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He should have dropped the subject, walked away, left the discussion for another more appropriate time. But somehow he hadn’t been able to. His pride hadn’t let him.
‘Can I ask why you would have considered it a disaster?’ There had been an edge of warning in his tone.
‘Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?’ Kate had clearly chosen to ignore his warning, which had only inflamed his temper still further.
‘Not to me, it’s not.’
‘I could never have coped with a baby on top of everything else.’ She’d sighed heavily. ‘Now that Daddy is...no longer here, I’m going to have to take over the running of the business, concentrate on looking after my mother. She needs me now more than ever.’
‘And our family? Or what might have been our family...?’ He’d gestured to the test stick that had lain discarded on the sumptuous cream carpet. ‘That would count for nothing?’
Kate had wearily shaken her head. ‘Look, I can’t do this now, Nikos. Just be grateful that I’m not pregnant and let’s leave it at that.’
She’d extended her arm, her palm facing him, the gesture intended to tell him to go away. To shoo him out like a worthless piece of garbage. As if he was nothing.
And something inside Nikos had snapped. Because if he hadn’t already been infuriated enough, in Greece that gesture meant something else entirely. It was about as insulting as you could get. And even though he’d known Kate wasn’t aware of that, Nikos had still found himself seething with anger, the pride in him rising to the surface.
‘Trust me—I am grateful!’
He’d taken hold of her hand, dropping it down by her side. Kate’s eyes had flashed with surprise and something else—shock. Good. It was high time she took notice of him. Showed him some respect. Nikos had had precious little of that since he’d arrived at the O’Connor residence.
‘No doubt you are relieved that I won’t be tainting your precious O’Connor blood with my lowly genes, but let me tell you this.’ He’d pointed a finger to where Kate stood rooted to the spot in shocked silence. ‘I am glad you are not pregnant, because I wouldn’t want any child of mine burdened with you as a mother.’
‘Nikos!’
‘I mean it, Kate.’ The fire raged had through him, ringing in his ears, scraping his skin. ‘You may think you’re better than me. That all this...’ he’d gestured to the opulent room, the enormous windows offering a panoramic view of Central Park and the New York skyline ‘...makes you superior in every way. Well, let me tell you something. You are mistaken. I may not come from a moneyed family, and I haven’t had a privileged upbringing like you, but you know what? I’m glad. Because I have something way more important—principles, honour and integrity.’
‘And you think I don’t?’ Her voice had been very small.
‘I think you’ve lost sight of what matters, Kate. You can’t see what’s right in front of you.’
‘Which is...?’
‘That you are nothing more than the spoilt little girl of a doting daddy and a manipulative mummy.’ His mouth had hardened. ‘I didn’t know your father, but...’
Kate had made a low noise, like the soft grunt of a wounded animal. Her hand had felt for the dresser beside her. ‘D-don’t you d-dare disrespect my father.’ She’d gulped out the words.
Nikos had paused, Kate’s paper-thin fragility momentarily halting the rollercoaster of his rage at the top of the track. He’d lowered his voice. ‘All I’m saying is, if he was the great guy you say he was he didn’t deserve a wife and daughter like you.’
Silence had fallen between them as sharp as jagged glass. Kate had taken a staggering step away from him.
‘I see now that the woman I met in Crete—the woman I fell in love with—never really existed.’ Nikos had ruthlessly continued. ‘She was a fake, a phony. Beneath that free spirit hid the real Kate O’Connor. Someone who was just having bit of fun before settling down to marry a rich banker from a nice solid American family. Am I right?’
