‘Rush things?’ He stared at her, trying to discern what was clearly making her uneasy. ‘It’s not a matter of rushing things. Nature will take its course, and we’re certainly doing as much as we can in that regard.’
‘Yes...’ She looked relieved, and unease trailed along his spine. Was she hiding something—some fear, some feeling? What was she not telling him?
‘I just wondered. You will tell me, of course, if you think you might be?’
‘Of course.’ She spoke quickly. ‘Of course I’ll tell you.’
Alex told himself to banish that faint unease as the days moved on, and it was easy enough to do so. And somehow the few days in Athens turned into weeks, and neither of them spoke about her going back to Naxos.
And then one day, when he came home from work, the flat as lovely and welcoming as ever, she sprang something on him.
‘Anna rang.’
‘Oh?’ As usual Alex dropped his briefcase and shed his jacket and tie. ‘How are things at school?’
‘They’re really good.’ She sounded hesitant, which made him wonder.
‘And?’
‘And she’s been selected to play at a charity gala next week, a black-tie event. It’s a huge honour, and she asked if we could go.’
‘To Rome?’
‘Yes.’
He stared at her for a moment, registering the nervous, beseeching look in her eyes. ‘That’s not a problem. You’re not a prisoner, Milly. You’re free to go. I have a suite on standby at the Hotel de Russie.’ One he had not needed to use since his accident, but still. ‘I’ll make arrangements for you to stay there.’
‘I don’t want to go alone.’ She spoke softly, imploringly, her eyes huge. Alex stilled.
‘What are you saying?’
‘Why don’t you go with me? Anna asked specifically for us both to go. She wants us both there.’
‘At a charity gala? With hundreds of people present?’
Milly tilted her chin, a gesture Alex recognised for when she was settling in for a fight. ‘Yes.’
‘Milly...’ He blew out a breath, resenting that she’d put him in this position. ‘Do I really have to explain...?’
‘I know you don’t like to go out in public, Alex, because of your scars.’ Milly spoke softly, but with determination. ‘I understand that.’
‘Do you?’ he burst out. ‘Do you really?’
‘How long has it been?’ The words were little more than a whisper. ‘Since the fire?’
He felt his hands clench and forced himself to relax them. ‘Twenty-three months.’
‘And in all that time you haven’t gone out in public?’
She made him sound like some sort of pathetic hermit, which infuriated him all the more. ‘I go to work, I travel as needed, I am perfectly content as I am. Don’t try to rehabilitate me, Milly. That’s the last thing I need, trust me.’ Because it wouldn’t happen, no matter how hard she tried, and in the meantime she’d ruin what was between them, between her pity and his pride.
‘And what about what I need?’ she countered. ‘A husband who can accompany me to public events, be by my side? You can’t live this way for ever, Alex—’
‘I can live how I choose.’
‘What about if—when—we have a child?’ Milly cried, her voice wavering. ‘Will you still hide away then? Will you never take him or her out? Never show up for his concert or sports matches—?’
‘I’m not hiding away.’