Free Beauty and the Greek by Kim Lawrence

his face.
    Theo didn’t respond. He just carried on staring at her with a fixed intensity that she found unnerving; if she had felt self-conscious and awkward previously in the unaccustomed finery, now his reaction made her feel a million times worse.
    It wasn’t until she heard his startled exclamation of dismay—that Beth realised that she had still, in one stubbornly optimistic corner of her brain, nurtured a faint hope that she was overreacting. A man with an ounce of sensitivity would have hidden his disappointment, she reflected bitterly.
    â€˜Well, now you know,’ she said, lifting her arms wide and performing a shaky twirl, the accompanying laugh emerging as a rusty croak. ‘Sorry.’
    â€˜Sorry?’
    There was an oddly blank look in his eyes as they connected with her own; they were so dark that it was impossible to tell where the pupil ended. The effect was strangely hypnotic.
    The nerve-shredding awkward silence stretched.
    What else was she meant to say? she wondered as she finally wrenched her eyes from his; she only made it asfar as his sternly sensual mouth and the muscle that was clenching beside it.
    He was clearly really aggravated that his plan had fallen apart at the first hurdle. It had not even occurred to him to consider how she might be feeling… No, of course it hadn’t. My God, he had to be the most egocentric and selfish man on the planet!
    The resentment inside her suddenly exploded. ‘Don’t look at me like that—it’s not my fault!’ she yelled.
    â€˜There is no need to raise your voice.’ His eyes slid to her heaving breasts. Andreas’s eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw her.
    This transformation worked on many levels. His brother was going to be kicking himself that this woman had been sitting a few feet away from him for years and he was going to be consumed with jealousy because she was with Theo.
    â€˜Actually, there is a need. I told you it was a ridiculous idea, but you would have it your way, as usual…’ Breathing hard through flared nostrils, she planted her hands on her hips, unwittingly causing the fabric of her dress to pull tight across her breasts, and fixed him with a resentful glare. ‘Do you ever listen to anyone else? Silly question; of course you don’t. Well, for the record, I know I look ridiculous so I don’t need you to tell me.’ Or look at me as if I’ve grown a second head.
    She wrapped her arms across her chest in a protective gesture and wished he’d stop staring. ‘And don’t you dare tell me to put a positive slant on it,’ she warned him darkly.
    â€˜All right, I won’t,’ Theo agreed, adjusting the knot of his tie.
    â€˜Because I’m up to here,’ she informed him, raising her hand a foot above her head, ‘with being positive and puttinga brave face on it when life actually sucks.’ She paused to catch her breath and thought this was definitely one of those life-sucking moments. ‘A slutty dress,’ she observed bitterly, ‘is not going to change the fact I’m just not eye candy material.’
    Hearing the self-pitying quiver in her voice, she lifted her chin and thought, live with it, Beth, you weren’t some sexy siren when you got out of bed this morning so, actually, nothing has changed.
    â€˜The dress is not slutty.’
    â€˜You mean I am?’ she queried sharply.
    A shadow of impatience moved across Theo’s face. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
    â€˜I’m simply not sexy,’ she added, unable to shake free of the self-pitying mode.
    Any sexier and she would need to carry a government health warning. ‘The dress,’ he said, struggling for patience, ‘is not slutty ; it is classy and sexy.’ And she was clearly certifiable if she truly had no inkling of how she looked.
    â€˜Oh, I’m sure it cost a lot of money,’ she admitted, stretching