He wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing her to him. ‘You have all of me, for all time.’ The words were a promise against her cheek. ‘All of me. And you are the best of me.’
She shut her eyes and listened to the pounding of his heart. Her lips twitched in a smile that shone with true happiness.
Gradually Nikos pulled backwards, dropping a hand to her flat stomach. ‘A baby was not on our agenda,’ he said, as if just comprehending the reality of their situation.
‘Apparently the baby had other ideas. I dare say it has a lot of your determination.’
He laughed. ‘Let us hope that is balanced by your warmth and kindness.’
‘Well, I guess we’ll find out in about eight months.’
‘And you are truly happy?’
‘Nikos!’ She laughed shakily. ‘When I found out I was pregnant I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I know it wasn’t meant to be part of the plan, but it felt so right.’
He frowned, wondering how long she’d shouldered this secret. ‘When did you first suspect?’
She smiled. ‘Not until we were on the plane back to Greece.’
‘And then I told you to leave me.’ His face paled with remembered regrets. ‘It was for you, Marnie. I didn’t want you to go. You know this to be true?’
She nodded. ‘I’ve never seen you like that.’
His smile was grim. ‘I have only ever drunk to excess one other time in my life—the night your father paid me off and I took his money. Then, too, I felt like a shadow of the man I wanted to be.’
‘Don’t say that,’ she murmured, resting her head against his chest. She stood there quietly for a moment. ‘My father wouldn’t have liked selling you the house...’
He breathed in her sweet fragrance and a sense of deep gratitude filled him. To think that he’d almost pushed her away for good! He would never make that mistake again. Not in his life.
‘He...understood the necessity of it,’ Nikos said after a moment. ‘Agape mou, I thought I would relish that moment. I had fantasised about seeing your father a broken man. I had dreamed of being in a position to throw my own success and wealth in his face and see him suffer. But at the first opportunity to do so I saw only you. I saw you and discovered that loving you meant loving all of you. Even your family. If you married me because you love me then you must understand that I have helped Arthur because I love you. It was not a payment for your marrying me.’
The words filled her with love and certainty—certainty that they were right where they should be. Together.
But she pulled a face of mock consideration. ‘Well, it seems to me, then, that you haven’t upheld your end of the deal.’
Sensing the amusement in her words, he answered in kind. ‘I suppose you’re right. Is there something else I can offer instead?’
She pressed a finger to her chin and pretended to consider it. ‘I can think of a few things...’
He surprised her by scooping her up and laying her down on the sofa. His mouth sought hers and he tasted her giddy delight there and answered it.
‘Starting with right now?’
‘I will expect the payment terms to be over a very long time,’ she said, pushing at his shorts.
‘Would the rest of our lives do?’
She sighed, her body firing with insatiable need for her husband. ‘It just might.’
EPILOGUE
One year later
IT WAS THE ice sculpture that was the final straw.
She shook her head, torn between feeling cross and amused as she tore through the villa in search of her husband.
She found him by the pool, hands on hips, eyes staring out at the ocean. They’d been married for almost a year, and still the sight of him could stop her in her tracks. Her heart hammered roughly against her ribs, beating wildly as she approached him.
‘A swan?’ she said from just behind his shoulder, her expression one of utter disbelief. ‘Seriously?’
His grin as he turned around skittled any discontent she had felt over his lavish decorations.
‘It’s summer,’ she pointed out with a shake of her head, but her grumble was somewhat faint-hearted.
‘Almost autumn.’
‘Almost,’ she responded archly. ‘And it’s as hot as Hades today. That thing’s going to be iced water before anyone gets here.’
‘So we will drink it!’ He laughed. ‘How many times does our daughter get christened?’ he said, with such impeccable logic that all her objections were silenced.
‘You’re right.’ Marnie smiled up at him, giving in to temptation and wrapping her arms around his waist. ‘And now I have another bone to pick with you.’
‘Oh?’ he murmured, his lips still pressed to hers.
She straightened, trying to be businesslike. ‘The trust just called me to report that a rather sizeable donation has been made in Lulu’s name.’
His smile lit the world on fire—starting with Marnie’s heart. She was scorched with happiness.
‘What else can I give you and our daughter on her christening? You will not let me buy you jewels or clothes...you insist she has all she needs. But this, I think, you will let me do.’
Marnie nodded, tears of happiness clogging her throat. ‘But it’s so much...’
‘For a cause that means the world to you—and therefore to me. I still remember what you said to me, agape mou. That one day, through your efforts and the efforts of people like you, young girls like Libby might not get sick any more.’
He pressed a finger beneath Marnie’s chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. She felt the love and commitment that underscored every decision he made.
‘We have our own little girl now. How can you doubt my desire to work with you on this?’
Love coiled inside her. ‘Thank you.’ Her voice was husky. Emotions were too strong to contain. She lifted up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips. ‘Why did we invite all these people over?’
He kissed her hungrily, his tongue exploring her mouth, his hands holding her tight against his body.
But for only a moment.
Then he lifted himself away, grinning as if he hadn’t been shaken to the core by their molten hot connection.
‘To see my ice sculpture,’ he said, and laughed.
She rolled her eyes, but her mind was drifting. ‘If only we had an extra hour...’
He grimaced, looking past her shoulder. ‘If only we had an extra ten minutes...’
He saw their guests through the glass doors and kissed the top of her head.
‘I will make you a promise,’ he said in an undertone.
Marnie nodded. ‘Oh, yes? I’m all ears, Mr Kyriazis.’
‘Not from where I am standing.’ He grinned at her, his handsome face a collection of lines and shapes that formed an inimitable image of masculinity.
Playfully, Marnie punched his upper arm. ‘I believe you were making me a promise?’
‘Soon we will be alone in our home again, and then I will show you just what that dress and you are making me want.’
Her pulse was lurching out of control. She lifted herself up on tiptoe again and kissed his lips, smiling as familiar sensations rocked her to her core.
‘You’d better,’ she said simply.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side and knowing how right it was that they should be together. Everything in his world seemed to shine with the perfection that Marnie brought to his life.
‘Your parents are here,’ he murmured, looking down into the villa as Anne and Arthur Kenington made their way through the house.
Marnie took a moment to observe them, staying right where she was. Anne was her usual self—elegant and perfectly neat, despite the fact they’d come straight from the airport. Although a flight in Nikos’s jet was hardly an arduous ordeal. Arthur Kenington showed the greatest change. He was dressed casually in a pale polo shirt and a pair of beige chinos. His hair was a little longer, and there were more lines on his face now—lines Marnie chose to believe were formed by happiness.
‘Darling, there’s a puddle forming in the foyer,’ Anne said with pursed lips as she swept onto the terrace.
A breeze lifted past them, drawing with it the tang of the ocean and the sweetness of Libby’s rose garden. Marnie inhaled, drawing strength from this reminder of her sister before steeling herself to enjoy the next few hours. Her parents were not perfect, but they were still her parents. And, fortunately for Marnie, despite their meddling and strong opinions she and Nikos had found their way together in the end.
‘That would be the ice sculpture.’ Marnie winked up at her husband, then moved towards her mother, kissing her cheek. She hugged her dad before returning to Nikos’s side. ‘Thanks for coming.’
‘Of course.’ Anne nodded. ‘Where is our granddaughter?’
‘She’s with her uncle.’ Marnie grinned. ‘Her honorary uncle.’
Anderson emerged at that moment, their chubby dark-haired little girl propped on one hip.
‘Nothing honourable about him,’ Nikos teased, with a genuine smile reserved for their closest friend. ‘Unlike you, Lady Heiress.’
She shook her head, her hands extended for the baby Elizabeth. But Lulu only had eyes for her father.
Marnie laughed. ‘I see!’ She shook her head. ‘That’s the way it’s going to be, huh?’