she’d remained at her table and chosen cheesecake over Catomeris.
“T
RISH
M
ELROSE
,” Katherine mused as she stared after the other woman. “So that’s the woman whose company handles the excursions.”
“She seems nice,” Helena added, casting a sideways glance at Theo.
Theo took a sip of grappa, his gaze still firmly fixed on Trish. When he’d spotted her in the dining room, it had instantly become clear why his half sisters had chosen to eat there. Why he’d been asked to meet them on the ship. Why they’d even contacted him in the first place. He’d been set up. Obviously Stamos had asked them to do their part to get him to sign.
Anger warred with disappointment. Though he didn’t know Katherine and Helena well, he’d been open to considering a relationship with them. In his mind, they had nothing to do with their father’s treatment of his mother and him. But Trish…well, her behavior shouldn’t have been such a surprise. She’d made it clear by her repeated attempts to convince him to sign that her allegiance was with Stamos.
“Theo?” Helena’s concerned voice broke through his thoughts. “Is something wrong?”
They’d been in it together. Plotting, throwing out all the stops in an attempt to get him to sign with Liberty. Katherine hadn’t contacted him because she wanted to get to know him…she’d done it to help her father. Obviously family loyalty didn’t extend to him.
“What’s wrong?” Katherine demanded, repeating the question he’d ignored from her sister.
Theo wanted to leave, to head down that gangway and not waste one more minute of time or emotion on either of them. But before he did that, he was going to make sure they understood he knew why they’d invited him on board.
He leaned back in his chair and looked from Helena to Katherine. “Why didn’t you just come out and say you wanted me to sign the contract to do the Kefalonia excursion?”
A look of puzzlement furrowed Helena’s brow. “What do you mean?”
Katherine took a sip of brandy. “Does this have to do with that woman? With Trish Melrose?”
“She was sent to Greece specifically to pressure me into signing the contract with Liberty,” Theo said through tightly clenched teeth. “Your father even gave her money to bribe me.”
“It sounds like him,” Helena said with a shrug. “The man doesn’t understand the word no.”
Theo couldn’t help the disappointment that coursed through him. Though he’d hardly admitted it to himself, he’d come tonight with cautious hope that he and these women might be able to find some common ground. Now those hopes had been shot to hell.
“You decided to help him get what he wants.” Even to his own ears he sounded bitter.
“I don’t know anything about excursions.” Helena waved a dismissive hand, looking bored with the topic. “I provided input on the redesign of the ship’s interior. That’s the extent of my involvement. The other stuff doesn’t interest me.”
But Theo knew it interested Katherine. She was a public relations spokeswoman for the cruise line. And she was the one who’d called him, the one who’d arranged this meeting.
He looked accusingly at her. “You knew, didn’t you?”
Katherine tilted her head, her expression giving nothing away. “Knew what?”
“That I hadn’t signed the contract.”
“Of course,” Katherine said with an unapologetic air. “I do PR for Liberty. It’s my business to know everything that affects our ability to successfully market our cruises.”
Though Theo had made the accusation, it was still disappointing to hear his fears confirmed. “So, I was right.”
“Actually,” Katherine interrupted, “you couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, I knew you hadn’t signed the contract, but that had nothing to do with why I called you. Or why I wanted us to get together.”
There was a directness about Katherine that Theo had recognized from the beginning. And he felt the first faint stirrings of hope that he might have been too hasty in his judgment. Still, while he preferred to believe that his half sisters genuinely wanted to get to know him better, he had no wish to be played for a fool.
Somehow, he had the feeling that if Katherine had been involved in subterfuge, she’d have been the first to admit it…without making any apologies.
“What about Trish Melrose?” he asked.
“I never saw her before tonight,” Katherine replied matter-of-factly. “Though I knew she was on board.”
“I didn’t even know who she was or what she did,” Helena said.
“Although she didn’t have anything to do with the reason I called you, I have to say I do support her efforts,” Katherine added. “The excursion to Kefalonia was one of the most popular on this itinerary. I’m not here to push you to sign, but I would be very happy if you did.”
What she said made sense. Hoping he wasn’t making a big mistake, Theo decided to go with his gut and believe her. “But one thing still isn’t clear to me. Why, after so many years, did you call me in the first place?”
“We’d actually thought about doing it for”
“Ma’am.” The man in the dark suit stepped forward. “I’m sorry for interrupting but the captain has announced that all guests need to be back onshore.”
Theo glanced at his watch, surprised the evening had gone by so quickly. When Katherine had set up this dinner, he’d thought about the excuses he could give if the time grew long or the meeting became tense and awkward.
Surprisingly he found himself wishing for more time. He’d enjoyed the company of his half sisters far more than he’d imagined.
“The time has gone so fast.” Helena leaned forward and placed her hand over his, her eyes intense. “I’m sorry it has to end just when we’re starting to get to know each other.”
“I wish we had more time, too,” Theo said, surprised to find he actually meant it. “Especially since it’s impossible to know when I’ll see you both again.”
“Then don’t,” Katherine said.
Theo raised a brow. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t go. Stay on board for the rest of the cruise. We dock in Barcelona in five days,” Katherine said. “Consider it a well-deserved holiday.”
Theo shook his head. “I’ve got too much to do to simply take off now. Summer is a busy time.”
“It’s only five days,” Katherine said. “And if you’re concerned that you’ll be stuck with us 24-7, don’t be. While I want to spend as much time with you as possible, this is a working vacation for me. I have a new PR campaign to sort out, and since Charles is away on businessoh, let’s be honest. I missed Gemma and wanted to spend some time with her.”
“And I’m finishing up some work for a London stage production that will open in the fall.” Helena cast a teasing glance at her sister. “Katherine convinced me I could be as creative on the ship as back in my flat, and with fewer distractions.”
Katherine looked directly at him. “Now that we’ve found you, Theo, we don’t want to let you go.”
A rush of emotion washed over Theo at the simple words. As much as he wanted to believe them, they were, he reminded himself, merely words. And as relatively painless as the meeting had been, he had a company to run. Unlike Katherine and Helena, he didn’t have the luxury of changing his schedule on a whim.
No, if and when he saw the two women again, it would be on his terms. And his own time.
CHAPTER SIX
T
RISH FINISHED OFF
the cheesecake that had been waiting for her and realized she couldn’t say if it was scrumptious, horrible, or somewhere in between.
When she’d returned to the table, she’d eaten the dessert automatically, thankful Sally and their fellow diners had been in the middle of a full-blown discussion of the upcoming college football season. She sipped coffee and listened, relieved not to be subjected to any questions about her departure.
She braced herself when the conversation started to peter out, but then the others at the table decided to go to the disco.
It seemed the perfect solution. After all, it was too early to go back to the cabin, and this way Sally could dance and she could strategize. She’d make that deal with Theo…even if she had to get off at the next port and hop on a plane back to Corfu. Perhaps three confrontationsmake that meetingswould be the charm.
Once they got to the club, the dentist Sally had been flirting with all evening asked her to dance. That left Trish seated with the newly married couple who had eyesand handsonly for each other. Thankfully it wasn’t long before they were on the dance floor, too.
Finally alone with her thoughts, Trish stared into her drink, wondering why Theo had acted so cold, so abrupt. Yes, she’d pushed for him to sign the contract, but why the hostility? It felt personal, but this was business. What was she missing? Trish sighed. He was such a difficult man to understand.
Take his dinner companions, for example. It didn’t make sense that he would be so chummy with Elias Stamos’s daughters yet refuse to do business with the man.
“Would you care to dance?”
Trish jerked her head up and her eyes widened at the sight of a tall dark-haired man in a white officer’s uniform. Though they’d never met, she recognized him as Giorgio Tzekas, the first officer.
On the first day of the cruise Sally had deliberately run into the man. Her friend had discovered his name and his position on the ship, but to Trish’s knowledge, Sally hadn’t seen him again.
And now Sally was busy with the dentist and Trish was sitting all alone feeling sorry for herself. She’d make that contract happen. But it wouldn’t happen tonight. And hadn’t she vowed to combine business with pleasure on this cruise? She wasn’t going to do that sitting alone.
“Sure.” Trish flashed the officer a bright smile. “I’d love to dance.”
He politely pulled out her chair and followed her to the dance floor. The fast-paced tune was quickly replaced with a slow one, and when the officer’s hand slid around her waist, Trish realized they’d skipped introductions. Just because she knew his name didn’t mean he knew hers. “By the way, I’m Trish Melrose”
“I know who you are,” he said, pulling her closer.
Trish wiggled back, increasing the distance between them. “You do?”
“I’m a first officer,” he said with a wink. “I make it my business to know the names of all the pretty ladies on board.”
He stared down at her bosom, and Trish felt uneasy. There was something about this man that she didn’t like. He was too confident. Too forward. Too…slimy.
“I saw you in the dining room talking with Helena and Katherine Stamos,” Giorgio said then stopped, an expectant look on his face.
The comment came out of the blue and took Trish by surprise. For a second she considered telling the truth; that this was the first time she’d met Elias Stamos’s daughters. But she didn’t like this man or the fact that it seemed he’d only asked her to dance so he could fish for information.
“Helena and Katherine?” Trish kept her tone noncommittal. “Sounds like you know them, too.”
She could do a little fishing of her own.
Though the smile remained on his face, Giorgio’s hand tensed on her waist. “My father and Elias are old friends. Katherine, Helena and I…we grew up together.”
“Yet” Trish tilted her head “you work while they play.”
“The fault of my father.” Giorgio’s jaw tightened and he fairly spat the words. “He is a man who believes children should make their own way in the world.”
It was clearly a touchy subject. Trish lifted a brow. “I take it you don’t agree.”
Giorgio opened his mouth to speak then seemed to reconsider. “It doesn’t matter,” he said finally. “I do quite fine on my own.”
They danced in silence for several minutes.
“I couldn’t believe they were dining with him,” Giorgio said, his voice heavy with disapproval.
Trish resisted the urge to giggle at the man’s disjointed way of conversing.
“I don’t see a problem,” Trish said, wondering what Giorgio had against Theo.
Giorgio looked surprised. “You know who he is?”
“I do,” Trish said.
“And you don’t see anything wrong with him being on this ship?” Giorgio’s voice rose with each word.
“I take it you do.” Trish did her best to keep her manner off-hand. He had some point, she just wasn’t sure what it was…
“The illegitimate son of Elias Stamos does not belong on this ship,” Giorgio said, a muscle along his jawline jumping. “I could not believe Katherine would invite him aboard.”
Trish absorbed the first officer’s words, stunned. Theo was Elias Stamos’s
son?
How could that be?