In return, Xander had taken control of their company and put himself in a position of power over them. As far as revenge and punishment went, he’d hit them where it hurt the most.
And then they’d gone for custody of Loukas. A never-ending circle of revenge.
He evaded the question. ‘Have you forgiven your parents for the way they treated you?’
She pursed her lips thoughtfully before answering. ‘I’ve lost my anger towards them. I don’t see them all that much but the time I do spend with them isn’t filled with resentment. I’ve let that go. If that’s forgiveness then I guess I have forgiven them.’ Her amber eyes looked up at him, shining. ‘And I’ve forgiven you for how you treated me all those years ago.’
Everything constricted in him. ‘I really am sorry for how I ended things. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
Walking away from Elizabeth had been one of the only selfless things he’d ever done in his life.
‘You had the best of intentions,’ she conceded. ‘It’s how you carried it out that left much to be desired.’
He sighed. ‘Everything was so intense between us, like a hundred holiday romances rolled into one. When I knew I had to end it I knew it would be kinder to sever it in one stroke rather than string you along.’
‘Just answer me one thing: if Ana hadn’t died, would you have taken me home?’
‘I don’t know. Probably. But her death was the wake-up call I needed. You were a different woman then. If you’d come home with me we would never have lasted. My parents—my mother especially—would have crushed you. We’ve both changed since then.’
‘We didn’t have a chance, did we?’ she said sadly.
He grimaced, thinking how right she was. ‘You forgive me for then but what about now? Can you forgive me for blackmailing you?’
‘And forcing me to lose my business?’ she added drily.
‘For that too.’
Her eyes melted before him and then she gave a smile of such beauty, light seemed to radiate from her. ‘I’m getting there.’
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
He’d never asked for or sought Elizabeth’s forgiveness before but now he had it, it felt as if a weight he hadn’t known was there had been lifted from him.
* * *
It was to their immense relief that the judge threw out Mirela and Dragan’s custody claim. Xander insisted on taking Elizabeth out to celebrate.
After kissing Loukas goodnight, the little boy blissfully unaware how close his life had come to being ruined, she went to her room to change while Xander put him to bed.
As the evening was a touch chilly, she settled on a pair of skinny jeans and a sweeping blush top with sequins around the neckline and hem. Ready before Xander, she turned her laptop on. The first thing that flashed up when it had loaded was the gossip site she used as her home page, mostly so she could keep a watchful eye on her matches. Its main headline picture was of Dante and Piper, dressed to the nines, gazing into each other’s eyes with complete adoration. There was no way it could be faked.
This was the last thing she’d expected. Dante Mancini in love?
She smiled as she imagined how Piper must be feeling and was glad she’d held back the warnings she’d wanted to give the sweet Australian about protecting her heart.
When this was all over between her and Xander, she would give Piper a call and hear for herself how she was getting on.
When this was all over...?
Blinking the thought away, she wondered how the other two Casanovas were faring with their matches. Although she hadn’t actually matched Zayn with Amalia she had seen enough to think there was a big enough spark between them to see them through. Benjamin and Julianna, she was convinced, were the real deal.
It occurred to her that only a week ago she would have been silently furious at how things had turned out for them. You fools, she would have wanted to yell, don’t you realise you’re going to get your hearts broken?
But it was with her own heart thundering that she realised she no longer felt like that. Love didn’t have to end with heartbreak and misery.
When this was all over...
Her heart ready to explode through her ribcage, the enormous truth she’d been hiding from herself smacked her round the face.
She wasn’t ready for this to be over. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Xander. Not yet. Not ever...
By his own admission they’d both changed. Could there be a proper future for them?
There was a light rap on the adjoining door and then Xander appeared through it. ‘Ready to go...?’ His brow furrowed. ‘Are you okay?’
She nodded and closed the lid of her laptop, trying to get a handle on her thoughts. ‘Yes and yes. Is Loukas asleep?’
‘Out like a light.’
Hand in hand, they strolled out of the back of the villa and down to Xander’s private beach where his yacht was waiting on the jetty. From there they sailed to Mykonos where, Xander insisted, the best fish restaurant in Greece was located. And he was right. They shared a seafood platter filled with the most delicious jumbo prawns, whitebait, calamari, octopus and mussels, served with salad, dips and pitta. They also drank their way through a carafe of white wine and two shots each of ouzo.
It was the best evening Elizabeth could remember, certainly the best since the day she’d pledged to spend the rest of her life with Xander.
Would things have been different if they’d first met as adults? she wondered for the tenth time that evening, as he regaled her with an old story of his mother getting the better of an Italian cosmetics company. They’d been competing for prime floor space in a Europe-wide department store chain. Mirela had won the space, despite offering less than the Italians.
Listening to him speak about his parents, she quite understood why he would continue working with them. Between them and with Xander at the helm they were a formidable team.
It was, as he’d said a few weeks ago, only as human beings that his parents were useless.
And listening to him, seeing him unwind and relax...it was like being with the Xander of old.
Watching him via press cuttings over the years, when he was always presented in an impeccable business suit, never a hair out of place, his shoes never less than shiny, his expression never less than inscrutable, she’d forgotten how fun he could be. But he’d liked having things his own way then too, she remembered. If he’d wanted something to happen he’d made it happen, including the fast track of their marriage. When he’d proposed to her she’d been convinced it would take weeks to get everything in place, not days as Xander had ensured.
He’d been formidable even then but she’d been so in love that this side of him had never really registered on her radar. She’d only cared about his fun and passionate sides.
Now she knew the whole man, the good, the bad and the ugly. The real Xander, not the idealised image he’d portrayed to her on their sunny Caribbean paradise. Not the idealised image she’d formed him into being to fill the massive gap in her heart.
And as she drained the last of her wine, she realised she loved him even more now than she had then.
Yes. She could admit it. She loved him. And as he gazed at her, the expression in his eyes the same as when he’d looked at her a decade ago, her hopeful heart couldn’t stop her thinking that he might feel the same about her.
* * *
Nothing was said about their future. Life carried on as before but with a lightness of heart that made Elizabeth feel she was walking on air.
Her days were spent scribbling in her notebook—she was on her sixth one now—either on the beach or, if it was too cold, in the infinity room. The sound of the infinity pool was almost as soothing as the sea but the underfloor heating kept her warm. Now that she’d admitted to herself that she loved him, it was as if her heart had bloomed and the storyline for her script came pouring out of her, so fast she struggled to keep up with it. Once she had the whole thing p
lotted she would get the actual script written on her laptop.
Should she find an agent? she wondered.
Get it written first and then think about the next step.
Yet no matter how deeply into her storyline she sank, she still spent the hours Xander worked with a watchful eye on the time for when he returned.
Such was the bubble of bliss she’d cocooned herself in that it came as something of a shock when Xander returned home a month after the court case with the news that Yanis was coming home.
Leaving Loukas, whose arm was mending beautifully, in her care, Xander flew to America to collect him.
As she’d successfully pushed this event to the back of her mind, Elizabeth was suddenly terrified of the implications of Yanis’s return. To get through it she had to keep herself busy. Luckily it was the weekend so she and Loukas spent most of it together building sandcastles, watching movies and playing hide and seek. He was a gorgeous child and, now he’d accepted her, she’d discovered his funny, mischievous side. She would miss him when it was time for her to leave...
But she didn’t want to think about leaving. It was taking everything to hold back the tears as it was.
This was what she wanted. She wanted to be here, with Xander, creating their own family.
There were times when he made love to her or when she caught him looking at her in an unguarded moment when she thought he had to feel the same but just because she’d forgiven him for the past didn’t mean she could forget. She’d thought he loved her a decade ago and she’d been wrong then. She could easily be wrong now.
It was thus with a certain amount of trepidation mingling with the excitement of him being home that she saw Xander’s car appear on the driveway late on the Sunday afternoon.
Loukas spotted it too and went tearing out to meet them while she hung back sedately, practising her calm face, trying to forget that as soon as Xander and Yanis came up with a legally binding agreement for Xander to be guardian in Yanis’s absence, her agreement with Xander would be over. She’d be free to go home.
But would he want her to stay? That was the million-dollar question.
It was somewhat of a shock to actually meet Yanis. Like Xander he was tall but that was the only similarity. His handsome face was gaunt, his hair, a darker shade than his brother’s, receding. He looked exactly like what he was: a recovering drug addict.
He came straight to her and gave her a tight hug. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you,’ he said in a raspy voice. ‘Xander has told me what you’ve done. I thank you for everything.’
‘It’s lovely to meet you too,’ she murmured, pleasurably taken aback at such a warm welcome.
They kissed on both cheeks then chaos ensued. All the household staff appeared wanting to welcome Yanis home. Some, like Rachael the nanny, normally worked for Yanis directly in his home, Xander having seconded them in his brother’s absence. Loukas ran around like a hyperactive bee, so much so that Xander had to warn him that he was in danger of breaking his arm again, which slowed him down for all of half a minute.
It was a happy day that culminated in a celebratory dinner. When it was time for Loukas to go to bed, Elizabeth excused herself.
‘You’re going to bed already?’ Xander asked in surprise.
‘I’ve got a headache,’ she lied. She sensed Yanis had found the day overwhelming and needed some space. Alone with his brother he could relax and not put on a happy front for her benefit.
Xander had the feeling she wasn’t being truthful but let it go. He and Yanis had discussed many things on the flight back from America and during the detour they’d taken in Athens, but there were still things to talk about in more depth. He would deal with that and then he would deal with his wife.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said, tugging her down for a kiss.
She brushed her hand over his hair with a smile and disappeared.
‘She’s lovely,’ Yanis said when they were alone.
‘She is,’ he agreed. He’d told Yanis everything. His brother hadn’t been able to show a modicum of shock at their parents’ actions but his eyes had blazed with glee when Xander relayed how Elizabeth had decimated them in front of the judge.
She had been magnificent.
‘Loukas seems very taken with her.’
‘They understand each other. She’s very protective of him.’
‘She’s protective of you too.’
‘Is she?’
Yanis stared at him as if he were an idiot.
But it got him thinking. Elizabeth was not the woman he’d married a decade ago. The sweet, loving woman he’d met was still there but with added spine. And what a spine it was! Whenever he thought of the off-the-cuff speech she’d made to the judge, his heart would swell with pride.
Now his brother was back and everything was being sorted, he knew their arrangement was at an end. He’d imagined at the beginning that when this moment came he would help her pack her bags but now...he felt different.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A FEW HOURS LATER Xander found Elizabeth reading in his bed.
She welcomed him with a lazy smile.
‘How’s your head?’ He climbed onto the bed beside her.
She turned to face him and planted a kiss on his lips. ‘Fine. How’s Yanis? He was looking a little overwhelmed with everything.’
‘He’s getting there.’ Wrapping his arms around her so her head was snuggled against his chest, he said, ‘We’ve had a good talk about things. I didn’t mention it before because Loukas was there but we went to see Katerina earlier. They’ve both agreed to name me as legal guardian should they ever be unable to care for Loukas themselves again.’
‘Do you think it will come to that again?’ she asked softly.
‘I hope not. Katerina’s looking better but she still won’t admit she has a problem. Right now she can’t drink but they’re talking about letting her go home in a couple of weeks. That’s when we’ll know if she’s got a mind to kick the alcohol.’
‘Will she come back to Diadonus?’
‘No, she’ll live in their apartment in Athens. It’ll be better for her there as she’ll have quicker access to the hospital if she needs it. The medical centre here is good but it doesn’t cater for everything. Her sister’s going to stay with her. Yanis and Loukas will visit regularly but will stay here for a few weeks while Yanis gets used to civilisation again.’
‘Fingers crossed everything works out for them all.’
‘I feel more hopeful than I did a couple of months ago. Yanis is resigning from the Timos board. I’ve been telling him for years to do it but he was worried he’d feel even more like a failure for it. Now he can see it’s for the best. He doesn’t know what he’ll do but without the pressure and stress of a job he hates and having to deal with our parents on a daily basis, he’ll have a much stronger footing to stay clean.’
She sighed into him and curved her arm a little tighter around his waist.
‘I can’t predict the future and, while I am hopeful things will work out for the best, I’m not going to lie that I think it will be easy. Which is where you come in.’
Her head shifted, her curls tickling his chin. ‘Me?’
‘Yanis will need a lot of support. He’s dealing with major upheavals. There’s no guarantee he won’t slip up on occasions. Loukas is going to need a lot of support too.’
She didn’t answer, so he carried on. ‘I know we said that once we’d sorted out a legal agreement for Loukas to be in my care that you could go back to New York, but I would like you to reconsider.’
‘You want me to stay?’
‘Just for a few more months while things settle themselves down. Loukas has grown very fond of you. It will be good for him to have another constant in his life.’
She sat up, holding the sheets to her chest. ‘That’s all you require? A few more months?’
‘Maybe longer. Let’s take it one day at a time.’
To Xander’s mind, this was the
perfect solution. The chemistry between him and Elizabeth burned as strongly as ever. They’d resolved their differences and were happy together. He liked her being around and she obviously liked being there too. It seemed ludicrous to end it because of an arbitrary cut-off point they’d decided on before they’d become lovers again. If he was being completely honest with himself, he wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet.
Her face didn’t give anything away. ‘And then what? You decide everything’s hunky-dory and send me back to New York?’
‘I thought you’d be happy to stay a bit longer. You like it here, don’t you?’ To prove his point, he leaned into her neck and nipped it. ‘And we can continue having amazing sex.’
She shoved him away. ‘Anyone can have good sex.’
‘Says the voice of experience?’ It still rankled that he knew nothing of her sexual history in the years they’d been apart.
He waited for her to smile or make a quip but her lips pursed together and she contemplated him for an age before saying quietly, ‘Level with me, Xander. What are your feelings for me?’
‘Well...’ He racked his brains, ignoring the alarm bells suddenly playing like a siren in his gut. ‘You’re beautiful, caring, witty, gutsy, and have the most fabulous hair, and you’re amazingly responsive in bed.’
She didn’t give even the flicker of a smile. ‘And how do I assimilate in your world? Do you think I fit in now?’
‘You fit in much better than I thought you would.’ He caught a curl in his fingers and gently tugged at it. ‘We suit each other very well.’
‘You make it sound so romantic.’
‘We did romance once and look where that got us.’
‘We were little more than children then.’
He dropped her curl and twisted to look more clearly at her. ‘What are you trying to say?’
‘Nothing.’
But by the set look on her face it was clearly something.
‘Talk to me. Tell me what’s on your mind.’
She gave a slow nod, her eyes narrowed. ‘Okay. But first let me make sure I’ve got what you’re proposing straight. You want me to stay for a few more months while things settle down with your family, and then you’re happy for me to go back to New York and carry on with my life without you?’
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