One Night...Nine-Month Scandal

‘If that’s supposed to sound romantic, you need to try harder.’ But there was no denying that, ever since she’d heard the news that Alekos had parted from that Marianna woman, her mood had lifted. It had been like walking in the darkness and suddenly discovering that you had a torch in your pocket.

‘You’re pregnant. You’re having this man’s baby. He has a right to know.’

Kelly’s palms were suddenly damp with sweat. ‘I will tell him.’

‘And this is the perfect time. Look at it this way: you tell him about the baby, then you can have a holiday in Greece with the four-million dollars.’

Kelly swallowed, her eyes on the suitcase. ‘I think I’d find it hard going back to Corfu.’ Everything had happened there. She’d fallen in love. She’d had her heart broken.

‘Life’s hard,’ Vivien said in a brisk, practical tone. ‘But it’s a heck of a lot easier if you have four-million dollars, and at least you’re going to face the world wearing Christian Louboutin.’

‘I don’t think they’ll fit over a plaster cast.’

‘You hold his arm while you wear them. That’s why you have a man.’

‘I don’t have a man.’

Vivien sighed. ‘Yes, you do. You’re just not sure if you want him. But look at it this way, Kel—the school holidays start tomorrow and your alternative is being sad and lonely here. Better to be rich and angry in Greece. Go. Put on the dress and the heels and walk right over him.’

Mistake, mistake, mistake…

Kelly sat rigid in the back of the chauffeur-driven car, staring straight ahead as they drove through the middle of bustling Corfu town, up across the mountains that rose in the centre of the island and down through twisty, narrow roads that led through endless olive groves. Each turn in the road revealed another tantalising glimpse of sparkling, turquoise sea and buttercup-yellow sand but Kelly was too stressed to enjoy the scenic temptations of Greece.

On her first trip to this island she’d fallen in love with the place, loving the smells, the sounds and the bright colours that were Greece. Then she’d fallen in love with the man.

Kelly felt nerves explode in her stomach.

If she’d arrived here under different circumstances, she would have been excited and thrilled. Instead she could hardly breathe. Anxiety choked her and all she could feel was panic at the thought of seeing Alekos again.

They hadn’t seen each other since that day in her kitchen.

She didn’t even know why she’d come. Not really.

Licking dry lips, she stared out of the window. Why had he asked her to bring the ring in person? What was going on in his head? What was he thinking?

Her brain was careering forward like a wild ride at a theme park. One minute hope popped up and she felt a flash of optimism, and then she was confronted by the ugly memory of what he’d done and hope plummeted to earth like a meteorite, leaving her drained and pessimistic.

She couldn’t forget that one comment he’d made about him doing her a favour by not marrying her. It had played over and over again in her head during the weeks since he’d walked out of her house, leaving the door wide open.

What exactly had he meant by that?

Was he implying that she’d been too young or something? Kelly gnawed her lip as she stared out of the window. Nineteen was pretty young to get married. Perhaps he’d been worried she hadn’t seen enough of the world or that she hadn’t known her own mind.

The only thing she knew for sure was that she had no idea what was going on in his mind, and she needed to know. She needed to know what future there was for her and her baby.

Resting her hand low on her abdomen, Kelly made herself a promise.

Whatever happened, however this turned out, there was one thing she was sure about: she was not going to do what her mother had done. She wasn’t going to cling onto a relationship that was never going to work.

This wasn’t just about her any more. It was about her child.

And she knew how it felt to be the child of parents who absolutely shouldn’t have been together.

As the car drove through a pair of elaborate wrought-iron gates, Kelly felt her stomach drop with anticipation. Even the novelty of having a private jet to herself hadn’t been able to damp down her apprehension at the approaching meeting. Whatever Alekos was expecting, it probably wasn’t the news that she was pregnant.

A stomach-churning cocktail of excitement and dread formed inside her.

Maybe he’d be pleased, she thought optimistically, hunting around for evidence to support that theory.