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“But I hardly know him,” Alina protested, her face flaming at the thought of having to inconvenience a stranger.
He smiled. Even though they were opposite in physical appearance and demeanor, there were certain moments when Alina would poignantly remind him of his Mairi. Now was one such moment, and Damen stroked her hair as he would a younger sister. “You have nothing to worry about,” he assured her quietly. “You will be in safe hands with Stavros so please, if you do not want me to worry about you, then say you will let Stavros look after you.”
“I’m not a child.”
“No. You are not. But you may be made vulnerable...just like Mairi was.”
Of course.
Of course it all went back to Mairi, Alina thought with hurt misery. Her head bowed. She did not want Damen to see the tears she felt sparkling in her eyes, wanting to be set free. “I understand,” she whispered.
“Good girl.”
She should let him go now. Alina knew that, but she just couldn’t. She needed to ask him one more time. “Damen?”
“Yes?” He already sounded distracted. His mind was firmly focused on Mairi now, Alina knew, but she did not let that stop her.
“Are you really sure you’ll be able to find Mairi?”
“Yes.”
Her head jerked up, and her eyes were wide with incredulity as she asked, “But how? You no longer have unlimited money at your disposal.”
Damen answered simply, “Because I will not stop looking for her. It is like asking me to stop breathing, to stop remembering that I have to breathe to live.”
“A-and if you see her?” Alina whispered. “If you see her and she does not love you anymore, what then?”
“Do I need the air in this world to love me back for me to breathe it? I just need it to be there. The same way, I just need to know that she is...fine. That I can love her in whatever way I’m able to.” Again, his lips twisted. “I need to prove to her that I love her, Alina. It doesn’t matter if it’s only to convince her that she has the power to destroy me. I need her. I love her. Endlessly.”
Chapter 2
Miami, Florida
Present Time
Vilma Tanner’s gaze was cold as it raked through the man standing before her from head to toe. He was, she thought dispassionately, even better-looking that the photos had led her to believe. He was dressed in a dark gray leather jacket, a t-shirt, and jeans – ridiculously plain even for a former Greek billionaire like Damen Leventis.
His face was thinner now, but somehow it made him more beautiful – cruelly so. Her heart hardened at the thought. Was his cruel beauty the reason why he had been able to turn Mairi’s head completely, the reason why he had gotten away with making her forgive him so many times when the smarter thing to do would have been to leave him?
Damen paled as her gaze, which spoke of her contempt for him, met his, but he did not look away.
She was reluctantly impressed. What would Norah have done in this position? Probably walk away and have nothing to do with him. But Vilma had never been that type of person, would never have become the most successful divorce lawyer for Tinseltown if she had backed away the minute she came up against someone bigger and stronger.
They had played this cat and mouse game for too long, Vilma decided. It was time for one of them to draw blood.
“Have you added stalking me to your list, Mr. Leventis?” She spoke with just the right volume, soft enough for her voice to be considered quiet and private, but loud enough for the occupants of nearby tables in the hotel’s café to hear her easily.
From the corner of her eye, Vilma saw their eyes widen at her words just a moment before their heads quickly swiveled, looking away from the source of gossip they were so eager to impart. Most of them now had their phones out, their fingers busily moving over the keypads. One even had the temerity to snap a picture of them. Vilma was pretty sure that photo would soon go viral, together with the news that Damen Leventis had been stalking Mairi Tanner – and now one of her aunts as well.
Looking at Damen’s face, she saw that he was not unaware of the undercurrent of intense interest in their conversation rippling around them. Seeing her eyes back on him, Damen inclined his head as if to say, ‘This round is all yours. But is that all you have??’
Her lips tightened. He made her victory feel petty and hollow. Arrogant Greek billionaire. His kind was really better left between the pages of books.
“By allowing me to get this close to you, I assume you are now inclined to talk to me?”
