Exotic Nights

Leo looked at her until she couldn’t bear it and tore her eyes away. Emotion was welling up from deep down and she was afraid she couldn’t contain it. He led her over to a stool and made her sit down, lifting her onto it. Then he went to the fridge and got some ice, wrapping it in a towel. He brought it back and ever so gently laid it against her jaw, soothing Angel when she moved to pull away instinctively. The pain made spots dance before her eyes for a second, and then the coolness was beautifully numbing.

To her abject horror she could feel hot tears welling, and before she could stop them they were overflowing and falling down her cheeks. She gave a dry sob. ‘I’m sorry, I just—’

Shock was starting to set in too; she’d been holding it back since it had happened. But now she could feel her teeth start to chatter, her limbs shaking uncontrollably. Leo said something rapid in Greek over her head. Angel dimly guessed it had to be to Calista. Calista who had wanted to ring Leo earlier, but Angel hadn’t let her.

In moments Calista was back, and tutting, and handing a glass of what looked like brandy to Leo. Leo dismissed the other woman and made Angel take a sip of the amber liquid. It had an immediate effect. Leo gently wiped at the tears caught on her cheeks.

After a few minutes of letting the drink have its effect, Leo took the ice from Angel and gently led her off the stool and out of the kitchen. He said something else to Calista, who was hovering nearby—something about ringing his PA to tell her he was unavailable for the evening.

He was leading Angel into the informal living room when she started to protest. ‘No, you should go out. You have that premiere …’

Leo sat Angel down and brought the ice back up to her face. He looked at her steadily. ‘Do you really think I’m going to sit through two hours of American inanity while you’re here like this?’

Leo took the ice down, placing it on a nearby tray, and inspected her jaw again. And then his eyes speared hers: no escape.

‘So, are you going to tell me who punched you in the jaw?’

Angel bit her lip. She couldn’t lie. Calista knew anyway, and she’d tell Leo in a second. As if reading her mind, Leo said easily, ‘Don’t even think of trying to defend whoever did this, Angel.’

Angel could feel the colour draining from her face, and Leo cursed softly again, making her sip more brandy.

Eventually, after a long silence, he just raised a brow. He wasn’t budging until she told him. ‘I … my father came to visit me today.’

She looked down, shamed by her own father. And shamed by how hurt she was after all these years that his lack of love still had the power to hurt. Leo gently tipped her face up to him again.

‘Your father did this?’

Angel nodded. ‘He had been drinking. He came to tell me how I’d disrespected our family name. Normally I can avoid him, but … he just caught me unawares. I wasn’t fast enough. I never expected him to come here.’

Leo’s voice was blistering. ‘He’s done this before?’

Angel nodded, more shame coursing through her. She felt so weak. ‘Never this bad, though. When I was smaller he’d lash out at me—he’s always resented me for reminding him of the humiliation of my mother deserting him … us. I learnt to avoid him. Just today …’ Angel wasn’t about to reveal that she’d been preoccupied with defending Leo when her father had lashed out with unexpected accuracy.

A lot of pieces started to fall into place in Leo’s head. What he’d seen at the wedding; the fact that Angel had been sent to a remote boarding school. ‘That’s why you haven’t been home once since you came here.’

Angel nodded slowly.

Through a granite-like weight in his chest, Leo asked, ‘He really didn’t send you here to the villa, did he? The night of the party or the night I found you in the study?’

Angel shook her head. Her heart had leapt into her mouth and was beating so hard she felt a little faint.

‘Why were you here that night, then, Angel?’

‘The night of the party was exactly as I told you. I had no idea where we were going and then it was too late. I tried to stay in the kitchen, but my boss sent me upstairs …’ She blushed. ‘I truly didn’t know who you were at the pool, or on the terrace. I’d avoided reading anything about your family coming home. I was too ashamed.’

She stopped. She couldn’t believe that Leo was listening to her. She willed him to believe what she said. ‘And that next night … I wasn’t stealing the will. I was trying to return it.’

Leo frowned. ‘Return it?’

‘I’d come home from work the previous evening and found my father crowing over it … that’s how I knew about your mother. He’d sent some of his goons to steal it. To be honest, I’m not sure how he did it, or even if it had been taken from the villa. I just assumed … And when I could, I took it from him and brought it back, thinking I could just leave it in a drawer, or something.’

She looked away for a second, and then back. ‘I felt so bad about your family, what you’d been through, and I didn’t want him to be responsible for causing more trouble. But then you came in …’

‘And the rest is history,’ Leo said without humour. Angel had never seen him look so grim.

He shook his head, his eyes dark with something indefinable. Something that made Angel’s heart trip unsteadily. ‘Angel, I—’

She spoke quickly. ‘Leo, I know exactly how it looked. I wouldn’t have believed me