Secret Heirs: Baby Scandal. Кейт Хьюит

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ meeting his and the gold glow from the city casting shadows around her. For the first time he’d recalled what she’d said that night. That she loved him. Fear gripped him—not because of what she’d said, but because briefly he’d believed he could love her. If only his childhood experience of that powerful emotion had been different.

      ‘Excuse me. I will get the food,’ he said quickly, grateful of the distraction.

      He didn’t want to think about what those words had meant, much less acknowledge them.

      * * *

      Exhaustion swept over Serena and she knew she couldn’t eat another bite of the delicious meal or engage in any more small talk. She had to sleep. She couldn’t put it off any longer and wished she’d insisted on a hotel. At least that would have given her some much needed time alone.

      ‘I’ll show you to your room,’ Nikos said, and he stood up, uncannily reading her thoughts.

      He dominated the room, looking so handsome her heart hammered, but she couldn’t let that sway her. She had to remember what he was capable of.

      She should feel relieved that she was to have her own room—that he wasn’t assuming they were going to continue where they’d left off. But she didn’t. It was like a rejection of her as a woman.

      ‘Thank you,’ she said, reassured by the patience in his tone. It still hurt, but she kept up a facade of defiance, not wanting him to know how disappointed she was and how much she wished things could be different.

      Isolation crammed in on her. If only she’d been able to talk to her sister—confide in someone sensible and rational. Sally, eight years older, had always been her place to go for advice, which made the secret she now kept even harder to endure. Especially as it was the very thing Sally desired most in the world. Marrying Nikos was the only way to give that hope back to Sally.

      ‘I will be leaving early in the morning. I have an important meeting tomorrow. Relax, enjoy the apartment and I will be back at lunchtime.’

      His blue eyes were full of concern, and for a moment she thought she saw genuine warmth in them. He stood holding the door open as she walked past him and she caught a hint of his aftershave. Citrus aromas mingled with crisp pine, reminding her of what it was like to be close to him.

      ‘Sleep well.’

      He was leaving her alone—tonight and tomorrow. All sorts of scenarios, from boarding the first UK-bound plane to luxuriating here in his apartment, filled her mind. ‘Aren’t you worried I will leave?’

      ‘You may do whatever you wish, Serena, but I’m sure you want your sister’s happiness as much as I want to be a part of my child’s life.’

      ‘You’re hateful,’ she whispered harshly, the reminder of his terms knocking out any misplaced hope she might have been nurturing.

      ‘Just remember this: no matter where you go, I will find you.’

      A hard edge of warning crept into his voice and she swallowed back her retort. Her heart thumped at the implication of his words.

      ‘Goodnight, Nikos.’ She stood behind the door of her room, using it as a shield against the darkness of his glittering eyes.

      ‘Goodnight, Serena.’ He turned and walked away, his footsteps on the marble floor as insistent as his voice.

      She closed the door and took her phone from her handbag. Two missed calls from Sally. Her heart plummeted with dread. Could she say anything to her without blurting out the sorry tale of her and Nikos? She pressed the button to dial and waited as the call was connected, relieved when Sally answered almost immediately.

      ‘Serena, where are you? Not in Greece, by any chance, with your handsome fisherman?’

      The teasing tones of Sally’s words made her smile, despite the weight of what she wanted to confide in her sister.

      ‘As a matter of fact, yes.’

      ‘That’s such good news. I’ve been worried about you.’

      Guilt washed over Serena. The last thing Sally needed was more worry than she already had, but she’d always been mothered by her elder sister. She had stepped in when their parents had been too busy avoiding each other instead of being around for their daughters.

      ‘I’m fine—but what about you?’

      ‘It’s not good news, I’m afraid.’

      The wobble in her sister’s voice nearly broke Serena’s heart. She sat down on the bed, her dizziness making the room slowly turn.

      ‘I’m sorry, Sally.’ She closed her eyes, feeling the cage Nikos had used to trap her shrinking. There wasn’t any escape now. She had to accept his barbaric terms.

      ‘It was the last time. I’m never going to be a mother now.’

      She could hear Sally’s pain searing at her from across the miles and wished she was there to hug away her hurt. Instead she placed her hand over her still flat stomach and a tear slid down her cheek. Guilt mixed with grief was threatening to overpower her. She couldn’t confide in her now. Not tonight, anyway.

      ‘We’ll find another way. I promise.’

      Serena’s body had turned cold. There was only one other way.

      ‘Now, you get back to your Greek,’ her sister said, and she could hear her effort to remain bright. ‘And, Serena...?’

      Serena’s breath caught in her throat as she registered the pause in the conversation. ‘Yes?’

      ‘Stop using Mum and Dad’s marriage as an example. Create something better for yourself. If you find love, grab it and hang on to it. Be brave, Serena. Be brave.’

      Serena nodded, not able to form any kind of reply, knowing her sister’s advice was well meant. But what if the man you loved didn’t want to love you?

      More tears prickled in her eyes and she knew she had to end the call. ‘I will. See you soon.’

      With Sally’s goodbye ringing in her head, she cut the connection and lay on the bed, desperately needing to sleep. But her sister’s advice played over and over again in her head. Were her parents and their unhappy marriage the reason why she’d never had a long-term relationship? Had that been why she’d pushed everyone away?

      With shock, she realised the truth of her sister’s words and knew it was time to stop hiding from life—and love. The father of her child might not love her, but she loved him. Was that enough—for her and her child?

      Other people’s happiness now rested on it. It would have to be.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      NIKOS’S MOOD WAS dark as he called a halt to his meeting. It had been intense, and there had been moments when his usual ruthless and determined manner had been nudged sideways by thoughts of the redhead he’d left sleeping peacefully in his apartment.

      Yesterday СКАЧАТЬ