And then, jolting her out of the powerful spell that Angel cast, Charles Russell surged up to her to kiss her warmly on both cheeks, closely followed by Sybil, who strove to conceal her shotgun attitude to Angel with bright, determined positivity. Elyssa, seated in a nearby pew on Sally’s lap, held out her arms and wailed pathetically for her mother.
‘That little chancer knows how to pick her moment,’ Sybil remarked wryly as Merry bent to accept her daughter and hoisted her up, only to be intercepted by Angel, who snagged his daughter mid-manoeuvre, saying that the bride could scarcely cart a child down the aisle.
‘Says who?’ Merry teased, watching Elyssa pluck at his curls and his tie with nosy little hands, watching Angel suddenly slant a grin at his lack of control over the situation. Once again she found herself suppressing her surprise at his flexibility when at the mercy of a wilful baby.
Angel maintained a grip on his daughter for the handful of photos taken on the church steps. Merry watched paparazzi wield cameras behind a barrier warded by security guards, their interest visibly sharpened by her daughter’s first public appearance. Her eyes widened in dismay when she finally recognised how much her life and Elyssa’s were about to change. For years, Angel’s every move had been fodder for the tabloid press. He had his own jet, his own yacht and the glitzy lifestyle of great wealth and privilege. His very marked degree of good looks and predilection for scantily dressed blonde beauties only added to his media appeal. Naturally his sudden marriage and the apparent existence of a young child were worthy of even closer scrutiny. Merry wondered gloomily if she would be denounced as a fertile scheming former Valtinos employee.
As they were moving towards the limousine to depart for the hotel another limo drew up ahead of them and a tiny brunette on skyrocketing heels leapt out in a flurry of colourful draperies and a feathered hat. She was as exquisite as a highly sophisticated and perfectly groomed doll. ‘Oh, Charles, have I missed it?’ she exclaimed very loudly while all around her cameras began to flash.
Angel murmured something very terse in Greek while his father moved off to perform the welcome that his son clearly wasn’t in the mood to offer to the late-arriving guest. Angel relocated Elyssa with Sally and swept Merry into their vehicle without further ado.
‘Who was that?’ Merry demanded, filled with curiosity, glancing out of the window to note that the brunette was actually lodged at the security barriers exchanging comments with the paparazzi while posing like a professional. ‘Is she a model or something?’
‘Or something,’ Angel breathed with withering impatience. ‘That’s Angelina.’
‘Your mother?’ Merry gasped in disbelief. ‘She can’t be! She doesn’t look old enough.’
‘And it’s typical of her to miss the ceremony. She hates weddings,’ Angel divulged. ‘At a wedding the bride is the centre of attention and Angelina Valtinos cannot bear to be one of the crowd.’
Merry frowned. ‘Oh, I’m sure she’s not as bad as that,’ she muttered, chiding him.
‘No doubt you’ll make your own mind up on that score,’ Angel responded wryly, visibly reluctant to say any more on the topic of his mother.
‘Is she likely to be the interfering mother-in-law type?’ Merry prompted apprehensively.
‘Thee mou, you have to be kidding!’ Angel emitted a sharp cynical laugh. ‘She couldn’t care less that I’ve got married or who I’ve married but she’ll be furious that I’ve made her a grandmother because she will see that as aging.’
Merry could not comprehend the idea of such an attitude. Sybil had approached maturity with grace, freely admitting that she found it more relaxing not to always be fretting about her appearance.
‘I love the dress.’ Swiftly changing the unwelcome subject, Angel enveloped Merry in a smouldering appraisal that somehow contrived to encompass the ripe swell of her breasts below the fitted bodice. ‘You have a spectacular figure.’
Heat surged into Merry’s cheeks at that unexpected and fairly basic compliment. His fierce appraisal emanated raw male appreciation. Her stomach performed a sudden somersault, a shard of hunger piercing her vulnerable body with the stabbing accuracy of a knife that couldn’t be avoided. He could do that to her simply with a look, a tone, a smile. It always, always unnerved her, making her feel out of control.