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‘But experience has taught you that reaching out comes with a price. A price of rejection?’
‘Exactly so. Even accepting my father’s remorse felt impossible. Every second he was talking I believed there’d be a catch. That he would rip my heart out all over again. But because of you, I’m finally able to entertain the possibility that he’s changed. That he regrets what he did.’
‘I’m so sorry you went through that, but... Christos, I can’t be around someone who clings to past pain the way you do, or anyone who throws me away like you did. You were the one who urged me to let go of my hang-ups about Adrian, remember? Isn’t it time to take your own advice? I know I’m not that special but—’
‘How can you even doubt it for a second?’ he burst out, an angry edge in his tone. ‘Don’t you know how special you are, Alexis? That you can look forward with hope despite what you’ve been through? To claim your child without an iota of doubt that you’ll be a much better mother than your own was to you?’
Her heart lurched as anguish returned tenfold. ‘I don’t... I’m not pregnant, Christos. I think you should know that before—’
His eyes shadowed but he nodded. ‘I know. You would’ve told me by now if you were. That’s the sort of person you are.’
Her heart twisted harder, the longing in her soul too large to contain. ‘Then you don’t need to make any declarations.’
‘But I want to. Your fierce resilience, your belief that we can do this together...be what our own parents couldn’t. It’s the only thing I’ve been able to think about.’
A flash of hurt crossed her eyes and she stepped away. ‘The only thing?’
He groaned. ‘No. I’ve missed you, Alexis. So damn much. I can’t walk into a room without looking for you. I can’t sleep, I can barely eat. Your absence cuts me like a knife.’
‘And yet you managed to stay away for weeks.’
‘Because I didn’t think I deserved you. I still don’t believe it. But you were right. I’m greedy. The things I love, I want to have close and—’
‘Wait...the things...you love?’ she echoed faintly.
Regret filmed his eyes. ‘I hate that I’ve triggered this hesitancy in you. You should know how special you are, my beautiful Alexis. How deeply and irrevocably I love you. Long before you gave yourself to me on my beach. Long before I accepted that you were as vital to me as the air I breathe.’
Every fibre of her being shook. ‘Christos...’
He cupped her cheeks, an intensity blazing in his eyes that threatened to brand her forever. ‘Give me another chance. Please tell me there’s a place in your future for me even though I don’t deserve you.’
‘You said that already,’ she said, her voice a tremulous mess.
‘And I’ll probably say it again because... I’m nothing without you, agapita.’
‘You...love me? Truly?’ she whispered.
‘With every cell in my body. Every beat of my heart. Se agapo, Alexis.’
She felt the sensation deep within, transforming her with the kind of joy she’d only dreamed about. The kind she’d yearned for as a child, then searched for in the wrong place before discovering the right man.
His fingers trailed down her cheek, something close to awe filling his eyes. ‘The way you look at me, Alexis. It fills my heart to the brim. Even if you don’t love me—’
‘Oh, Christos, I love you too!’ she interjected before her heart burst wide open.
Emotion visibly shuddered through him as she saw her joy reflected in his eyes. ‘Say it again, koukla mou.’
‘I love you. So, so much.’
She fell into his arms, and they kissed. And when need built into an inferno, she dragged him to the study floor, their clothes hurriedly discarded.
‘You have no idea how much I’ve missed this,’ he confessed roughly.
Her laughter was pure delight. ‘I have some idea.’
‘Good, then you’re prepared.’
When he surged inside her, they both froze, their eyes locked on one another as love and lust and joy spun through them.
