Hope surveyed the beautifully decorated guest room. She had finally made it into the town house. A barrier had been crossed. But she remained far more aware that she had been carefully kept from the same door for two years.
Since Andreas had dumped her she had learned some hard lessons. Andreas had always viewed her as his mistress, probably still did and was very unlikely to ever see her in any other light. For the moment, her pregnancy had brought down several barriers but she suspected that in time the same barriers would be reinstated. So, although she was horrendously weak where he was concerned and changed like the wind according to the level of his proximity, she needed to be sensible and keep her distance.
When Andreas had told Hope that he wanted her opinion on a house, she had had no real idea what to expect. But she had nonetheless assumed that he would only be interested in a city property within easy reach of his office. Instead she was tucked into a helicopter and informed that their destination lay outside London. Mesmerised by his pronounced air of mystery, she was a really good sport about the fact that the seat belt had to be loosened to fit her.
When the helicopter came in to land at Knightmere Court, Andreas was experiencing the high of a male convinced that he had picked a sure-fire winner. He had picked Knightmere from a selection of six large country properties. It ticked every box on the list of desirable qualities he had drawn up and Hope was already staring out the window with an appropriately transfixed expression pinned to her face.
'My goodness…' Hope exclaimed weakly as he lifted her out of the craft.
Andreas took her on a very brief outside tour just to ensure that she got a tantalising flavour of the extensive grounds, which included a knot and topiary garden, the all-important walled garden and a park as much ornamented by a pedigree flock of sheep as by the trees. He drew her attention variously to the dovecote, the clock tower and the lake in the distance. He had picked a building that fairly bristled with historic features.
'The estate comes with a considerable amount of land, sufficient to ensure that the superb views will remain unaltered,' Andreas informed her, having read and inwardly digested every packed and detailed page of the glossy sales brochure.
Hope blinked and wondered what was the matter with him. She was not aware that he had ever shown any interest in country life. But his disinterest in his surroundings embraced city living too, she reflected with a slight frown. As long as the luxury comforts, services and privacy he took entirely for granted were available, Andreas was maddeningly indifferent to his home environment. Yet now all of a sudden he sounded rather like an enthusiastic estate agent.
Round the next corner she was treated to her first full view of the south front of the ancient Tudor manor house. 'My goodness… ' she said again, utterly charmed by the soft mellow colour of the bricks and the latticed windows sparkling in the sunshine. 'It's beautiful. '
'Indoors you'll have to exercise your imagination,' Andreas remarked, nodding acknowledgement of the discreet older man who appeared at the entrance and spread the door wide for them. 'Knightmere has been empty for more than three years, although it has been extensively renovated.'
'Was it originally owned by one particular family?'
'Yes. The family line died out with an elderly spinster. A foreign businessman bought it but the repairs took longer than expected and he never lived here. He's now moved abroad again and the house is back on the market.'
'Wouldn't this place be too far from the city for you?'
'I'd use the helicopter.'
Her turquoise eyes were perplexed. 'It's just not the sort of property that I would've expected you to be interested in. I thought possibly you were thinking of converting it into a hotel or apartments or something.'
'No.'
'Then if you bought it, this would actually be your home?'
'My country home and where I would spend most of my time… yes,' Andreas confirmed. 'I like space around me.'
'There's certainly plenty of that,' Hope conceded. 'It's a huge house. How many bedrooms are there?' 'A dozen or so.' Andreas shifted a casual shoulder. 'But I have a large family circle. On special occasions those rooms would be easy to fill.'
Hope scanned the panelled walls, massive overhead oak beams and the huge elaborate fireplace, which bore the carved date of a year in the sixteenth century. She was fascinated. 'This must have been the Great Hall. It's so old and yet so wonderfully well preserved,' she whispered in frank awe of her surroundings.
Andreas surveyed her rapt profile and decided it was a done deal; she was reacting exactly as he had hoped. He allowed her to roam where her fancy took her and watched her enchantment grow. No nook and no cranny remained unexplored. An ancient range had been left intact at one end of the vast kitchen and she went into raptures over it and the beautifully carved free-standing units. Inspecting a procession of stream-lined opulent bathrooms almost emptied her of superlative comments.
Andreas walked her back outside through the courtyard. 'Do you think I should buy it?' he asked, confidence riding high.
'Oh, yes…it' s fantastic,' Hope murmured dreamily.
Andreas pushed open the cast-iron gate into the walled garden, which was a riot of early summer roses and lush greenery. 'Close your eyes,' he urged softly. 'I have a surprise for you.'
Obediently she let her lashes dip and then lifted them again at his bidding. A traditional canvas canopy screened the sun from the tumbled cushions that were piled invitingly on the elegant striped rug spread across the manicured grass. A wicker hamper sat invitingly open with linen napkins, a chrome wine cooler and crystal glasses already lined up in readiness. It was a picnic Nicolaidis style, she registered in wonderment, so perfect in presentation and backdrop that she felt as if she had wandered into a picture in a magazine. It would no doubt knock her homemade picnics of the past into a cocked hat.
Her generous smile lit up her lovely face. 'Oh, this is a glorious surprise.'
'I wanted to do something special that you'd really appreciate,pedhimou.'
Her mobile phone rang. Wishing that she had thought to switch it off, she dug it out. It was Ben. Ready embarrassment coloured her cheeks and she half turned away to speak. 'Ben… hi.'
Ben was ringing to congratulate her on the offer she had received from Leonie Vargas.
'Don't mind me,' Andreas breathed very dryly. 'Could I call you back later?' Hope asked Ben in a whisper that sounded to her own ears like a shout. 'I'm so sorry but I can't really chat right now.'
As she put the phone away again the silence fairly bulged with hostile undertones. Andreas was furious. At the optimum wrong moment, Campbell phoned. Was he expected to accept that? Being haunted by the ex-boyfriend? With difficulty he suppressed his annoyance by reminding himself that Hope was friendly with everybody she met.
'Let's eat,' Andreas suggested.
The hamper was packed to the brim with delicious items. Hope sipped fruit juice and ate until she could eat no more. She told him what Leonie Vargas was like in the flesh and made him laugh. Resting back against the tumbled cushions, she relaxed and feasted her eyes on his lean, powerful face.
Andreas stretched out a lean, long-fingered hand to her. 'Come here…' he urged huskily.
A quiver of forbidden excitement tugged at her.
After a split second of hesitation, her hand reached out to close into his. He tugged her close, leaning over her to scan her with brilliant golden eyes. 'Let's get married and make Knightmere our home,' he murmured smoothly.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HOPE'S mouth ran dry and shock tore through her tensed body. Andreas had taken her by surprise. She closed her eyes tight against the intrusion of his and let herself savour just for a moment the sheer joy of actually being asked to be his wife. There was nothing she wanted more but she knew that it would not be right for her to say yes unless he said the right words. Unfortunately those same words were words she had long since accepted that she would never hear from him.
'Why?' she questioned tightly. 'Why are you asking me to marry you?'
His ebony brows pleated. 'Isn't that obvious?' The first twist of disappointment tore at her and she opened strained turquoise eyes. 'You're thinking about the baby.'
'Of course. No Nicolaidis that I know of has ever been born outside the bonds of matrimony,' Andreas informed her with considerable pride.
His reasons for asking her to become his wife were fairly piling up, Hope conceded unhappily. One, she was pregnant. Two, he was keen to respect the conventions.
'It's only two days since you told me that you would never marry me,' Hope reminded him very quietly.
'That was when I was still under the impression that you had been unfaithful,' Andreas asserted without discomfiture. 'I think we should go for a quick, quiet ceremony and throw a big party afterwards. What do you think?'
Slowly, Hope withdrew her fingers from his and sat up. 'I think you're not going to like my answer.'
Andreas misunderstood. 'If you prefer a more traditional wedding, I don't mind. Have as many frills as you like. How we do it isn't important as long as we do it before the baby's born.'
Hope pushed herself upright. 'I'm afraid the answer has to be no.'
'No?' She saw that it had not once occurred to Andreas that he might meet with rejection.
'I love the house, love the picnic-' love you too, Hope reflected painfully but kept that admission to herself '-but unfortunately you don't want to marry me for the right reasons.'
Utterly taken aback by that criticism, Andreas sprang upright, dark golden eyes incredulous. 'What are the right reasons?'
'If you don't know, there's no point in me spelling them out for you,' she said heavily.
'Are you still determined to keep your options open? Is that what this is all about?' Andreas ground out.
Her brow indented. 'I don't know what you're getting at.'
'Or are you punishing me for listening to my sister three months ago and letting you down?' Andreas demanded in a raw undertone.
Hope studied him with pained intensity. 'I wouldn't behave like that. But I am afraid that you were so willing to believe Elyssa's lies because you wanted your freedom back.'
'I always had my freedom. I made a free choice to be with you!' Andreas contradicted.
'And when I made the mistake of reminding you that we'd been together almost two years, you were in no mood to celebrate.' Hope sighed. 'There was no question of your making a commitment to me then.'
His even white teeth gritted. 'Everything's changed since then.'
'Yes. But you don't need to put a ring on my wedding finger because I fell pregnant,' Hope told him gently.
'How are you planning to manage without me?' Hope lost colour at that crack. 'Are you saying that if I don't marry you, you'll break up with me again?' An electrifying silence fell.
His beautiful dark deep-set eyes struck sparks from hers. 'No, I'm not saying that. I'd have to be a real bastard to abandon the mother of my child in any circumstances. '
'For goodness' sake, I know you're not that.' Hope felt as though she were standing on the edge of a chasm in the middle of an earthquake. If she wasn't careful she might tumble into the chasm and lose everything. Was she being foolish? Should she be willing to settle for a marriage of convenience with a guy who didn't love her? Or was it that she was more scared of Andreas marrying her and then regretting it?
While she was frantically questioning whether or not she was making the biggest mistake of her life, Andreas closed his arms round her. 'I made you happy before… I can do it again,' he intoned fiercely.
'I know, but-'
'Theos… Just you try and find this same fire with someone else!' He bent his arrogant dark head and crushed her ripe mouth under his, unleashing a passion that took her by storm. His lips were firm and warm and wonderful on hers and she could not get enough of his kisses.
Breathless and trembling, she knotted her fingers into the shoulders of his jacket to hold him close. She did not want to set him free to find someone else. She did not want to be alone.
'Andreas…?' she framed through reddened lips, turquoise eyes clinging in urgent appeal to his. 'Don't get the wrong idea about what I'm about to say. I'm not suggesting that I be your mistress. But could we live together instead of getting married?'
Andreas was a long way from happy with that proposition. His smoothly laid plans had been derailed when he'd least expected it. He felt hollow, bewildered by his failure, quite unlike himself. Had he rushed her too much? He always moved fast and made decisions at the speed of the light but she did not. Once, though, she had had touching faith in him and his judgement. Now, however, she was wary, unsure of herself and of him. For the first time he recognised how much he must have hurt her when he'd dumped her. He could hardly blame her for being afraid to trust him again. He saw that there had been a fatal flaw in his approach. He had put more effort into marketing the house than himself. Having recognised the problem, he saw the solution and came up with a fresh strategy. That disturbing sense of disorientation that had afflicted him mercifully vanished. All he had to do was demonstrate that he would make a perfect husband and a fantastic father.
'Andreas… ' Hope prompted worriedly, afraid she had offended him.
The brooding light in his dark reflective gaze ebbed and his slow, charismatic smile curved his handsome mouth. 'I'll buy the house this afternoon. How soon will you move in?'
She blinked, thrown by his immediacy. 'Whenever you like.'
'I like it best when you're not out of my sight for longer than five minutes, pedhimou,' Andreas told her, tugging her up against his lean, powerful frame and anchoring her below one strong arm while he called the agent to negotiate.
'No, you're not to look at that,' Andreas scolded, flipping an offending newspaper out of her reach six weeks later.
'Why not?' Hope watched him lounge back against the crisp white pillows. The sheet had dropped to below his waist, exposing the hard, hair-roughened expanse of his bronzed torso and the sleek, muscular strength of his superbly fit body. He looked breathtakingly handsome.
'There's an entry about us in the gossip column. I don't want you lowering yourself to look at trash like that,' Andreas delivered in a tone of finality.
Unimpressed, Hope put out her hand. 'Give it to me,' she told him.
A raw masculine grin slashed his beautiful mouth. 'No.'
'Stop being bossy!' Levering herself up, Hope flung herself across him in an effort to wrest the paper from him. Laughing with rich appreciation, he caught her in his arms and pressed her gently back against the pillows. Teasing golden eyes met hers. 'Behave yourself!'
'You can't censor what I read.'
'If there is the tiniest risk that something might upset you it's my duty to protect you from it. I'm Greek. You're my woman and I look after you. Learn to live with what you can't fight,' Andreas warned with unblemished good humour.
'I'll just walk down to the village and buy another copy.'
'You're supposed to be taking it easy.' Frowning, Andreas handed the disputed item over. 'That was blackmail. '
'I know.' Far from ashamed of herself, Hope wriggled up again, snuggled back into him for support and opened the paper. Sometimes it was rather sweet to be treated like impossibly fragile spun glass, but other times it made her feel horribly like a burden. It was bad enough that he should be full of energy and vitality while she was falling asleep in the middle of the day. In addition, anything more intimate than a hug was off the menu as well. When her cautious gynaecologist had said that her exhaustion could become a source of concern, Andreas had decided that sex was absolutely out of the question.
Having leafed through the newspaper, Hope found a most unflattering photo of herself that seemed to concentrate rather cruelly on her pregnant stomach. She looked like a large woman overfilling a little black dress, an archetypal ship in full sail trundling across the pavement. The photo had been taken two days earlier as they'd left
the well-known restaurant where Andreas's grandfather, Kostas, had entertained them to dinner and initially trying questions. She had soon warmed to the blunt-spoken older man, however. Kostas Nicolaidis had made it clear that, although he would much prefer them to marry, he was overjoyed that she was carrying his grandson's baby and that Andreas was finally settling down.
'Oh, no… ' Hope exclaimed, aghast, as she started reading the article beside the photo.
'So what's wrong with my grandson that you won't make an honest man of him?' Kostas had asked baldly, and there were those exact same words in print, clearly overheard and passed on to the columnist. Below the execrable title, BAG LADY REFUSES NICOLAIDIS HEIR, virtually every female that Andreas had ever dated was listed, the suggestion being that he had been turned down because no sane female would seek to tie down a rampant womaniser.
'Kostas will be thrilled. He loves to see his name in newsprint,' Andreas commented cheerfully.
'But I look simply huge!' she wailed in embarrassment.
Andreas stretched appreciative hands across the rounded swell of her stomach, stretched them just a little more and contrived to link his fingers. 'You look fantastic, really, really pregnant now. Ripe like a peach, pedhimou.'
'Very round and squashy?' Hope refused to be comforted. 'Aren't you angry that everybody knows that you proposed and I said no?'
'You must be kidding.' Andreas laughed off that idea with disconcerting verve.
Her brows pleated, for she had assumed that he would be furious that something so private had been accidentally brought by his grandfather into the public domain. 'You don't mind?'
'Not in the slightest,' Andreas asserted silkily. 'And when you get to meet the rest of my relatives this weekend you'll understand why. I'm the golden boy because I tried to get a wedding ring on your finger and you'll be-'