The Kouvaris Marriage

by Diana Hamilton

  And now she knew that whatever she did her family’s home and livelihood were safe, there was not a single thing to stop her.

  But every hour that passed had made her hate that decision, despise herself for reaching it. It had been made with her head, but her heart had swiftly overruled her brain, leading her to fall ever more deeply in love with him, wanting, needing to be with him always.

  The thought of leaving him broke her heart.

  Aware that Dimitri had almost finished laying out the food he’d taken from the cooler-bag on the vivid scarlet cloth Xanthe had provided, Maddie pulled herself together and hurried into her discarded clothing.

  And made her mind up.

  Despite his firmly stated order that they were to forget she’d ever wanted to end their marriage and were never to speak of it, she was going to have to. Would tell him exactly what Irini had told her. He would, in any case, staunchly deny it, in view of her pregnancy. That was more than a strong possibility. But at least he would know the truth of what had lain behind her headlong flight from him and their marriage. She owed herself that much.

  ‘Come, slowcoach! Remember our baby is hungry, even if you are not!’

  That slow, magical smile of his made her poor heart flip over. He had straightened, was standing tall and proud now, hands on his narrow hips, bare feet planted firmly, a little apart, on the sun-warmed sparse grass at the top of the bank. He was shirtless, his magnificent upper body exposed, his skin sleek, tanned olive by the Greek sun. Much too touchable.

  As usual his sexuality disorientated her, but her eyes shadowed as she walked towards him, and she knew she had to be strong and tell him the truth. But feed it in gradually, at the right opportunity. That way maybe she’d get the truth from him.

  Blurting it out like a bolshie teenager might release the knot of tension that coiled painfully inside her whenever she thought of what Irini had told her, of his aunt’s unpleasant comments about her gross unsuitability as a bride for her high-status nephew, remembered the tone of his voice as he’d assured the other woman that he loved her.

  Yes, getting it off her chest, where it festered, out into the open, might release that tension. But hurl the accusation at him and he’d instinctively and immediately deny it.

  She had to be more subtle than that.

  That look was back in her eyes again, Dimitri noted, his own brows lowering in response as she sank onto the ground beside the lavish spread. Perhaps time and patience on his part would remove it. The thing to do, he assured himself firmly, was to concentrate on the positive side of their marriage. Forget everything else.

  ‘How long can we stay here?’ Even to her own ears her voice sounded overly-bright, she decided helplessly as she obeyed his hand gesture and helped herself to one of Xanthe’s delicious stuffed vine leaves.

  ‘Bored already?’ Lightly said, but the thread of anxiety was there. He deplored it.

  ‘Not at all. Just interested. It’s so lovely here.’ The morsel eaten, she reached for a tiny cheese pastry, not looking at him until he told her, ‘Another two weeks, pethi mou, and then back to Athens to get the refurbishment of the nursery wing in hand, and get you to a top-notch gynaecologist. Sound good?’

  Glancing at him then, she ached with love for him, felt an onslaught of longing that was frightening in its intensity. He was so compelling, so beautiful. The hard, tanned planes of his sculpted features, the soft sable hair, the sensual line of the mouth that promised and delivered heaven, the warm golden eyes.

  The ache intensified. Two more weeks of ecstatic self-delusion and then…

  Reaching forward, he opened a flask and filled two glasses, telling her, ‘There are lemon trees here. Yiannis tends them and sells the ripe fruit on the mainland. And Xanthe makes the best lemonade you will ever have tasted.’ He handed a glass to her and tipped his own against it. ‘A toast. To our baby—may he or she live long and happy and much loved!’

  Her eyes misting as the delicious chilled liquid slid down her parched throat, Maddie thought, He does want our child, more than anything. The only contentious issue was why.

  He confirmed it when he told her smokily, ‘I am filled with delight at the thought of the child you will give me, my Maddie.’ Almost reverently he laid a hand on her tummy, surprising her with his words. ‘Before our marriage we spoke of our desire for children, do you remember?’

  Maddie dipped her head in silent acknowledgement. Not answering vocally because her throat had tightened too much to allow her to speak. Not looking at him, although she could feel his eyes on her.

  Of course she remembered! He had been at pains to make sure she wanted his baby before the actual lowkey ceremony because that had been the whole point of the exercise, hadn’t it? And, gullible sucker that she’d been then, her head spinning at the way he’d romanced her, swept her off her usually firmly-grounded feet, she’d given him the answer he’d been looking for. Of course she wanted children—his children. The more the merrier!

  If she’d turned round and told him that, no, she didn’t want motherhood for at least ten years—if then, if ever—the wedding would never have taken place. He would have disappeared in a puff of smoke! Would it have happened that way? Dear God, she hoped not! But how could she know?

  Then further confounded her when he said, with a sincerity she could not doubt, ‘I confess I would like more than one child, but it’s not a burning issue. Growing up, I missed my parents, wished they were still alive, wished I had brothers and sisters, a close family.’

  Naked, powerful, sun-kissed shoulders lifted in a wry shrug. ‘I guess that explains why I would like a whole gang of them!’ His eyes held hers—soft eyes, soft mouth, soft smile. ‘But I promise you, chrysi mou, there is no pressure. I might desire to give you at least three babies, but it will be for you and you alone to decide. If you decide that one pregnancy is enough for you, then he or she will be enough for me, too. This I promise.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  FOR several moments Maddie was silent. Her brain had gone numb. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say. At least nothing that would verbalise her muddled feelings in any way that made some sort of sense.

  Then, deep blue eyes wide and uncomprehending, she got out, ‘Do you really mean that?’

  If he did, it altered everything. In her favour? She was unsure of that. A puzzled frown appeared between her eyes. On the one hand her whole body tingled with the electric sting of unsquashable hope, while on the other suspicion of his motives made her heart shrivel.

  ‘Of course I mean it!’ Lean bronzed fingers brushed her tumbling fringe aside, gently caressing away the tiny frown line. ‘Every word. It is for you to decide how large our family grows or how small it stays. What you wish is my wish too, my Maddie.’

  The way he said her name made her heart turn over. As if it were spoken with devotion.

  Devotion?

  She might be a self-confessed hopeless sucker when he turned on the charm, but she really couldn’t let herself believe that!

  Once she had believed it with all her heart and soul. True, he had never actually said he loved her but she had truly believed he did. But everything was different now. Painfully, horribly different. And she would be a fool to forget it, to let herself be carried away by the prospect of paradise—the true and loving marriage he appeared to be offering.

  But those brilliant dark-lashed eyes were mesmerising her. For the life of her she couldn’t look away, even though she knew that every look, every soft word, might be hiding the harsh and ugly truth.

  Unconsciously, she shook her head. ‘And if I said I wanted you to give me at least six babies…’ Her voice tailed off on an intake of breath at the enormity of her weak and instinctive compliance in his—his what?—Manipulation?

  He smiled that slow, melting smile of his. ‘Then I would rejoice in your maternal if excessive desire! But I would, I think, gently persuade you to consider three a happy number. I could not stand by and see you exhaust your
self by producing the beginnings of a football team! You are far too precious to me.’

  The tips of his fingers trailed lightly from her cheekbones down to the side of her jaw. Maddie closed her eyes, lost in his touch. So gentle, so caring, so achingly seductive.

  The trouble with loving someone as much as she loved Dimitri was the way you wanted to believe everything he said—clung onto it because it gave you hope, conveniently forgetting everything else, she thought to herself, appalled by the weak stupidity she seemed incapable of kicking into touch.

  Her mouth dry, her heart thumping heavily, she steeled herself to broach the subject of his mistress. She couldn’t afford to be confrontational, she knew that. An open attack on his motives—his downright wickedness—would only serve to elicit an immediate and vehement denial.

  Aiming for a light, only vaguely interested tone, she made herself relax back against the arm he held around her waist, leaning into him, and ventured, ‘I believe Irini is unable to have children?’ She waited, feeling downright nauseous, for the telltale and instinctive tightening of his body that would tell her that her words had put him on his guard.

  It didn’t come as he bent his head to rest it against hers and confirmed, sounding completely relaxed and unfazed about it, ‘No. An accident when she was a child.’ She felt his minimal shrug. ‘But it’s not the tragedy it would be for most women, believe me. Irini has a positive aversion to children; she can’t stand to be around them. There’s not one maternal bone in her body, so her infertility is for the best in my opinion. Children need love more than anything else.’

  His deep, exotically accented voice carried total conviction, Maddie recognized. A long-held conviction springing from his own childhood when he’d had precious little love and affection after the deaths of his parents when he was little more than a baby.

  Her mouth ran dry as her heart picked up speed. He was genuinely as pleased as punch at the prospect of fatherhood. Surely he wouldn’t contemplate giving any child of his into the care of a woman who plain didn’t like children and wouldn’t give the child the love he claimed was more important than anything?

  Her head spinning with what her heart was telling her, she found herself looking up into his riveting, fantastic golden eyes as he shifted slightly and cupped her face in large, gentle hands.

  For better or for worse. Logically, that was what she was accepting. Give him the children they both wanted and their marriage would remain important to him, she would be important to him.

  And Irini? Well, as sure as night followed day Maddie couldn’t see her hanging around while she, Maddie, produced gorgeous babies in the image of their charismatic father.

  He loved the other woman—she herself had actually heard him express that emotion, so no way could she pretend it wasn’t the case—and according to Amanda their names had been coupled, eventual marriage between them the general expectation, long before she, Maddie, had come on the scene.

  Could she live with him, bear his children, knowing he still wanted the Greek woman, still loved her?

  She could if she tried with everything in her to earn his love for herself. As the mother of his children she could make him forget the other woman, she answered herself, with the kind of elated determination she hadn’t experienced for ages.

  Feeling hypnotised by the warmth of those glinting, tawny lights, she felt her own eyes widen as her breathing fractured, the familiar tightening, the pooling of heat that surged to electrifying excitement swamping her as he murmured, ‘Do we make tracks? Or do we spoil ourselves and make love again?’

  ‘What do you think?’ Her smile was luminous. Slim arms reached for him as unstoppable response rocked through her. She simply couldn’t stop loving him, wanting him, needing him. She might be stupid, walking into a trap with her eyes wide open, but this last week had taught her that she just couldn’t help herself and that the trap, if there was one, could be rendered harmless by the strength of her love for him.

  Even in the gathering twilight those thickly fringed eyes gleamed with molten gold as Dimitri offered, ‘I forgot to ask—was your mother half as delighted as I was when you told her our news?’

  Gathering her thoughts, Maddie forked up a morsel of the tender lamb in a delicious herby sauce Xanthe had prepared for the evening meal. The stone-paved terrace was lit with lanterns, and between them a candle in an amber glass bowl cast a warm glow over the delicate cast-iron table, set with dishes of salads and tiny almond cakes.

  Reaching for her glass of iced water, Maddie let her eyes drift over his impressive frame. He was wearing a white shirt in the softest of cottons, tucked into a pair of narrow-fitting beat-up denim jeans, his dark hair just slightly rumpled, the evidence of emerging dark stubble shadowing his tough jawline.

  In Athens he was never less than perfectly groomed, dressed in beautifully tailored dove-grey or light tan suits over pristine, exquisite shirts, and he could look intimidating. But here, like this, though still just as shatteringly handsome, he seemed warmer, wonderfully approachable.

  Easy to talk to. ‘I did get round to mentioning it—although I almost didn’t,’ she confessed, laying down her fork with a small sigh of repletion, listening to the soothing sound of the whisper of the sea as it caressed the shore far below, feeling more relaxed and at peace than she had felt in ages. ‘I was too busy listening to her telling me how you bought the farm and put the deeds in their names. Why didn’t you tell me?’ she probed gently.

  His own fork abandoned, Dimitri leant back, his features shadowed now. ‘I thought you already knew—that your parents would have told you.’

  Then, rough-edged, showing the first sign of discomfiture Maddie had ever seen in him, he leant forward again, fisting his hands on the top of the table, the gleam from the candle picking blue lights from his rumpled raven hair, and admitted, ‘That’s not true. I allowed you to believe that your parents’ security depended solely on your agreement to come back to me, stay with me. When the truth is that I would have helped them regardless, because I like them and saw the injustice of what cold, big-business brains could do to small, good people with no possible means of self-defence.’

  Helplessly in love with him, Maddie felt her heart twist behind her breast. Behind the tough business tycoon façade beat the generous heart of a truly good guy—a guy who would always put his family first and, in time, learn to stop loving Irini and begin to love her instead. At least that was what she was now determined on. It might take some time, but it would be worth waiting for.

  Her heart melted further, until she thought that poor organ must resemble a pool of hot treacle, when he castigated, ‘What I did was dishonourable! I threatened you, let that threat lie between us as the only way I could think of to make you come back to me! It was a despicable thing to do. So—’

  Steeling himself, doing his best to appear to be relaxed over what in all honour had to be said, Dimitri leaned back in his seat again. For the first time in his adult life he was losing control, giving control over his happiness to another. Knowing it was what honour demanded didn’t make it any easier.

  ‘So the threat no longer exists,’ he intoned heavily. ‘It never did. You are free to make your own decisions about our marriage. You wanted to divorce me,’ he reminded her with a studied calm that almost killed him in its achievement. ‘If your reasons for wanting to end our marriage still exist—’ a sudden, involuntary downward slash of one strongly crafted hand betrayed the inner tension he was trying to hide ‘—and whatever they are or were, I do not want to hear them, then you are free to do as you think fit.’ He breathed in deeply, then stipulated forcefully, ‘However, I would demand that you remain in Greece, that I have full visiting rights where our child is concerned.’

  Silence hung, thick and spiky with expectation. Maddie’s eyes were liquid sapphire, drenched with understanding. And awe.

  This gorgeous man must have wanted her to return and take her place as his wife really badly for him to have done wha
t he had himself named despicable and dishonourable. And it would have taken guts for him to come straight out and admit that the threats had never been real, to let it be known that the tough exterior hid a marshmallow centre.

  It hadn’t been about forcing her back to get her pregnant and then rob her of her child. She knew that now. She was expecting their first baby, and already he was talking about having more children. With her. All this talk of freeing her to sue for divorce if she still wanted to was just his way of satisfying what he saw as his honour!

  Happiness bubbled up inside her like a hot spring. Their future could be good. Would be good, she mentally emphasized. Because, on the evidence, maybe he’d already started to forget Irini and begun to fall a little in love with her before she’d left him and asked for a divorce. And he had to have been desperate for that not to happen, otherwise he wouldn’t have compromised his so-valued honour and lied—in an oblique sort of way—about her parents being homeless if she dug her heels in and went for that divorce.

  ‘Well?’

  His voice was flat, but Maddie, attuned to every single thing about him, detected the underlying tension. She had kept the poor darling in suspense for far too long. Patience, as she well knew, wasn’t a virtue that came easily to him.

  She reached for his hand, felt his immediate response as he tightened his fingers around hers.

  ‘Like you, I think children need both parents around on a regular basis,’ she told him, with only the slightest emotional wobble in her voice she was pleased to note. ‘So we stay married.’

  She would be making a crucial mistake if she were to follow the impetuous need to fling herself at him and tell him she loved him to death, and that it would take a bulldozer to prise her away from him.

  It was too early in their new relationship to load that onto him. He was still having to deal with his strong feelings for Irini, and if, as everything she had seen with her own eyes and heard with her own ears pointed to, they had been in love, and lovers, for ages, then at the moment that was enough for him to contend with.