‘I couldn’t face being in the apartment without you,’ she confessed. ‘So I turned up at Rocco’s door claiming asylum.’
He laughed. ‘He must have been delighted to know we’d fallen apart.’
‘No,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘When he realised I was actually in love with you, the chip he’d been carrying went. He became my brother again.’
His lips were so close to hers. She craned her neck forward, suddenly desperate to feel them upon her, to be cradled in his embrace but he gripped her neck at the side, gently but with enough firmness to stop her moving.
‘So, you do love me?’ For the first time she saw his vulnerability.
‘Yes. I love you. With everything I have.’
She’d hardly finished speaking before his mouth crushed hers, his essence filling her with such sweetness the tears really did fall.
‘Oh, my love,’ he said, wiping her tears away. ‘I never want to see you cry.’
‘They’re happy tears,’ she said with a sniff. ‘You’re not the only one who’s always felt unworthy—I’ve spent my whole life feeling like a poisoned chalice, put on Earth to destroy anyone who gets close to me.’ She stroked his cheek. ‘I wanted you to employ Kerstin because I thought she was the perfect woman for you.’
Incredulity spread over his face. ‘You were trying to engineer me being with her?’
‘I thought she could make you happy. You wouldn’t have to compromise your time or sacrifice...’
Her words were cut off by a hard, possessive kiss.
‘You’re perfect for me,’ he said when he pulled away, cradling her cheeks to gaze into her eyes. ‘Just you. We’ve both made sacrifices. I would make them again a thousand times over.’ He bowed his head and brushed his lips against hers. ‘I love you. You’re my world.’
‘And you’re my everything,’ she answered softly.
For the first time Alessandra felt a tinge of sympathy for her father, who had gone so off the rails when he’d lost the love of his life. After a fortnight without Christian, she had a little insight into what he must have gone through. She would never be able to forgive him, not for the way his actions had so hurt Rocco—and they had hurt her brother more than her because Rocco remembered a time when their father was a loving man who had adored his small family—but a whole chunk of the bitterness she felt towards him fell away.
‘I love you, Christian.’
‘Always.’
‘Always.’
And they did.
EPILOGUE
‘IT’S A GIRL!’
Alessandra didn’t know who was the most excited at the giving of the news—the obstetrician or her husband, who announced it in unison while the midwife held the baby—her daughter—up for a few brief seconds before the cord was cut and they whisked her away to clean her up
Christian was back at the top of the table, bed or whatever it was she was laid upon, raining kisses all over her face, muttering prayers and thanks in Greek, English, Japanese, Cantonese and any other language he could conjure.
‘You are wonderful,’ he said into her ear in a reverential fashion.
‘You’re pretty wonderful yourself.’ She laughed, stroking his hair.
It felt good to laugh.
It felt even better when they placed her daughter on her, allowing a little skin-on-skin time before whisking her back off for swaddling.
‘Look in my bag,’ she whispered.
‘Why?’
‘Just look. There’s an envelope in the side pocket.’
Doing as he was bid, Christian tore the envelope open and studied the document inside.
After long moments he faced her, his eyes brimming with so much emotion it was like looking into an overflowing bucket.
‘Thank you, Kiria Markos.’
‘You’re welcome Kyrios Markos.’
It was a document making official Alessandra’s name change from Mondelli to Markos.
This was her gift to him, her statement to them both as much as to the world that they were a unit. Their love was for keeps. Cut one and both would bleed. Their baby made them a family. She wanted their little family all to have the same name.
‘There is one little problem.’
‘Oh?’
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope.
Inside was a document making official Christian’s name from Markos to Mondelli.
Thus, when their swaddled baby was handed to them properly to begin their journey as a family, the first thing their daughter heard was the sound of her parents’ laughter.
As beginnings went, it couldn’t be bettered.
* * *
‘Three, two, one, drink!’
In unison, Christian and Rocco raised their glasses to their mouths and downed their shots.
‘To Letizia Markos,’ said Rocco, picking up his next shot.
‘To my beautiful baby,’ Christian agreed. ‘And to my beautiful wife.’
‘Three, two, one, drink!’
Christian had already celebrated the birth of his baby with Rocco, Zayed and Stefan four months before.
Tonight it was Alessandra’s turn. She was having her own version of wetting the baby’s head in the bar next door with her sister-in-law and some other friends. He suspected theirs would be a much more civilised affair than his had been. But not by much.
Thinking about it, he realised Alessandra hadn’t drunk any alcohol for well over a year, what with the pregnancy and then the four months of breast-feeding she’d done.
Her tolerance would be minimal.
Theos, and she’d insisted on wearing her five-inch heels.
He was all set to bolt out of the bar and hover over her like her own personal guard when Rocco called the barman over for another round.
‘Now we need to drink to baby Mondelli,’ Rocco said with a knowing look.
‘Baby Mondelli?’ It took a moment for the penny to drop. ‘Olivia, she is...?’
Rocco couldn’t hide the beam on his face. ‘Yes. I’m going to be a father.’
‘That is wonderful news!’ Embracing in a manly fashion, the two men then downed their final shots, got to their feet, walked out of the bar and into the next one, both eager to be with the women they loved above all else.
* * * * *
Look out for the next instalment of SOCIETY WEDDINGS: THE SICILIAN’S SURPRISE WIFE by Tara Pammi. Coming next month!
Read on for a SOCIETY WEDDINGS Exclusive!
DELETED SCENE
ALMOST ELEVEN AND THE streets were packed, the evening balmy. As they passed loud party-goers, all Alessandra could think was that her night was almost over.
Every step took her closer to her apartment.
Soon she would be left to nothing but her thoughts.
Such awareness. All she could feel in her skin was him. He walked beside her, so near yet so far.
For the first time that evening, talk between them became stilted, a real tension having sprung up, an air of anticipation hanging, ready to be grabbed hold of.
Was it her imagination or had Christian’s pace slowed too?
However slowly they walked, they arrived at her apartment much too quickly.
‘Are you coming up for coffee?’ she asked, pressing the code to enter the building.
He shook his head. ‘I’ll walk you to your door and then head to my hotel.’
Compared to the noise of the Milanese streets, the building that housed her apartment was quiet. So quiet, she could hear her own heartbeat.
The security guard ordered the lift and in painful silence they rode up to the third floor, Christian beside her, his strong jaw clenched.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay f
or coffee?’ she asked softly, looking at him as she unlocked her door. ‘Or more champagne? I’ve a bottle in the fridge.’
A pulse along his jawline throbbed, his Adam’s apple rising and falling. ‘I need to go.’
‘Well...thank you for a lovely evening. It’s been fun.’
He nodded, looking over her shoulder into her apartment. She’d left a light on in the main living area, a warm glow permeating through the vast space.
She leaned forward onto her toes, placing her hands onto his shoulder, moisture filling her mouth as she anticipated the customary kiss goodbye. ‘Good night, Christian.’
His chest rose, and his lips clamped together, a deep breath expelling from his nose. He placed a hand loosely on her hip. ‘Good night, Alessandra.’
She placed her lips to his cheek, breathing in his scent, the champagne and bourbon that played on his tongue, her skin delighting to feel his mouth brush against her own cheek, their faces moving in sync to kiss the opposite cheeks.
What would those still firmly clamped lips feel like against her own? she wondered, moving her mouth to press lightly against them and discover for herself.
He didn’t move, his breaths coming even deeper, his body as rigid as a board.
The fingers holding her hip tightened, a subtle movement that enticed her to press herself closer so all that separated them were the clothes they wore.
She felt the slightest of softening in his unyielding form, enough to embolden her further to slip her fingers beneath the collar of his shirt and gently graze his smooth, warm skin, her lips still chastely placed against his.
A guttural noise came from his throat, a groan that reverberated through her skin and seeped down low, right into her pelvis.
She scraped the nape of his neck with her nails, breathing him in more deeply, his masculine scent filling her senses in the most delicious way.
And then the statue came to life, his hand rising to clasp the back of her head in a firm, hard grip, his lips parting. Then he was kissing her, kissing her with a violence that made the pulsations deep in her core enflame and her heart beat like a thousand drums had been let loose within her.
The Wedding Breakfast Menu from Christian and Alessandra’s wedding!
MENU
APPETISERS
Crabmeat Charissa
Spinach and Feta Spanakopita (V)
FIRST COURSE
Steamed Shrimp Served on a bed of Fresh Seaweed
with a Cocktail Sauce and Lemon Wedges
Fresh Bread Rolls
Chilled Pea Soup (V)
Fresh Bread Rolls
INTERMEZZO
Lemon Sorbet
MAIN COURSE
Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Pepperoncini Peppers
in a Red Wine Rosemary Jus
Served with Rice Pilaf and Roasted Vegetables
Vegetarian Souvlakia Skewers (V)
Served with Rice Pilaf and Roasted Vegetables
DESSERT
Trio of Chocolate Marquis,
Mango Mousse Cake and Passion Fruit Cake
Served with Chocolate Sauce and Mango Fruit Purée
Coffee
The Chocolate Fondue Fountain will be available to all guests throughout this happy occasion
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Presents title.
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Clio Norwood and Stefan Bianco request the pleasure of your company at the celebration of their marriage, 5 pm, June 2015, The Chatsfield, New York.
But only if Stefan can persuade his surprise bride!
Read on for a sneak preview of
THE SICILIAN’S SURPRISE WIFE,
the third book in the dazzling new Presents quartet
SOCIETY WEDDINGS.
“DAMN IT, STEFAN. Say something.”
Nothing shredded her composure like Stefan’s silence did.
Without taking his gaze off her, he undid his cuffs. Next came the buttons on his dress shirt. Clio held his gaze, even as the shadow of his olive skin under the shirt beckoned.
The column of his throat was a visual feast as were the chiseled angles of his face.
His olive-green gaze was hard, flinty even. “I have never been maneuvered into a corner so publicly and so irrevocably, bella. I think I have been rendered mute.”
Maneuvered? Her stomach tying in knots, Clio blinked. There was no anger in his words, no resentment in his tone. Something else lingered there on a razor’s edge, waiting to strike.
“Stefan, I don’t know what came over me.”
His posture screamed careless lounging, but Clio knew he noticed every breath she took, every nuance that crossed her face.
“I know it’s not something you ask a friend over dinner, but I would owe you...” Shaking her head, Clio caught the words in her mouth. In her wildest dreams, she had never thought she would beg a man to marry her, to ask someone to turn such a big lie into reality.
“Think carefully, Clio. You might only be exchanging one awful man for another. Because I’ll not change anything in my life for a woman, cara. Not even a surprise wife.
Don’t miss
THE SICILIAN’S SURPRISE WIFE by Tara Pammi,
available June 2015 wherever
Harlequin Presents® books and ebooks are sold.
www.Harlequin.com
Copyright ©2015 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781460380895
The Greek’s Pregnant Bride
Copyright © 2015 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Michelle Smart for her contribution to the Society Weddings series.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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