The Helen Bianchin Collection. HELEN BIANCHIN

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СКАЧАТЬ new day, Katrina mused as she sipped the aromatic coffee. The sky was a clear blue, with hardly a cloud in sight, and the sun lent the promise of warmth.

      There was a sense of timelessness, and a need to encapsulate the moment and store it somewhere safe.

      Nicos studied her profile, the fine bone structure. She possessed a beauty of soul and spirit, an intrinsic quality that was uncontrived.

      He felt his body harden remembering the degree of intimacy they’d shared. Two minds so finely attuned, he knew her thoughts, her innermost secrets.

      Katrina’s skin prickled, and she turned slightly, met his gaze, and felt her insides begin to melt at what she saw in those dark depths.

      ‘Time to go,’ she said gently as she rose to her feet and offered him her hand.

      Together they took the lift down to reception and collected the car. Ten minutes later Nicos double-parked outside the towering steel and glass structure which housed the corporate offices of Macbride.

      Katrina kissed her fingers and touched them briefly to his lips. ‘Until tonight.’

      He watched her disappear through the revolving glass doors, then he eased the car into the flow of traffic.

      There was a place in the Greek Islands where the sun kissed the translucent waters, vines grew on the gentle slopes, and white-washed villas dotted the hillside. He had an urge to take her there, to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life for a while. He’d have his secretary make the arrangements.

      Within minutes of reaching his office he picked up the phone, issued specific instructions, and got on with the day.

      Across town Katrina viewed the rectangular-shaped package the courier had just delivered, and removed the protective wrapping to reveal the painting she had admired at the art gallery.

      She picked up the phone, dialled Nicos’s number, and responded as soon as he answered.

      ‘Thank you. It’s beautiful.’

      ‘My pleasure.’

      His voice was warm, and sent tingles down her spine.

      Minutes later there was another delivery, and she opened the slender florist box to discover a single long-stemmed red rose nestling in a swathe of tissue. The card read, ‘Katrina, agape mou. Nicos.’

      My love. She lifted the rose to her cheek, savoured the velvety texture on her skin, then gently inhaled the delicate perfume.

      Katrina had a plan of her own, and she implemented the arrangements, rang Siobhan with the invitation, then sank back into her chair with a warm smile.

      ‘A private dinner,’ Katrina declared as she rose from the bed next morning. ‘In celebration,’ she added, teasing gently, ‘We get to dress up, for each other.’

      ‘I gather this is something special?’ Nicos queried as he joined her in the shower, and caught her nod in assent.

      And it was. Very special. Her gift to him.

      Had he guessed? she mused as she led him out into the gardens just before dusk. There, beneath the spreading branches of a beautiful jacaranda, stood a celebrant with Siobhan at his side.

      ‘A reaffirmation of our wedding vows.’

      Nicos drew her into his arms, settled his mouth over hers in a kiss that lasted long and took her breath away.

      ‘You get to do that after the ceremony,’ the celebrant teased gently.

      ‘Count on it.’

      Siobhan brushed a tear away as the celebrant intoned the words Katrina had requested. With joy for her daughter’s newfound happiness, and the man who so obviously cherished her.

      The meal Katrina had Marie prepare was a simple repast served in the candle-lit dining room. Chilled champagne and a single-tiered miniature wedding cake added an unexpected touch.

      Afterwards Nicos drew Katrina into the study and slid a diamond-studded ring onto her finger.

      ‘Eternity. Ours,’ he said gently, watching her beautiful eyes coalesce with emotion. ‘There’s just one other thing.’ He unlocked a desk drawer and handed her a document. ‘Read it.’

      Legalese, gifting her the one-third share bequest in Macbride originally assigned to him by Kevin Macbride.

      ‘It was always yours,’ Nicos relayed quietly. ‘Now it’s official.’

      Words momentarily failed her, and she dashed the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. ‘I love you.’ Tremulously spoken words that came straight from the heart. ‘It never stopped.’

      Nicos lifted both hands and gently cupped her face. ‘I know.’ He kissed her with lingering passion, then carried her upstairs to bed.

       CHAPTER TWELVE

      KATRINA repositioned herself on the low-set lounger and let the warm Aegean sun caress her bikini-clad body. Dark lenses protected her eyes, and she tipped the large straw hat over her face.

      It had taken Nicos a few phone calls to delegate, book a flight to Athens, and organise hire of this elegant cruiser.

      They’d been here a week. Lovely lazy days and long nights filled with lovemaking. Idyllic, she thought as she closed her eyes and let her mind drift.

      All the doubts and turmoil, the insecurities, had vanished. A trial by fire, she reflected, wincing slightly as Georgia’s spiteful image sprang vividly to mind.

      ‘Don’t,’ Nicos cautioned gently. He was so keenly attuned to her that he sensed the slight tension evident, divined and sought to alleviate it as he brushed the pads of his fingers across her midriff in a soothing gesture.

      Her skin was a light honey-gold, its texture silky smooth beneath his touch, and he took pleasure in the caress as he explored the line of Lycra stretching low across her hips.

      The slight hitch in her breathing brought forth a faint smile, and he traced lower, witnessed the way her stomach muscles tightened, then he leaned towards her and bestowed a kiss on her navel.

      ‘You’re in danger of shocking the natives,’ Katrina said in a husky drawl, and heard his soft laughter.

      ‘There’s not a soul in sight.’

      ‘Binoculars, paparazzi and long-range-zoom camera lenses,’ she reminded him indolently, not wanting to move.

      He had the touch, the skill, that took her from warmth to heat in a few seconds flat. Desire and passion followed in equal time.

      ‘Want to take this down below?’

      A soft chuckle of laughter emerged from her throat, and she lifted a hand, tilted her hat so she could look at him. ‘Are you serious?’

      His СКАЧАТЬ