Harlequin Presents July 2017 Box Set : The Pregnant Kavakos Bride / a Ring to Secure His Crown / the Billionaire's Secret Princess / Wedding Night With Her Enemy (9781460350751)
Page 64
He smiled and hugged her close, rocking her against him as if he wanted them to be glued together. ‘I’m sorry for the other night. I was blindsided by your decision to end things. I didn’t see it coming because I was too proud to admit you had the raw end of the deal.’ Draco eased back to look down at her. ‘I’ve got a lot to learn about giving and taking in a relationship, but I hope you’ll teach me. If you’ve got the patience, that is.’
Allegra pressed a kiss to his mouth, breathing in the familiar scent of him that thrilled her senses so much. ‘Maybe you could teach me to be a little less insecure. I’ve been torturing myself with images of you taking up with someone else.’
‘There is no one else for me, agape mou,’ Draco said. ‘I realised that during my epiphany earlier this evening. I made those promises when we got married because there could never be anyone else for me. My subconscious must have known it, even if I wasn’t ready to admit it. I told myself I was marrying you to protect you, but what was motivating that protectiveness was love. You are my heart. My life. Can we start again? Stay married and live together for the rest of our lives, in a partnership others will envy and want to emulate?’
Allegra hugged him so tightly her arms ached. ‘I can think of nothing I’d like better.’
‘I wish I’d gone about this differently,’ he said. ‘It would have saved these last days of hell.’
‘They were hell for me too,’ she said. ‘But that’s all behind us now.’
A shadow passed through his gaze. ‘I couldn’t be in my house after you sent back the gifts I’d given you. It was like coming back to the house after my parents’ funerals. Even though they died years apart, the feelings were exactly the same. Seeing stuff sitting there but knowing they were never coming back to collect it. It’s the worst feeling in the world. The sense of helplessness. Aloneness. Emptiness. That’s when I realised I had blocked my feelings out of fear. I didn’t want to lose you, like I’d lost everyone else I cared about, so I fooled myself into thinking I didn’t love you. But then I realised why I was feeling so bad. Not out of pride or because of the business arrangement. But because my life is meaningless without you in it.’
Allegra stroked a fingertip around his mouth. ‘I was so miserable after you left. I couldn’t understand why you weren’t fighting to keep our marriage. It sort of confirmed my doubts in a way. But now I realise how hard it must have been for you, with me springing it on you like that. I just couldn’t go another day without knowing for sure how you felt.’
‘I should have fought for you. But I guess I was feeling so raw I had to get away to process things. But it’s not going to be how I solve conflict in the future.’
His eyes looked suspiciously watery. ‘I saw a family today. A young family with a toddler, and the wife was expecting another baby. It made me realise what I was missing out on. I don’t want to be surrounded by my wealth and possessions at the end of my life. I want to be surrounded by my family. Our family.’
She framed his face in her hands. ‘You say you’ve been denying how you feel about me—well, I’ve been denying how I feel about having kids. I’ve suppressed my maternal longings for years as I worked to build my career. I don’t want to get to the end of my life with a stack of legal documents for company. I want you. I want us to be family. And I want to live in Greece. It’s my home. I want to set up a legal practice where I can help women like Iona and Elena. Iona might fancy a career change as a nanny. I’m going to ask her next time I see her. If ever there was a frustrated grandmother, she’s one.’
His smile lit up his eyes, making them crinkle at the corners. ‘That’s been my mistake in the past—thinking “either, or” instead of both. We can both have what we want. It will take a bit of compromise on my part, but you’re going to give me lessons, ne?’
Allegra gave him a teasing smile. ‘When would you like me to start?’
He brought his mouth down to within a millimetre of hers. ‘After I do this.’ And he covered her mouth with his.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781459293090
Wedding Night with Her Enemy
Copyright © 2017 by Melanie Milburne
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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.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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ISBN-13: 9781460350751
Copyright © 2017 Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
The Pregnant Kavakos Bride
Copyright © 2017 by Sharon Kendrick
A Ring to Secure His Crown
Copyright © 2017 by Kim Lawrence
The Billionaire’s Secret Princess
Copyright © 2017 by Caitlin Crews
Wedding Night with Her Enemy
Copyright © 2017 by Melanie Milburne
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and �
� are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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