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  ‘Millie has gone,’ the woman told him. ‘I heard her running through the house and then she said something like “No, don’t do this to me” and then she took your car and drove like a maniac out of the drive. Gone. Just like that. She almost ran over the journalists waiting outside the gates.’

  Gone. Crying.

  Don’t do this to me?

  Remembering the roar of the car engine, Leandro’s jaw tensed. ‘Did any of the security staff follow her?’ But he didn’t need to see the appalled look on the housekeeper’s face to know the answer to that one.

  ‘It all happened so fast—’

  Remembering what had happened the last time Millie had driven away from him upset, it took Leandro a moment to wrestle his emotions under control and think clearly.

  He’d known she was upset but he’d given her the space she’d requested. And now he regretted it. He shouldn’t have left her alone.

  Leandro ran his fingers through his hair, his tension mounting as he thought of all the dangers she could now be facing. She was in London, alone and unprotected with a pack of press as hungry as hyenas. She was alone in his highperformance sports car in a cosmopolitan city where driving could be a life-threatening experience.

  His expression grim, he strode into the house and walked straight to his study. Once there he contacted his head of security, gave him a brief and then proceeded to get slowly and methodically drunk.

  After his third glass he discovered that there were some pains that alcohol couldn’t numb, and he stopped drinking and closed his eyes.

  How, he wondered, could he have made such a success of his life in every other area, and yet have made such a mess of his entire dealings with Millie?

  Exhausted and anxious, Millie pushed the door open to Leandro’s study.

  Leandro lay sprawled in the chair, his dark hair rumpled, his shirt creased and his jaw shaded by stubble.

  ‘Leandro?’ Her voice was soft and tentative and he opened his eyes and looked at her.

  Then he gave a hollow laugh. ‘What did you forget?’

  Thinking that it was a strange question, Millie gave him a rueful smile. ‘Just about everything.’ Not wanting to wake everyone else in the house, she closed the door quietly behind her. ‘I was in such a state, I ran out of the house with nothing.’

  ‘I know. The housekeeper heard you go.’

  ‘You must have been a bit surprised.’

  ‘Not really. Why would I be surprised? I know you were upset by everything. I understand that. What I don’t understand is why you’re back.’

  Millie noticed the bottle and the empty glass by his hand. ‘What are you talking about?’ Confused, she took in his rumpled state and the lines of tiredness on his face. She’d never seen him anything other than immaculate before, neither had she seen him tired. He had endless energy and stamina. Only now he seemed spent. ‘Why wouldn’t I have come back?’

  ‘I would have thought that was obvious.’ Leandro growled. He lifted his glass to his lips and then realised that it was empty and put it down again.

  Millie looked at him in exasperation. ‘You’re not making sense. And I don’t know why you’re getting drunk. I expect you’re worried, but it’s all going to be fine.’

  ‘It is not going to be fine,’ he said in a raw tone. ‘This is going to keep happening.’

  ‘No, they think it was just a one-off. It happens sometimes.’

  ‘You’re deluding yourself.’

  Millie frowned, thinking that his comment was a little harsh. ‘The doctor seemed to know what he was talking about.’

  ‘Doctor?’

  ‘That’s where I took him. To the hospital.’ She looked at him defensively. ‘Maybe I was overreacting, but I thought it might be life-threatening. I was so worried about him. What if I’d stayed here and he’d got worse? I looked for you and you’d disappeared. And after the stress and worry I’ve had this evening, I would have thought even you could be a little more sympathetic.’ Hurt and not understanding his reaction, Millie turned away. ‘I’m going to bed. I’m sleeping in Costas’s nursery in case he needs me.’

  ‘Wait a moment.’ Leandro snapped out the words, his body still, his beautiful eyes narrowed to dark slits. ‘What are you talking about? Why did you see a doctor? And why would Costas need you?’

  ‘Because…’ Millie was so tired that she couldn’t even think straight and it took her a moment to absorb the implication of his question. ‘Do you honestly not know what’s been going on here? Where do you think I’ve been? Why do you think I dashed off?’ She broke off and her breathing quickened as understanding dawned. ‘Oh, my God, you thought I’d—’

  ‘Yes,’ he said softly. ‘I did.’

  Millie’s heart started to pound. ‘Why would you think that?’

  ‘Do you really need to ask that question? The papers are full of my affair with that actress and extremely revealing pictures of you. Last time I saw you, you were upset.’

  Millie walked across to him and stuck out her hand. ‘Give me your phone.’

  ‘I don’t have it.’ His voice was faintly mocking and a sardonic smile touched his mouth. ‘Since you laid down your ground rules for our relationship I frequently lose track of where I’ve put it.’

  ‘Well, isn’t that typical of a man. The one time I need you to have your phone on you, you don’t have it.’ Bending over his desk, Millie shifted files and papers with scant regard for order and retrieved it from under a stack of papers. ‘Here.’ She thrust it towards him. ‘I’m hopeless at technology. Switch it on.’

  He switched it on.

  Millie folded her arms. ‘Now play back your messages. On speaker.’

  Sending her a curious glance, Leandro played his messages.

  Millie heard her own voice coming from the loudspeaker. ‘Leandro, where are you? Costas is ill—I need to get him to a hospital. I’m taking your car. Call me when you get this message or meet me at the hospital.’

  Raising her eyebrows, Millie removed the phone from his hand. ‘Now I know why you didn’t call. Really, you are going to have to be a bit more supportive when our own baby is born. If I’m going to have night-time panics, I want you with me. You’re the one who is always calm in a crisis. I’m a mess. I’m never doing that again without you there to tell me that everything will be fine. What’s the matter with you? I’ve never known you silent before. Say something.’

  There was a long, tense silence during which Millie was sure she could hear her own heart beating.

  When Leandro finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. ‘Our baby?’

  ‘Yes. Our baby. I’m pregnant.’ She gave a faint smile. ‘Hardly surprising after all the sex we’ve had over the past few weeks.’

  He inhaled sharply. ‘Is that why you came back?’

  ‘I never left,’ Millie said softly, and Leandro held her gaze.

  ‘Our baby.’ He sounded stunned. ‘All that stuff in the paper…’

  Millie’s heart missed a beat because everything she needed to know was in his voice and in his eyes. ‘Well, I’m not pretending it wasn’t upsetting. But I had plenty of time to think about it while I was watching over Costas in his cot. For a start, that actress is too thin for you. You hate women whose bones stick out. And you’re forgetting, I was there that night. I could see that she was angry that you rejected her. The talk is that her latest film is rubbish. I expect she wanted to attract some different publicity—kick-start her career. And she wanted to hurt you.’

  ‘It only hurts me if it hurts you,’ Leandro said hoarsely, and then shook his head. ‘I don’t know why you’re smiling. You like seeing me miserable?’

  ‘No,’ Millie said softly. ‘I like seeing you in love.’

  His eyes met hers. ‘You’re very confident all of a sudden.’

  Millie shrugged and slid onto his lap. ‘That happens when you’re loved. And when you love back.’ She leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling his strength. ‘You should have known I wouldn�
��t have left you.’

  ‘Alexa said she saw you drive off, very upset.’

  ‘I was very upset.’ She sat up so that she could explain. ‘I was sitting with Costas, just watching him, because I was worried about his temperature. And I was thinking about Becca—and us—and those awful pictures of me. Everything. And then Costas sort of went all floppy. I was terrified. I don’t know. I’m not that experienced with children. He seemed so hot, and I was worried—’

  ‘Why didn’t you come and find me?’

  ‘I did! You weren’t here!’ Millie was indignant. ‘I ran around the house yelling your name but this house is so stupidly big and I couldn’t find you. Neither could I find any of the staff.’

  ‘I was up on the roof terrace. I needed fresh air.’

  ‘Well, it’s a shame you chose that particular moment because I was in desperate need of a serious dose of your decisive-macho-Viking-invader approach to life. Leandro?’ She curled her hand into the front of his shirt. ‘What is the matter with you? I’ve never seen you like this before. You look as though you have no idea what to do next, and you always know what to do.’

  Leandro slid his hand into her hair. ‘Not always. Tonight I thought I’d lost you forever and I had no idea what to do about it. My first instinct was to find you and haul you back, but I love you too much to involve you in the media circus that is my life. It’s always like this, Millie. There’s always someone wanting to sell me out to the media for money. And I blame myself for those photos of you,’ he confessed in a raw tone, letting his hand drop so that she could see the look in his eyes. ‘I should have known better than to expose you to that.’

  ‘I don’t care what they think,’ Millie said softly. ‘I only care what you think.’

  Leandro wrapped his arms around her. ‘When you left the first time, I was so angry. I’d thought you were the sort of woman who would stay by my side no matter what. I didn’t understand how insecure you were and I didn’t understand how much my behaviour had dented your confidence. When you were prepared to take on Costas, even though you still thought he was my child—’ He broke off, his eyes bright. ‘That was when I realised that I didn’t know you at all.’

  ‘I found it impossible to believe that a man like you could possibly want me.’ Millie gave a wry smile. ‘The media finds it hard to believe, too, so you can’t exactly blame me.’

  ‘The media don’t know you,’ he said roughly. ‘And I understand now why you felt that way. I understand why you would have believed your sister.’

  ‘I always just thought she was helping me.’ Millie pulled a face, unable to disguise the hurt. ‘Stupid me.’

  ‘Not stupid. Generous. You don’t see bad in people. And why would you? She was your sister. I see how growing up with her must have made it hard for you to see your own qualities. But those qualities shine from you, agape mou. And those qualities are the reason I love you. I love your smile and your values, I love the way you were prepared to care for a child that might have been mine, and I love the way you still treasure the good memories of your sister, despite everything.’ He inhaled deeply. ‘And you’re right when you say that I love you. I do. I loved you the first moment I saw your legs in that haystack.’

  ‘That was lust, not love.’

  A sexy smile tugged at his mouth. ‘Perhaps, but it was love soon after. That’s why I was so upset when you walked out. I thought I’d found a woman who would be by my side always.’ His hand tightened on hers. ‘I should have come after you.’

  ‘If you’d known me better, maybe you would have done. And if I’d known you better, maybe I wouldn’t have left.’

  ‘I understand now why you did.’ His hand slid into her hair in a possessive gesture. ‘But at the time I thought you were like my mother.’

  Millie stilled. ‘You’ve never talked about your mother. You’ve never talked about your family at all.’

  ‘Because I try to keep that part of my life in the past, where it belongs. I built myself a new life.’ His voice was husky. ‘She left me. When I was six years old—old enough to understand rejection—she went out one day and left me with a friend of hers. And she never came back.’

  ‘Leandro—’

  ‘She was a single mother and life was tough.’ He gave a weary shrug. ‘I think she just woke up one day and thought life might be easier without the burden of a young child.’

  Millie didn’t know what to say so she just leaned forward and hugged him. ‘Where did you go?’

  ‘I was taken back to Greece and put into care. But I found it hard to attach myself to anyone after that. If your own mother can leave you, why wouldn’t a stranger?’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’

  ‘I thought I’d put it all behind me, but scars don’t always heal, do they?’

  ‘But you can learn to live with scars,’ Millie said softly, tasting her own salty tears as she pressed her mouth to his. ‘If you can live with mine, I’ll teach you to live with yours.’

  His hand slid into her hair and tightened, as if he were holding on. ‘You’re sure you want this life?’

  ‘I want to spend my life with you. You’ve given me so many things, Leandro. Diamonds, houses, cars, a lifestyle beyond my wildest dreams, but the most important thing you’ve given me is self-esteem. You make me feel special.’

  ‘You are special.’ He cupped her face in his hands. ‘You took on your sister’s child, despite everything.’

  ‘So did you.’ Millie’s eyes filled. ‘You took him on knowing that he wasn’t yours. Knowing that everyone would make assumptions.’

  ‘I didn’t want Costas to go through what I went through.’ He gave a twisted smile. ‘The situation was different, I know, but for me it felt like a healing process. I was able to give this baby a home, a name—an identity. Everything I never had. Millie…’ He was hesitant. ‘This lifestyle isn’t going to change. If you stay with me, there are always going to be people hunting you down, wanting to make you believe bad things about me.’

  Millie leaned forward and kissed him. ‘Is this a good moment to confess that I might need the services of your lawyer after all?’

  ‘Why?’

  She shrank slightly. ‘I was in a panic when I put Costas in your car…’

  ‘And…?’

  ‘I think I might have accidentally damaged one of the motorcycles that the journalists had propped against your gate. It was in the way. I was also responsible for the fact that one of the journalists dropped his camera.’

  ‘Sounds like you need driving lessons.’ Laughter in his eyes, Leandro raised an eyebrow in mocking contemplation. ‘Dare I enquire after the health of my Ferrari?’

  Millie squirmed. ‘It’s nice to know where your priorities lie. It might need a teeny-weeny touch of paint.’

  Leandro closed his eyes. ‘I don’t love you any more.’

  Millie giggled and wound her arms round his neck. ‘Yes, you do.’

  ‘You’re right, I do.’ Leandro took her face in his hands and kissed her. ‘I love you, agape mou. I will always love you, no matter how many Ferraris you get through or how many journalists sue me. You say that you’re different to every other woman I’ve ever been with and that’s true—you are. That’s why I fell in love with you. I saw instantly that you were different. You weren’t interested in my money and you had values that I admired and respected.’

  ‘I can see why you were disappointed when you thought I’d turned into a shopaholic.’

  ‘I didn’t look for a reason for the change in your behaviour. I accused you of not trusting me, but I was guilty of that charge, not you. I assumed you’d suddenly discovered how much you enjoyed having the money.’

  ‘Leandro, I do like the money,’ Millie muttered. ‘Anyone would be mad not to, wouldn’t they? I love the fact that I don’t have to queue for a bus in the rain. I’ll never stop being thrilled when the lights turn on by themselves, but most of all I love the fact I’m going to be able to stay at h
ome with Costas and our baby and not work.’

  ‘Babies,’ Leandro purred, his characteristic arrogance once more in evidence. ‘I intend to keep you very busy in that department. I’d hate Costas to be lonely.’

  Millie grinned. ‘This one isn’t cooked yet.’

  He slid his hand over her flat stomach in a gesture that was both intimate and protective. ‘You will be a fantastic mother.’

  Millie kissed him, feeling the roughness of his jaw against her sensitive skin. ‘What are we going to do about Costas? I can’t bear to think of him growing up with this question of his parentage hanging over him.’

  ‘My lawyers have started adoption proceedings,’ Leandro told her. ‘I can’t pretend it’s going to be a quick and simple process, but we’ll get there, I promise you that. We’re his parents.’

  ‘And I think we should have a couple of dogs. Big dogs. Trained to bite journalists.’

  Leandro laughed. ‘I was so wrong about you. I used to think you were gentle and kind.’

  ‘I am, most of the time. As long as no one upsets me.’ Millie grinned. ‘It’s no good frowning. You don’t scare me any more.’

  ‘I’d noticed. In fact, I’m not sure I like the new, confident you,’ he drawled. ‘I’m not sure you know your place.’

  Millie wound her arms round his neck. ‘I know my place, Leandro Demetrios,’ she said softly, and he lifted an eyebrow in question.

  ‘So where is your place, agape mou?’

  ‘By your side, bearing your children, loving you for the rest of my life. That’s my place.’

  And Leandro smiled his approval just moments before he kissed her.

  All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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