The Best Man's Guarded Heart (14 page)

‘Because I didn't even want to acknowledge it to myself. I just wanted my life to go back to the way it had been before. Comfortable and easy...never risking myself personally. I didn't want to fall in love and risk being hurt, being humiliated again, so I just jumped from date to date. And tried to convince myself that it was enough. But then I met you, and instantly I was falling for you, and it scared me to death.'

‘Why were you so scared?'

‘Because I once had a future mapped out for me. With a wife and children—my own family. And when that dream turned into a nightmare I decided that love and relationships were for fools. That it wasn't worth the risk of being humiliated, failing again.

‘I thought I was against Christos marrying Sofia because they barely knew each other, but the reality was I hated having to face everything I'd lost—my dreams of having a loving marriage, children, a woman who would be my best friend.

‘At the wedding Christos and Sofia's happiness mocked everything I had tried to convince myself didn't matter to me. And I was also trying to deal with the intensity of my feelings for you. I couldn't deal with how I was feeling: the pain of remembering a future that had been torn away from me, the memories of shame, my damn pride, and how I—a cynic—was falling in love with a woman who wanted to be swept off her feet.

‘I just wanted it all to go away. It was all utter madness. I didn't know what to do, so I pushed you away. But for the past few days I've been the unhappiest I've ever been. You've changed me. You've made me look inside myself and realise just how lonely I was before you came along; how empty my life was with its endless work and partying. I'm tired of living a pretence.

‘Seeing how courageous you are in helping your family, in what you said to me on Kasas before you left about not being honest with myself, I realised I needed to let go of my shame and humiliation. That I was letting my pride get in the way of ever loving a woman again.'

Though his stomach was churning, Andreas forced himself to admit it. ‘The wedding was like an X-ray of everything that was wrong in my life, and because I didn't like what I saw I messed up. And I'm here to say I'm sorry.'

* * *

Andreas's apology had tumbled out in a rush of heartfelt words. It was going to be so hard to say no. Even now, with her heart shattering into smaller and smaller fragments of pain, because she knew the reality was that they could never be together, she wanted him with a desperate ache that was tearing her apart.

‘You're not the only one who messed up on the wedding day. For the past few days I've been trying to understand why it hurt me so much that you were so distant, and I've realised it actually had very little to do with you.'

He leaned towards her, those broad shoulders tensing under the cotton of his shirt. ‘What do you mean?'

She closed her eyes at the memory of her forehead resting on the solidity of his collarbone, the sensation of his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek. Regret and guilt washed over her.

‘I was expecting too much from you. I should have seen that you were struggling and supported you, instead of constantly looking for signs that you were pushing me away. You had told me about the pain of your marriage, about your relationship with your father. I should have stepped back and given you the space you needed, but instead I was almost willing you to push me away because I knew it was inevitable. Deep down I wanted it to happen sooner rather than later... I was already in love with you, and I couldn't bear the thought of falling even more in love with you only for you to end it all.'

‘Why was it inevitable?'

‘Because you told me time and time again you didn't believe in love and relationships. And, let's face it, you aren't exactly the romance-loving guy I plan on marrying.'

‘Maybe I could become a romantic?'

‘I suppose miracles do happen.'

For a moment they shared a smile, and she wondered how she would manage to walk away from him.

‘But there was another reason why I thought it was inevitable.' An awful, giddy light-headedness came over her and she had to pause to try and right the world, which had tilted for a moment. ‘It happened with my mum.'

Her words came out in a bare whisper. It had taken every ounce of strength in her to force them out. It was as though her heart had been clinging to them, afraid it might shatter if she spoke them publically.

‘And if she could do it so could you.'

Andreas moved forward in his seat so that their knees were touching. He laid a hand gently on her leg. Those green eyes held hers with a compassion so great she had to glance away in order to speak.

‘All through my childhood it was me and my mum against my dad. To me, we were a team, protecting Matt and Lizzie against him. We never spoke about it, but we instinctively worked to take them out of his way when he was about to let loose about something. One year, when it was Lizzie's birthday, he came home at the end of her party and there was a huge argument about the house being a mess. What had been such a fun and happy summer's day instantly became dark and terrifying. He started shouting. He decided Lizzie should be taught a lesson for allowing her friends to mess up the house and lit a bonfire to throw her presents onto it. My mum rushed Lizzie and Matt upstairs, before they knew what was happening, and I hid as many presents as I could before locking myself in my room.'

‘How old were you?'

‘Eleven.'

‘You were too young to be dealing with that.'

‘Perhaps, but at the time it just felt like it was part of life—and I had my mum on my side. But then one day I came home from school and she had left us. I couldn't believe it. I was convinced my dad was lying. I thought he had hurt her. He wouldn't tell me where she had gone. Eventually he told me out of spite, during an argument. She had moved home to Scotland. I spent a whole day travelling to see her. I wanted to make sure she was okay. Check when she was going to come home. But she wasn't ever going to come home. And when I begged her to allow Matt and Lizzie to come and live with her she said no.'

‘Grace, I'm sorry.'

He edged a little closer and she took comfort from his nearness and the sincerity in his eyes.

‘What did you do?'

‘I buried my feelings and tried to forget everything about her—the relationship we'd had, that she even existed. I put all my time and energy into Matt and Lizzie. On the wedding day, because you were so distant, all the fear and pain of my mum walking out on me came rushing back and I couldn't cope. Added to that, I was missing Lizzie and Matt. And with Sofia getting married... I guess I just felt extra vulnerable because the people I love were moving on.'

She dragged in some air, tears of regret filming her eyes.

‘I'm sorry I wasn't there for you more. I can understand now why you might have thought I was backing you into a corner.'

He came and sat beside her, his hand skimming against her cheek before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I promise I'll never leave you.
Ever
.'

What was the point in him saying that? They had no future.

‘I want you in my life, Grace. I know I have been far from your ideal man, and that I haven't swept you off your feet, but I want to make up for that now. I want to take you on dates, visit Paris and Vienna with you, watch the Bolshoi Ballet, take you hiking in the Pindus Mountains.'

She could not help but smile. ‘That sounds lovely, but I now know that I don't need any of that. Ever since my mum moved out I've built up this idea in my head that a great romance would fill the void she left. I thought that was what love was—grand declarations of love, the heady whirlwind of being swept off your feet, the surface romance that has no roots. Now I know it's something much more profound. It's trusting and respecting one another. It's about feeling secure and loved. In those hours before the wedding we
did
have that together, didn't we? In those hours I stopped feeling alone because of you. And that's all I want from love. Nothing else matters.'

For a moment he said nothing, but then a steely determination entered his eyes. ‘Marry me.'

What? Where had that come from? He wasn't playing fair. This was close to torture.

‘Marry you?'

‘Why not? I don't want to lose you. And what better way can I prove to you that I trust you?'

How could he ask her to marry him when he didn't even love her?

‘Andreas, I can't marry you just because you want children, a family of your own. I love you, but I'm not going to compromise. I want a man who's passionately in love with me.'

He regarded her with astonishment. ‘Can't you see how in love I am with you?'

Her bottom lip wobbled. ‘You
love
me?'

‘Of
course
I do. I fell for you the moment Christos sent me that photo of you pulling a silly face. As crazy as it might sound, I looked into your eyes and fell in love with you even before I met you. I love everything about you. Your ambition...your loyalty. The fact that you love Kasas as much as I do. How kind-hearted you are. I've never been so attracted to a woman in my life. And it's killing me to think that I might spend the rest of my life without you, not able to see your smile, hear your voice, touch you. Make love to you. I need you in my life.'

Punch-drunk, she tried to buy time to let everything he said sink in by teasing him. ‘Andreas Petrakis—is there a romantic soul lurking behind that tough armour you wear?'

‘Yes, and if you agree to be with me I promise to show you every day of our lives how much I adore and cherish you.'

He was in love with her
.

She tightened her fingers around his, her heart dancing in her chest. ‘I'm sorry about not supporting you, doubting you. I love you so much, and I want to be with you for ever too, but for now I'd like us to spend time together, to have some fun without pressure or expectations. I want to have our first proper date, our first trip to the movies, our first summer together. To simply be girlfriend and boyfriend for a while. What do you think?'

With a single move he lifted her up and sat her on his lap. He began to nuzzle her neck and in an instant she was putty in his hands. Her eyes rolled as his lips moved along her skin, his mouth warm, his teeth playfully nipping.

In a low, sizzling voice he said beneath her ear, ‘I'll go with it—for now. But I'm never going to let you go. I need you in my life.' And then, pulling back, those green eyes burning with love, he added, ‘My helicopter is waiting at the airport; are you ready to come home to Kasas?'

She cradled his head in her arms and buried her nose in his hair, inhaling the lemon scent of his shampoo. ‘What were the words you whispered to me when we made love?'

Love shone in his eyes when he lifted his head. ‘
Psihimou
—my soul.' His hand cradled her cheek. ‘Through your love and kindness you have freed me to believe in dreams again.'

Her mouth an endless smile, she kissed him.

EPILOGUE

T
HE
PALE
LATE
-
AFTERNOON
winter sun warmed Grace as she sat on the step outside her hillside flower shop on Naxos, sketching in her notepad. A month after opening and she still got a thrill every morning when she arrived to open up.
Her shop.
She had done it. She was running her own wedding floral design business and florist.
All financed by the money she had earned designing and supplying flowers for weddings throughout the islands during the past summer—thanks to the incredible publicity following Sofia's wedding.

In the large shop window she had placed an old bicycle, its yellow paint fading, the front wicker basket filled with an abundance of vivid orange and yellow gerberas. Overhead hung a mix of pale wooden hearts, crafted locally from driftwood. Behind the window display Grace had kept the shop simple: pale green walls, Andreas's uncle's ceramics positioned in the various nooks and crannies of what had once been a bakery, and simple teak wooden tables and counters for displaying the flowers...roses, calla and oriental lilies, alstroemerias, chrysanthemums, euphorbia, bear grass and bamboo spirals all sitting in a mismatch of flower containers.

The sound of footsteps on the cobblestones had her pausing as excitement tingled through her limbs.

It couldn't be. He wasn't supposed to be home until the end of the week.

She wanted to look up, but the fear of being disappointed had her instead staring blindly down at her sketches. But as the footsteps came nearer and nearer goosebumps erupted on her skin and she held her breath as a sixth sense battled with logic.

It's not him. It's only wishful thinking.

Polished black leather shoes came to a stop in front of her.
Andreas!
Her heart leapt into her throat.

‘Yassou, psihimou.'

The widest, daftest grin broke on her mouth at the sound of his low greeting. Her eyes shot upwards, taking in the charcoal trousers, matching suit jacket and light grey shirt, open at the collar. A grin played on his lips, and his eyes held hers with a mischievous delight.

Pleasure and excitement sent waves of heat into her cheeks. ‘You're home!'

‘Yes, I'm home.'

Her heart tumbled. ‘I thought you weren't coming until the end of the week?'

He sat beside her, and though her head spun at being so close to him, inhaling his distinctive addictive scent of spice and lemon, she forced herself not to touch him, enjoying these moments of teasing tension too much.

‘I cut my visit to the Caribbean short.' With a playful frown he added, ‘I had no choice but to do so as I missed you so much.'

She frowned too, pretending not to understand what he was talking about, when in truth the past five days without him had felt as though she had lost a part of herself. ‘But we spoke at least three or four times a day.'

He shifted on the step, so that his knee touched against the cotton of her red trousers. He leaned in towards her. ‘Yes, but I couldn't touch you, bury my mouth against your throat, run my hands over your body, make love to you.'

Her toes curled in pleasure at his low, sexy growl. For a moment she closed her eyes as the delicious desire which had been building inside her from the moment his helicopter had left Kasas last weekend almost made her fall apart there and then.

She cleared her throat. ‘And I thought you were with me for my stimulating conversation...'

His hand enclosed her knee, and he gave it a squeeze before his thumb began to circle against the much too sensitive skin on the inside of her leg. She inhaled a ragged breath, and he gave a satisfied grin before he replied, ‘I'm with you because every morning I wake smiling, knowing that you are in my life.'

Oh, God, she was about to cry.

‘I missed you so much.'

‘Not as much as I missed you.'

That wasn't possible.

She shook her head. ‘I doubt that.'

His eyes challenged hers good-humouredly. ‘Oh, really? I could barely concentrate in meetings...a I lost my appetite. I couldn't stop talking to people about you or sleep at night, even though I slept with your nightdress.'

She tried not to giggle. ‘You slept with my
nightdress
! Which one?'

‘The dark raspberry one that drives me crazy every time you wear it.'

‘The nightdress you bought for me in Vienna?'

‘Yes. I stole it from the side of the bath before I left on Saturday morning.'

They both paused as they remembered how he had dragged a sleepy Grace into the shower with him that morning, peeling her nightdress from her body and tossing it away, and how quickly she had awoken to his touch.

She sat for a minute, drinking in the beauty of his face: the strength and pride of his high cheekbones and arrow-straight nose, that mouth that in an instant could make her forget everything but him, the wonder of his eyes that constantly held her in his grip.

‘I love you so much, Andreas. It scares me a little. What if I ever lost you?'

He moved forward and his lips landed on her cheek. It was a light kiss, a tender one. And it was followed by a train of similar kisses of reassurance across her cheek to the shell of her ear. Grace arched her neck as her heart exploded and desire coiled in her belly. His breath was warm, his lips firm.

Against her ear, he whispered, ‘I will always be at your side. I would lose everything I own, cut off my right arm, rather than ever be without you. You are part of me now. You give everything in my life meaning.'

She drew her head away and they stared into each other's eyes, making up for all those days apart, before she sought out his ear. She whispered with a smile, ‘These past few months have been so magical...I never realised it would feel so incredible to be so loved, so supported, so encouraged. You give me a strength, a sense of security that allows me to take on the world with no fear.'

His arm circled her waist and they sat with her brow resting against his collarbone, neither talking, just drawing strength and pleasure from being together again, breathing as one.

Eventually he pulled back from her, a wariness growing in his eyes. ‘I've invited my parents to stay with us for Christmas, along with Christos and Sofia.'

Amazed by the news of the invitation, Grace leaned even further back. ‘You have?'

Andreas suddenly seemed nervous. He swallowed hard before he spoke. ‘You have shown me the importance of family. And I want us to be surrounded by family. Our children will need their grandparents. Now that Christos and I have agreed to jointly take over the family firm it's time to build bridges for the future.'

Grace opened and closed her mouth a number of times as she tried to process everything he'd said. The invitation was a big step forward in Andreas's rebuilding of his relationship with his father. ‘I'm so glad.'

‘You must invite Matt and Lizzie to join us too.'

She couldn't think of anything better. ‘That's a wonderful idea. Thank you.'

‘It's your home too, Grace, there's no need to thank me. In fact I think we should make it official that it belongs to you.'

He moved off the step and knelt down before her. Grace gave a little gasp. His eyes met hers, gently teasing her with tender affection. From his trouser pocket he took out a navy velvet pouch. And from the pouch a solitaire diamond ring. He held it out to her. The huge stone sparkled brightly under the winter sun.

‘The past six months have been incredible, but I want the whole world to know how much I love you. I want to introduce you to others as my wife. I want us to start a family. Will you marry me?'

Was this really happening?
Was the man she loved with every cell of her body asking her to spend the rest of her life with him?
Did dreams like this actually come true?

‘Are you sure? Even after living with me for six months and knowing now how talkative I am?'

‘I'm sure.'

‘Even knowing how easily I cry?'

‘It just makes me want to hold you in my arms all the more.'

‘What about my addiction to the Bee Gees?'

He gave a sigh. ‘You might have a point...there's only so much
Saturday Night Fever
a man can take.'

‘And then there's my obsession with cheese and marmalade sandwiches.'

‘Now,
that
could be a problem—and you haven't even mentioned how you like to steal my clothes.'

‘Only a sweater every now and again—and anyway you can't talk...you stole my nightdress.'

He held his hands up and gave a guilty grin. ‘True.'

Oh, Lord, when he smiled like that life just felt incredible.

His hand rested on her knee. ‘I love you, Grace. I know I can be bad-humoured at times, when I'm under pressure, and that I prefer silence to music, that I'm not the best at talking about my feelings, and I've no interest in television programmes like you... But I'd happily sit and listen to you giggle at some sitcom for the rest of my life. Before you I had no future other than work and the endless pursuit of success. Now I can see a life of happiness and fulfilment with you, and hopefully with our own family.' With a playful wince he added, ‘Now, can you please answer me before my knees give way?'

Grace sat dazed. In the past six months Andreas had proved time and time again what a passionate, tender and strong man he was. He supported her unconditionally in her business plans, told her endlessly how beautiful and clever she was. Looked at her as though she was the only woman in the world.

‘Andreas Petrakis, I fell in love with you the moment you passed me your jacket the first night we met. I knew that behind that scowl lay a man with a good heart. I love you so much. Of
course
I'll be your wife.'

Eyes aglow with happiness, Andreas stood and pulled her up and into his arms. First he placed the ring on her finger, and then he tilted her face up to him.

‘I promise to honour and treasure you for ever.'

His kiss was deep and passionate, their bodies pressed hard together.

When he eventually pulled away, he tucked her loose hair behind her ear and said, ‘Close the shop early tonight. We have a whole week of being apart to make up for.'

Grace nodded but, unable to bear the thought of being without him, dragged him into the shop with her. He held her close from behind, his hands wrapped around her waist, his mouth nuzzling her neck while she shut down the till. Together they pulled down the shutters, and in the near darkness, surrounded by the sweet, heavenly scent of flowers, they smiled into each other's eyes.

A single soul inhabiting two bodies.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
AN UNLIKELY BRIDE FOR THE BILLIONAIRE
by Michelle Douglas.

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