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His eyes met hers. ‘You’re very confident all of a sudden.’
Millie shrugged and slid onto his lap. ‘That happens when you’re loved. And when you love back.’ She leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling his strength. ‘You should have known I wouldn?
??t have left you.’
‘Alexa said she saw you drive off, very upset.’
‘I was very upset.’ She sat up so that she could explain. ‘I was sitting with Costas, just watching him, because I was worried about his temperature. And I was thinking about Becca—and us—and those awful pictures of me. Everything. And then Costas sort of went all floppy. I was terrified. I don’t know. I’m not that experienced with children. He seemed so hot, and I was worried—’
‘Why didn’t you come and find me?’
‘I did! You weren’t here!’ Millie was indignant. ‘I ran around the house yelling your name but this house is so stupidly big and I couldn’t find you. Neither could I find any of the staff.’
‘I was up on the roof terrace. I needed fresh air.’
‘Well, it’s a shame you chose that particular moment because I was in desperate need of a serious dose of your decisive-macho-Viking-invader approach to life. Leandro?’ She curled her hand into the front of his shirt. ‘What is the matter with you? I’ve never seen you like this before. You look as though you have no idea what to do next, and you always know what to do.’
Leandro slid his hand into her hair. ‘Not always. Tonight I thought I’d lost you forever and I had no idea what to do about it. My first instinct was to find you and haul you back, but I love you too much to involve you in the media circus that is my life. It’s always like this, Millie. There’s always someone wanting to sell me out to the media for money. And I blame myself for those photos of you,’ he confessed in a raw tone, letting his hand drop so that she could see the look in his eyes. ‘I should have known better than to expose you to that.’
‘I don’t care what they think,’ Millie said softly. ‘I only care what you think.’
Leandro wrapped his arms around her. ‘When you left the first time, I was so angry. I’d thought you were the sort of woman who would stay by my side no matter what. I didn’t understand how insecure you were and I didn’t understand how much my behaviour had dented your confidence. When you were prepared to take on Costas, even though you still thought he was my child—’ He broke off, his eyes bright. ‘That was when I realised that I didn’t know you at all.’
‘I found it impossible to believe that a man like you could possibly want me.’ Millie gave a wry smile. ‘The media finds it hard to believe, too, so you can’t exactly blame me.’
‘The media don’t know you,’ he said roughly. ‘And I understand now why you felt that way. I understand why you would have believed your sister.’
‘I always just thought she was helping me.’ Millie pulled a face, unable to disguise the hurt. ‘Stupid me.’
‘Not stupid. Generous. You don’t see bad in people. And why would you? She was your sister. I see how growing up with her must have made it hard for you to see your own qualities. But those qualities shine from you, agape mou. And those qualities are the reason I love you. I love your smile and your values, I love the way you were prepared to care for a child that might have been mine, and I love the way you still treasure the good memories of your sister, despite everything.’ He inhaled deeply. ‘And you’re right when you say that I love you. I do. I loved you the first moment I saw your legs in that haystack.’
‘That was lust, not love.’
A sexy smile tugged at his mouth. ‘Perhaps, but it was love soon after. That’s why I was so upset when you walked out. I thought I’d found a woman who would be by my side always.’ His hand tightened on hers. ‘I should have come after you.’
‘If you’d known me better, maybe you would have done. And if I’d known you better, maybe I wouldn’t have left.’
‘I understand now why you did.’ His hand slid into her hair in a possessive gesture. ‘But at the time I thought you were like my mother.’
Millie stilled. ‘You’ve never talked about your mother. You’ve never talked about your family at all.’
‘Because I try to keep that part of my life in the past, where it belongs. I built myself a new life.’ His voice was husky. ‘She left me. When I was six years old—old enough to understand rejection—she went out one day and left me with a friend of hers. And she never came back.’
‘Leandro—’
‘She was a single mother and life was tough.’ He gave a weary shrug. ‘I think she just woke up one day and thought life might be easier without the burden of a young child.’
Millie didn’t know what to say so she just leaned forward and hugged him. ‘Where did you go?’
‘I was taken back to Greece and put into care. But I found it hard to attach myself to anyone after that. If your own mother can leave you, why wouldn’t a stranger?’
‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’
‘I thought I’d put it all behind me, but scars don’t always heal, do they?’
‘But you can learn to live with scars,’ Millie said softly, tasting her own salty tears as she pressed her mouth to his. ‘If you can live with mine, I’ll teach you to live with yours.’
His hand slid into her hair and tightened, as if he were holding on. ‘You’re sure you want this life?’
