Hannah sobbed; how could she not? And her eyes shifted to their sleeping daughter, her heart twisting inside her.
‘I lost them, and it nearly killed me. I spent four years afterwards living some kind of angry half life. Until I met you, and something shifted inside me, something elemental and important, and it terrified me because I thought the only way I could atone for what happened to Amy and Brax was to keep myself walled off from anyone for the rest of my life.’
Another sob escaped Hannah.
‘I avoided human contact, I was rude and arrogant, an impossible bastard. And then I saw you...’
His eyes held hers and Hannah was back on Chrysá Vráchia, the power of that moment, of their connection, searing her blood.
‘Greg Hassan called and told me you’d been rushed to hospital and I thought something had happened to you, and I realised I’ve been shutting myself off to what I have no doubt would be an incredible life with the woman I love because I’m afraid of what might happen.’
Hannah’s eyes flared wide, her expression showing disbelief and confusion.
‘That lightning bolt got me too, Hannah. It struck me and I have been trying to pretend it didn’t, fighting you this whole way.’
She shook her head but now he bent down so their faces were level, and so close she could feel his warm breath fanning her cheek.
‘You are so brave—do you know that? To have been hurt like you were by Angus and still put yourself out on a limb, telling me you’ve fallen in love with me—’
She shook her head urgently, and, despite the emotions rioting inside her, she was clear on this point, because she’d had months to think it over, to see it as it was. ‘Loving you freed me up to realise I felt nothing like love for Angus. How I feel for you is so different.’
‘I know.’ He leaned forward a little. ‘You love me, and you love me even though I have pushed you away, even though I have been stubbornly clinging to a kind of anger that is ruining my life. You love me even when I took your love and refused to acknowledge I returned it. You have loved me when I was so far from being the man you deserved.’
Hannah bit down on her lip, her eyes holding his. ‘Love isn’t a choice.’ She frowned, lifting a hand to his cheek, because the words had come out all wrong. ‘And even if it were, I would choose to love you. You deserve happiness, Leonidas. You deserve it.’
‘I wanted to give you everything,’ he said quietly. ‘When you spoke about your aunt and uncle, your cousin, Angus, all the people who had you in their life and didn’t appreciate you, I wanted to scream. You should have the world at your feet; I wanted to give it to you. But you don’t really want private jets to Paris, do you?’
She shook her head. ‘I mean, that’s all well and good, but it’s not what really matters.’
‘No, it’s not,’ he agreed, dropping his head to hers, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead. ‘All that matters is here, in this room, with you and me. Please tell me I haven’t permanently ruined things between us.’
She swept her eyes shut, fear shifting inside her because she didn’t want to be hurt again; she didn’t want to feel pain.
But nor did she want to live a life without Leonidas in it.
‘I’m completely in love with you,’ he said. ‘Madly, utterly, in every way. I was transfixed by you at Chrysá Vráchia but presumed it was just...that. Infatuation. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I don’t know when I fell in love with you, but I do know that from the beginning you have been under my skin and a part of my being. I do know that I want to spend every day we have together showing you that you are the meaning to my life.’
She bit down on her lower lip to stop another sob—a happy one—escaping.
‘Life is a gift, and I was wasting it. I don’t want to do that any more.’
She expelled a shaky breath, inhaling his masculine fragrance, her stomach swooping and dropping, happiness beginning to flow into her body for the first time in a long time.
‘That day on the island—our wedding day—’
She turned to face him, waiting silently for him to finish his thought.
‘It was hard. Nothing about marrying you quickly, in secret, away from loved ones, felt like what I wanted. Making you my wife, yes. But like that?’ He shook his head, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a black velvet box. Hannah’s eyes dropped to it, her smile transforming her face.
‘So I would like to ask you again, Hannah, if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife. I love you with every single part of me. My heart and soul are, and always will be, yours.’ He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her inner wrist. ‘You brought me back to life and made me myself again. But better, because you’ve taught me so much about compassion and love, respect and patience. You are so much more than I deserve.’
At that, she shook her head silently, because her throat was filled with tears and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get any sensible words out.
‘But I will spend the rest of our lives, however long that may be, striving to be good enough for you, agape mou.’
Hannah sobbed then, as he handed the ring box to her.
She hadn’t loved her engagement ring—it had been so enormous and flashy. But she’d come to love it because it had promised a future with Leonidas. She cracked open the box and smiled, because it wasn’t even the same ring.
Instead there was a single diamond, still large but not break-your-finger huge, surrounded by a circlet of emeralds.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
‘Two weeks after you left the island, I was in Athens. I saw it in a window and bought it without even realising what I was doing. I have been carrying it around ever since, as though it made you close to me in some way.’ His smile was rueful. ‘I told myself I could give it to you as an “I’m sorry” gift, if nothing else. But in my heart, I imagined you wearing it on this finger.’ He ran his hand over hers. ‘And wearing it as a promise to become my wife, to live this life by my side.’
She sobbed then, and held her hand out, so he could slide the ring onto her finger; it fitted perfectly.
‘And this is my promise to you,’ he said gently, fixing her with a look that seared her soul. ‘I will love you and cherish you, be faithful to you, care for you, protect you, adore you and worship you for as long as we both shall live.’
Hannah nodded, still too choked up to respond with words. And really, what words were needed? They’d said all that was necessary and, more importantly, each felt the truth of their declaration, deep inside their beings—and always would.
The only thing left was to marry, and to live happily ever after.
EPILOGUE
‘I KNOW YOU said you wanted me to see the world, but this is more than I ever imagined.’
‘Do you like them?’
Hannah gave her husband a droll look before turning back to the golden vista beneath her, her green eyes taking in the flat expanse of the Egyptian desert before focussing on the familiar peaks of the ancient Pyramids. The helicopter hovered at a distance, giving a perfect vantage point over them.
‘They’re stunning,’ she said simply. Because they were. It was hard for Hannah to say which of the countries they’d visited in the past eighteen months was her favourite. They all had a special place in her heart, and for different reasons. Going to a special opera performance at the Coliseum had been incredible, a private tour of the Pantheon had taken her breath away, exploring New York with Leonidas by her side, coming to know his Greek island as though she were a local, snorkelling off the shore, swimming in the pool, learning to speak his language and enjoy his food—it had all been remarkable: but all the more so for having Leonidas by her side.
And though she’d planned to wait to tell him her news, with the ancient Pyramids glistening beneath them, a tes
tament to humanity’s strength, intelligence, and determination, Hannah felt the words burst out of her.
‘I got an email two days ago.’
‘Yes?’
She nodded, pride making her eyes sparkle. ‘My application was accepted.’
‘Your application...?’
She nodded, excitement a thousand arrows darting beneath her skin. ‘Law school.’
Leonidas’s smile transformed his face and Hannah’s heart clutched at the sight. Love was a lightning bolt, yes, but it was also this—a genuine, complete desire to see your loved one succeed in life. Leonidas had been Hannah’s champion, he had supported her, overcome her doubts when she’d worried she wouldn’t have what it took to apply for her degree, and then when she’d doubted she’d be able to meet the study schedule.
He’d moved all the pieces effortlessly so she could apply, and still be hands-on with their daughter, Isabella.
Her dreams had become his dreams.
‘I never doubted for one second that you would be accepted.’
‘Because you’re Leonidas Stathakis and I’m your wife?’ she teased.
‘Because you’re you,’ he corrected, leaning forward and kissing her. ‘Brilliant, intelligent, motivated, fiercely strong.’
Hannah’s heart was flying higher than the Pyramids, way up in the sky.
She was going to achieve her dreams, and even though she liked to think she could have done this on her own, she was so glad it was happening this way—she was so glad she got to share it all with Leonidas.
* * *
Hours later, back on the yacht in the Red Sea, with Isabella fast asleep, Hannah reading in the armchair, Leonidas looked at his wife and felt a quick surge of panic, familiar to him now, whenever he contemplated how close he’d come to losing all this.
He had almost shut the door on love and happiness in life because of fear.
He would never make that mistake again.
* * *
If you enjoyed The Greek’s Billion-Dollar Baby by Clare Connelly look out for the second instalment in her Crazy Rich Greek Weddings duet
Bride Behind the Billion-Dollar Veil
Coming soon!
And why not explore these other
Clare Connelly stories?
Bound by the Billionaire’s Vows
Bound by Their Christmas Baby
Spaniard’s Baby of Revenge
Shock Heir for the King
Available now
Keep reading for an excerpt from Claiming My Bride of Convenience by Kate Hewitt.
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Claiming My Bride of Convenience
by Kate Hewitt
CHAPTER ONE
TINKLING LAUGHTER FLOATED from the open doors of the ballroom, along with the expensive clink of the finest crystal. The party was in full, elegant swing, and it made my stomach cramp and my heart race. Could I really do this?
Yes, I could. I had to, because the alternative was to scuttle back home to staid safety and more years—potentially many more years—of living in stasis, waiting and wondering.
Admittedly in this moment I was sorely tempted to flee from this luxurious hotel in the most sophisticated square of Athens, back to the safety of Amanos. But, no. I’d come too far, was hoping for too much, to run away like a frightened child. I was a woman, after all—a married woman. And after three years of marriage I was finally confronting my husband—but first I had to find him.
I straightened my shoulders, smoothing my hands down the sides of the gown I’d purchased that morning in one of Athens’s upscale boutiques. The sales assistants had exchanged laughing looks as I’d stammered through my request—I had plenty of money but little knowledge when it came to fashion or style, and they’d known, and had made sure I had known they’d known, as well.
Now I caught sight of my reflection in a gilt mirror in the hotel lobby and wondered if the tight ruby-red strapless gown was outrageous or elegant. Did it even suit me, with my brown hair, brown eyes? Miss Unremarkable, my husband once called me... Not that I blamed him for it. He’d wanted an unremarkable wife, someone who would make no splash, no demands, present no inconvenience, and that’s exactly what he got...for three years. But now I wanted something else, something different, and I’d come here to get it.
I took a shaky breath, willing my jelly-like legs to move forward. I could do this; I’d got this far, hadn’t I? I’d taken a ferry from the remote island paradise where I’d spent my entire married life, and then a taxi from Piraeus to Athens. I’d booked myself into this very hotel, fumbling with the credit card while the receptionist looked on witheringly, and I’d managed to buy myself a dress and shoes—sky-high stilettos that made me wobble when I walked, but still.
I’d managed it all—even if it had taken what felt like all my strength, all my courage. Life on Amanos was so much simpler, and it had been a long time since I’d been in the city, with all its traffic and rudeness and noise. A long time since I’d faced my husband—a man I barely knew.
Matteo Dias—one of the richest, most ruthless men in Europe, as well as one of its most notorious playboys. And I was his wife.
It seemed incredible even now, despite the papers I’d signed, the vows I’d spoken. I’d woken up every morning for the last three years on an island paradise, far from the hopeless slog of my former life in New York City, and practically had to pinch myself. Is this real?
Until it hadn’t felt like enough.
A flicker of apprehension rippled through me at the thought. Was I being unreasonable, greedy? Stupid? I had a lovely home, more money than I knew what to do with, and a fulfilling life—all of it more than I’d ever had growing up in Kentucky or during my brief, unfortunate stint in New York City. Could I really ask for more? Demand it, even?
Resolve hardened inside me and straightened my spine. Yes, I could. Because the alternative was to give up on the only real dream I’d ever had.
Now, as I scanned the crowded ballroom from its double doors, I wondered if I would even recognise my husband in the flesh. Of course I’d seen his photo in plenty of tabloids, almost always accompanied by some curvy blonde or other, usually simpering on his arm and poured into a dress.
I’d read all the speculation concerning his whispered-about marriage, with as many gossip columnists insisting no woman could have tamed him as those confirming the rumours were true, and Greece’s most eligible bachelor was in fact secretly wed.
Of course they were both right. Matteo was married, but I hadn’t tamed him. I haven’t even spoken to him. All I knew about my husband of three years was what I’d read in the tabloids—that he was ruthless in ambition, amazing in bed, and highly desired by almost all women.
I’d studied his dark, closely cropped hair, those cold steel-grey eyes, his impressive and dominating physique. I’d remembered how, for the brief moments we’d been together, it had felt as if he’d stolen the air from the room, how he’d just had to look at me and I’d forget to think.
I told myself that couldn’t happen now, because I very much needed to have all my wits about me. But first I needed to find him.
‘Miss, are you coming in?’ A waiter, with a white cloth draped over one black-clad arm and holding a tray of glasses of champagne, raised his eyebrows at me enquiringly.
I swallowed hard. ‘Yes,’ I said, pitching my voice to sound as firm and bright as I could. I was afraid I sounded a bit manic. ‘Yes, I am.’
With my shoulders thrown back and my chin tilted high, I stepped into the ballroom full of the cream of Europe’s society. Barely anyone spared me a glance, and I was hardly surprised. I was a nobody, plucked from a dive of a diner in New York—a waitress with no pedigree, no breeding, no style or standing. Miss Unremarkable indeed.
Even in a gown that had cost an eye-watering amount—Matteo has always been generous with his money, if nothing else—and shoes that had cost more than a month’s rent on my apartment once upon a time, I knew I looked the same. Dull-as-dishwater Daisy Campbell, born in the sticks of Kentucky, who hitched a ride to New York as a starry-eyed dreamer and soon wised up.
I moved through the crowds, keeping my chin up and my shoulders back with effort. Three years on a remote island hadn’t accustomed me to this kind of scrutiny. Back on Amanos I had learned how to be confident. I was sure of my place there, because I’d made it myself. But here...everything felt different. I felt different—more like the nervous country-mouse-in-the-city I’d once been. I had to fight against the urge to ask someone if they needed a refill.
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