‘Can we start with you giving me your number?’ he asked, and her heart lurched, because it was such a tender, gentle, uncertain request, so utterly nothing compared to what Genevieve wanted, but a part of her felt the need to cling to her protective barriers, just a while longer. Even knowing that he could obtain her number easily, through one of his contacts, she appreciated that he wasaskingher. Respecting her autonomy.
‘Yes,’ she said, nodding slowly. ‘I’ll give you my number.’
He expelled a slow breath of relief. ‘And I’ll be sure to use it.’
Chapter Fifteen
IT WASN’T EVENhalf an hour later when his text came through.
Are you free for dinner tomorrow?
Her heart stampeded through her body, fairly trampling her other organs, and she couldn’t stop smiling as she wrote her reply:
Depends. Where would we go?
He named a renowned Greek restaurant, and she closed her eyes on a wave of memories of dinners in Athens as she tapped out a reply.
Well, a girl does have to eat.
His reply was instant.
I’ll pick you up at eight.
Eight o’clock! How on earth was she meant to wait that long? Particularly given she’d been falling asleep well before that, these past few months.
But there was something about having seen Nikos again, and having the prospect of a date with him on the horizon, that made her whole body hum and buzz with energy all day.
By six o’clock, she was tempted to text him and ask him to come over earlier. She didn’t, though. She stuck to their original plan, and she took her time getting ready. A long soak in the tub, shaved legs, body moisturised all over, make-up carefully applied to be dewy and minimalistic, hair loose and brushed until it shone, and an outfit chosen with care.
She was determined to keep him at arm’s length, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to also drive him a little crazy. She was pretty sure he knew what he’d been missing, and would do anything to go back in time and change the way things had gone, on the yacht. Nonetheless, a little reminder would do him the world of good.
She chose a silky slip dress, emerald green in colour, and teamed it with a strappy pair of heels and a matching clutch. The dress was cut on the bias and fell to a couple of inches above the knees, showing her tanned legs and just enough of a hint of cleavage.
When he rang her doorbell, she took a moment to apply a deep red lipstick before pulling the door inwards.
His deep-throated curse was enough to make her body sing.
‘Ready?’ she asked, blinking sweetly, all too aware of the effect she was having on him.
To be fair, though he’d probably spent considerably less time on his appearance, she was no less breathless and hot under the proverbial collar at the sight of him in a suit, custom shoes, with his hair brushed back from his brow. The thing with Nikos was that no matter what he wore, that ruthless, powerful animalism was just beneath the surface, waiting to burst out. From nowhere, she imagined him pushing her into the apartment and taking her against the wall, hard and fast, until she was crying his name, and warm heat pooled between her legs.
‘My car is downstairs,’ he said, and her eyes widened as she remembered the time they’d made love in his car.
Suddenly, the idea of keeping him at any kind of distance seemed ridiculous. She believed that he loved her. She knew he did. And she also knew he was sorry. Whatever evidence she’d been hoping to attain to allow her to trust him again seemed completely unnecessary. When she looked back on her time with this man, she saw a thousand ways he’d shown himself to be trustworthy and decent, honourable and kind.
‘Let’s go to dinner,’ she said, against every single wish and instinct she possessed.
As she closed the door to her apartment behind herself, he put a hand in the small of her back, holding her against his side.
To her surprise, he’d booked out the entire restaurant, and their table was in an alcove away from the windows, meaning there was no intrusion into their privacy. She didn’t want to think about what it would have cost to secure a venue like this at the last minute. All she could think about was what it meant. No part of this was to do with their original plan, to put James in his place, and get him off her back.
This was about Nikos and Genevieve, and the love they shared.
‘Do you think it’s weird,’ she asked, after dinner, when they were back in his car, on the way to her apartment, ‘that I still wear your ring?’
His eyes held hers and then he reached for her hand and touched the diamond. ‘On the contrary, it is right, and perfect. My deepest wish is that you will continue to wear it, all the way until such time I can add another ring to be its pair.’
Her heart turned over in her chest and her lips parted.
