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Only three weeks had flown by since that final epic meeting with him in Scotland. Everything that had happened during those weeks had exceeded Gaby’s wildest expectations. Angel had phoned her every day, but generally only to ask random questions about Alexios or advance information she needed to know about the wedding arrangements.
A lawyer had arrived with a pre-nuptial contract for her to peruse and had advised her to obtain her own independent advice. Gaby had instead read it cover to cover. Aside from Angel’s conviction that he should keep her in the lap of luxury for the rest of her days regardless of how she behaved, and his desire for Alexios and therefore Gaby, as his mother, to remain on Themos, even in the wake of divorce, she had found nothing untoward in the conditions. It had proved to be a practical, businesslike document and she had signed without further ado.
A woman from a famous fashion studio had flown from Paris to Clara’s house to measure Gaby up for a wedding gown and to give her a preview of exclusive models and accessories. As her matrons of honour, Laurie and Liz had also been included in that procedure at their own homes. The extravagance of such an approach to staging a wedding within so short a time space had stunned all of them.
Clara had received an invitation but had opted not to attend, insisting that she would enjoy her goddaughters’ photos and descriptions of the event more. With her husband currently working abroad, Laurie would be replacing Gaby and helping Clara move into her new home. Gaby’s fiercely ambitious aunt, Janine, who was working towards a partnership in her legal firm, had decided that she couldn’t afford to take time off to see her niece married, and Gaby had not been surprised by that unsentimental decision. Janine’s driving force had always been her career.
‘Oh, my word, look at those beaches!’ Laurie proclaimed and Gaby peered out of the nearest window to see a disorientating blur of tree-lined coves with shimmering golden sands meeting a turquoise sea before the jet swung over land again and she glimpsed buildings and trees. Anticipation blossomed inside her.
The unbelievable opulence of Angel’s private jet, where the three women had been waited on hand and foot from the instant they boarded, had startled Gaby, who wasn’t accustomed to frills or even treats. She had gone from being a teenager always short of cash, and trying to conceal the fact, to an adult who saved constantly for a rainy day...and her rainy day had been pregnancy and motherhood, which had emptied her savings account.
The jet landed at Leveus, the capital city of Themos. An official came on board to check their documentation and then ushered them out into a limousine waiting right beside the jet to pick them up. The hot sun enveloped her, golden and warm on her skin, and Gaby soaked it up.
‘Yes, definitely the dream life,’ Liz proclaimed with a grin. ‘Glorious sunshine. No queues, no baggage worries, no waiting for transport. All the hassle has been smoothed away for your benefit.’
‘And there’s no chance of paparazzi stealing a first view of the bride-to-be and the heir,’ Laurie completed with satisfaction.
‘The paps aren’t allowed to operate on Themos,’ Gaby explained, turning pink when her companions looked at her in surprise that she should know such a fact. ‘They’ve been banned on the island because there are so many famous residents here, keen to protect their privacy.’
‘Someone’s been doing their homework,’ Laurie teased.
‘Of course I have,’ Gaby confirmed as the limo filtered into a traffic stream that featured the very expensive cars utilised by an overwhelmingly rich populace. The crowded streets were lined with elegant exclusive stores. Even at first glance the Mediterranean city seemed glossier and brighter than others because there was no litter and the buildings all appeared to be in excellent repair.
‘Oh, there’s the cathedral where we’ll be enjoying your big day!’ Liz commented excitedly as the limo passed through a large, charming square dominated by the tall trees that framed the weathered cathedral, which was centuries old.
Gaby had indeed done her homework on the history of Themos and the ruling family, her retentive brain having absorbed every fact she’d dug up on the Internet. She had also studied numerous photos of Angel’s parents. She had been startled by how much Alexios and Angel both resembled Angel’s mother. Alexios had her distinctive black curls and green eyes while Angel had inherited her movie-star perfect features.
Angel came from an exotic background of almost unimaginable wealth, privilege and antiquity. Over the centuries, many larger than life personalities had graced the Diamandis family tree. Womanisers, warriors and adventurers featured heavily in Angel’s ancestry. For goodness’ sake, she thought ruefully, his mother had been an Arabian princess, a woman so flawlessly beautiful that Gaby had found herself studying her photos in fascination. The story recounted on the official royal website had gently hinted that family opposition had forced the Princess and Angel’s father to run away together, and it had all sounded terribly romantic, which did nothing whatsoever to explain Angel’s deep cynicism about women and life in general. When Angel had pressed her to marry him, he had, possibly without meaning to, revealed that his own childhood might have been less than perfect, and Gaby was very curious to know that story.
The Aikaterina palace was on the coast outside Leveus. It sat at the centre of a fabulous country estate comprising hundreds of acres of historic gardens and woods that were open to the public on certain days of the year. The woods ran all the way down to a private beach. Gaby had studied pictures online, reading about the original medieval fortress at the core of the building, the Renaissance wings and the Versailles-influenced extension that housed public rooms with a spectacular décor. Money, it seemed, had never been in short supply in the royal family.
‘My word...’ Liz sighed in wonder as the car swept between giant gilded gates and proceeded at a stately pace along a gravelled driveway lined with graceful cypress trees. Swathes of lush green grass rejoiced in the sun-dappled shade. ‘This is some place.’
‘It’s really beautiful... I’m seeing my dream woodland garden,’ Gaby remarked shakily, her nervous tension beginning to climb.
‘Dream house, dream life, dream—’
‘Angel may be rich as Midas andlooklike a dream, but he’s a darned sight more complicated than that!’ Liz reminded her twin wryly.
Very sexually driven though, Gaby was thinking helplessly, recalling that heart-stopping clinch against the wall, her body involuntarily tightening deep down inside. She was remembering Angel’s assurance that they would have a normal marriage and she marvelled at the concept, convinced as she was that Angel had never enjoyed a normal relationship with a woman in his entire adult life. Women were merely the entertainment in Angel’s high-powered unscrupulous world, not equals, never partners. How would he adapt to living with a normal woman with ideas and opinions of her own? Particularly a woman whom he had ruthlessly blackmailed and intimidated into marrying him and who was still as angry as hell over the fact? Well, he would just have to learn, she reasoned with a spirited toss of her bright head as she climbed out of the limo inside the imposing porticoed shelter of the palace entrance and turned back to detach her son from his car seat.
No sooner had she released Alexios’s belt than a hand touched her shoulder and she turned round to find Angel impossibly close. ‘Let me...’ he urged.
Colliding with hawklike dark golden eyes sent the butterflies tumbling through her and an intoxicating wave of awareness claimed her simultaneously, muscles tightening, heart accelerating, nerve endings awakening. On weak legs she stepped back and watched as Angel scooped Alexios out. Her son recognised him and laughed, delighted to see his father again because Angel, who had played with him, signified fun.
‘Welcome to your new home,’ Angel husked, radiating satisfaction and triumph in one fierce charismatic smile as she accompanied him into a vast marble and gilded entrance hall where several small groups of people awaited them. ‘Allow me to introduce you to everyone...’
The first candidate was Marina, a smiling older woman introduced as ‘Head of the Nursery’.
Taken aback and not in a good way, Gaby turned to Angel. ‘I don’t think—’
‘Naturally you will be our son’s primary carer but there will be occasions, such as the wedding and various events, when we will not be available, and we need a good support system. The nursery staff under Marina’s steady hand will step in to fill the gaps.’
Gaby swallowed hard at that blunt appraisal of the near future. She also felt horribly like kicking Angel as though she were a cross and frustrated child. Why did he never discuss things in advance with her? Why did he never warn her? She wasnotunreasonable. He thought of everything but neglected to share his thoughts with her. That was unnerving. She smiled and shook hands with the older woman.
‘You needn’t worry about the quality of our son’s care. Marina was a nursery maid when I was boy. She’s kind and affectionate,’ Angel murmured in her ear as he led her forward to meet the older man, Dmitri, who ran the household. He brought forward various advisors and administrative staff and, in the midst of those introductions, Gaby was unpleasantly surprised to spot Cassia Romano standing to one side chatting to Liz and Laurie. The slender blonde beauty, who rarely revealed any sort of emotion, wore a surprisingly bright smile. Gaby could see that her friends were disconcerted by that transformation because at university Cassia had not deigned to acknowledge either twin, even though both women had shared classes with her.
‘Cassia has volunteered to show you the ropes around here,’ Angel informed her calmly. ‘She knows how everything works and I believe she has entertainment organised for you and your friends this evening.’
