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“Of course I am.” She pointed towards Andrew. “My sole purpose in Andrew’s recovery was to help him speak again.”
Loucas felt stricken. Panicked. Realisation hit him like a sledgehammer. “You cannot go,” he said, peremptorily. “You must stay to be sure his condition does not deteriorate once more.”
“I’m not planning on leaving this minute.” She brushed at a wayward strand of hair that was breezing across her face. He reached for it at the same time, then ran his fingers down her cheek, pausing to cup her face for the briefest moment.
“How long?” It was his most business like tone. The voice of a man who worked in black and white and made plans according to the information he could gather.
“I’ll stay a week, to ease Andrew to the next stage of his recovery.” It felt strange to be talking about her departure in such practical terms.
“A week?” He shook his head. “Not good enough.”
“Andrew will not need longer.” Her smile was tinged with sadness. Though she was thrilled at his sudden breakthrough, the thought of leaving Nisi Ourano and its powerful owner behind filled her with a total sense of loss.
“Fine. If that’s what you want.”
It wasn’t. Of course it wasn’t.
“Mikey,” he said quietly, seriously, and she spun around at the tone of his voice. “I don’t think of you like... anyone else I’ve been with.”
She dipped her head. “I can understand why.”
“No.” He pressed a thumb under her chin, forcing her to lift her gaze. “You are so much more than those women. You are so real. So... honest. It’s refreshing to me.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” She grimaced, thinking of the string of stunners she knew he’d dated recently.
“Are you upset? I cannot help who I slept with before I met you, Mikey.”
“I know that.” She winced. “I just feel like I must be a complete disappointment to you. I’m hardly glamorous.”
“You shouldn’t want to be like them, Arnaki. You have wit and fire in your eyes. Your spirit soars when you open your mouth. You are a force of nature. You make me feel alive. Even when we argue, you make me feel... happy.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. He didn’t look happy at that moment. He looked like he was one step away from devouring her completely. She shivered. “Me too.” Such an insufficient statement. It didn’t even come close to describing how he made her feel. She dipped her head, and pressed a kiss against the thumb he’d used to lift her face.
“Please,” he groaned, “Come to my room tonight.”
She pouted, pretending indignation. “Geez. Not even an offer for dinner?”
His grin was quick. “An excellent suggestion, Ms Jones. Be ready by six.”
She smiled up at him, and for that moment, with the sun warming her back, staring at the man she was quickly realising she was in love with, life felt sublime. She knew it couldn’t last, but in that moment, she didn’t care. She’d be greedy with the time she had left, and she’d enjoy every bit of him she could. And when the time came to leave, she’d do it with her pride in tact and her heart in pieces.
CHAPTER NINE
The box was square, white and flat. It bore the emblem of a famous French fashion label.
Haute Couture had certainly never been something she’d paid much attention to, but even she knew the gold swirling logo was synonymous with expensive, luxurious high-end fashion.
With fingers that shook, and a curious frown on her face, she lifted the lid off the top of the box the housekeeper had delivered moments earlier.
Fine, transparent tissue paper; gold, like the label, covered whatever was inside. But on top, there was a card, bearing the monogram L.A. And on its firm white flesh, Loucas’s confident scrawl.
You wanted glamour... L.
Intrigued, she lifted the card and placed it carefully aside, then unfolded the tissue wrap.
Turquoise fabric met her eye. She lifted it up, her frown deepening when she saw it was a dress.
Her heart sank.
