He looked almost impatient, pained. As if he’d expected her simply to accept that and cower back into her corner. ‘What every woman with a ring on her finger seems to want.’
‘Security? A roof over her head? Health and happiness for those she cares about? I’m confident I have all of that, thanks to your billions. Or am I missing something?’
He shot her another impatient look. ‘You know very well what I’m talking about.’
‘And what—you can’t bring yourself to say the word? It terrifies you that much?’
His chin jerked as if she’d slapped him. And, while she hoped something had jarred loose, his shuttered expression said he didn’t much care for that verbal slap, nor did he intend to alter his thinking. ‘You will not taunt me into this.’
‘Into what? Into admitting that you’re scared to utter the word “love” because you believe it’s the Holy Grail destined to be forever denied you? Well, here’s a newsflash, Nelios: it’s already found you. Your mother, our son: they love you. They don’t believe it’s a flaw to hide from.’
His gaze searched hers with sizzling fervour, searching for something, and for a moment she considered tossing herself onto that pile too, risking it all. But the fear that it might be too harrowing if he rejected her held her tongue.
Already he was retreating. And, as much as she believed she would be strong enough to carry on, eventually, if Nelios Petralis broke her heart, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to walk through that fire.
His jaw gritted. ‘Even if that’s true, I also believe they’re still better off without my brand of…whatever it is that’s inside me. The thing that pushed me to take over your hotel, content to make you collateral damage in a war that wasn’t even yours to wage.’
She sucked in a shaky breath, then set it free. ‘I’ll consider forgiving you. You didn’t know better. There, that’s that taken care of. What next?’
His fingers bunched into fists, so he couldn’t reach for things he couldn’t have. ‘Nothing has changed. Nothingcanchange. I can’t risk the freedom of feeling.’
The finality behind the words as he started to walk out shattered her heart. But she couldn’t let him have the last word. ‘You’re so focused on holding onto the prison bars in front of you, you can’t see that the doors opened behind you a long time ago. Run, then, if you insist. But I can’t promise we’ll still be here when you come to your senses.’
Nelios froze, chasing the cycle of emotions on Vayle’s face. From hurt to wariness to anger, each one drilled further holes in him.
He wasn’t a fool. He could see she wanted more from him. He dragged his gaze from hers, the imploration in her eyes too much to bear. Everything was too damn much. And the more he absorbed the bigger his misfitting parts chafed. He was a broken puzzle, destined always to remain tossed aside in a dusty box. The sooner he accepted that, the better.
Yes, he was better off without that…love…anvil-heavy emotion that left a person wide open to the vulnerabilities great and small. When a smile or a frown had the power to turn one’s world upside down. It was the sort of weighty responsibility he’d sworn never to fall prey to, even if he could summon such an emotion. Which he couldn’t.
As his wife had warned, and Nelios had feared, it was probably already too late. That time on the streets had changed him. And he hadn’t exaggerated when he’d told Vayle something was broken inside him. Something that would never let him be free of that frightened little boy who had learned in the mostvicious way possible that love was a meaningless construct. A myth tossed about to justify all the anguish and bitterness it had wrought.
But you’re not feeling much bitterness any more. And that anguish isn’t as terrifying as it used to be, so why don’t you—?
He jerked his case off the bed. ‘I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Maybe a few days. Perhaps a week.’
She shrugged. ‘Like I said, take all the time you need. We might be here when you come back, or we might not,’ she flung at him.
His insides shredded. Protesting words rose to his lips and one by one they died. He told himself the first lie—that it was better this way.
It wasn’t. And the different kind of anguish that filled him was clear evidence of that.
He wasn’t even sure why he’d withheld the truth from Vayle—that he was in Athens to speak to his mother.
No.He knew why.He’d been…afraid to tell her in case it made no difference, couldn’t fix him.
As he entered his suite in his flagship hotel in Athens, Nelios was struck by a new discovery. The room was cold. Not in temperature—no, the marble gleamed with sunlight and fresh lilies spilled fragrance from crystal vases—but cold in the way only a room teeming with bitterness and acrimony could be.
Thee mou, if he could sense this in the air, did he even want to know what was happening inside him? What Vayle saw each time she looked at him, took him into her body?
Agnes sat ramrod-straight on the edge of a silk-covered chaise, a cup of untouched tea in her hand. She wore her apprehension like a shroud, but she managed to summon a smile. ‘Nelios. It’s good to see you.’
He stood opposite her, back to the unlit fireplace, arms crossed, jaw tight.
Her keen gaze rested on him, searching.For what?he wanted to snap. Signs that he was broken, past the point of no return? He bit his tongue.
‘You have a beautiful place,’ she continued. ‘It looks even better in reality than it did from the pictures.’
She was making conversation to cover the awkwardness. Against his will, something softened inside him. ‘A tour will be arranged if you wish.’
