But he didn’t want that and he never would.
* * *
The following morning, Nik left Lily to pack while he returned Chloe to his father and Diandra, who were enjoying breakfast on the sunny terrace overlooking the sea.
Diandra took Chloe indoors for a change of clothes and Nik joined his father.
‘I was wrong,’ he said softly. ‘I like Diandra. I like her a great deal.’
‘And she likes you. I’m glad you came to the wedding. It’s been wonderful having you here. I hope you visit again soon.’ His father paused. ‘We both love Lily. She’s a ray of sunshine.’
Nik usually had no interest in the long-term aspirations of the women he dated, but in this case he couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d told him.
I want to be someone’s favourite person.
She said she didn’t want a fairy tale, but in his opinion expecting a relationship to last for a lifetime was the biggest fairy tale of all. His mouth tightened as he contemplated the brutal wake-up call that awaited her. He doubted there was a man out there who was capable of fulfilling Lily’s shiny dream and the thought of the severe bruising that awaited her made him want to string safety nets between the trees to cushion her fall.
‘She is ridiculously idealistic.’
‘You think so?’ His father poured honey onto a bowl of fresh yoghurt. ‘I disagree. I think she is remarkably clear-sighted about many things. She’s a smart young woman.’
Nik frowned. ‘She is smart, but when it comes to relationships she has poor judgement just like—’ He broke off and his father glanced at him with a smile.
‘Just like me. Wasn’t that what you were going to say?’ He poured Nik a cup of coffee and pushed it towards him. ‘You think I haven’t learned my lesson, but every relationship I’ve had has taught me something. The one thing it hasn’t taught me is to give up on love. Which is good, because this twisty, turning, sometimes stony path led me to Diandra. Without those other relationships, I wouldn’t be here now.’ He sat back, relaxed and visibly happy while Nik stared at him.
‘You’re seriously trying to convince me that if you could put the clock back, you wouldn’t change things? Try and undo the mistakes?’
‘I wouldn’t change anything. And I don’t see them as mistakes. Life is full of ups and downs. All the decisions I made were right at the time and each one of them led to other things, some good, some bad.’
Nik looked at him in disbelief. ‘When my mother left you were a broken man. I was scared you wouldn’t recover. How can you say you don’t regret it?’
‘Because for a while we were happy, and even when it fell apart I had you.’ His father sipped his coffee. ‘I wish I’d understood at the time how badly you were scarred by it all and I certainly wish I could undo some of the damage it did to you.’
‘So if you had your time again, you’d still marry her?’
‘Without hesitation.’
‘And Maria and Callie?’
‘The same. There are no guarantees with love, that’s true, but it’s the one thing in life worth striving to find.’
‘I don’t see it that way.’
His father gave him a long look. ‘When you were building your business from the ground and you hit a stumbling block, did you give up?’
‘No, but—’
‘When you lost a deal, did you think to yourself that there was no point in going after the next one?’
Nik sighed. ‘It is not the same. In my business I never make decisions based on emotions.’
‘And that,’ his father said softly, ‘is your problem, Niklaus.’
CHAPTER TEN
THE JOURNEY BACK to Crete was torture. As the boat sped across the waves, Lily looked over her shoulder at Camomile Villa, knowing she’d never see it again.
Nik was unusually quiet.