It seemed the café froze around them to take in the sight.
A woman at the next table stilled with her coffee cup halfway to her mouth, her gaze eating him up. Still laughing, he pushed back the thick lock of jet-black hair that fell onto his forehead.
And the solid gold band on his finger glinted in the streetlight.
The twinkle of the metal struck Leah in the chest as if it were an arrow.
The wedding band... He was wearing his wedding band?
The ring she had slipped onto his finger while tears had pooled in her eyes. The ring that had bound her to him in the holiest of bonds and yet was nothing but a shackle...
Why did he wear the damned ring? Had he worn it that day aboard Dmitri’s yacht?
Had he worn it over the past five years?
Anxiety rippled over her, like a flurry of ants had skittered over her skin.
Just like her, the woman’s gaze also fell on the ring and then shifted to encompass the both of them. Leah felt her curiosity like a prickle, could see her trying to calculate where Leah fit into Stavros’s life.
Nowhere, Leah reminded herself. That he wore that ring was probably nothing but a reminder of his duty to Giannis.
Did he keep it on when he made love to the regal Helene? What would it be like to be the woman he respected, he adored, the woman he promised his utter devotion to? Would his passion run just as deep as his sense of duty?
“Even in the most unlikely chance that I find you that irresistible...” Utter mockery resonated in every word, crashing her down. “I will sign the divorce papers, release your inheritance. You’ll be free.”
Three months with Stavros...
“The freedom to live my life as I want is my basic right. I shouldn’t have to prove anything for it nor should I have to threaten...nor do I have to do despicable things.”
“So you’re not completely without conscience?”
She refused to answer that when he was the one who had pushed her to it. “You’re not the lord of my life.”
“Apparently, I am. And you lost all rights to your own life when you threatened it by living so recklessly.” His very stillness as his gaze burned with frustration was disconcerting. “Theos, Leah...Calista died and Giannis almost did because of the heart attack you gave him. How can you sit there and defend yourself?”
“I can defend myself because...” Clutching the metal edge of the table, Leah breathed deeply. His accusation was unfair, so wrong, and yet, the guilt it brought was no less suffocating.
And to dig into the past, to tell him the truth would mean exposing herself to a man who tolerated no weakness, knew no fears.
Would he laugh at her as he had done just now or pity her?
So she gave in. “Fine. I’ll do as you demand and earn that right back.”
Silence met her acceptance.
He hadn’t expected her to give in so quickly. Did he think it was an admission of guilt?
His arrogance that he knew everyone and the best for everyone had riled her from day one. Not once had he tried to figure out what or how she had felt. He’d only made assumptions, and then ordered her around.
He dropped some bills on the table, and extended his hand for her. “Let’s pick up what you need for a few days. The movers will bring the rest of your belongings later.”
Panic ran free in her gut as Leah shook her head. “No. I...I can’t just pack up everything I need in ten minutes. I need a few days.”
She couldn’t just move in with him in a matter of hours. She needed to get used to the idea first. Needed to get her head screwed on right.
He checked the glinting Rolex on his wrist and then looked back at her. “I’ll have someone come by to give us a hand. In the meantime, we can get started.”
“You’re actually, physically going to help me pack?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Yes, of course it is,” she sputtered, refusing his outstretched hand. “I don’t want you in my...I just... The flat is a mess, and you’ll instantly judge me and tell me I shouldn’t be allowed to live by myself or some such nonsense.”
The hateful man had the gall to smile at her. To actually smile, showing his perfectly even teeth and the dimple in one cheek that should have made him look effeminate yet only added to that austere masculinity.