Catching Moonlight (Man Season) Read Online Free Page A

showered away the
remnants of the storm.
    “You look like a goddess!” Stephan Cristos observed as Toby came down the stairs. “This may
not be the right time but I feel I must speak truthfully … I have fallen in
love with you, Toby Styles. I think I did the moment we met.”
    “You probably say that to every
female client at some point,” she countered. “I recall how you flirted with the
ones in your office, filling their heads with praise. But I’m not so easily
swayed by pretty words.”
    “I never thought you would be.” His
black eyes were stripping her of her fresh blue evening dress and heels. “You
will learn that I am not a man who plays around. I felt I should wait until all
the legal business was done before I made my intentions clear. But now that
it’s through I will tell you this … I want you. And I will have you.”
    Toby laughed off his announcement,
though the serious tone of his voice sent chills up her spine. He was a
beautiful looking man, intelligent, charming, too. But there was an air of
entitlement about him that bothered her. She’d only glimpsed it before but now
it showed itself strong and clear. And Toby didn’t
like it. She wondered if that was because of Dio . He
had given her such a beau ideal – any other man would pale in comparison.
    Dinner was slow, and rather painful.
Stephan went on and on about England and the snobbery he experienced
there while at university. Toby imagined that his attitude probably caused
whatever miseries he’d had there. Funny how in Athens he’d always talked about her, and
avoided relating more than statistics about his own life. And now he couldn’t
seem to stop – giving them every minute detail of his childhood, his teen
years, and onward. It was as if he felt they should know everything about him;
maybe because he had revealed his feelings for Toby. But she realized that the
more she came to know him, the less she wanted to know him. And he thought he
was going to sweep her off her feet? What an ego!
    Aella and Kosmas listened to him politely
but Toby could tell they were as bored as she was. She kept glancing at the
clock on the wall, wishing she could think of a way to send Stephan packing so
she could hurry down to Dio .
    “I have a lot of plans that I’d like
to discuss with the three of you,” Stephan said as Aella poured everyone some coffee and sat out some small slices of Baklava .
    “What kind of plans?” Toby asked, a
bit wary.
    “For Moonsea . It would make a wonderful tourist
retreat, don’t you agree?”
    “What?” Aella was suddenly livid. “No one will turn Moonsea into a
tourist trap!”
    “But it’s perfect for it! The house
is large enough for several guests but small enough to keep it exclusive. The
area beyond the hill could be developed to make bungalows, tennis courts, even
swimming pools. And, we could turn the ruin into a museum, unless we gut the
old eyesore completely.”
    Toby and the others stared at him in
disbelief.
    “I own Moonsea now and there will be no development! I can’t imagine where you got the gall to
come here and suggest such a thing but nothing will come of it!”
    “It isn’t gall that spurs me. Could
we talk alone?”
    “No, anything you need to say you’ll
have to say here.”
    “Fine. I intend to marry you, Toby, and
help you make something of Moonsea . It can be a
great, money-making resort. I’ve thought so for years but of course Gregory
wouldn’t hear me. He was already wealthy so had no need to develop the island.
But, you see, since Greece began to have its economic troubles,
my firm has lost too many clients. I need some other venture to sustain the
lifestyle I have become accustomed to. We can go in together, be partners in
life and in the business. I am not a chauvinist in that respect. Surely you
have the vision your father lacked?”
    “I do not. I love this island as it
is. I see no reason to spoil its beauty just to make more income. I have more
now than I