AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’ve held myself back from giving my all emotionally all my life, Sadie. My grandfather did and look where he ended up. When Anneka told me she was pregnant I immediately offered her my name and my wealth, but nothing else. I knew I didn’t love her and, aside from her betrayal and the lesson that delivered, I haven’t spared her a thought since I threw her out of my life. But you...’
He stopped, swallowed.
‘I spent weeks after our first meeting unable to get you out of my mind. When you turned up in my office in Athens I thought you felt the same. That you’d simply been better at plotting a reconnection.’
‘Instead I dropped another bombshell in your life.’
He shook his head, jerked closer until we were breathing the same air. ‘Instead you held out your hands and presented me with the most precious gift any man who wishes to be a father could ask for.’
‘So you believe our baby is yours?’
‘I believed you before we landed back in London that day. A woman who goes to great pains to admit her wrongdoing when she could have run a mile and passed the blame to others is a woman of integrity, in my book. Even when I gave you the chance to pass the blame on to your boss, you didn’t.’
‘If you knew all that, then why?’
He shrugged, that domineering alpha male rising to the fore. ‘Because I’m a negotiator, Sadie. I played my cards close to my chest to gain the upper hand. I wanted our child, but I wanted you even more. I could’ve dispatched you back to London, had a security team watch you and swoop in to negotiate terms of custody once the baby was born.’
‘But you didn’t because you wanted me? Past tense?’
‘Oh, no, glikia mou. Not even close to past tense. It’s very present. Very real. So much it scares me.’
Something electric lit up inside me. ‘Is that why you’re hiding here on the other side of the world? Because you’re scared?’
‘I’m here because I don’t deserve you. As much as I want to negotiate my way back to you, I can’t stand the possibility that you’ll wake up one day and be disappointed.’
‘My God. You’ve put us through all this suffering because for the first time in your life you’re experiencing the very human emotion of self-doubt?’
He frowned. ‘Sadie, this isn’t a flimsy—’
‘You think I wasn’t scared to death when I realised I was in love with you? That I haven’t wanted to tear my hair out to see if it would bring me a moment’s relief from the constant ache of loving you and not knowing whether you love me back?’
His gorgeous lips dropped open in shock. ‘Christos, Sadie. I—’
‘I’m a pregnant woman nearing her third trimester, Neo. The next words out of your mouth had better be words I want to hear.’
His arms darted out, caught me to him, as if he was afraid I’d flee when in fact my legs were threatening to stop supporting me.
‘Let’s get one thing clear. You’re never to touch a hair on your head with an aim of tearing it out. Ever. But, more importantly, Sadie...if this madness inside me that yearns only for you, if this heart that beats true only when you’re near, means this is love, then I love you. And if it’s not, if I get it wrong somewhere along the way, I know I’ll have you there to steer me true. For a chance to be at your side through this life I will leave the negotiations to you, follow your lead. Show me how to love, Sadie, and I will be your apt pupil for the rest of our lives.’
The depth of his promise took the last ounce of strength from my legs. He caught me up, as I knew he would, strode over to the sofa and sank into it.
‘Okay, if that’s what it takes. Here’s your first lesson. You never leave me behind again.’
‘I vow it,’ he replied, with feeling.
I rearranged myself in his lap, framed his face between my hands. ‘You bring any doubts you have to me. We fix and grow and love together. But most of all, Neo, you just open your heart, let me love you and our baby. We’ll be the best versions of ourselves we can be for our family and trust the rest to take care of itself. Will you do that?’
A suspicious sheen glistened in his eyes. But he didn’t look away, didn’t blink it back. He just stared into my eyes and nodded. ‘You have yourself a deal, amorfo mou.’
‘Good. Now, please kiss me. Then please take me home.’
EPILOGUE
‘IT’S TIME, NEO.’
Heels clicked closer as my wife entered our bedroom and crossed over to where I stood at the window.
‘Our guests are wondering if the two of you are planning to join the festivities—especially since you’re holding the guest of honour hostage,’ she teased.
