she’d served on the patio. Isabella deserved an Oscar award, surely, because she’d smiled
and laughed, responded when appropriate. Even as she cracked and broke on the inside.
Piers had watched her, his gaze finding her often, probing and assessing. When
the eating was finally finished, it was all Isabella could do not to sigh in relief. Now she
had a little time to talk to Theron before the helicopter would arrive to pick her up.
“Theron,” she said as he stood from the table. “Could I speak to you? Alone?” she
added with an apologetic look in the others’ direction.
Piers’s brow furrowed, and he gave her an inquisitive look as he stood. She
avoided his scrutiny.
“Of course, pethi mou. Why don’t we go for a walk on the beach?” Theron
suggested.
She avoided his hand when he extended it, and instead, she brushed past him and
to the walkway. He followed her down to the water, and this time, the water failed to
soothe her. It mocked her with its false serenity.
The sheer beauty of the brilliant blue, stretching outward seeking the distant
skyline, taunted her. Below the surface, there were ugly things. Things that never saw the
light, that never disturbed the pristine surface that sparkled in the sun.
When she stopped, her feet sinking into the sand, Theron’s hands closed over her
shoulders.
“What’s the matter, Bella mou?” he asked in his deep timbre. “You seem sad
today.”
She turned in his arms, finally finding the courage to face him. “There are things I
need to tell you, Theron.”
His expression sobered. “What things?”
She broke away and took a step down the beach before turning again. “The whole
reason I planned to travel to London this summer was because I thought you would be
there.”
Confusion clouded his eyes, and he started to open his mouth. She silenced him
quickly with an outstretched hand. “Please, don’t say anything. Let me finish. There’s a
lot I need to say, and I won’t be able to finish if you start asking questions.”
He hesitated and then nodded.
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THE TYCOON’S REBEL BRIDE
85
MAYA BANKS
SILHOUETTE DESIRE 1944
THE ANETAKIS TYCOONS
“When I arrived in New York and learned that you would be remaining there
permanently, I changed my plans on the fly, opting to rent an apartment I didn’t really
want and invented a host of other reasons to throw me into contact with you.”
Her hands closed over her arms, and she rubbed up and down despite the heat that
prickled over her skin.
“I knew you planned to propose to Alannis. I knew you’d planned your life with
another woman. I was determined to try and seduce you away from her.”
He sucked in his breath and opened his mouth again, but she stared at him so
hauntingly that he quieted again. Only the glitter in his eyes gave the impression of what
he must be thinking.
“I pursued you relentlessly. I’d even planned to crash your engagement party but
arrived too late. That was the reason that Marcus was in my room. He’d followed me
home in the rain when I took off on foot to try and stop your proposal.”
His lips thinned, and he turned his face away to stare at the ocean.
“I thought I’d lost you, but then you came to the strip club, and then we made
love in my suite. The next day you told me we had to be married, and I knew that you felt
you’d dishonored me. I knew you didn’t love me, but I was determined to have the
chance to make you love me, so I said yes. I let you say all those things. Because in the
end I’d have the one thing I wanted most. You.”
She found his gaze again even as tears glided down her cheeks. “You see, Theron,
I’ve loved you since I was a little girl. I thought it was infatuation, that it would go away,
but each time I saw you, my love grew until I knew I had to try. I couldn’t just live my
life standing on the outside of my dream, never giving us a chance.”
She took in a deep steadying breath, her quiet sobs shaking her shoulders. “But I
was wrong. And I’m sorry. I ruined things for you and Alannis.”
Quiet lay between them. Theron stood stock-still, his hands shoved into his
pockets.
“You don’t love me,” she said in a remarkably steady voice.
She hadn’t intended it to be a question, but it felt like a plea from the depths of
her soul. And then he turned to face her again and her hopes shriveled and died. There
were a host of things reflected in those golden eyes. Confusion, anger, but not love.
Never love.
Quickly, before he could react, she stepped forward and leaned up to kiss him on