When She Fell for the Billionaire(69)
It was an edited retelling. She couldn’t tell him about how she had never been invited to her mother’s home and never got to meet her brother and sister. Or how often she had waited for her mother’s erratic visits, only to be disappointed time and again when she failed to show up.
“I e-mailed Markos, because he was the eldest, telling him about the letter my mother left me. I tried calling his office too but he never called back. A big, foolish part of me wished he just hadn’t received any of my communication, that he hadn’t rejected my claim without ever meeting me. But I was disabused of that notion that day we had lunch and we made the bargain. ” She laughed, one tinged with irony. “If he had been open to the idea, then he would never have asked you to,” she paused, searching for an apt word, “distract me.” Sabrina felt him grow taut beside her. “And we would never have met,” she finished softly.
He had his elbows propped on his thighs, his long, elegant fingers clasped. His bow tie was nowhere in sight.
He turned to her. “One way or another, we would have met, strega.”
“You sound so sure.”
His shoulders rose and dipped in an eloquent, fluid movement, conveying his belief in the inevitability of it. “When you know, you know.”
The wall was still there. But maybe it had been knocked down a layer or two.
“Dio. I could use an espresso.” He ran a hand through his darkening jaw.
It was close to midnight, and they had been in the emergency room for an hour waiting for word from the doctors.
“I don’t know how I can ever face the princess and Mr. Fernandez again,” she said woefully, thinking about how she had ruined the reception. “Not that I would ever have the chance to meet them again…”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” His lip hitched up at the corner in mild amusement. “Lexie and Nic had their share of scandal early on in their relationship.”
She never had a chance to reply again because at that moment, a grim-looking Markos Konstantinos materialized in front of them. The soft tissue around his left eye had turned redder and puffier, the lid almost completely shut.
She and Luca stood up in unison. Sabrina felt the tension coming off Luca as he held his body ramrod straight.
“How is she?”
“She’s stable. The doctor says it was an anxiety attack, not a heart attack as I feared.”
Sabrina released her breath slowly in relief. She regretted involving Mrs. Konstantinos in the debacle.
“She’s asking for you,” Markos said impassively.
Sabrina frowned. “Are you sure it’s okay for her to see me?”
Markos’ tone brooked for no argument. “She’s very insistent. She’s refusing her other medications until she sees you.”
She felt Luca’s hand squeezing her upper arm gently. “I’ll go with you."
Mrs. Konstantinos had been transferred to a private suite. The ride up in the elevator was fraught with tension. Sabrina was flanked by two men who were resolutely ignoring each other.
The huge hospital suite had a sitting room, which was currently occupied by two people. They whipped their dark heads around and tracked her progress to their mother’s bedside warily with their mismatched eyes.
One of the twins spoke up in Greek. It was too fast, so Sabrina didn’t catch it. Markos issued a curt retort in the same language. Their mother spoke and the two men looked chastened.
Mrs. Konstantinos looked frail beneath the sheets. Her hair, which had been in a chignon at the reception, lay loose around her head. It was a deep black with streaks of silver at the temples. She was a handsome woman, and she had given her sons their looks.
All except the color of their eyes.
That had been from her husband.
“She wants to see the letter you told me about.”
She was right. Markos had indeed read her e-mail and had chosen to ignore her.
As if reading her thoughts, he said, “There are others who have claimed to be the children of my father. It has made me very cautious.”
“I understand.”
Luca’s quiet presence behind her gave her the strength to see this through. She pulled out the letter her mother had given to her from her handbag and handed it to Markos.
Markos started reading it in an unemotional tone, translating it into Greek. Sabrina knew the words by heart.
“Dearest Bree,
I hope you forgive me for keeping it a secret. I just only wanted to protect you. Your father is Giorgios Konstantinos.
When you know the truth, I hope you’ll understand and forgive me.
Love,
Mom
The truth. Suddenly Sabrina was not so sure she wanted to know what it was.
As if sensing she might bolt any time, Luca drew closer and held her hand.