Markos’s jaw tightened. Leo was standing in front of his desk, towering over him. At least he was on his own this time, without the acid-tongued Anna, who was, so Leo had informed him, visiting her grandmother. Leo had just walked in unannounced by Markos’s PA, who had bustled in apologetically behind him. Markos had dismissed her curtly. This was not an exchange he wanted to have. But Leo was not about to get out of his hair—not without answers.
So Markos gave him his answer.
‘And nothing,’ he said tersely.
Leo’s face darkened. ‘What the hell do you mean?’ he demanded.
Anger flashed through Markos’s eyes.
‘Get lost, Leo. This has nothing to do with you!’
His cousin jabbed a finger towards him. ‘Are you telling me that you aren’t prepared to marry her?’ There was scorn and incredulity in his voice in equal measures.
The flash of anger came again, and Markos’s hands clenched over the wide leather arms of his chair.
‘She won’t marry me.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
‘I heard you, little cousin, but I don’t believe you. Are you sure you actually used the word marriage? You’re so damn allergic to the word maybe you couldn’t even pronounce it!’
‘I spelled it out in letters a mile high. She said no.’
Leo’s expression was blank.
‘Maybe the baby isn’t yours after all, then,’ he said slowly.
Markos’s face hardened.
‘That is not a possibility,’ he said tightly. ‘She was pregnant when she walked out on me.’
‘That doesn’t necessarily mean the baby is yours.’ Leo’s voice was dry.
Markos’s eyes flashed. ‘Are you saying she was unfaithful to me?’ There was a belligerence is his voice that made Leo look at him hard. ‘Vanessa was already pregnant when she left me—and she knew she was. But she lied to me when I asked her if she was pregnant.’
A frown furrowed Leo’s brow. ‘You asked her if she was pregnant? You mean you already thought she might be?’
The note of accusation was back in his voice again. Once more Markos’s eyes flashed.
‘I had no idea. None!’
‘So how come you asked her then?’ Leo pressed accusingly.
Markos shifted in his chair. He didn’t want this conversation. He didn’t want his damn cousin here standing in front of him interrogating him. And he certainly didn’t want to answer any of his questions.
He threw his head back and glared at Leo.
‘It was the last morning before she walked out on me. She started one of those damn conversations, you know the type—those “Where is our relationship going?” conversations…! And when that happens you know they’re starting to cling, to make demands, to want more than they’re going to get from you. When Vanessa started on me that morning it really got to me. She’d been absolutely no trouble up till then. Everything had been brilliant, the best ever. Damnit, I felt safe with her. She was exactly what I wanted, and I didn’t want it going bad. I didn’t want her spoiling everything. So I—’
He broke off. His cousin was standing there, looking tall, and tough.
‘So you—’he prompted. There was still a hard look in his eyes.
Markos shrugged. ‘So I spelled it out for her. I told her that I was perfectly happy with her, that everything was great the way it was and that was that. She went all quiet—you know, the way women do when they don’t like the message they’ve just received—and then she trotted out the “But what about if I got pregnant?” gambit. So I spelled that out for her, too.’
‘Oh, you did, did you? Run it by me, will you, just for the record.’