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“I brought the two of you back together,” Estelle said. “You were supposed to move your family to Vegas so I could get to know my grandchild.”
A bark of humorless laughter chilled Chloe. “That’s why you did it,” Nik said. “You weren’t trying to fix the evil thing you did to me. You weren’t trying to save me from a loveless life. No. You manipulated us back together so you could get your hands on my daughter.”
“That isn’t true,” Estelle said. “I love you, Nikolas.”
“I don’t want that kind of love. It’s toxic.”
“Here,” Estelle said. “Listen to this. I recorded Chloe. She wants me to stop you from pursuing custody of Mia. She isn’t any better than me. That woman is a conniver.”
“Chloe is my wife, and you will treat her with respect.” A boom hit the air, and Chloe knew he had struck the desk with his fist. His voice, a rough growling sound, would intimidate anyone. “You will not record her, take pics of her, or drum up plans to separate us. If you even think about doing something underhanded again, Mother, I will make sure you never see Mia. Nor will we introduce you to our future children.”
“You don’t mean that,” Estelle said.
“Do you love your granddaughter?”
“Nikolas?”
“Leave, Mother. Now. Before I really lose my temper.”
“Are you planning to stay in this awful town?”
“That is between me and my wife. Goodbye.”
Estelle charged into the hallway and almost knocked Chloe down. The elderly woman’s eyes were damp with tears, but her mouth had a pinched look that attested to her bottomless anger. Chloe would have felt sorry for her if she didn’t know the woman.
“I hope you are happy now,” Estelle said. “You have turned my son against me.”
Chloe shook her head. “You did that yourself.”
Estelle said something unpleasant in Greek before storming down the hallway. Chloe waited until she heard the front door slam. Then she entered Nik’s den.
Nik stood at the wet bar, pouring himself a drink. He downed it in one large gulp. A second later, he poured another.
Chloe twisted her fingers in front of her. “Thank you for defending me.”
Without turning to look at her, he said, “You are my wife. What did you expect me to do?”
She shrugged even though he wasn’t looking at her. “When we were engaged, you never stood up for me like that, at least not with her. That was one reason I didn’t bother to tell you when she insulted me.”
“You weren’t my wife then or the mother of my child.” He dropped down into the chair behind his desk. “Speaking of which, did you blackmail my mother into keeping me from seeking custody?”
She nodded. “I didn’t completely trust you yet.”
“Do you trust me now?”
She crossed the room to sit on his lap, and she kissed him firmly on the mouth. For a moment, he froze, obviously surprised. The last time they’d spoken she had told him to disappear. He hesitated. Briefly. Then he took over the kiss, deepening it. Passion ignited between them.
He tasted of whiskey, warm and intoxicating.
He stood with her in his arms, and her feet never touched the floor. With a wide swing of his arm, he cleared his desk before setting her on the surface. They tore at each other’s clothing, desperate to reunite their bodies.
But first, she wanted him to know something.
She tore her mouth from his. “Yes, I trust you. I know you wouldn’t hurt me or Mia on purpose.”
“I’m going to screw up sometimes, because I’ve never been a father before. I need your voice of reason to set me straight. The next time I start to do the wrong thing like run off for a business meeting when Mia is expecting me to take her somewhere, stop me.”
Chloe scoffed. “How am I supposed to stop you from doing what you want to do?”
