But the helicopter was landing, and then they were out, and it was just Lucy and Ari, standing by the same Jeep they’d used the last
time. Memories were too intense.
Lucy backed away and mocked herself inwardly for having such a weak and delayed reaction. He’d got her here by barely saying please. She was pathetic.
‘Ari, if we’re just here so that you can—’
He came and stood close—too close. ‘Lucy, please, just trust me. A little further, that’s all.’
Where could she go anyway? Lucy looked around. They were miles from anything. Silently she got into the Jeep. Ari got in too, and then they were driving. When she recognised the signs for his mother’s tiny village Ari turned and went eastwards. After another ten minutes he took a sharp left turn down towards the coast, and they stopped at a set of ancient wrought-iron gates, nearly overgrown with vegetation.
Ari came round to meet Lucy. He helped her out but when he saw her open her mouth as if to speak he put a finger to her lips. He’d never been so terrified in his entire life; his heart was hammering painfully.
‘This is what I wanted to show you.’
The feel of her soft lips against his finger nearly undid him, but he controlled himself.
He led her in through the gate, which was hanging off its hinges, then down an overgrown path and out into a huge clearing where an old and rambling villa, clearly dilapidated, stood on a bluff overlooking the sea.
Lucy’s hand tightened reflexively in Ari’s. It must have been stunning in its heyday, and the view was priceless. Already she could imagine what it might be like if it was done up, restored to its former glory.
‘What is this place?’
Ari brought her over to the other side of the house and an unimpeded view of the sea to where a trail led down to a private beach.
‘I bought it…signed the papers just yesterday.’
Lucy felt a little bewildered. He’d brought her here to show her his latest acquisition? ‘Oh…well, congratulations.’
He turned and looked at her intently. ‘You like it, don’t you?’
Lucy frowned, feeling very vulnerable. ‘Well, of course I like it. It’s beautiful, idyllic, but what does it matter what I think about it?’
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then he said, ‘Because I bought it for you…for us.’
Lucy tried to make sense of his words, feeling a little spaced-out. ‘You mean…?’ Something struck her then, and anger flowered deep down. She took her hand from his. ‘Ari, if you’ve bought this as some kind of…of love-nest, just so that I can be your mistress—’
He was shaking his head, a curious light in his eyes. ‘No. I want it to be a home—a place where we can come…perhaps even with a family…’
Lucy was starting to flounder badly. His words were making all sorts of things bloom in her heart, making it beat faster. How could he know of her deeply secret daydreams? It felt as if he was looking straight into her head. ‘Ari—I don’t…What are you talking about…?’
He brought a shaking hand to her face, his eyes so intense it nearly hurt to look at them. ‘Lucy, I brought you here because here is the only place I know how to be me, where I can say what I need to say. I’ve been going crazy these past two weeks. At first I told myself I didn’t need you, that I wasn’t devastated beyond belief when I found out you hadn’t taken the job with Theo. And then one night, at three o’clock in the morning, when I found myself driving to your flat and sitting outside like a stalker, I had to face up to myself.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I think I fell in love with you when you appeared like a whirling dervish to defend me against Helen. I’ve never had anyone stand up for me before—care about me before. I’ve never needed it. But you made me realise how lonely I’ve been all my life.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I thought I had it all figured out. I’d keep you on in the company if you insisted on working, but essentially I wanted you as my mistress. It was only when I said the words out loud I realised what an insult it was—especially to you, after all you’ve been through. And it was then that I knew I wanted much, much more than that. I wanted everything. A life together. A marriage.’
He laughed harshly. ‘Of course I denied it to myself. Love? I’d cut myself off from anything like that when I was sent away to England and it became my home. Helen effectively cut me off from my father, wouldn’t even allow a normal relationship to develop between me and my brother. That’s why I’d locked away my memories of here and my mother…I couldn’t believe it had existed. But meeting you, falling in love with you, made me believe in them again. It made me remember the love I felt.’
Lucy was more than shocked. She was in danger of floating away from her body. But at the same time she felt welded to the ground, incapable of processing his words, because she realised just how badly she wanted this. And yet…
‘But I heard what you said to Helen just before she hit you…about never marrying someone like me…’
Ari looked confused for a moment, and then his face cleared. ‘Thee mou, that wasn’t about you. Helen was suggesting I marry Pia Kyriapoulos, which would have suited her ends perfectly and kept me marginalized. Pia is not exactly the epitome of the blushing Greek bride.’
‘Oh.’ Lucy tried to look down, away from his intensity, but Ari wouldn’t let her budge.
He took something out of his back pocket and held it out to Lucy. It was a small velvet bag. She looked at him and he just said, ‘Open it—please…’