Читать книгу Modern Romance January 2017 Books 5 - 8 - Мишель Смарт, Andie Brock - Страница 21
ОглавлениеXANDER’S KNUCKLES WERE WHITE.
When Elizabeth met his gaze, she realised it wasn’t nerves causing it but contained anger.
This was a court battle he had no intention of losing.
It was a battle she was determined to help him win.
In the courthouse they were taken to a private hearing room with Xander’s team of lawyers.
His parents were already there with their own team of lawyers.
It was the first time she’d met Dragan, his father. First glances did not inspire optimism.
Like his wife and son, Dragan was impeccably groomed. A little shorter than his wife, he kept himself in good shape and a thick mop of dark hair on his head made him appear younger than his years. It occurred to her that it was too dark and thick to be natural, and she had to bite her cheek not to laugh. It was the only thing she could find to laugh about.
They’d left Loukas behind, a day of watching movies and eating ice cream with Rachael on his agenda, oblivious that his future would be determined that day. If his grandparents won, he would be uprooted from his home and everyone he loved and forced to live, probably permanently, with people he barely knew.
If Xander won, he would soon be able to return to his own home with his father, if not his mother. If Xander won, Loukas would always be able to call his uncle’s home his home too.
Xander’s love for his nephew was not in doubt. It saddened her that he wouldn’t have a child of his own. He would be a brilliant father but he had no intention of making a proper marriage and so had discounted having a child. Just as she had done...
But now was not the time to think of this.
Mirela and Dragan had written a statement. As Xander had predicted when they’d discussed the case, they were portraying themselves as innocent victims who’d been deliberately pushed out of their only grandson’s life by his addicted parents. Their second son, Xander, was an enabler. If he cared about his nephew he would have insisted his brother go into rehab much sooner and it was a sign of his short-sightedness due to his inherently selfish nature that this had only happened when he’d realised his parents weren’t prepared to be bystanders in their grandson’s life any more.
Elizabeth watched Xander’s reaction as this statement was read out. She was quite certain that if she put a pin in him he would explode with rage.
She wanted to explode with rage too. How dared his parents tell such lies?
Then it was time for Xander’s statement. He’d spent hours drafting it and a copy was handed to the judge. Instead of one of his lawyers reading from it, Xander rose to speak for himself, without notes.
He laid the facts out in chronological detail, starting with his and Yanis’s own wretched childhood at the hand of their parents and explaining that it was for this reason Yanis and Katerina had been determined to protect their only child from the influence of two people incapable of showing a child affection. The statement ended with a request for common sense to prevail and a copy of the report from the facility where Yanis was being treated—successfully—was produced for all to read. All being well, Yanis would be home in a month.
His parents had no legal or moral basis to take away a loved child from the people who had cared for him since his birth. If Yanis and Katerina felt they were unable to care for their own child any more, then they should be given the chance to determine who could do so in their absence, just as they’d done in this circumstance when they’d left Loukas in Xander’s care.
‘That only goes to show how the drugs and alcohol have affected their judgement,’ Mirela said. ‘Our youngest son is an exceptional businessman, we concede that, but he doesn’t know the first thing about raising a child. He’s a pleasure seeker, a sex addict who has brought shame and scandal on the Trakas name, just as his brother has with his substance addiction. Children need two parents. My daughter-in-law is very ill; Yanis is not fit to care for Loukas on his own. The wife Xander has produced is a stooge, brought here so you forget he’s not fit to raise a child—if you allow Xander to continue his guardianship, she will disappear as soon as the paperwork is signed.’
The lawyer to Elizabeth’s left, who was translating for her, explained what she’d said.
She clenched her hands into fists, her brain burning.
If she weren’t in a courthouse she might very well launch herself at Mirela and scratch her face.
‘Am I allowed to say something?’ she asked.
The lawyer asked the judge, who nodded her consent.
Speaking slowly so her words could be translated, Elizabeth said, ‘Forgive me my lack of preparation but I didn’t expect to speak today.’
The judge nodded her understanding.
‘My husband is not the man the papers have portrayed him to be. Even if he was, it doesn’t affect his relationship with his nephew. Loukas adores him and respects his authority over him. Xander is his one constant. He’s comfortable and happy with him, but he doesn’t know his grandparents. They’re strangers to him...’
‘Strangers because Yanis has never let us be in his life!’ Dragan interjected heatedly.
‘And that’s because Yanis doesn’t want his son under your influence.’ She focused on staying calm, knowing if she were to raise her voice any valid points the judge might think she was making would be nullified. ‘Yanis has addictions, there’s no disputing that, but it’s hardly surprising when you consider he never felt you, his parents, loved him and that to receive your approval he had to marry a woman he didn’t love when he was twenty.
‘The only reason Xander hasn’t turned out the same is because he watched his brother go through it first and determined not to be like him. To do that he had to defy you and all the plans you’d made for him, and you have never forgiven him for that, and you’ve never forgiven him for taking control of the business from you, and you’ve never forgiven Yanis for raising his son differently from how you think he should be raised. Because that’s what this is about, surely? Revenge on your sons. If it was about what’s best for Loukas we wouldn’t be sitting here.’
Now she looked directly at the judge. ‘I don’t know if Yanis will stay clean from his addictions and I don’t know if Katerina will recover, but I do know that Xander will be there for them both and, most importantly, he will love and care for Loukas as if he were his own.’
Although there were thousands more words she wanted to say, Elizabeth figured she’d gone far enough. She could feel Xander’s eyes boring into her but didn’t dare look at him. Would he be angry with her for speaking out? She couldn’t have kept her mouth shut a moment longer if she’d tried.
The rest of the hearing flew by until they were excused by the judge and filed out while she contemplated her judgement.
‘Let’s get something to eat,’ Xander said in an undertone that, she was relieved to note, didn’t sound angry. If anything he sounded pleased.
As soon as they were outside the courthouse, he grabbed hold of her and kissed her, a huge passionate kiss that took her by such surprise she clung to the lapels of his jacket to stay upright.
‘You are brilliant,’ he said when he finally unlocked his mouth from hers.
‘You’re not angry with me?’
He shook his head, incredulity in his eyes. ‘Elizabeth... What you said...’
‘All I said was the truth, as I see it.’
He kissed her again then led her to a cramped restaurant around the corner from the courthouse. No sooner had they been shown to a table when his parents strolled in. They took one look at him and Elizabeth and walked straight back out.
‘I think you were right that this is all about revenge,’ he said after they’d ordered.
‘Having met your mother, it was the only thing that made sense to me. You refused to do as they wanted when you reached adulthood and wrested control of their own company from them.’
He’d told her the story of the deal he’d made with them for control of the business while Loukas had been sleeping in the hospital.
‘They taught me too well.’
‘When this is over, you should make your peace with them,’ she said softly.
That killed his good mood. ‘To find peace one has to acquire forgiveness. They don’t deserve that.’
Her gaze was steady on his. ‘Maybe not, but hasn’t there been enough revenge and punishment within your family?’
His parents had neglected their sons, forced Yanis into a loveless marriage and played a part in Ana’s state of mind before her death. Who could forgive that?
In return, Xander had taken control of their company and put himself in a position of power over them. As far as revenge and punishment went, he’d hit them where it hurt the most.
And then they’d gone for custody of Loukas. A never-ending circle of revenge.
He evaded the question. ‘Have you forgiven your parents for the way they treated you?’
She pursed her lips thoughtfully before answering. ‘I’ve lost my anger towards them. I don’t see them all that much but the time I do spend with them isn’t filled with resentment. I’ve let that go. If that’s forgiveness then I guess I have forgiven them.’ Her amber eyes looked up at him, shining. ‘And I’ve forgiven you for how you treated me all those years ago.’
Everything constricted in him. ‘I really am sorry for how I ended things. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
Walking away from Elizabeth had been one of the only selfless things he’d ever done in his life.
‘You had the best of intentions,’ she conceded. ‘It’s how you carried it out that left much to be desired.’
He sighed. ‘Everything was so intense between us, like a hundred holiday romances rolled into one. When I knew I had to end it I knew it would be kinder to sever it in one stroke rather than string you along.’
‘Just answer me one thing: if Ana hadn’t died, would you have taken me home?’
‘I don’t know. Probably. But her death was the wake-up call I needed. You were a different woman then. If you’d come home with me we would never have lasted. My parents—my mother especially—would have crushed you. We’ve both changed since then.’
‘We didn’t have a chance, did we?’ she said sadly.
He grimaced, thinking how right she was. ‘You forgive me for then but what about now? Can you forgive me for blackmailing you?’
‘And forcing me to lose my business?’ she added drily.
‘For that too.’
Her eyes melted before him and then she gave a smile of such beauty, light seemed to radiate from her. ‘I’m getting there.’
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
He’d never asked for or sought Elizabeth’s forgiveness before but now he had it, it felt as if a weight he hadn’t known was there had been lifted from him.
* * *
It was to their immense relief that the judge threw out Mirela and Dragan’s custody claim. Xander insisted on taking Elizabeth out to celebrate.
After kissing Loukas goodnight, the little boy blissfully unaware how close his life had come to being ruined, she went to her room to change while Xander put him to bed.
As the evening was a touch chilly, she settled on a pair of skinny jeans and a sweeping blush top with sequins around the neckline and hem. Ready before Xander, she turned her laptop on. The first thing that flashed up when it had loaded was the gossip site she used as her home page, mostly so she could keep a watchful eye on her matches. Its main headline picture was of Dante and Piper, dressed to the nines, gazing into each other’s eyes with complete adoration. There was no way it could be faked.
This was the last thing she’d expected. Dante Mancini in love?
She smiled as she imagined how Piper must be feeling and was glad she’d held back the warnings she’d wanted to give the sweet Australian about protecting her heart.
When this was all over between her and Xander, she would give Piper a call and hear for herself how she was getting on.
When this was all over...?
Blinking the thought away, she wondered how the other two Casanovas were faring with their matches. Although she hadn’t actually matched Zayn with Amalia she had seen enough to think there was a big enough spark between them to see them through. Benjamin and Julianna, she was convinced, were the real deal.
It occurred to her that only a week ago she would have been silently furious at how things had turned out for them. You fools, she would have wanted to yell, don’t you realise you’re going to get your hearts broken?
But it was with her own heart thundering that she realised she no longer felt like that. Love didn’t have to end with heartbreak and misery.
When this was all over...
Her heart ready to explode through her ribcage, the enormous truth she’d been hiding from herself smacked her round the face.
She wasn’t ready for this to be over. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Xander. Not yet. Not ever...
By his own admission they’d both changed. Could there be a proper future for them?
There was a light rap on the adjoining door and then Xander appeared through it. ‘Ready to go...?’ His brow furrowed. ‘Are you okay?’
She nodded and closed the lid of her laptop, trying to get a handle on her thoughts. ‘Yes and yes. Is Loukas asleep?’
‘Out like a light.’
Hand in hand, they strolled out of the back of the villa and down to Xander’s private beach where his yacht was waiting on the jetty. From there they sailed to Mykonos where, Xander insisted, the best fish restaurant in Greece was located. And he was right. They shared a seafood platter filled with the most delicious jumbo prawns, whitebait, calamari, octopus and mussels, served with salad, dips and pitta. They also drank their way through a carafe of white wine and two shots each of ouzo.
It was the best evening Elizabeth could remember, certainly the best since the day she’d pledged to spend the rest of her life with Xander.
Would things have been different if they’d first met as adults? she wondered for the tenth time that evening, as he regaled her with an old story of his mother getting the better of an Italian cosmetics company. They’d been competing for prime floor space in a Europe-wide department store chain. Mirela had won the space, despite offering less than the Italians.
Listening to him speak about his parents, she quite understood why he would continue working with them. Between them and with Xander at the helm they were a formidable team.
It was, as he’d said a few weeks ago, only as human beings that his parents were useless.
And listening to him, seeing him unwind and relax...it was like being with the Xander of old.
Watching him via press cuttings over the years, when he was always presented in an impeccable business suit, never a hair out of place, his shoes never less than shiny, his expression never less than inscrutable, she’d forgotten how fun he could be. But he’d liked having things his own way then too, she remembered. If he’d wanted something to happen he’d made it happen, including the fast track of their marriage. When he’d proposed to her she’d been convinced it would take weeks to get everything in place, not days as Xander had ensured.
He’d been formidable even then but she’d been so in love that this side of him had never really registered on her radar. She’d only cared about his fun and passionate sides.
Now she knew the whole man, the good, the bad and the ugly. The real Xander, not the idealised image he’d portrayed to her on their sunny Caribbean paradise. Not the idealised image she’d formed him into being to fill the massive gap in her heart.
And as she drained the last of her wine, she realised she loved him even more now than she had then.
Yes. She could admit it. She loved him. And as he gazed at her, the expression in his eyes the same as when he’d looked at her a decade ago, her hopeful heart couldn’t stop her thinking that he might feel the same about her.
* * *
Nothing was said about their future. Life carried on as before but with a lightness of heart that made Elizabeth feel she was walking on air.
Her days were spent scribbling in her notebook—she was on her sixth one now—either on the beach or, if it was too cold, in the infinity room. The sound of the infinity pool was almost as soothing as the sea but the underfloor heating kept her warm. Now that she’d admitted to herself that she loved him, it was as if her heart had bloomed and the storyline for her script came pouring out of her, so fast she struggled to keep up with it. Once she had the whole thing plotted she would get the actual script written on her laptop.
Should she find an agent? she wondered.
Get it written first and then think about the next step.
Yet no matter how deeply into her storyline she sank, she still spent the hours Xander worked with a watchful eye on the time for when he returned.
Such was the bubble of bliss she’d cocooned herself in that it came as something of a shock when Xander returned home a month after the court case with the news that Yanis was coming home.
Leaving Loukas, whose arm was mending beautifully, in her care, Xander flew to America to collect him.
As she’d successfully pushed this event to the back of her mind, Elizabeth was suddenly terrified of the implications of Yanis’s return. To get through it she had to keep herself busy. Luckily it was the weekend so she and Loukas spent most of it together building sandcastles, watching movies and playing hide and seek. He was a gorgeous child and, now he’d accepted her, she’d discovered his funny, mischievous side. She would miss him when it was time for her to leave...
But she didn’t want to think about leaving. It was taking everything to hold back the tears as it was.
This was what she wanted. She wanted to be here, with Xander, creating their own family.
There were times when he made love to her or when she caught him looking at her in an unguarded moment when she thought he had to feel the same but just because she’d forgiven him for the past didn’t mean she could forget. She’d thought he loved her a decade ago and she’d been wrong then. She could easily be wrong now.
It was thus with a certain amount of trepidation mingling with the excitement of him being home that she saw Xander’s car appear on the driveway late on the Sunday afternoon.
Loukas spotted it too and went tearing out to meet them while she hung back sedately, practising her calm face, trying to forget that as soon as Xander and Yanis came up with a legally binding agreement for Xander to be guardian in Yanis’s absence, her agreement with Xander would be over. She’d be free to go home.
But would he want her to stay? That was the million-dollar question.
It was somewhat of a shock to actually meet Yanis. Like Xander he was tall but that was the only similarity. His handsome face was gaunt, his hair, a darker shade than his brother’s, receding. He looked exactly like what he was: a recovering drug addict.
He came straight to her and gave her a tight hug. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you,’ he said in a raspy voice. ‘Xander has told me what you’ve done. I thank you for everything.’
‘It’s lovely to meet you too,’ she murmured, pleasurably taken aback at such a warm welcome.
They kissed on both cheeks then chaos ensued. All the household staff appeared wanting to welcome Yanis home. Some, like Rachael the nanny, normally worked for Yanis directly in his home, Xander having seconded them in his brother’s absence. Loukas ran around like a hyperactive bee, so much so that Xander had to warn him that he was in danger of breaking his arm again, which slowed him down for all of half a minute.
It was a happy day that culminated in a celebratory dinner. When it was time for Loukas to go to bed, Elizabeth excused herself.
‘You’re going to bed already?’ Xander asked in surprise.
‘I’ve got a headache,’ she lied. She sensed Yanis had found the day overwhelming and needed some space. Alone with his brother he could relax and not put on a happy front for her benefit.
Xander had the feeling she wasn’t being truthful but let it go. He and Yanis had discussed many things on the flight back from America and during the detour they’d taken in Athens, but there were still things to talk about in more depth. He would deal with that and then he would deal with his wife.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said, tugging her down for a kiss.
She brushed her hand over his hair with a smile and disappeared.
‘She’s lovely,’ Yanis said when they were alone.
‘She is,’ he agreed. He’d told Yanis everything. His brother hadn’t been able to show a modicum of shock at their parents’ actions but his eyes had blazed with glee when Xander relayed how Elizabeth had decimated them in front of the judge.
She had been magnificent.
‘Loukas seems very taken with her.’
‘They understand each other. She’s very protective of him.’
‘She’s protective of you too.’
‘Is she?’
Yanis stared at him as if he were an idiot.
But it got him thinking. Elizabeth was not the woman he’d married a decade ago. The sweet, loving woman he’d met was still there but with added spine. And what a spine it was! Whenever he thought of the off-the-cuff speech she’d made to the judge, his heart would swell with pride.
Now his brother was back and everything was being sorted, he knew their arrangement was at an end. He’d imagined at the beginning that when this moment came he would help her pack her bags but now...he felt different.
