The Secret Valtinos Baby (Vows for Billionaires 1)

‘Hardly, considering that she was Charles’ first wife,’ Merry remarked.

‘Not much chance of her settling down.’

‘No,’ Merry agreed quietly, reflecting that they saw remarkably little of Angelina these days. Angelina had bought a Manhattan penthouse where she now spent most of her time. Occasional scandalous headlines and gossip pieces floated back to Angel and Merry, but Angel was no longer forced to be involved in his mother’s life and now found it easier to remain detached.

Elyssa rushed up, an adorable vision in a pink flower girl’s dress that already had a stain on it. ‘Keep this for me,’ she urged, stuffing the little wicker basket she had carried down the aisle into her mother’s hand. ‘Cos and I are going to play hide and seek.’

Merry bent down. ‘No, you’re not. This is a very special party for grown-ups and children aren’t allowed to run about.’

Her son, Cosmas, four years old to his big sister’s almost six years, rushed up, wrenching impatiently at the sash tied round his waist. ‘Take this off.’

‘Not until Sybil says you can,’ Merry warned. ‘There are still photos to be taken.’

‘Where’s the rest of the horde?’ Natalie enquired curiously.

Their two-year-old twins, Nilo and Leksi, were chasing Tiger through the hall. Merry hurtled in that direction to interrupt the chase before it got out of hand. Tiger was a mere shadow of the fat and inactive little dog he had once been. Living in a household with five children had slimmed him down. His first rehoming hadn’t worked out and when he had been returned to Sybil soon afterwards, after shaming himself and stealing food, Merry had scooped him up for a rapturous reunion     and brought him back to Greece. As she hovered Angel appeared, a baby clutched securely below one arm, and spoke sternly to his youngest sons. Atlanta beamed gummily across the hall at her mother and opened her arms.

‘I don’t know where you get the energy,’ Natalie confessed, watching Merry reclaim her eight-month-old daughter. ‘Either of you. You produce like rabbits. Please tell me the family’s complete now.’

Colour warmed Merry’s cheeks because their sixth child was already on the way, even if they had not yet announced the fact, and Angel grinned down at his tongue-tied wife with wicked amusement. ‘We haven’t decided yet,’ he said lightly.

Atlanta tugged on her mother’s long hair as Merry walked out onto the terrace to take a break from the festivities. It had taken weeks of careful planning to organise the wedding and accommodation for all the guests. She had wanted everything to be perfect for Sybil and Charles, both of whom were frequent visitors to their home. After all the years of feeling short-changed in the family stakes, Merry had come full circle and now she was surrounded by a loving family.

She was even happier to have achieved a more normal relationship with her mother, who had returned to the UK and started up a very successful yoga studio. These days she regularly saw Natalie when she went over to London with Angel. Her mother had mellowed and Merry had put the past behind her in every way.

A year earlier she had acted as Roula’s matron of honour when the other woman had married the island doctor in a three-day-long bout of very Greek celebration. Roula was still a friend of the family, and sometimes Merry suspected that the trouble the other woman had caused with the mistress lie and the truths that had then come out had actually helped Roula to move on and meet someone capable of loving her back.

But then Merry was willing to admit that she had learned from the same experience as well. Discovering that she was married to a man who loved her so much that he was willing to do virtually anything it took to hang onto her and their marriage had banished her insecurity for ever. She liked being a mother and Angel revelled in being a father. The rapid expansion of their family had been exhausting but also uniquely satisfying.

Lean brown hands scooped the slumbering baby from Merry’s lap and passed her to Jill, Sally’s co-nanny, for attention. Angel then scooped his wife out of her chair and sank back down with her cradled in his arms.

‘You are very tired,’ he scolded. ‘We’ve talked about this. You agreed to take afternoon naps.’