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‘Did you know I would be here?’
‘Of course I knew. I know everything about you,matia mou,’ Jace said softly. ‘You have no secrets from me.’
A blush spread over her face and she looked away from him. ‘Why did you come after me?’
‘Did you imagine I wouldn’t, after what we shared last night?’
‘We had sex.’
He was tempted to argue that it had been so much more, but he let it go for now. ‘I like this,’ he murmured, tracing his finger over her tattoo.
She gave a faint sigh. ‘You taught me to be unafraid and to accept myself.’
His heart contracted. ‘You were a warrior long before we met,’ he said gruffly. ‘Will you come inside? There are things we need to discuss.’
‘Like what? I won’t contest the divorce, and I’ve given you the Pangalos. What else is there to talk about?’
‘Please.’
‘Fine,’ she muttered, ignoring his hand that he held out to help her to her feet. She jumped up and marched into the villa through the French windows that led into the sitting room. Arms folded defensively in front of her chest, she stared at him mutinously. ‘Well?’
Eleanor wished that Jace would stop staring at her with an intent expression in his eyes that made her foolish heart tremble. Why didn’t he just give her the divorce paperwork to sign, which was the reason she assumed he was here? She had managed to hold herself together driving from Thessaloniki to Sithonia, but tears were perilously near the surface.
She hadn’t expected to see him again after she’d left him asleep last night, and this was pure torture. Typically, he looked amazing in faded jeans and a cream shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his tanned forearms thickly covered with black hair. Arms that would never hold her again.
He moved to the coffee table and took some papers out of his briefcase.
‘Give me a pen and I’ll sign the divorce application,’ she said curtly. But when she skimmed her eyes over the documents she discovered that they were the two versions of the prenuptial agreement, one of which she had signed before she’d married Jace. The other was the original agreement that she had been unaware of until she’d signed it two weeks ago and forfeited her share of the hotel.
Jace took both documents from her and ripped them into tiny pieces, which fluttered to the floor in a mockery of the confetti that had been thrown at their wedding.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said shakily.
‘I hope this will explain.’ He handed her another document and Eleanor caught her breath when she read it.
‘Is this a joke? It says that you rescind all rights to the Pangalos Beach Resort, and I have sole ownership.’
He nodded. ‘To make things absolutely clear, I have suggested calling the hotel by a new name.’
‘Eleanor’s Hotel.’She read the new name out. ‘But...you married me for the hotel. My grandfather cheated your father out of his share.’ Eleanor bit her lip. ‘I don’t want a hotel that is tainted by so much bitterness.’ She thrust the new document at Jace. ‘Keep it. I know how much the Pangalos means to you.’
‘It means nothing to me,’ he said savagely. ‘There is only one thing—one person I care about.’ Raw emotion thickened his voice. ‘And that is you,pouláki mou.’
‘Don’t.’ It was too cruel to offer her a dream when she was certain he would tear it down again.
He gave a wry smile. ‘Are you asking me not to call you my little bird, or not to care about you?’
She shook her head, determined not to drown in his liquid gaze. ‘Don’t tell me any more lies. That’s all I ask.’
‘That’s it, though. You have never asked for anything. Even the money you needed from me was to help your brother. I took advantage of your generous heart,’ Jace said seriously, no smile on his lips now and an expression of uncertainty in his eyes that shook Eleanor. Jace Zagorakis—uncertain. It wasn’t possible; he was the most self-assured man she had ever met. But a nerve flickered in his jaw and his tension was tangible when he picked up a box from the table and gave it to her. ‘Open it.’
Mystified, she opened the lid and lifted out a little wooden carving of a sparrow. It was exquisite, and had been carved with such detail that each individual feather was perfect. ‘Oh! How beautiful!’ she murmured.
‘Yes.’ Jace was looking at her, not the carving, and Eleanor’s heart missed a beat. ‘Do you remember in Africa, we visited the Maasai tribe and one of the elders had carved various animals and birds? I asked him to make the carving. The elder said that the little sparrow does not seek attention like many of its colourful cousins, but a wise man knows that it is the bravest and most beautiful of all the birds.’
Jace’s mouth twisted. ‘I am not wise; I’m a fool. I ignored what my heart was telling me since before we went to Paris.’
She stiffened and placed the carving on the table. ‘I was the fool to believe that you felt the same way about me as I did for you. In my defence, you were a very convincing fiancé and I was totally taken in by you. But in the back of my mind I wondered why you never mentioned love.’ She shrugged. ‘It became clear when I overheard your phone call with Takis, telling him that you were not in love with me.’
