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“For which I will thank him greatly,” Leann said clasping her hand with a smile. “You would not have been happy being a bride at eighteen I dare say. Now, is the perfect timing for you though. He will make you incredibly happy.”
“He will,” Elena agreed. “Now, I’m positive of when my son’s feelings began, but what of yours? Was it instantaneous when you rekindled your acquaintance?”
“I think it’s been slowly burning for a bit,” she admitted smiling down at the photo of them. “We’ve always had a way of rubbing each other wrong but I think that’s simply because we were both fighting the truth. I never even thought of him that way, but the night of Kyra’s party I can now see that my feelings, my love for him was just waiting to be discovered. Our first meeting instantly put us back into an antagonizing point, until he kissed me, and it quickly became clear that I wasn’t fighting him as much as my feelings.”
“How did he propose?” Elena asked her smile never brighter hearing her answer.
“He…”
“Please don’t tell her of my failure with the proposal,” she heard Stefano’s deep timber say humorously and her heart stalled wondering if he’d overheard her comments to their mothers.
“Considering Hailey’s wearing your ring I would say it wasn’t a failure Stefano,” Elena teased making him laugh.
“Oh, but it was,” he stated dropping a kiss onto Hailey’s temple with a glance at the photo album on the table in front of her. His eyes darkened seeing them and he met her gaze, shutting the book tilting her chin up as he took a seat beside her. “I should burn those photos…or lock them away so only I can see them.”
“Why is that Stefano?” Leann asked sharing a look with Elena.
“Because that dress did nothing to highlight Hailey’s true beauty, only her body,” he answered knowing exactly what he’d been thinking that night as he’d held her in his arms. He’d wanted to sweep her up into them, carry her into his bedroom and strip that offending dress from her body, then show her that she shouldn’t allow every man to ogle her, only him.
He hadn’t because she was still seventeen but the way her eyes glowered at him, the way the dress pulled across her breasts as she drug in a breath of anger, had tempted him, told him he needed to put space between them. He’d left for Greece on Thursday, staying away from her and home to stop himself from giving into that desire. He’d learnt true control over the past six years. Control over his desires, but mostly his willpower to stay away from her. She would never understand how difficult it’d been, not when his every breath was lived for her. His blood sang her name, tempted him to his breaking point, then pushed him for more. She ran through him and he wasn’t about to lose her now.
“You left after the party because you were falling in love with her, weren’t you?” Elena asked him with a look only a mother could wear that only a mother could get an answer from her staid son from while wearing.
“Yes, I knew it then, I knew it when I found the earrings she loves, and I purposely stayed away because I wasn’t going to be thought of as an arrogant half-Greek who wanted a teen bride. To me she was and always has been my Hailey but in the eyes of the world, she needed time and space. I’m honored that she chose me, out of everyone who could have earned her heart, she’s given it to me, and I shall treasure that gift for life.”
“You didn’t tell us how you proposed though,” Leann said, wiping at a tear in the corner of her eye. “It surely couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Oh, but it was…that demanding Greek half came out and instead of asking he demanded,” Hailey said giving him a smile at the truth behind it, daring him to counter her statement.
“It’s true,” he admitted lifting her hand to kiss her palm before wrapping his fingers around it. “I had the evening all worked out in my mind, dinner at my apartment, the proposal and then the rest of the night…but none of it worked out quite as my mind anticipated it would. Dinner was a disaster, the chicken dry, the wine sour, and the potatoes cold. She never once complained though, making me fall harder for her. That’s when I led her out onto the balcony, had the music playing softly and pulled her into my arms. We started discussing our relationship, Hailey was slightly questioning me, my feelings for her because I hadn’t told her how I truly felt yet, and when she asked me if this was just a passing fancy for me…well I let the Greek out.”
“How did you convince her to say yes to you then?” Elena asked giving her a sympathetic smile knowing quite well how the Greek in him behaved.
“Well after I told her that this was no fancy, passing or otherwise, on my part, I said that she would be mine, my wife, mother of my children. She simply stared at me, her eyes a blue storm and asked me why she would agree to that, to marry a man who only wants her physically and said nothing of protecting her emotions. In that moment I realized that she didn’t understand what I meant by it.”
“He dropped the Greek ‘I’m man do what I say’ routine and told me the only way he would marry would be for the woman to hold his entire heart in her hands, that he only wanted his children to be born of that love,” Hailey added wanting their mothers to not give him any chance of escape. “I told him that I would marry that man, not the demanding arrogant Greek he’d just been, but that didn’t mean I would share his bed yet.”
“I was crushed, hearing the most beautiful words in the world, before hearing that my love didn’t want to be with me…and again, the Greek came out demanding to know why. Her simple sweet words, the light blush that stole up her cheeks, had me on my knees and agreeing to whatever she wanted as long as she wore my ring.”
“And what words were those?” Elena asked with a glance between them.
“That I had always imagined my wedding night being the night I gave myself fully for the first time to the only man who would have claim to me,” she answered as his hand tightened in hers, his lips descending down to claim them in a kiss that made her heart skip.
“Oh!” Elena said and her mom beamed at the confirmation of what she’d hoped. “Well, then I suppose I should ask my son…how long do you think you can resist, remain true to your words to our sweet Hailey?”
“As long as necessary, but hopefully not too long,” he answered turning towards their mothers keeping a hand on Hailey’s back to keep her seated as the discussion finally turned into what he needed. “As much as I want to honor my word to her, every night that passes and I’m alone, is another moment I know we’ll never get back. I don’t want regrets, but I don’t want a few hundred nights alone when my heart aches for her either.”
Hailey felt her breath stall at his words, goose bumps slid down her body and she wanted to turn into him, kiss him until they were both agreeable to an elopement. Or even to ignoring her desires and him taking her to bed now, showing her everything she’d missed.
“Your grandfather would never miss your wedding Stefano. He doesn’t like to travel that much but he will be here until Demetrius and Olympia’s wedding this summer. Perhaps we could set a date in say…July?” Elena suggested.
“Oh, I’m sure you all couldn’t arrange anything that quickly,” Hailey said.
“We wouldn’t want to overwhelm you Mother, not with all of the plans for Demetrius’ wedding underway already,” Stefano added but he gave his mother a smile that had her pushing ahead with glee.
“You leave the big things to us Hailey,” Leann stated patting her hand.
“What are two weddings to arrange when you’re already in contact with everyone who will be working on it?” Elena added. “Oh, I’ve got it, we should do the wedding on June twenty-sixth…that’s the day we moved here and met Hailey…”
