nothing. Again, Noelle reminded herself that she must be careful. She wanted to take care
of Larry herself in her own way. She had thought long and hard about the fact that she was
using Constantin Demiris as an unwitting tool. If he ever found out, he would not like it.
Noelle had a demitasse of thick Greek coffee and half a freshly baked roll. She had
no appetite. Her mind was feverishly dwelling on the meeting that would take place in a
few short hours. She had taken unusual care with her makeup and the selection of a dress,
and she knew that she looked beautiful.
Shortly after eleven o’clock, Noelle heard the limousine pull up in front of the house.
She took a deep breath to control her nervousness, then slowly walked over to the window.
Larry Douglas was getting out of the car. Noelle watched as he moved toward the front
door and it was as though the march of years had rolled away, and the two of them were
back in Paris. Larry was a little more mature, and the fighting and the living had added
new lines to his face, but they only served to make him handsomer than he had been.
Looking at him through the window ten yards away Noelle could still feel the animal
magnetism, still feel the old desire and it welled up in her, mixing with the hatred until she
was filled with a sense of exhilaration that was almost like a climax. She took one last
quick look at herself in the mirror and then went downstairs to meet the man she was
about to destroy.
As she walked down the stairs, Noelle wondered what Larry’s reaction would be
when he saw her. Had he bragged to his friends and perhaps even his wife that Noelle
Page had once been in love with him? She wondered, as she had wondered a hundred
times before, whether he ever relived the magic of those days and nights they had together
in Paris and whether he regretted what he had done to her. How it must have eaten at his
soul that Noelle had become internationally famous and that his own life consisted of a
series of small failures! Noelle wanted to see some of that in Larry’s eyes now when they
came face to face for the first time in almost seven years.
Noelle had reached the reception hall when the front door opened and the butler
ushered him in. Larry was staring at the enormous foyer in awe when he turned and saw
Noelle. He looked at her for a long moment, his face lighting up in appreciation at the
sight of a beautiful woman. “Hello,” he said, politely. “I’m Larry Douglas. I have an
appointment to see Mr. Demiris.”
And there was no sign of recognition on his face.
None at all.
Driving through the streets of Athens toward their hotel, Catherine was dazed by the
succession of ruins and monuments that appeared all around them.
Ahead she saw the breathtaking spectacle of the white-marbled Parthenon rising high
atop the Acropolis. Hotels and office buildings were everywhere, yet in an odd way it
seemed to Catherine that the newer buildings appeared temporary and impermanent while
the Parthenon loomed immortal and timeless in the chiseled clarity of the air.