He shrugged, supremely confident in his appeal even as a spasm of some strange emotion washed over his face. ‘It’s a lucky thing then that I don’t particularly desire to be loved.’
‘That’s rubbish. Everyone desires to be loved, on some level.’ Her vehemence on the subject shocked her a little. As did the rolling quakes that started in her chest and unfurled until they engulfed her whole body. Because it was almost as if hisobservation…frightened her. As if he had shut a door she very much wanted to remain open.
His sharp look confirmed that, yes, she’d been too fervent. That perhaps he’d even found it objectionable. ‘Desires are one thing. Accepting the reality of the hand we’re dealt is quite another.’
‘You haven’t struck me as the type to sit back and let someone else deal your cards, so that argument is hogwash.’ Why was she pushing this? Why not just accept his words at face value and save herself the trouble?
Don’t assume a door is locked before you’ve turned the handle…
His footsteps had slowed to match hers, their escort several steps ahead. ‘So you believe I should scramble about, petitioning for affection and attention?’
Her gaze dropped to the wide platinum band encircling his ring finger. The band she’d placed there. He followed her gaze, his features tightening again. ‘Or I supposed that boat has sailed for me,ne?’
She wanted to make a flippant remark about his potential to be supremely eligible again eighteen years from now, when by their agreement she would be free to walk away. When she doubted he would still be anything but jaw-dropping, even as a silver fox. But the words stuck in her throat, the vice around her chest constricting until she was terrified to take a full breath.
Luckily, they’d arrived at their designated suite. And, when the double doors were thrown open and she stepped inside, a different urgency took hold. She barely managed to bite her tongue until the manager had finished his elaborate spiel about the endless amenities available to them—including a makeshift nursery specially set up for Angelos—and left.
‘Is there a problem?’ Nelios drawled.
‘Do I need to point it out? There’s only one bed.’
His jaw clenched. ‘It’s the height of the summer season. I can have the second penthouse guests thrown out, if you wish?’
‘No, I don’t wish, and don’t make me sound like a demanding harridan. We spent our wedding night in separate beds. What makes you think I want that situation to change today?’
His nostrils flared. ‘I’m well aware how we spent our wedding night,yineka mou.’
Tension swirled as they froze, examining one another as if they were preying cobras waiting for the first sign of weakness to strike.
‘Nelios…’
‘The neutral venue for our wedding was quite different from my company, where there are eyes and ears everywhere. I didn’t think it prudent to crank the rumour mill this soon, especially around employees you might be managing in the near future. Do you?’
Put like that, it made sound sense. If she could only manage to put her sensibilities aside long enough to remember they’d signed an agreement to which they should be able to adhere with minimum fuss regardless of where they slept, since they were adults.
But… As she looked around, she couldn’t ignore the distinct sense that the suite had been specially prepared with newlyweds in mind. Such as the console table brimming with an extra-large bouquet of her favourite blush-rose flowers. Or the champagne chilling in an ice-bucket next to the picturesque fireplace. Or the matching ‘his and hers’ silk dressing gowns and slippers draped enticingly near the bathroom doors.
The room screamed romance.
Her senses screamed for deliverance before she did something foolish. Angelos wriggling his irritation gave her the perfect out. He’d been an angel all through the two-hour flight and transfer from airport to hotel. And she was ready to showerhim with praise for it. ‘I need to feed Angelos and get him down for his nap.’
Nelios stared at her for a taut moment then, the corner of his mouth twitching, he ran a hand over his son’s head, a gesture he seemed to crave more and more, following it with a kiss. ‘Fine. We will do the tour later.’
Watching him turn away, she was struck again by that tightening in her chest. She hated watching Nelios walk away from her. Which was absurd…wasn’t it?
When he returned an hour later, it was with Capaldi in tow. Like Andreas at their wedding, he was now less rigid, even bordering on smiling.
‘If you’re comfortable leaving Angelos to sleep, Capaldi will stay with him,’ Nelios said.
At her obvious surprise, Capaldi shrugged. ‘I have three young ones of my own. A sleeping baby is a breeze.’
He might have been a near-stranger to her but he wasn’t to Nelios. And, after seeing the closeness between Nelios, Andreas and Capaldi, Vayle found herself nodding her agreement. ‘Thank you.’
Capaldi’s near-smile grew more prominent. Why that made Nelios frown, she didn’t get a chance to dwell on as his hand arrived at the small of her back and guided her towards the door. He conducted the tour himself, and it didn’t take long to figure out that this particular hotel was run more like a sprawling, eye-wateringly exclusive private villa than the mainstream establishments under the Nelios Group umbrella. And that it was a well-oiled machine.
‘I organised a late lunch for us.’ He indicated the table for two laid with pristine silverware situated away from the others, with magnificent views of the pool and the glittering sea beyond.
It was gorgeous beyond words but that wasn’t what made her heart race. It was the intimacy of it. It was how her entire beingcamealivewith yearning at the thought of spending more time with Nelios—the very man she’d never expected to set eyes on again only a month ago. And the alarming thought that part of the reason she’d already decided against working in this hotel was because it wasn’t where Nelios would be.
