It was one of the loveliest days of Catherine’ s life, and she thought that if she could choose one perfect day to relive, it would be the day she spent with Larry on Paros.
“ Hey, we got a VIP this morning,” Paul Metaxas grinned cheerfully.“ Wait till you see her.”
“ Who is it?”“ Noelle Page, the boss’ s lady. You can look, but you mustn’ t touch.”
Larry Douglas remembered the brief glimpse he had had of the woman in Demiris’ home the morning Douglas had arrived in Athens. She was a beauty and looked familiar, but that of course was because he had seen her on the screen, in a French picture that Catherine had once dragged him to. No one had to tell Larry the rules of self-preservation. Even if the world were not filled with eager females, he would not have gone anywhere near Constantin Demiris’ girl friend. Larry liked his job too much to jeopardize it by doing anything so stupid. Well, maybe he would get her autograph for Catherine.
The limousine taking Noelle to the airport was slowed down several times by work gangs repairing the roads, but Noelle welcomed the delays. She was going to see Larry Douglas for the first time since the meeting at Demiris’ house. Noelle had been deeply shaken by what had happened. Or, more accurately, what had not happened.
Over the past six years Noelle had imagined their encounter in a hundred different ways. She had played the scene over and over in her mind. The one thing that had never even occurred to her was that Larry would not remember her. The most important event in her life had meant nothing more to him than another little cheap affair, one of hundreds. Well, before she was through with him, he would remember her.
Larry was crossing the airfield, flight plan in hand, when a limousine pulled up in front of the big plane, and Noelle Page emerged. Larry walked over to the car and said pleasantly,“ Good morning, Miss Page, I’ m Larry Douglas. I’ ll be flying you and your guests to Cannes.”
Noelle turned and walked past him as though he had not spoken, as though he did not exist. Larry stood there, looking after her, bewildered.
Thirty minutes later the other passengers, a dozen of them, had boarded the plane, and Larry and Paul Metaxas took off. They were flying the group to the Côte d’ Azur where they would be picked up and taken aboard Demiris’ yacht. It was an easy flight except for the normal turbulence off the southern coast of France in summer, and Larry landed the plane smoothly and taxied over to where some limousines were waiting for his passengers. As Larry left the plane with his stubby little copilot, Noelle walked up to Metaxas, ignoring Larry, and said in a voice filled with contempt,“ The new pilot is an amateur, Paul. You should give him flying lessons.” And Noelle got into a car and was driven away, leaving Larry standing there, filled with a stunned, helpless anger.