He paused, gauging the way the penny was dropping. And drop it did—clattering through Kate like a cold weight.
‘What I need now is an agreement from you that you will be my wife.’
Kate blinked, reminding herself to breathe. This was the second time Nikos had proposed to her, but the circumstances couldn’t be more different. The first time had been such a tender, joyful experience. They had been so much in love, and Kate had been convinced their happiness would last for ever. How wrong she had been.
And now this. A cold, calculated business deal, delivered by a man with no emotion. No heart. Kate closed her eyes against the pain that suddenly lanced through her. Pain she had told herself she no longer felt. She had been wrong about that too.
She opened her eyes again to see Nikos staring at her, waiting for an answer. From the firm set of his jaw she could see how important this was to him, and the cold, steely determination in his eyes left no room for doubt.
But no... No! The whole idea was sheer madness. She needed to end this now.
‘My answer is no, Nikos.’ She shook her head for emphasis, desperately trying to ignore the thud of her heart. She could see Nikos’s features hardening as she spoke. ‘I can’t do it. It wouldn’t be right.’
‘And to see Sofia delivered into the hands of a distant relative—a great-uncle whom she has never met, who has only come crawling out of the woodwork now because of Sofia’s fortune, who doesn’t give a damn about her or Philippos for that matter—that would be right, would it?’
Nikos’s reply was hot and harsh, and anger flared his nostrils. The strength of his conviction was unmistakable, and his tautly held frame, the fierce glare in his eyes, were all saying one thing. He was serious about this. Deadly serious.
‘But there must be someone else who could act as her guardian. Some other relative—or a family friend, maybe?’ Kate raised her brows hopefully.
‘There is no one else. I am the only person to have Sofia’s best interests at heart. I know this is what Philippos would have wanted.’
‘But he didn’t name you as her guardian in his will?’
‘There is no will. Philippos never made one.’
This didn’t surprise Kate. She hadn’t known him well, but Philippos had struck her as the kind of guy who struggled with the practicalities of life. His brilliant mind had been able to conjure up amazing new ways to revolutionise the software industry, but somehow his shoelaces would always come undone.
‘Why me?’ She pulled nervously at her earlobe again. From the storm of questions still buzzing around her head it was the first one to form on her lips. ‘Why do you want me to marry you when no doubt there is a host of beautiful, eligible women who would be only too happy to be your bride.’
‘I’m flattered you think me such a catch.’ Nikos gave her a complacent smile. ‘But the fact is it’s you that I want.’
A surge of ridiculous optimism bloomed inside Kate, appearing from nowhere and spreading hot and fast to every part of her body. Was it possible that Nikos still had feelings for her? That he might want to try and make amends? To win her back?
She slammed the brakes on her ridiculously wayward thoughts. It was terrifying the way Nikos could make her feel...the power he still had over her.
‘But why?’ She repeated the question, fighting to keep herself grounded.
‘Because I know how desperate you are.’
Ha! If Kate had needed a shot of realism there it was, delivered with unerring accuracy, straight to the heart. She felt herself crumple inside, that foolish hope creeping back to wherever it had come from. How had she even let that happen? Had she not learned her lesson? Had the intervening years taught her nothing?
She sat up straighter, steeling herself to meet his gaze. ‘I may be desperate.’ Somehow she managed to hold her voice steady. ‘But I’m not that desperate.’
‘No?’ His reply was immediate. ‘Are you sure about that, Kate?’
‘Quite sure.’
Silence fell between them, punctuated only by the sound of Nikos’s fingers drumming lightly on the table.
‘Look, just consider the facts.’
Kate could hear the effort it was taking him to make himself sound reasonable.