by Lexie James
“And we are most definitely not embarking upon any sort of physical relationship ever again; we’ll keep this totally civilised, and arrange what is best for the children.”
She tensed waiting for his reply. When he said nothing she decided to be brave and face him out. Putting her chin, up she looked him squarely in the eye daring him to disagree with her last remark.
She didn’t have very long to wait.
Matching her look of determination, he eventually replied in an amused tone.
“Really? That’s what you think? And that comment is based on the sound knowledge that you know you no longer have any feelings for me?”
He knows I’m lying to him, she thought wretchedly, he felt that tingle to; how can I keep lying to him, but I honestly know I can’t risk feeling all that pain again. I can’t have my heart broken again and most especially I cannot risk my children’s hearts being broken.
“That’s right.” She stuck her chin up more defiantly, and for good measure, crossed her fingers behind her back as she replied.
With a reluctant smile, for her refusal to acknowledge what he knew was so patently obvious to them both, he decided to deal with each point in turn.
“Fine, so let me just recap what you’ve said so far. You accept that I have a right to be involved with our children; and that we will decide as a couple what we tell them and how.”
She flinched at the word couple but nodded her head in agreement.
“Such involvement that I have will, obviously, first be agreed by us and then that agreement will be ratified by our children; however I want and I expect to be a hands on father.”
He paused for some comment but beyond a glare she remained silent.
“And I’m afraid you will need to accept that my mother will want to be just as much involved as I am.”
Again she nodded her head in agreement.
Undeterred he continued to the essence of the matter.
“And then of course we will have to spend reasonable amounts of time together, just the two of us, so that I have the chance to woo you properly. Obviously, I am expecting in the time we spend together that you will come to realise how much you still really love me.”
She began to nod automatically in agreement, and then as his words sunk in to her consciousness and she considered what he meant, her eyes flew in panic to his face, and a tell-tale blush rose delicately across her face.
Seeing it he smiled smugly, he knew he was winning.
“Exactly, now let’s go back home and let your father know what is going on.”
He began to walk off to the car, then realised she wasn’t following. Exasperated he retraced his steps.
“Come on you’ll turn to stone if you’re not careful.”
She had no intention of making it easy for him.
“Shame you can’t then you’d stop having such stupid dreams.” She muttered under her breath as she followed him back to the car.
Christos grinned as he heard that, but by the time he turned to open the car door for her, he had schooled his features and hidden the grin. She refused to say thank you and he felt another grin, bubbling below the surface, at her continued attempt to annoy him and push him away from her.
Life would never be boring again and between her, and their children, he knew he would never know a moment’s peace ever again.
He had never been as gloriously happy as he was at very this moment.
CHAPTER TWENTYSIX
As he parked the car she leapt out and was running up the stairs before he even had time to turn of the engine. He climbed out more slowly, disappointment etched on his face as he thought they had reached an agreement and yet, here she was, running away from him, yet again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy he thought grimly, but I thought I was getting somewhere.
At the top of the stairs he saw her stop and square her shoulders resolutely, before turning slowly, and holding out her hand to him.
Time stood still for him as he was transported back to that first moment all those years ago when she had held out her hand and agreed to go to the cafe with him. Raising his eyes to her face, he finally saw acceptance and something else, though he hardly dare hope, he was sure he saw a hint of something warmer. His heart thumping in his chest, he climbed the stairs slowly, not taking his eyes from her face.
As he reached the top of the stairs she took his hand, and side by side they walked towards to the entrance of the hotel.
Halfway there she paused again, causing him to look down at her in confusion.
“I...” She looked down at their clasped hands refusing to meet his eyes. “I shouldn’t have done that, it was childish, I should have waited for you. I’m sorry, truce?”
He sighed; he knew he could only hope for one small step at a time.
“I agree.”
Together they walked inside.
Guests were milling about in the lobby and with a jolt he remembered that the hotel had been full. Bemused, he saw Adrienne at the desk, helping people with their queries but, as soon as the guests saw Emme, she was deluged with people asking after Chrissie. Although he knew she was tired and emotionally drained he saw her snap into professional mode as she answered their enquiries.
Sidling past her, he asked Adrienne where Patrick was.
“Around somewhere.” She told him distractedly. “No wait a minute, I think he went to the kitchen to sort out the lunch menu.”
Emme heard the tail end of their conversation and excusing herself from her guests, she walked over to Christos.
“That’s the worst place for him to be, he’s useless in the kitchen. If I don’t get down there immediately, there will be an out and out war. You’d better come with me; I may need some help to haul him away, so that I can sort out the mess I am sure he has tried very hard to create.”
“Good luck.” Adrienne called as he followed Emme down the stairs; raised voices could be heard as they neared the bottom of the stairs.
“Oh no,” Emme sighed. “He’s trying to tell them what to do, he never learns.”
Perplexed Christos queried. “Why shouldn’t he tell them what to do, after all he is their employer?”
With a half-smile on her face she replied.
“True, he’s also bossy, high-handed, and believes he knows best, unfortunately he forgets the little issue of the fact that he knows nothing at all about cooking or planning menus. He only learnt to boil eggs when the twins were young so he could be a doting Grandfather and serve them egg and soldiers. He still struggles with the toaster because he plays with the controls then, forgets what he has done, burns the toast and sets of the fire alarms. So with those facts in mind, when he tries to tell the kitchen staff how to run the kitchen or how to cook, they understandably object to it.”
Grinning Christos replied. “Well I suppose, if you put it like that, I can see your point.”
Emme pushed open the door, to be greeted by a cacophony of voices arguing angrily.
“Enough!”
She shouted above the general hubbub. Silence gradually descended as they realised who had shouted at them, then rose again as she was bombarded with questions about Chrissie. She raised her hand.
“Let’s deal with lunch first, despite whatever it is my father was trying to get you to do, you all know what the menu is meant to be, so please get on with it and ignore any helpful comments he has tried to make. We will, in our turn, remove my father from the kitchen, so you can get on in peace. Chrissie is fine, bumped head, few scratches and a broken leg. But she will recover soon enough.”
Christos was taken aback, she was perfectly cool and in control and the total opposite to the woman with whom he had been battling with all morning. Smiling at her staff, she extracted her father from their midst and began to guide him out.
Indignantly Patrick turned to her.
“Now just you be waiting a moment, my girl. This is my kitchen and my staff.”
Shutting the door on the kitchen she turned to him
with her hands on her hips.
“And you are useless in there and you know it, which is why I run the kitchen isn’t it? Left to you, you’d put everybody’s backs up, and we’d have a walk out of the kitchen staff. This would leave you all alone, trying to perfect your piece de resistance, boiled eggs and burnt soldiers.”
He humpfed, then finally became aware that Christos was standing silently there, with a look of pride on his face.
“And now I suppose you’re going to shut me out of what’s going on between the two of you as well aren’t you, same as you’ve shut me out of my own kitchen?”
With a look of long suffering on her face, she took his arm and led him up to her office.
“No Dad we are not.”
The significance of that comment permeated Patrick’s consciousness, and he decided to refrain from fretting about the lunch menu so that he could instead concentrate on whatever Emme and Christos had decided to tell him.
Christos meanwhile had considered all his options and resolved to let Emme do the talking. He felt he had already done enough, and he was rather interested to see what she was going to say. He was bent on following her lead unless, he thought, she forgets about the wooing.
The closer he was to her, the more the wooing became an immovable, highly important, part of the bargain he had struck with her.
Patrick sat between them still not sure if he needed to protect her from Christos or side with him and push her into the marriage he was convinced was right for them.
“Dad,” she began hesitantly. “Christos and I have decided that for the sake of our children he needs to be involved with them.”
Shrewdly Patrick glanced at Christos. “Is that so? And just how do you intend to do that when you live an hours’ drive away?”
Christos prevaricated. “We haven’t ironed out that piece of the puzzle yet.”
Patrick exploded. “Really, then it seems to me that you haven’t got anywhere at all in your discussions have you?”
He rounded on Emme, angrily. “I don’t know what you are up to, but he is their father and as such, like it or not, he should be with them and you should all be living together as a family.”
Aghast Emme replied. “Just hang on a minute, why should we? Lots of children have mothers and fathers that don’t live together, why should we be any different. We can come to some sort of amicable arrangement so that they can spend time with each of us. I notice you weren’t stupid enough to say one big happy family.”
Silence greeted her reply, finally when neither of them spoke, she decided to look up and was promptly very sorry she did; her father was looking furious and, as her eyes moved to look at Christos’s face, she could see that he was also looking absolutely furious. Swallowing her fear she concentrated on smoothing her trousers neatly into non-existent creases.
Patrick began to tell her what he thought of that arrangement but Christos forestalled him. “You agreed that I should be a hands on father, to me that means being with them twenty four seven, so like it or not Emme, you don’t have a choice. You seem to have forgotten that I told you we are going to spend quality time together, you and I, until you own up to the fact that you still love me.”
Knowing that she was fighting a losing battle, but determined to continue to the bitter end, she answered with a calmness she was a long way from feeling. “I know that’s what you’ve tried to get me to agree to, but I can see no conceivable reason why I should acquiesce to that most ridiculous proposal. After all, I am sure at least one of your girlfriend’s would object to that.”
Christos swore under his breath.
Smiling sweetly she enquired. “I’m sorry did you say something? I’m afraid I couldn’t quite hear that. Did you want to say it again?”
“I don’t believe you.” Christos finally grinned at her. “You are going to make me fight you every single step of the way until this issue is resolved, aren’t you?”
She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “Did you expect anything less?”
His heart singing he replied. “From all that I know about you, and all that I remember, there are some things that will never change. You are still as stubborn as hell and you thrive on arguing. No I would expect nothing less. And I will relish every moment. ”
“Good, then you know you won’t be disappointed.”
His heart stilled as he realised, for the first time, that she was smiling a genuine smile of affection at him. He stifled the urge to haul her into his arms, he still wasn’t totally sure of how secure the ground upon which he balanced was.
Patrick looked from one to the other, feeling rather like an interloper between them, but satisfied that they had finally appeared to have reached an amicable understanding. His mind began to consider how the accommodation could be altered to reflect not only the chance in his daughter’s living arrangements but the change in his.
I wonder, he pondered, when I’ll drop that little gem of information into the conversation. His wandering mind returned to the conversation that was continuing between the two protagonists and he concentrated on Christos’s remark.
“I only have a flat at one of my country hotels because it’s convenient, and our office is there. Adrienne and I could relocate anywhere as long as we have computers.”
Well now and isn’t that an interesting little fact Patrick thought.
Somewhat taken aback, Emme questioned. “You mean you’d move in here right away? Right into my pocket, sort of speak.”
Lazily Christos looked at her, allowing his eyes to dwell on her lips then dropping slightly lower as he surveyed her body.
“Have you finished?” She asked him dryly. “I’m not lunch you know. I asked you a question.”
He raised his eyes to hers again, marvelling at their beauty and the way their colour echoed her emotions.
“In your pocket, where ever, though, I could think of more pleasurable places to be.”
There he saw it at last, the flash of passion in her eyes as the colour darkened to deepest jade. Satisfied at last, he decided not to bait her any more.
Patrick stood up. “Well now, seeing as how Adrienne had already decided to move here I’m sure she’ll be glad to be finding that she can still do that, and keep her job. That was causing us a few moments worry. Only, I hasten to add a few moments, we’ve had other things to worry about ,what with you off to the hospital, and a hotel full of guests, but she has coped splendidly. Now if you two have finished I’ve a hotel to run.”
Having dropped that bombshell, he tried to exit from the room as quickly as possible, but failed to do so, as both Christos and Emme began to speak at the same time.
Christos’s voice was louder.
“What do you mean she’s moving here?” But his voice held an undercurrent of amusement; he had seen enough glances between the two of them to be very certain that they were both smitten.
Patrick smiled self-consciously and looking at both of them he confirmed Christos’s speculation.
“Emme, I loved your mother more than even you could possibly know, but she wouldn’t want me to stay alone for the rest of my life. And Adrienne, well now she’s a fine woman and she seems to feel the same about me. At our time of life, second chances don’t come round that often and when they do, well then you need to grab them with both your hands and hang on to them for dear life. So that’s what we are going to do.”
Patrick walked away from them as quickly as he could leaving them to consider what he had just said.
CHAPTER TWENTYSEVEN
Christos knew how right Patrick was and he had no intention of wasting another minute of his life. But he was still slightly unsure of Emme. She was standing as still as stone staring off into space.
“Care to share your thoughts.” He enquired curiously.
She turned to him slowly, with such an intent look of seriousness on her face, that for a moment he panicked.
“My father is right isn’t he? Love doesn’t come round that often, does it
? I knew from the first moment I saw you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you...”
The rest of what she was about to say was muffled as he pulled her into his arms, crushing her body tightly against his solid chest as his lips sought hers. She gave up any thought of speech and contented herself with the knowledge that he understood what she had meant to say, and he reciprocated. She snuggled in closer, calmer than she had felt in years.
It seemed an age to him before she finally pulled away from him a little, so that she could look into his eyes.
“Well I guess that’s my father dealt with, now all we have to do is face our children.”
Grimacing he agreed. “No time like the present. Let’s go back and tell them now.”
Her eyes widened in panic but she nodded.
They returned to his car, this time with an overnight bag for her if Chrissie wanted her to stay during the night.
Any thoughts on what we will say?” he asked as he navigated onto the main road.
“Could we leave it as I’ve already told them, that we decided we didn’t love each other enough then?”
He pulled a face. “What and now we’ve had an abrupt change of heart? I don’t think that will wash especially, as Chrissie was listening to our conversation. Even if she didn’t hear all of it, she probably heard enough to discount all that you had originally told them.”
She sighed. “I suppose you are right. So what do you think we should tell them?”
Bluntly he replied. “We’ll tell them the truth.”
She gasped. “Are you out of your mind? How the hell do you think they’ll take that? Oh look kids your Mum thought I slept with her for a bet, so she ran away. Then she didn’t tell me she was pregnant because she thought I didn’t want her. When I saw you both, I thought that she had slept with someone else, because I’m such an idiot, I couldn’t recognise my own children.”
“Language!” he remonstrated with her then, considered what she had said.
“Perhaps, when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound the best thing to tell them the truth.”