The Marakaios Baby (The Marakaios Brides 2)

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, and took a few steps into the bedroom.

‘You must let Maria know if you would like anything,’ Leo said. ‘And I’ll be right next door if you need something in the night...’

She swallowed painfully. A lump had risen in her throat and it was hard to speak around it. It was their wedding night and they would be sleeping apart. She knew she shouldn’t expect, much less want anything else.

‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, and he nodded, one hand on the doorknob, seeming reluctant to leave her.

But he did, and Margo sank onto the bed and dropped her head into her hands. She felt more alone, more isolated, than she had in a long, long while—and considering the lonely course of her life, the loss of both her mother and Annelise, that was saying something.

She missed her apartment desperately, with its cosy, familiar furnishings, its sense of safety. She missed her life, the job that had given her security and purpose, her friends like Sophie, who might not have known that much about her but had still been friends.

She should text Sophie and tell her everything that had happened... But Margo didn’t think she had it in her to weather Sophie’s undoubtedly stunned and concerned response. No, she’d sleep. And maybe in the morning it would all look a little bit better.

At least their wedding night, wretched as it was, would be over.

* * *

Leo sat alone in his bedroom and stared moodily out of the window. He’d endured a barrage of questions from his sisters, who had wanted to know how he’d met Margo and why he’d married her.

‘You might have noticed she’s carrying my child,’ he’d said tersely.

Xanthe had rolled her eyes. ‘It’s the twenty-first century, Leo. Illegitimacy isn’t the stigma it once was.’

‘I’m a traditional man.’

But he hadn’t simply married Margo because she was pregnant with his baby, he acknowledged now. That might have been the impetus, but the truth was he’d wanted to marry her. He’d wanted her four months ago and he wanted her now.

And now it was his wedding night, and he was sitting here alone, drinking his second whisky, when what he really wanted was to take Margo into his arms and feel her softness against him...

Muttering a curse, Leo finished his whisky in one burning swallow. It was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

When Margo woke up the next morning she felt a lump of dread in her middle, as heavy as a stone, at the thought of facing the day and Leo’s sisters, his staff...facing this whole strange world that she was now a part of.

She lay in bed and blinked up at the ceiling as wintry sunlight filtered through the curtains and illuminated the room’s luxurious furnishings. For a girl who had been a breath away from growing up on the streets, she really had landed in a soft place indeed.

Resolutely Margo swung her legs over the side of the bed. After the usual moment of dizziness passed, she rose. She might not be looking forward to today, but she would meet it. She’d certainly faced far worse. And no matter how uncertain of her or unfriendly Leo’s sisters might be, this was her new life. She had to accept it. Embrace it, even.

With that in mind, Margo put on her last remaining outfit, jeans and a jumper, and headed downstairs.

She could hear Leo’s sisters’ voices from the dining room as she came downstairs. They spoke in Greek, but Margo didn’t need to know the language to understand the gist of what they were saying. Agitation, hurt and anger were audible in their tones.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and entered the room. ‘Kalimera.’ Her knowledge of Greek extended only to greetings and saying thank you, but she hoped she was at least showing them she was trying.

Xanthe and Ava fell silent, forcing smiles to their lips. Margo sat at the opposite end of the table from Leo and busied herself with putting a napkin on her lap. She could see yogurt, fresh fruit and pastries on the table, and coffee, tea and juice on the sideboard. She wasn’t very hungry but, wanting something to do, began to fill her plate.

‘Good morning,’ Leo answered her in English, and from the corner of her eye Margo saw him give a pointed look to his sisters. ‘Did you sleep well?’

Margo felt a ripple of surprise from his sisters, and knew they were wondering why Leo should ask such a question. It would soon be clear to everyone that they had not shared a bedroom.

Leo must have realised it too, for his mouth tightened and he took a sip of coffee.

‘I slept very well, thank you,’ Margo said quietly.

They sounded like polite strangers. His sisters’ eyes were on stalks.

‘I thought perhaps after breakfast I could show you around the estate a bit,’ Leo continued, his tone stiff now with formality. ‘If you feel up to it?’