Redeemed By Her Innocence (HQR Presents)

by Bella Frances

  ‘You’ve done it all yourself, Jacquelyn,’ he said quietly. ‘I just gave you a shove in the right direction.’

  They were outside the gates of the park now, close to the Boathouse.

  ‘So how do you want to celebrate?’ he asked.

  ‘This is all that I need,’ she said simply, looking at the green water, the trees and paths, the people milling around. ‘I don’t need to drink champagne or eat a fancy dinner. I don’t need any of that stuff. I’ve never been happier in my life.’

  Nikos smiled at her, and trailed his fingers down her cheek. He was holding something back. She knew it. From the moment she’d met him she could tell he had something he wanted to say. She couldn’t bear to get her hopes up though.

  ‘How was your day? How did it go?’

  ‘It’s getting there,’ he said, but there was exhaustion in his voice. ‘I’m in the clear, but it’ll take months to get through all the investigations and the court case. I’m going to be pretty tied up working with them for the next few weeks, but at least it feels as if we’re getting somewhere.’

  ‘And your mum? How is she?’

  He bowed his head and when he looked up she could see the worry that leaked through at the mention of his mother.

  ‘I need to take a trip out there next week.’

  ‘Ah, yes, of course, I understand. I’m sure even if she doesn’t seem to understand you, the universe will have a way of telling her that everything is going to be OK. That she’s safe now. And that nobody else will suffer like she did.’

  He tucked her close to his chest and breathed a deep, soulful breath. Under her cheek, his heart pounded a strong, slow beat, a sound she relished, more than any other.

  ‘You’re a sweet, wonderful woman, Jacquelyn. You say exactly the right things. I wish she could have met you. I’d love for you two to get to know one another.’

  They were right at the Boathouse now. He’d led them into the queue for a rowing boat. Then they were stepping into a boat, steadying and balancing as Nikos took the oars and paddled them out through the smooth green water.

  ‘I should visit my own parents,’ she said, enjoying the slow steady glide and the sound of the oars slipping through the water. ‘It’s been such a long time since I saw them. And now I’ve got something amazing to tell them, I really want to do it in person.’

  Nikos nodded slowly as he rowed them further out, the heavy canopy of the trees screening them from the world.

  ‘Yep. We need to look after our folks. What goes around, comes around.’

  She sat back, watching his muscles flex and extend under the sheen of his shirt. There was nowhere more romantic in the whole of Manhattan. There was no one she would rather be with.

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.

  He looked behind.

  ‘Oh, not much further.’

  Her heart was beginning to thunder in her chest.

  He smiled and winked, and she smiled back. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she mustn’t, she mustn’t let herself believe it until it was true. They’d never spoken again about marriage, he hadn’t pressed her to sleep with him and she’d spent every night in her own suite at the hotel, awake or asleep, dreaming of Nikos.

  But it swirled around them. Those unsaid words, their deep desires. She felt her love for him so strongly, but he’d been resolutely silent, occupied completely by his father’s arrest and the investigations.

  She looked at him now, his dark head bent to check if anyone was close by, then a smile flashed over his lips as there, in the centre of the pond he tucked the oars up into the boat.

  They drifted for a moment, caught in each other’s eyes.

  ‘Are you happy, Jacquelyn?’ he said, smiling softly.

  She felt her lip tremble. She nodded, unable to speak.

  ‘Is there anything that would make you even happier?’

  She swallowed, she opened her mouth, but no words could come out. She felt her face pucker up with tears of joy, ready to be shed.

  ‘If I told you that I can’t live without you, would that make you happy?’

  She sat up straight in the little boat, perched on the edge of the little seat, her eyes fixed on his as he reached into the pocket of his trousers.

  ‘Because it’s true. I can’t. I don’t want to. I want you in my life. I didn’t think I would ever say these words, but I didn’t know love until I knew you, and that’s the truth.’

  ‘I want you in mine too, for ever,’ she whispered. And the hugeness of what she had just said struck her. She meant for ever and ever.

  ‘For the rest of our lives,’ said Nikos and she nodded because it was true. ‘So that means getting married. I know how much it means to you, and there’s nothing I ever want to deny you.’

  ‘It’s meant to be, Nikos.’

  He held her close.

  ‘I know. I know you understand it, and you understand me. There’s no one else for me and there never will be. So let’s get married. For love. For ever. For the children we’ll have and the love we’ll show them.’

  He opened his fist and there was a small blue velvet box. She clasped her hands and he opened it. And there inside was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It had one large, brilliant diamond and two smaller ones at either side set on a slim gold band. It sparkled in the sunlight, as he lifted it carefully from its velvet nest.

  As if they had practised a thousand times, she extended her hand into his and he lifted it and kissed it.

  ‘Will you marry me, Jacquelyn? Will you make me the happiest man alive?’ he said, holding her hand and sliding the ring down to rest in its new home.

  And then she nodded, and he kissed her.

  There were no words, there were just the two lovers drifting in a boat on the lake in Central Park, lost in each other’s arms, each other’s kisses and each other’s dreams.

  EPILOGUE

  SUNSET BATHED A gentle pastel palette over the terracotta roofs and whitewashed walls of the village. Shades of lilac, peach and pink lay in overlapping bands of colour from sky to horizon to sea. In the warm evening air, a swoop of swallows darted here and there, looking for insects, before resting in the villa’s eaves in their tiny muddy nests.

  Jacquelyn watched from the guest bedroom, as she had watched every sunset for the past week. It lifted her heart to see them, and all the other flora and fauna of this beautiful island, things one could only see standing patiently still and quiet. It was a tonic, after New York and everything that had happened. The frantic bustle of the city, the arrests of Arthur and Bruno, the newly launched Ariana in Blue.

  Standing here now, staring at the slow, peaceful world falling asleep every night, she knew that this was all that really mattered, the movement of the earth and nature upon it, this little island and its people, the birds and the flowers, and the man who had laid it all at her feet.

  She stepped forward onto the terrace and breathed deeply, feeling a smile gild her face. She was so lucky, so happy, so astonished that she was here at all, about to take the next steps in her life. Ariana was safe, probably for ever. Her parents could live out their lives in Spain. She had sewn everything up as neatly as the stitches on the wedding dress that now hung in the next room, the dress she would wear tomorrow.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  ‘Can I come in?’

  She turned, the smile expanding into a grin at the sound of Nikos’s voice, and then as he walked into the room she ran into his open arms, burying herself in his chest, holding on and absorbing him without the slightest shame.

  ‘Everybody is settled in their suites and your mum seems to have stopped crying for the time being.’

  ‘She’s so happy for me, everyone is.’ She sighed as he swung her gently backwards and forward. ‘But I’m going to miss you again tonight.’

  ‘
You know where I’ll be. Just along the hallway,’ he said, with a smile in his voice. ‘You wouldn’t get lost.’

  ‘I know, I know,’ she said. ‘But it’s only one more night.’

  ‘And then our wedding, finally,’ he said, smiling.

  ‘We’ve got our whole lives ahead, Nikos. Nothing but these beautiful skies and whatever we want to do, underneath them.’

  He nodded.

  ‘I only wish Mum could have made it here. It would have made her so happy.’

  A tiny tear sprang into his eye and he tightened his jaw, holding himself in check. She wished he would let it go, but he’d been resolutely strong through it all and there would be more to come. She would do everything to help him heal. Everything.

  She touched his cheek, feeling the rough stubble under her palm, the bone of his jaw and cheek, hard and yielding as he was himself.

  ‘She’s in a happier place now, Nikos. No more suffering.’

  He closed his eyes, and tried to smile, but she knew now of the pain that had risen to the surface. It broke her heart to think of anyone living as he had lived, watching his mother beaten, running away and then learning that she had been so badly injured she had nearly died.

  What guilt he carried. And none of it deserved.

  ‘You’re an amazing woman, Jacquelyn. I never thought I would find anyone like you.’

  She nodded and smoothed her hands over his solid, strong back. Her silence said everything. The past was the past...those ghosts didn’t matter any more. This was real, because she knew she would do anything for Nikos, and he her. It felt that the world was safe now; no matter what, they would be there for each other.

  ‘We’ve found each other, Nikos. We were always going to happen. We just didn’t know how or when or where.’

  ‘And tomorrow we make it legal.’

  She nodded as the tears now filled her own eyes.

  ‘Tomorrow I finally see the dress I inspired. How many men can say that they inspired a collection of wedding dresses?’

  ‘Sex out of wedlock has its advantages. But you’ll never get me to admit it in public.’

  ‘All I want you to admit is that you’ll be my wife. In Agios Stephanos in front of your family and my friends. And I promise I’ll make a polite, respectful speech about the night we met. And the night after that...’

  ‘You won’t whisper a word about the night after that.’ She laughed, punching his rock-hard abs. ‘I’d never live it down! A woman with my reputation, for goodness’ sake.’

  He stretched out his arms, and stared down at her, and the love that was in his eyes turned fiery and flames of desire lit all over her body.

  ‘And then?’ she whispered.

  ‘And then we’ll dance our first dance.’

  ‘And I’ll throw my bouquet.’

  ‘And then...?’

  She breathed in deeply, her chest rising and falling, thinking of the pleasure they had already shared and the pleasure they would share for evermore. How could life ever be any better than that?

  ‘Then we’ll make love. Husband and wife.’

  ‘And live happily ever after.’

  He kissed her lips, and held her close for the final time.

  ‘Goodnight, Miss Jones,’ he said, and she turned to see him standing in the doorway, his handsome silhouette outlined in the lamplight. ‘Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  ‘Goodnight, Nikos,’ she said.

  She closed the door and walked to the dressing room, where her white dress shimmered and danced in the moonlight. And she wept tears of joy, knowing that tomorrow she would wear her beautiful dress to be married to the man she truly loved.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed Redeemed by Her Innocence, you’re sure to enjoy these other stories by Bella Frances!

  The Argentinian’s Virgin Conquest

  The Italian’s Vengeful Seduction

  The Consequence She Cannot Deny

  The Tycoon’s Shock Heir

  Available now!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from His Cinderella’s One-Night Heir by Lynne Graham.

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  His Cinderella’s One-Night Heir

  by Lynne Graham

  CHAPTER ONE

  DANTE LUCARELLI, BILLIONAIRE renewable energy entrepreneur, roared down the private road on the powerful motorbike, revelling in the wind against his skin, in the rare sense of freedom. For a very short space of time all his problems evaporated. And then that magical moment was over and he was recalling his duties as a guest and slowing down to enable his host, Steve, to overtake him.

  ‘You let me win!’ Steve growled, punching the taller male’s arm in retribution as they parked the bikes. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’

  ‘Didn’t want to show you up in front of the locals,’ Dante tossed back, his thick blue-black hair tousled, white teeth glinting in the sunlight against his lean bronzed features as he grinned down at his former schoolmate. ‘Anyway, it’s your bike... And so this is it? Your latest venture?’ he added, glancing through the overhanging pine trees at the restaurant surrounded by decking and overlooking the swimming lake. Sited above the sandy beach, it had a funky, carefree, Caribbean vibe. ‘Kind of small, isn’t it, for a guy who builds skyscrapers for a living?’

  ‘Knock it off,’ his friend urged, a burly blond man with the build of a rugby player. ‘It’s seasonal and does very well when the weather’s good.’

  ‘And employs a lot of those locals you like to take a paternal interest in,’ Dante mocked, knowing Steve’s sense of civic responsibility all too well. Steve Cranbrook was a kind man and one of the very few men Dante trusted.

  They were in the south-east of France, a rural, far-from-touristic area where Steve had bought a chateau on a hill as a summer home for himself and his family. His all too numerous family, Dante reflected with a near shudder. Steve had four of the little blighters, two sets of twins under five, and they had been crawling over Dante and demanding attention ever since he had flown in earlier that day, which was why the break from the chateau was welcome. It wasn’t that Dante disliked children, just that he wasn’t used to them and weathering Steve’s sociable kids was like trying to stand in the path of a hurricane armed with innumerable arms, legs and chattering tongues.

  ‘It’s not like that,’ Steve protested. ‘I just invest when I see the chance and contribute if there’s a good cause. There aren’t many employm
ent opportunities around here.’

  Dante took a seat at a wooden table hewn out of a giant tree trunk. Shrewd dark-as-pitch eyes swept the colourful bunting fluttering in the breeze as he picked up on the rampant beat of the music coming from the speakers and noted the youthful gathering at the bar. ‘I bet this is the only party place in the neighbourhood,’ he commented.

  ‘Pretty much, but the food’s good too. We get a lot of family trade when the beach is busy. So, tell me, when are you meeting with Eddie Shriner?’

  Dante’s lean, darkly handsome features tensed as the bite of his biggest problem sank its teeth into him afresh. ‘In two weeks’ time, and I still haven’t got a woman on board to keep Krystal at bay.’

  ‘I thought Liliana was stepping up as a favour,’ Steve incised in surprise.

  ‘No, that fell through. Liliana wanted an engagement ring as an inducement,’ Dante admitted with an exasperated frown of recollection. ‘Even though it would be a phoney engagement, I wasn’t taking the risk of travelling down that road even with her.’

  ‘An engagement ring?’ Steve queried in surprise. ‘Why on earth would she need a ring to pretend that she was your girlfriend again for Krystal’s benefit?’

  Dante shrugged a lean shoulder. ‘She said it was a matter of pride, that she would lose face in front of Krystal if she didn’t have a ring, because why else would she have reconciled with me when we broke up years ago?’

  ‘Your love life...’ Steve groaned, raking a rueful hand through his floppy blond hair. ‘If you didn’t dump so many women and leave them bitter and angry, you wouldn’t be in this situation.’

  Dante compressed his eloquent mouth in silent disagreement. He had no intention of ever marrying and producing children, and he had never lied to a woman on that score. He was upfront about his sex life and there was no room for love in it. Any woman who thought otherwise soon learned her mistake. He didn’t get attached to women—never had, never would—and Liliana was the only exception to that rule. She was an ex who had become a friend and he genuinely respected and liked her, but he had still not been able to love her or want a more serious relationship with her.