Читать книгу The Greek Bachelors Collection - Rebecca Winters - Страница 69

HIS strong face clenched, Giannis was even angrier than Maddie had anticipated.

‘I thought it was okay to say anything I liked to a solicitor hired to represent my interests.’

‘What gave you that idea?’ Giannis challenged, without skipping a beat ‘The word “anything” covers a lot of ground that I would not have taken into the public arena!’

‘Well, you didn’t have a problem with me being told that if our marriage broke up you would get to keep the children,’ Maddie reminded him. ‘How much more personal can you get?’

Giannis stilled for a moment in his restive passage round the spacious room and shot her a dark-as-midnight glance that revealed nothing. ‘That is not the point.’

‘It’s exactly the point,’ she declared. ‘That was a major part of the pre-nuptial agreement. Yet you didn’t see any need to discuss those terms with me in private beforehand. Of course you don’t discuss anything.’

Even though he was well aware of his evasive tactics in that department, Giannis growled, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘How dare you let your lawyers sit and talk over how I’m going to lose my children when you’re the one most likely to wreck the marriage in the first place!’

At that ringing indictment of his character, dulled coins of colour accentuated the superb line of his classic Petrakos cheekbones. ‘I don’t accept that.’

‘Marriage is something that I take very seriously.’ Maddie lifted her chin.

His dark eyes had the icy glitter of stars, and she knew his temper was under wraps again. ‘As do I…hence the pre-nup. But I take very strong exception to the demands that you saw fit to voice through your lawyer!’

‘You didn’t give me much of a choice about marrying you, but at least I have more sense than to go plunging into it without foreseeing the pitfalls and trying to avoid them!’ Maddie launched back at him with conviction.

‘But all you ever see is pitfalls and problems! What happened to trust and optimism? I believe that I will be an exceptional husband.’ Giannis slung that assurance back at her without hesitation, for he had spent every free moment during the past ten days trying to decide on the wedding details that she had yet to show the smallest interest in. ‘But face it now…I will not stoop to sign an agreement which tries to tell me what I can and cannot do in my life!’

‘Has anyone ever tried to impose boundaries on you?’ Maddie was genuinely curious on that score, because it seemed to her that Giannis had always done exactly as he liked while utterly refusing to acknowledge his mistakes.

His stubborn jaw line squared. ‘I have complete faith in my ability to choose my own boundaries,’ he spelt out grittily.

‘Do you think that attitude might possibly explain why you’re now on the brink of a shotgun marriage?’ Maddie dared, fighting back with all her might. ‘Engaged to one woman, sleeping with another? It was a recipe for disaster.’

Pure outrage at that unbelievably tactless reminder assailed Giannis. His golden eyes smouldered like the heart of a fire, his ferocious pride stung. ‘I will not discuss this with you any more,’ he framed thickly, striding towards the door. ‘I cannot—’

‘Yes, you can,’ Maddie protested, dismayed that he was planning to walk out on her.

‘You are a pregnant woman and you shouldn’t be getting upset. I can’t argue with you like this!’

Pregnant or not, Maddie made it to the door ahead of him. She plastered her back to it and spread her arms as if she was ready to barricade him in and hold him prisoner if necessary. ‘Don’t be daft…of course you can argue with me! I’m tough. I can take it. What do you think I’m made of? Glass?’

‘Glorious curves.’ His masculine attention was unashamedly locked to her voluptuous shape. As she’d raced across the room her towel had slid down several inches, and the luscious swell of her creamy breasts was now shockingly prominent over its fleecy edge.

Maddie met his stunning eyes and a wicked little coil of heat spread wanton fingers of awareness through all the tender, responsive parts of her body. Knowing that if she stayed there one second longer Giannis would be more than willing to employ sex as a distraction, she stepped away from the door and put some sensible space between them.

‘We don’t have to argue…we just need to talk,’ Maddie reasoned soothingly.

Giannis didn’t want to talk. He just wanted to take her towel off and sink himself into her delicious pink and white body until the tumult of his irate thoughts stilled and the tormenting ache of lust was quenched.

‘Please don’t go,’ Maddie urged, desperate to keep him with her. ‘I really do want our marriage to work.’

A tiny amount of his sceptical tension ebbed, and he swung back to face her again.

‘You see…it’s not a matter of anyone trying to tell you what to do. You picked that up all wrong,’ she assured him winningly. ‘I know that wouldn’t work.’

Giannis felt reassured enough to let his rigid shoulders rest back against the solid wood door.

‘I mean, the way I see it the choice is all yours. We can have a marriage that’s just a façade—’

A slight frown began to divide his sleek ebony brows again. ‘A façade?’

‘For the sake of the children. We’d share everything to do with them and you could do as you liked with other women.’

Giannis tensed. He didn’t know what she was about to say next. Knowing her views, he was extremely suspicious of such uncritical candour. She had also managed to make that option sound sleazy rather than liberated. ‘What are you getting at?’

‘Well, it would be sort of marriage-lite, as I see it. We’d pretty much lead separate lives.’

‘Separate?’ Giannis was getting disturbing vibes about the offer of marriage-lite, as she called it. It sounded like a poisoned chalice.

Maddie flushed. ‘Well, obviously we wouldn’t be sharing a bedroom—’

Giannis shook his arrogant dark head in instantaneous rejection. ‘Sounds more like marriage-hell than marriage-lite. Don’t ever take a job as a saleswoman.’

‘But if you can’t commit to fidelity that sort of marriage will suit you best.’

Giannis stretched back against the door like a hungry predator, wakening to find a three-course lunch parading past. His brilliant eyes gleamed.

His silence put Maddie more on edge. ‘There would be obvious benefits. At least we’d be accepting each other as we are.’

‘Me the eternal sinner and you the suffering saint of restraint?’ Giannis quipped with rich cynicism

‘No. Eventually we’d forget…well, you know…that we had ever slept together,’ she muttered self-consciously. ‘And then we’d be able to be friends.’

Giannis shook his handsome head in vehement rejection of that hope, and jerked his thumb down like a Roman emperor ordering the death penalty. ‘I take it option two is following my marriage vows or being fined millions and millions for breaking your rules?’

Maddie winced. ‘That’s a very emotive way of putting it.’

‘How would you describe it, glikia mou?’

‘I just need you to take marrying me seriously,’ she admitted.

‘Marriage-heavy?’ Giannis breathed in silken derision. ‘If I do as I’m told, you’ll condescend to share my bed? Forget it…Greece doesn’t breed wimps who let their women call the shots.’

‘Where is it written that a Greek tycoon has to have a mistress?’ Maddie suddenly launched at him in furious frustration. ‘Aren’t I enough for you? How would you feel if I got another man?’

All pretence of relaxation banished, Giannis flipped away from the doorframe and strode forward, dark eyes bright with aggression. ‘Don’t even think about it. I wouldn’t tolerate even a flirtation. Not for one moment!’

Maddie sent him a winging glance. ‘I won’t make the obvious comment.’

‘Theos mou…are you calling me a hypocrite?’

‘I don’t suppose it much matters—since we probably won’t be getting married now anyway. After all, it doesn’t look like either of us is going to sign that pre-nup.’ There was a tiny catch in Maddie’s voice, for it was not the conclusion she had dimly envisaged. Unfortunately she had not thought through to the likely end result of her strategy. Why hadn’t it occurred to her that she was dealing with a virile male to whom machismo was a matter of pride and honour? There she had been, thinking she was so smart, but she had boxed herself into a corner with her own options.

In the uneasy silence Giannis expelled his breath on a slow hiss. Darkly handsome features bleak, he surveyed her with level deep-set eyes that had an extraordinary intensity. He wasn’t backing down; he never backed down.

Without another word he walked out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time and called for the limo to be brought round. While he waited he poured a brandy. He was so angry he paced the room like a tiger trapped in a cage. When he was told that the car was waiting, he found himself reluctant to take advantage of it. He had come down to stay the night, and he would stay. She was the one who ran away from problems. He frowned. Had she had any other choice? He had put too much pressure on her and damaged her ability to trust him. Was it fair to blame her for that? He no longer had a mistress in his life.

Giannis brooded on his ferocious dissatisfaction over a second brandy, and soon found more suitable culprits to hold responsible. It was the lawyers who had brought them to this unhappy pass! How could Maddie understand an agreement which had primarily been designed to protect his great wealth? She hadn’t a greedy bone in her body. She was the only woman he had ever met who ignored his riches and dealt with him as a man. That might often have proved to be an uncomfortable experience, but she was not the potential gold-digger that the pre-nup had been drawn up to frustrate. Nor, he was convinced, would she ever do anything to harm their children.

He wondered if she was aware that the history of marriage in the Petrakos clan was a long and unhappy one. Bitter divorces, court battles for custody and explosive scandal had dogged every generation but one. His great-grandparents had been the last happily married couple in his immediate family. Rodas Petrakos had married his childhood sweetheart, Dorkas, in the teeth of all opposition. There had been no pre-nup and, although by all accounts it had been a volatile marriage, the couple had stayed together. Along the way both parties must have made compromises and trade-offs, but the legal profession had been kept out of it. Perhaps, Giannis decided, it was unwise to allow such private matters to be dealt with by third parties. In fact perhaps all that talk of negative expectations had merely made Maddie feel threatened, insecure and unappreciated.

When a knock sounded on the door, Maddie pulled herself awkwardly up against the pillows. ‘Yes?’

Giannis strolled in, shorn of his jacket and tie, his blue designer shirt open at his strong brown throat.

Maddie blinked in surprise, for she had heard the limo driving round from the garage block and had honestly believed that he was gone. ‘You’re still here?’

Giannis inclined his arrogant dark head. ‘I have an early flight tomorrow. It would make no sense to leave. Even I need to sleep.’

‘Oh.’ It dawned on her that her eyes had to be pink and swollen, because she had been crying, but mercifully he was not looking directly at her. Indeed he seemed to be extremely interested in the carved post at the foot of the bed. ‘Is there something up?’

His proud dark head came up at that enquiry, liquid golden eyes wary beneath the heavy fringe of his spiky lashes. ‘No, but I have reached a decision. We will dispense with the pre-nuptial agreement. It is surplus to requirements.’

She had breathed in deep when he said he had reached a decision, bracing herself as if she was waiting for the roof to fall down and crush her. But when he mentioned dispensing with the agreement she was bemused. She almost parted her lips to ask about the marriage choices she had offered, and then she sealed them shut again. Was he avoiding the issue? Saving face? Or still thinking his options over? Why not get him past the altar and then settle down into reforming him from the ground up? It was a low, sneaky thought, and she was ashamed of herself, but she was fast reaching the conclusion that direct confrontation was unproductive. He was an Alpha male high-achiever, programmed to compete and fight when challenged. She needed to be more subtle. After all, no matter how annoyed she got with him, she loved him to bits and knew all too well how unhappy she would be without him.

‘All right…’ Maddie agreed, her attention lingering on the blue-black shadow of stubble darkening his strong jawline. He looked drop-dead gorgeous, and her pulses quickened along with her heartbeat. ‘You need a shave. You look like a pirate,’ she added without thinking.

Relief that he was not being greeted with a barrage of questions brought a smile of amusement to his handsome mouth. ‘I do have a yacht.’

‘I saw it on television,’ she confessed.

A sleek ebony brow elevated in polite surprise. ‘How? When?’

Maddie went pink and grimaced. ‘After I got back from Morocco I saw a documentary about you and Krista.’

‘You watched that tacky programme?’ Giannis demanded.

Maddie nodded ruefully.

His tension dropped yet another notch. Now he knew why she saw him as a womaniser. No wonder his marriage proposal had got a cool reception, he reflected, glad to have that egozapping truth clarified. ‘It was full of nonsensical errors and wild exaggerations about my lifestyle. I was misrepresented.’

‘All those supermodels?’

‘I’ve moved on from that stage in my life,’ Giannis drawled with supreme cool.

Maddie knew that she could not compare to such women, and she tried hard to avoid that train of thought. She could see little point in bemoaning the reality that she was not taller, thinner, more traffic-stoppingly good-looking. In choosing his companions from the ranks of the most beautiful women available he had only done what other rich young men tended to do. But it was difficult to avoid the reflection that he was only with her because she had conceived his children.

Giannis was noticing the pale purplish shadows below her reddened eyes. Exhaustion and strain were etched in her pallor, and suddenly he was furious with himself, not only for allowing her to get in that condition but also for contributing to her distress. ‘It’s the early hours of the morning, pedhi mou,’ he murmured quietly. ‘You should be resting.’

‘Stay…’ Maddie heard herself whisper, without even being aware that she was about to say it.

After an instant of hesitation Giannis lowered himself gracefully down beside her on the bed. Scarcely crediting his presence, she lay so still that she hardly dared to breathe. He snaked an arm round her and eased her back against him.

‘Go to sleep,’ he urged. ‘You look incredibly tired.’

Maddie could have done without that information, as she was already painfully aware that she was not looking her best, but the heat and solidarity of his lean, powerful body next to hers was amazingly soothing. The faint familiar tang of his cologne flared her nostrils and, weary though she was, stark hunger for a greater intimacy stirred delicious tension in her.

Giannis let his hands slide below her camisole top to rest on the place where her waist had once been. ‘May I?’ he whispered huskily.

‘Anything you like,’ she muttered, a slight quiver rippling through her as she voiced her gruff invitation.

But it was her pregnant shape that had provoked his interest. His lean hands were very gentle, his long, shapely fingers splaying in slow, uncharacteristically tentative exploration over the gentle swell of her stomach. ‘Amazing…’ he commented, his breath fanning her cheek.

Giannis felt a little flicker below his palm. When it became more pronounced, he murmured in a tone of awe, ‘Is that one of the babies kicking?’

‘Yes, they’re very active,’ Maddie said in a small voice, recognising that at that moment he was much more entranced with the miracle of conception than her far-from-perfect body.

Maddie listened to the buzz of a language other than her own at the far end of the stateroom and smiled.

In every way that mattered, her wedding promised to be Greek in nature. The day before she had flown out to board her bridegroom’s yacht, Libos I, which was cruising the Aegean Sea. Determined to protect their privacy as far as possible, Giannis had so far succeeded in ensuring that the wedding location was unknown to the media. Aware that Maddie had no family to perform the usual ceremonial roles, he had also, with her agreement, invited two of his cousins to act as her bridesmaids. Although Apollina and Desma were deeply in awe of Giannis, the vivacious brunettes had quickly lost their cautious manner around Maddie.

Maddie was amused that her attendants were so preoccupied with their private conversation that they had just about forgotten about her. ‘That must be some juicy piece of gossip the two of you are sharing!’

The sisters broke out of their huddle and sent her tense glances. ‘Gossip?’ Apollina queried worriedly.

‘I was only teasing you.’

‘Only teasing…’ Desma repeated with an air of relief.

‘Is there something wrong?’ Maddie prompted, for it seemed to her that both young women were rather on edge.

Apollina, the older sister, moved closer. ‘Of course there is nothing wrong. You look wonderful, Maddie.’

‘It’s a fantastic dress.’ Maddie turned and twisted in front of the tall mirror, endeavouring to see herself from every conceivable angle. The beaded lace bodice and narrow sleeves were fitted and stylish. Glorious textured silk fell from below the bust and did a remarkable job of skimming over her tummy. Shimmering pearls had been patiently strung through her hair, and she felt truly glamorous for the first time in her life. A magnificent heart-shaped diamond pendant glittered at her throat. A wedding gift from Giannis, it had been delivered to her over breakfast.

‘It’s not the dress—it is you who looks wonderful,’ Desma corrected. ‘When they see you, everyone will understand why Giannis fell in love with you.’

Maddie’s eyes shadowed. She wandered over to the window and realised that the huge vessel was finally heading towards land, after spending more than twenty-four hours in the open sea. Apollina and Desma were just trying to be kind, she thought ruefully. The sisters probably had no idea that she had barely seen Giannis over the past three weeks. He had slept beside her that one night at Harriston Hall, but he hadn’t touched her, and he had been gone by the time she wakened. In fact they had not made love since Morocco. Recently she had seen him only twice, and then in company. He had held her hand with the sort of awkwardness that suggested he didn’t really know what to do once he had it, and on three separate occasions he had kissed her brow and her cheek as if she was a little old lady or a child. Evidently her sex appeal had headed in much the same direction as her waist, and what was she supposed to do about that?

‘That’s Libos.’ Apollina had joined her by the window. ‘What could be more perfect for a secluded wedding than a private island?’

Having answered the phone, Desma passed the receiver to Maddie.

‘What do you think of your future home?’ Giannis asked.

A thickly wooded green headland ran all the way down to a white beach lapped by sparkling turquoise blue water. Hills studded by tall cypresses surrounded a picturesque village with white houses and a harbour. ‘It’s truly beautiful…It sounds trite, but it’s just like a postcard—the sort you want to walk right into,’ she confided shyly.

‘Go out on deck—you’ll get the best view from there.’

Impervious to her bridesmaids’ lamentations, Maddie went out onto the viewing terrace beyond her stateroom. Her copper curls blew back in the breeze, but she was smiling like mad while Giannis carefully directed her attention to various landmarks and explained that his villa was not visible from the sea.

‘Where are you?’ she prompted.

‘Down at the harbour, having a last drink as a single man. See you in ten minutes, pedhi mou.’

The familiar sound of his dark, deep drawl had banished her anxiety about the future. Libos I docked, and the crew lined up to wish her well before she walked down the gangway. She was enchanted by the beribboned open carriage and two white horses waiting to collect her. The church had a tall tiered bell-tower, and presided in some state over an elegant square that seemed surprisingly large for a small village.

Giannis strode down the steps to help her from the carriage. In a formal suit, with his black hair gleaming in the sunshine, lean bronzed features unusually expressive as he smiled, he was downright irresistible. In the instant before she stepped out she was madly aware of the close scrutiny of his dark golden appraisal.

‘You look incredible.’

‘What do you think of the dress?’

Ignoring the step, Giannis lifted her down, his gaze hot with very masculine appreciation. ‘Very, very sexy,’ he breathed in a roughened undertone.

‘But it doesn’t show anything!’ she whispered in dismay.

‘I’ve got a photographic memory,’ Giannis husked with lazy amusement as he slowly lowered her to the ground.

Only really conscious of Giannis, Maddie was obediently still while her bridesmaids fussed with the short train on her dress and twitched her mane of hair into place. Suddenly she was wondering what she had been worried about and why she had been so tense. Wasn’t she about to marry the guy she loved?

The church was packed with people. There was an audible gasp as they entered. Her bemused attention swept over the colourful frescoes, the masses of flowers and the sombre priest. The rich scent of incense discernible in the still air, the ceremony began. The solemn ritual engaged Maddie from the outset, and when the guests showered the newly married pair with flower petals her heart felt full to overflowing.

Afterwards, the carriage swept them through the village and up a winding wooded road that climbed into the hills. The Petrakos villa was much older than she had expected. Giannis explained that his family’s ties with Libos stretched back more than a century. His acquisition of the island had been much more recent, and designed to protect it from excessive development. Surrounded by superb grounds that ran right down to the beach, the magnificent villa enjoyed glorious views of the sea. Giannis carried his bride over the threshold in true English style, and Maddie was laughing when the first guests arrived.

With Giannis by her side for support, she began to meet his relatives and friends. Names and faces swiftly blurred. The sheer number of guests was overwhelming. Many spoke English, but she resolved to learn some basic Greek as soon as she could. During the lengthy meal she tried not to appear conscious that she was the cynosure of all eyes.

‘Why are so many people staring at me?’ she finally asked Apollonia.

After several glasses of champagne, the youthful brunette was very giggly. ‘How many reasons do you want? Today you became a very influential woman, because you’re the wife of a very powerful and rich man. You also snatched Giannis from Krista at the eleventh hour. The family is hugely curious about you, and probably wondering how much of what they read in the newspaper about you is true!’

‘What newspaper?’ Maddie pressed in bewilderment.

Apollonia clapped a hand to her mouth, aghast. ‘Giannis said you weren’t to be told. Please don’t tell him it was me!’

And with that plea her bridesmaid fled.

Giannis took Maddie on to the dance floor. She tried to hold her curiosity in, and couldn’t. ‘What was in what newspaper about me?’ she asked finally. ‘Was it a British one?’

Giannis stiffened with distaste. ‘Yes. My lawyers are on it—’

‘But what did it say?’

‘Nothing of any consequence.’

‘I insist—’

‘Insisting won’t get you anywhere, pedhi mou,’ Giannis told her squarely. ‘You’re a Petrakos now. The press are beneath your notice.’

‘Don’t talk to me as if I’m a child,’ Maddie argued, only half beneath her breath.

His hard jawline clenched. ‘Then behave like an adult. This is our wedding, and you’re making it obvious that we’re having a disagreement.’

‘I dare say Krista would’ve behaved much better,’ Maddie snapped back.

‘Her behaviour in public is always impeccable,’ Giannis said drily.

Maddie, who had already been feeling bad for making a snide comment, was further punished by the swiftness with which he confirmed her worst expectations. She was a jealous cat, she thought painfully, and he was ashamed of her.

The remainder of the dance took place in silence, with Maddie wearing a small fixed smile, her wide eyes prickling as she studied the lapel of his jacket. She left the floor then, keen to find a private corner, and was within a few feet of leaving the vast ballroom when a walking stick fell in front of her.

Picking it up, Maddie passed it back to the tiny old lady seated in the alcove on her own. ‘Here you are…’

A thin, frail hand caught hers. ‘Come and sit by me. I’m your husband’s great-grandmother—Dorkas.’

After the briefest of hesitations, Maddie sat down

‘Giannis has always reminded me of my late husband Rodas,’ Dorkas confessed. ‘He’s obstinate, impatient, and too clever for his own good.’

Maddie gave her a disconcerted look, registering that those shrewd dark eyes must have spotted the tension between bride and groom. She went pink. ‘Yes.’

‘But while Rodas had the good luck to be born into a loving family, Giannis was less fortunate.’ Dorkas compressed her creased lips. ‘How much do you know about your husband’s background?’

‘He doesn’t like to talk about it.’

The old lady sighed. ‘His parents should never have had children. Every day was a party for them. Giannis was raised by servants. His mother became a drug addict, but it was covered up. Nobody wanted a scandal. Giannis never knew love or stability, or even kindness from them…’

Maddie was shaken by the bleak picture the old lady was painting. ‘I had no idea.’

‘When he was sixteen, the only person who had ever loved him in that household died, and he went a little crazy for a while. Happily, he found himself again. He is very strong,’ Dorkas Petrakos asserted with proud affection. ‘But he needs an equally strong wife who knows how to smooth away the rough edges and love him.’

Maddie was already recapturing her usual calm.

‘Rodas and I had many battles, but when anyone dared to say a word against me he was a lion in my defence,’ the old lady confided.

Maddie grinned. ‘You’ve heard about that newspaper story, haven’t you?’

The beady black eyes gleamed with ready humour. ‘I have a copy in my handbag.’

‘Could I see it?’

Dorkas passed a folded sheet of paper to her. It was a photocopy which she confided had been faxed from London by an old friend.

Maddie winced at the headline: Office temp steals Petrakos from heiress.

‘Giannis didn’t take such stealing, did he?’ Dorkas chuckled. ‘He wasn’t happy with Krista. As for the rest of it—hold your head up high. Love is not a sin, and children are a blessing to a warm heart. You’re a fine young woman—hardworking, and you were caring towards your elderly relatives. Few people here today could say as much.’

His astute dark eyes trained on Maddie and Dorkas, Giannis approached, amusement curving his expressive mouth. ‘What do you think of her?’ he asked his great-grandmother boldly.

A satisfied smile on her creased face, Dorkas patted Maddie’s knee. ‘This one is a treasure. Look after her.’

Giannis sat down to chat to the old lady for a while, and then the famous singer he’d had flown in for the reception put on a fabulous performance for them.

Night was falling when Giannis walked Maddie out on to a private terrace, screened from the more public areas by lush green vegetation. Gilded bronze eyes scanning her upturned face in possessive appraisal, he claimed a slow, sensual kiss that sent a shiver of reaction travelling down her slender spine.

‘There’s a staircase behind the door in the corner. Our suite is at the top of it. I’ll join you there in five minutes,’ he asserted.

‘But we can’t just vanish—’

‘Yes, we can,’ he told her, tasting her ripe pink mouth with even greater fervour. ‘This is our wedding night, agape mou.’

The huge, beautifully furnished bedroom was dimly lit and intimate. She was just breathing in the glorious scent of an arrangement of roses in a silver bowl when a knock sounded on the door. A maid passed her a phone with what sounded like an apology.

‘Hello…who am I speaking to?’ Maddie was frowning, feeling sure the call was not for her and that in two seconds flat someone would start chattering in Greek.

‘It’s Krista.’

Maddie’s skin turned clammy, her fingers tightening round the receiver in dismay. ‘Why are you calling me?’

‘It’s your wedding night, and I want you to appreciate that all we’ve done is swap roles,’ Krista murmured sweetly. ‘You were the mistress and now I am. Giannis has no intention of giving me up. Did you think he would? All that matters to him right now is keeping you happy because you’re expecting those precious twins. But I’m as much a part of his life as I’ve always been.’

On that poisonous note, the phone went dead. Maddie set it down with a clumsy hand. What a vindictive woman! Of course what Krista had said wasn’t true. It was just horrible nasty lies, designed to worry and wound. Krista wanted to upset her and cause trouble.

Maddie told herself that she was too sensible to pay heed to such claims. Her wedding day had been wonderful. She loved Giannis and she had to have faith in him. To doubt him on the word of an angry, spiteful woman would be to destroy what they did have.