Читать книгу Modern Romance January 2017 Books 5 - 8 - Мишель Смарт, Andie Brock - Страница 20
ОглавлениеNOW THEY WERE officially lovers again, the antipathy Elizabeth had been holding on to seeped from her like a slowly deflating balloon.
Their lives over the next few days took on a routine. Xander would fly to Athens early each morning after they’d breakfasted with Loukas, while she would take a long walk along the beach. Once back in his villa, she would set herself up in the infinity room with her notebook. Within a couple of days she’d filled it. When she asked Xander if she could hitch a lift with him to Athens he readily agreed, suggesting they meet for an early lunch.
Alone there, she found an excellent stationery shop, made her purchases, then decided to take a wander around the vibrant city. As she passed a news stand, the front cover of a paper caught her eye. It had a photo of her and Xander on it, taken at the museum fundraiser four days ago.
It was a vivid reminder of why she was there.
The court case was only two days away.
Studying the picture some more, she could see it had been taken when they’d first arrived at the museum, mere hours before they’d become lovers again, when she’d still been determined to fight her attraction to him.
The nights they shared were wonderful but, no matter how deeply sated she was or how badly she longed to sleep in his arms, she wouldn’t spend the night with him. It was safer that way.
As wary as she was of Loukas forming an attachment to her, she was doubly wary of allowing herself to form an attachment to Xander.
She would not leave herself open to heartbreak again. It had been hard enough to get over him the first time.
But you never really got over him, did you? If you had you wouldn’t have spent the rest of your life alone.
It was a thought she kept shoving away, scared to even dwell on it.
She found the restaurant she’d agreed to meet Xander at and, the sun shining down, decided to take an outside table. While she waited, her cell rang.
She pressed the accept button at the moment she spotted Xander heading towards her and raised her hand in greeting.
When he reached her, she rose to kiss him then carried on with her conversation.
‘Who was that?’ he asked when she’d finished the call.
‘Steve.’
Was she imagining it or did Xander’s jaw clench?
‘I thought you’d got everything wrapped up about Leviathan Solutions?’
No, she wasn’t imagining it. There was a definite edge to his voice.
‘He was calling to catch up.’
‘Catch up? Friends catch up.’
‘And Steve’s a friend. He wanted to tell me about the temp work he’s found and how awful his new colleagues are.’
His fingers drummed on the table. ‘Are you lovers?’
She reared back a little. ‘Are you insane? How many times do I have to tell you we’re just friends?’
‘You never answered the question properly before. Friends are capable of being lovers. It happens all the time.’
Her cheeks now scarlet, Elizabeth leaned over the table and said, ‘What does it matter? I don’t drill you on your sex life.’
‘That’s it though. I don’t know anything about who you’ve been involved with.’ Xander dragged a hand through his hair. ‘You know everything about my past relationships—including the ones that never happened,’ he added with a grin that belied the undercurrents racing through his veins. Whenever he heard the name Steve he wanted to thump something.
That she’d been his wife all these years was neither of their faults and he accepted he had no right to feel possessive towards her. It didn’t change the fact that he did feel possessive.
It was a level of possessiveness he hadn’t felt for many years. Ten of them.
‘That’s your own fault.’ She showed no sign of softening.
‘Those stories about me were bull and you know it. I was barely on first-name terms with half the women who said they’d shared my bed.’
Her eyes flashed. ‘Bull or not, it doesn’t give you the right to know every aspect of my life and your petty jealousy isn’t going to make me tell you anything.’
‘I’m not jealous.’
‘Then don’t act like you are.’
Xander had never been jealous in his life. The idea was ridiculous.
And yet...
The thought of another man touching her made him want to do more than thump things.
He rolled his neck and forced a deep breath. ‘Let’s change the subject to something neutral.’
After all, with Loukas’s custody case only two days away, the last thing they needed was to have a public argument. The restaurant was busy and, judging by the side-eye they were getting from most of the other diners and passers-by, they’d been recognised.
‘Can you ask your pilot to take me home?’ Elizabeth asked when she’d had enough. ‘I don’t want to hang around here for the rest of the day.’
Now that she had her new notebooks, she was itching to get back to the script idea slowly unfolding in her head.
Also, watching Xander spear his chicken pieces as if they’d personally offended him had affected her appetite. If they’d been in the privacy of his home she would have had it out with him but being in public she’d held her tongue and contented herself with throwing daggers at him with her eyes.
Was he really jealous of Steve? And if he was, what did that mean? That he was developing feelings for her?
He raised a shoulder and pulled his phone out. ‘Sure.’
He made the call and then looked at her. His lips, which had been pressed in a thin line, softened. ‘Do I get a kiss goodbye?’
‘Are you going to say sorry for being a butthead?’
‘A what...?’ His eyes narrowed but then he grinned and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry for being a butthead.’
‘Apology accepted.’
‘Now do I get a kiss goodbye?’
‘For the sake of the cameras?’ There were no lurking photographers that she could see.
His eyes gleamed. ‘Why else?’
* * *
Xander had arranged for a cab to meet her at the Diadonus airstrip. When Elizabeth walked into the villa she understood why he hadn’t got a member of staff to collect her. It was market day in Diadonus Town and all the staff had gone there.
Wandering into the kitchen to make herself a coffee, she was searching for cups when her cell rang.
‘Are you home?’ Xander asked without preamble.
‘I’ve just walked in. What’s up?’
‘I’ve had a call from the school. Loukas has fallen out of a tree—he’s okay but they think he might have fractured his arm. I’m on my way to the airport but it’s going to be a good hour until I get there. It’s Rachael’s day off so I need you to collect him for me and take him to the medical centre.’
‘Me?’
‘The school’s expecting you. Take one of my cars. The keys are in the top drawer of my desk in my study. I’ll meet you at the medical centre.’
Before she could protest that she hadn’t driven a car in over a decade, the line went dead.
Oh, well, she’d explain about her lack of driving experience when she got into an accident or something.
Oh, God, she had to drive Loukas in it too. As if the poor kid hadn’t suffered enough.
Mentally trying to remember the mechanics of driving, she sped to Xander’s study and found his collection of keys where he’d said they would be and took the first set that came to hand.
Entering the enormous garage, which was more like a hangar and filled with dozens of the world’s most famous and expensive cars in a neat row, she clicked the key until she spotted a car’s lights flashing.
It was the black Porsche Spyder.
She hit the button to open the main garage doors then scratched her head trying to figure how to get into the car. Once she’d managed that she stared at the spectacular array of gizmos and gadgets feeling rather dizzy and wondering how on earth she started the thing.
She’d learned to drive when she was sixteen but had never owned a car and hadn’t got behind the wheel since she quit Brown. She much preferred walking and, besides, New York was a nightmare for traffic.
She put the Porsche into gear and, sending a prayer to the God of Not Pranging Xander’s Car, inched forward and stalled it. After many starts, stalls and splutters she finally drove out of the garage and onto the open road.
Terrified of what she would find at the school, she parked badly at the front of the building and hurried into the reception.
The headmistress was waiting for her and looked at her with much suspicion. In her hand was a newspaper. It took Elizabeth a moment to realise it was the paper she’d seen in Athens earlier with her and Xander on the front. The head was satisfying herself Elizabeth really was Xander’s wife and therefore a person she could admit into her school.
‘He fell from tree,’ the headmistress said. ‘He was hiding.’
‘Is it only his arm that’s hurt?’
‘Nai.’
‘Where else is he injured?’ she asked in alarm before remembering nai was the Greek word for yes.
She was taken to a small room where a white-faced Loukas sat on a sofa, a young serious-faced woman beside him. Someone had made a sling for his damaged arm.
When he saw her his little face crumpled.
Kneeling before him, Elizabeth said gently, ‘How are you feeling?’
Loukas didn’t answer but tears started to fall.
‘Your arm hurts?’
He nodded.
‘Your uncle’s on his way home. He’s asked me to take you to the medical centre to get it looked at.’
Now he shook his head violently.
‘The doctor will be able to give you medicine to make you feel better,’ she cajoled.
More head shaking.
‘Don’t you want your arm to be better?’
A slight hesitation then a nod.
‘So why don’t you want to come with me? Your uncle will meet us there.’
So used to her every question being met with muteness, Elizabeth thought she was hearing things when his lips parted and he whispered something.
‘What did you say, honey?’
She leaned closer and tucked her hair behind her ear so he could speak into it, half expecting him to say he’d rather suffer his broken arm than go anywhere with her.
‘The doctor will keep me there.’
‘No...’ As she immediately repudiated his words, she thought of his mother and understood where his fears were coming from.
His mother had gone to hospital a month ago and there was no sign of her coming home any time soon.
‘Loukas,’ she tried again, ‘I promise you, they won’t keep you there. If your arm is broken they might have to keep you in overnight—I’m not a doctor so I don’t know, but I promise, cross my heart, that you will come home very soon.’
‘I don’t want to be on my own.’
She could cry for him.
‘Your uncle won’t let that happen and neither will I. One of us will stay with you the whole time.’
‘You promise?’
She made a solemn sign of the cross over her chest. ‘I promise.’
Loukas seemed to think about it before giving a tentative nod.
Elizabeth held out a hand to him. ‘Shall we get your arm fixed now?’
The arm that wasn’t in a sling reached out. A little hand slipped into hers.
That one simple, trusting gesture melted her heart completely.
* * *
Xander made the journey to the medical centre ready to ram cars and people for not moving fast enough.
When he finally pulled up in the car park, he spotted his Porsche Spyder, sticking out like a sore thumb parked as it was almost diagonally over two spaces.
Despite the worry gnawing at him it was a sight that brought a wry smile to his face.
He knew he’d been unfair passing the responsibility for Loukas onto Elizabeth’s shoulders but he hadn’t been able to think of another option. It wasn’t that he thought her incapable of caring for his nephew; quite the opposite, but he was worried about Loukas’s reaction to her. His nephew seemed no closer to accepting her as a presence in his life and Xander had to keep reminding himself that Elizabeth was doing the right thing in not forcing it seeing as she wasn’t going to be a part of it for ever.
The medical centre had opened in Diadonus only four years ago and was like a miniature hospital with first-class medical staff, state-of-the-art scanners and even an operating theatre.
The lady working behind the reception desk recognised him and sent him off with a smile to the paediatric ward. There, he found them in a private room. They were both sitting on the bed, Elizabeth reading him a story.
They both smiled widely to see him.
To Xander’s amazement, Loukas was holding her hand.
Elizabeth saw the direction of his gaze and gave him a look that clearly said, ‘Do not say anything.’
Pulling up a chair to sit beside them, Xander made the usual small talk such circumstances necessitated, doing his best to be nonchalant about Loukas’s arm and the fact he seemed to have finally accepted Elizabeth.
He never had a chance to dissect it as the doctor came into the room.
‘I have good and bad news,’ he said in Greek, addressing Xander. ‘The arm is broken but it’s a clean fracture.’
‘Will I need an operation?’ Loukas asked.
‘Yes, young man.’
‘But I want to go home.’
‘If we get the operation done today there’s no reason you can’t go home tomorrow.’
Elizabeth was watching this exchange intently, a puzzled look on her face.
‘The doctor says I need an operation,’ Loukas told her forlornly in English.
‘Cool! You’ll get your arm put in plaster and everyone will draw silly pictures on it.’
To Xander’s complete amazement—as if the past ten minutes hadn’t provided enough of it—Loukas cheered up.
The doctor raised his clipboard. ‘The anaesthetist’s on her way. The rest of the team’s ready. We’ll do the operation in around an hour, so shall we get the paperwork signed?’
* * *
Sitting in the family room while Loukas was being operated on was tantamount to torture. All Xander could see was his nephew’s brave little face as the mask that would put him to sleep was placed over him.
He knew it was only a routine operation but Loukas had looked so vulnerable and pale on that theatre bed.
He’d wanted both Xander and Elizabeth there and had made them both promise to be there when he woke up.
It had been Elizabeth’s breeziness about the whole thing that, he was certain, had stopped Loukas’s nerves. Judging by her wan complexion now, it had all been an act put on to stop a little boy’s fears. She was just as worried as he was.
‘Did Loukas tell you what happened?’ he asked quietly.
‘He was hiding.’
‘Who? Loukas?’
‘Yes. His classmates were all playing tag. He didn’t want to play so he hid in the tree.’
‘Why didn’t he just say he didn’t want to play?’
‘He thought they would laugh at him.’
‘He told you this?’
She nodded.
A nurse came in with another coffee for them.
‘Did you have anything to do with this medical centre?’ Elizabeth asked after more slowly turning time had passed.
‘What makes you ask?’
She smiled. ‘The main general ward is called the Trakas Ward, plus in the waiting room there’s a plaque on the wall with your name on it.’
He laughed with as much humour as he could muster. ‘The islanders raised the bulk of the money for the building. I just paid the remainder and gave the cash for the equipment.’
Her eyes widened. ‘All of it?’
He shrugged. ‘Diadonus is my home. My family are fortunate enough to be able to afford any medical intervention we need. The rest of the islanders aren’t so lucky.’
‘Did the rest of your family contribute?’ Elizabeth was awed at his generosity.
‘Yanis and Katerina made a donation.’
‘Your parents?’
He raised a brow that quite clearly said she’d asked a stupid question. ‘My family have lived here for generations but have never contributed to life here. Yanis and I wanted to do things differently. Loukas is the first Trakas child to attend the local school and not to go private. His parents wanted him to have friends on his doorstep and not have to fly hundreds of miles for a play date. We have enormous wealth and it’s time we started putting something back into the place we call home.’
‘How did your parents take the decision to educate him here?’
‘Badly.’
That one word was enough. She’d only met Mirela the once but Elizabeth could well imagine her disdain at her only grandchild being educated with ‘normal’ children. It would have been a huge black mark against Yanis and Katerina’s names.
But it was a welcome reminder that, despite their addictions, Yanis and Katerina loved their son and had done their best for him. She just hoped they both recovered enough to do their best for him in the future too.
If they didn’t...
Well, Xander would always be there for him, loving him as fiercely as if he were his own.
But all this was speculation. They had the court case to get through first. Mirela and Dragan couldn’t win. They couldn’t. If she had to pledge her whole life to stop that happening she would give it gladly.
Elizabeth was so lost in her thoughts that at first she didn’t notice the nurse come back in the room.
She was smiling as she spoke to them.
Xander got to his feet, relief all over his face. ‘The operation’s done and Loukas is in the recovery ward. He’s expected to start waking any moment.’
‘It was a success?’
He nodded. ‘They’re confident.’
She smiled and expelled air she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.
* * *
Xander wished Loukas a good night and closed the bedroom door behind him. The nanny had moved into the next room so she could keep an eye on him throughout the night.
Elizabeth was waiting for him in the corridor.
‘I have a confession to make,’ she blurted.
He studied her exhausted face, wondering what could cause her to look and sound so tense. They’d both spent the night at the hospital with Loukas and the majority of the day there waiting for him to be discharged. He doubted either of them had got more than a couple of hours’ sleep in all. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I pranged your car.’ She sounded so miserable he had to bite back a laugh.
‘Is that all? I thought you were going to tell me something really bad. Are you hurt?’ She didn’t look hurt, only tired. Her gorgeous curls were starting to frizz.
‘It happened when I was driving it back from the hospital.’
He’d driven himself there in his Lotus, doing the return journey with Loukas beside him and Elizabeth following them. Now he thought about it, he remembered losing her and getting back a good ten minutes before her. He’d been so concerned with making sure his nephew was comfortable he’d forgotten all about it.
‘Did you hit another car?’
‘No. But there’s a barrier along the coastline with a fresh dent in it.’ She stared at the ground. ‘The road was really narrow and there was a truck coming towards me. I didn’t think there was enough room for the two of us so I pulled over to let him pass and scraped the barrier.’
‘As long as you’re not hurt, I couldn’t care less.’ Thinking of her hurt or injured...
‘But it was your Porsche.’
He wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him, swallowing back the constriction in his throat. ‘It’s a car and I’m sure it’s repairable. If not, it’s replaceable. You’re not.’
She never had been...
She rested her head against his chest. ‘Will your parents know about Loukas’s arm?’
‘Probably. They seem to know most things. It doesn’t matter. It was an accident.’
‘If they try and twist it I’ll put them straight.’ She said it with such venom he was taken aback.
The events of the past two days had opened up an understanding between his wife and nephew. A bond. Loukas had put aside his fears and opened his heart to her, something Xander knew had taken an enormous amount of courage from the little boy.
And Elizabeth had opened her heart to Loukas, something that had taken an enormous amount of courage from her.
Thinking of his investigator’s report on her, he now considered it with a fresh perspective.
The life she’d lived had, on the surface, been glamorous and filled with friends if not lovers. But all her friends predated their first time on St Francis. Apart from her employees, for whom she clearly retained a deep affection, she hadn’t made a single new true friend in a decade.
Was it possible she hadn’t dated in that time too?
He didn’t know how he felt about that possibility. The reasoning for it led to too many different avenues, none of which sat comfortably with him.
If she didn’t date, how could she ever be a mother?
They’d spoken of having kids together. Hell, they’d even chosen names for them: Samuel, Giannis, Imogen and Rebecca.
Where had that memory come from? And why did his heart twist with it?
He was comfortable with the idea of never being a father. He had Loukas in his life. That was enough.
‘Do you want to get something to eat?’ he asked, more to break the darkness of his thoughts than out of hunger.
Her chest jerked against his. ‘I’m so tired I’d probably fall asleep in it.’
He drew back to take her face in his hands. ‘What do you say we take a shower together and go to bed? Stay the night with me.’
Xander knew he was being selfish asking this of her but, after the stress of the past two days and the additional stress of the coming day, he didn’t want to be alone with his own thoughts. Elizabeth had a way of soothing the stress so it was more a dull ache than a thudding beat.
Besides, he was sick of them sneaking between the two rooms. They weren’t furtive teenagers. They both knew where they stood with each other. Neither of them would mistake comforting the other through the night with anything more meaningful.
Her amber eyes held his as if she was searching for something. Then a small smile curled her lips and she nodded.
They slept in a tangle of limbs until his alarm clock woke them.
It was time to go to court.
