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Kelly swallowed and scraped her hair behind one ear. ‘Maybe,’ she said in a small voice. ‘Possibly. Perhaps. Are you saying I’m unreasonable?’
‘No.’ He breathed out unsteadily. ‘But I’m trying to point out that I can’t win. Whatever I do can be misinterpreted if that’s what you’re determined to do. You don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you for that. In the circumstances it would be odd if you did. I know I have to earn your trust. I’m trying to do that.’
‘You’re turning this all around to make me feel bad. And none of that explains why you behaved like a caveman last night over dinner. You virtually thumped that guy! I know he was incredibly boring, but that’s no excuse. I don’t like violence.’
‘And I don’t like men trying to poach my woman.’
‘You’re very possessive.’
‘I’m Greek.’ Alekos gave a dangerous smile. ‘And, yes, I’m possessive. That is one accusation I am not denying. Nor am I apologising. The day I smile on you flirting with another man is the day you know our relationship is dead. I will fight for our relationship, agape mou, even if that means offending your non-violent principles.’
Reluctantly fascinated by that unapologetically male, territorial display, Kelly found that her heart was pounding. ‘I wasn’t flirting with another man. I wasn’t even enjoying his company,’ she squeaked, a strange weakness spreading through her limbs as she eyed his pumped-up muscles and darkened jaw. ‘If you want the honest truth, he was the most boring, creepy person I’ve ever sat next to.’
His eyes glittered dark and deadly. ‘You were laughing and smiling. I’ve never seen you so happy.’
‘You told me it was an important business meeting. I presumed you wanted me to be polite! And I was happy because, up until the point where you completely lost your mind, I really thought we were doing OK. You were being really nice to me; you called it our home, not my home, and I thought that meant we were making real progress, and—’
‘Our home?’ Alekos interrupted her, a curious look in his eyes, and Kelly gave a little shrug.
‘That’s what you called it: “our home”. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.’
‘Warm and fuzzy? This is the same feeling you got from giving away a lump of money to a good cause, no?’ Looking slightly dazed, Alekos jabbed his fingers into his hair and Kelly chewed one of her fingernails, wondering whether it was even possible for two people so different ever to understand each other.
‘You made us sound like a pair,’ she mumbled, trying to explain. ‘A couple. We were an us. I honestly thought things were going really well, that’s why I was happy. And when I’m happy I smile.’
His attention caught by that frank declaration, Alekos studied her intently. ‘I presumed you were happy because of him.’
‘I was happy because of you.’ Kelly twisted the bedcover in her fingers. ‘But don’t get big-headed, because believe me it didn’t last very long. You were completely vile during that dinner. And actually I feel pretty unappreciated, I can tell you, given that I worked so hard to be nice to him for your sake.’
‘For my sake?’
‘You told me it was an important meeting. I worked very hard to be nice to them and not let you down. And I was doing really well until you said that thing about the baby.’ Remembering how she’d stalked out of the restaurant and left him to handle them on his own, Kelly covered her face with her hands, mortified. ‘Now I feel bad. Which is horrible, because actually ninety percent of this was actually your fault.’
‘I completely agree.’
Taken by surprise, Kelly peeped through her fingers. ‘You agree?’
‘Yes, I was monumentally insensitive. Until you pointed it out, it hadn’t occurred to me how easy it would have been for you to misinterpret my reluctance to discuss the baby with strangers—but now I see that, yes, of course you were going to feel that way after I’d told you that I didn’t want children.’ Alekos yanked the bow-tie away from his neck and dropped it on top of the jacket. ‘I have been up all night, trying to find ways of convincing you that I do want you and the baby.’
Distracted by the cluster of dark curls at the base of his throat, Kelly gulped. ‘Up all night? Gosh, poor you, you must be so tired. Perhaps you’d better have a nap or something.’
‘Sleep is not at the top of my list of priorities at the moment. Sorting this out is more important.’ Alekos paced over to the chair where he’d deposited the parcels. ‘I do think about the baby. Just to prove it to you, I thought it was time to deliver these: I’ve been buying them over the past few weeks, but I was afraid that if I gave them to you you’d take it the wrong way.’ Filling his arms with the brightly wrapped boxes, he gave a rueful smile. ‘It seems that by not giving them you took it the wrong way, so there doesn’t seem any point in waiting.’
‘What are they?’ Kelly stared at the precarious tower of gifts in fascination. ‘If that’s jewellery, then you’re going to need a bigger girlfriend.’
‘It’s not jewellery. None of this is for you. I bought gifts for the baby.’
Kelly blinked in amazement at the mountain of carefully wrapped presents. He’d bought gifts? For the baby? ‘I—I’m not even two months’ pregnant. We don’t know what sex it is…’
‘I did the wrong thing?’ Alekos was as tense as a bow. ‘I can take them back.’
‘No. Don’t do that.’ He’d bought presents for the baby. Just when she’d thought he’d blocked it out of his mind, he’d been buying stuff.
‘All right, now I feel really, really horrible,’ Kelly confessed in a thick voice, and he gave a wry smile.
‘I wasn’t trying to make you feel horrible,’ he said gruffly. ‘I was trying to please you. That isn’t proving as easy as I thought it would.’
‘Thanks. That makes me feel even more horrible. What did you buy?’
