Exotic Nights

‘Oh, Angel, my sweet Angel, don’t cry—please don’t cry. You can’t cry, because I need to hear you say what you just said again.’

Through her gulping sobs Angel got out, ‘I … love … you … Have done for ages …’ She ended on a wail. ‘And I’m really happy I’m pregnant with your baby.’

Leo wrapped his arms tight around her again, and all he said was, ‘So am I … so am I …’

When her crying turned to hiccups Leo led her back to a chair and knelt down before her again, and made sure she’d taken a drink of water. Angel felt raw and open. As if her beating heart was lying there between them, telling him how vulnerable she was. He’d said all sorts of things, and patently he wasn’t upset about her being pregnant, but he hadn’t said that he cared for her …

‘Angel, what you heard that day outside the office—’ Leo grimaced and looked shamefaced ‘—was me being an absolute coward. The truth is that the moment I saw you by the pool that night I wanted you. And then afterwards, when I found out who you were, and then saw you sneak into the house …’

He tried to explain. ‘I’d just decided to come home to Athens, and the enormity of what our family had been put through was still so fresh in my head … and suddenly you were the enemy. It changed everything.’

He shook his head. ‘It’s no excuse at all, but when I thought you were about to walk away I remembered Dimitri Stephanides. I was determined to use anything I could to bind you to me. So I used Delphi and Stavros’s marriage, completely misunderstanding the reason why it was so important to you.’

Leo caught her hand and kissed it. ‘When Ari confronted me that day about you he caught a raw nerve. I was just realising that what I felt for you went so much deeper than desire. My whole life I’ve blocked out emotions, avoided intimacy, terrified of my world falling apart the way it did when I was a kid. I couldn’t articulate any of that to him, and when he was all protective of you I lashed out, because I was jealous. Jealous of him feeling like he had some right to protect you from me …’

Leo put his hands back around Angel’s belly, and she covered his hands with hers. He looked up, his eyes blazing.

‘My childhood fears were nothing compared to what it was like to contemplate trying to live without you. Angel, I love you, and I love this baby. And I want you to come home with me and marry me and be my wife.’

She opened her mouth but he stopped her, as if anticipating something.

‘And it’s not just because you’re pregnant.’ He bent his head and pressed a kiss to her belly. He looked up. ‘It’s because I can’t live without you, and if you don’t come back home with me then I’m going to move here to be with you, because I’m not leaving your side ever again.’

Angel bent forward and took Leo’s face in her hands. Her heart was so full she felt it could burst. ‘The evening you stepped out of that pool you stole my heart, and I haven’t been the same since. Ask me again.’

‘Only if you kiss me first … God, Angel, I’ve missed you so much.’

With her heart in her mouth, Angel bent forward and kissed Leo sweetly, tenderly, until he wrapped one hand around the back of her head and pulled her closer, and the kiss quickly developed into something else much hotter.

Breathless, Angel pulled back. ‘Ask me again.’

Leo’s eyes burned, and his hand on her belly was like a brand. ‘Angel, will you marry me? Because I love you more than life itself and quite simply can’t function without you.’

‘Yes, Leo, I will, and I want to go home with you.’ Angel thought of something then, a dark cloud on the horizon. She bit her lip and Leo, immediately concerned, said, ‘What is it?’

Angel’s hands tightened on Leo’s. ‘Your father … he must hate me. He can’t possibly welcome this.’

Leo smiled. ‘Do you know that I always assumed my father had chosen Olympia to be his bride out of logic and respect, a reaction to my mother’s histrionics? It was the one thing I admired him for, and the reason I always thought I’d be able to stay away from messy emotions. But I was wrong. He loves Olympia, he never loved my mother, and that was the problem. I never saw that, though, until recently. He’s an old man, he’s got his lifelong wish to be at home. He’s quite happy to bury any ill feeling between our families, and certainly doesn’t hold you responsible.’

Relief burst through Angel, but even so she said, ‘You’re not just saying that?’

Leo smiled. ‘No, I’m not just saying that. Now, can we get out of here and go home?’

‘Yes, please.’ Angel stood up and let Leo help her into her coat. The Irish early autumn weather was making itself felt, with rain starting to spatter and grey clouds rolling overhead when they walked outside.

Angel tug

ged on Leo’s hand and pointed over to where the gothic abbey sat. She glanced at him shyly, and Leo felt his heart expand so much he nearly couldn’t contain it.

‘When I was at school here I used to imagine that a handsome prince would come and rescue me and take me home.’

Leo turned Angel to face him and wrapped his coat around her, pulling her in close. Her head was tipped back and he could feel the burgeoning swell of her belly digging into him. Their baby. They were a family now.

Leo’s voice was husky. ‘Well, if you don’t mind your prince coming a little late, and still kicking the clay off his feet, I’d like to rescue you and take you home.’

Angel smiled tremulously. ‘I wouldn’t settle for anyone else.’

The Devil’s Heart