“No, not tomorrow,” he said, tugging her face up to his.
“Why not? Are you having second thoughts already?”
The ache in his eyes undid her. “I...want you to have the wedding you’ve always wanted. I want to take you out a few times. I want to do all the things you might have wanted to do before you married... I want you to take all the time you want...and until then...” He looked into her eyes and the love she saw there sent her heart to bursting.
She shook her head, instantly understanding how his mind worked. Scooting closer to him, she straddled him and they both groaned. “No... I can’t sleep without you by my side. I can’t bear it if you—”
“You will see me every day. When I make love to you again, you will have chosen to be my wife this time.”
Something in his tone told her how important this was to him. That she marry him, that she become his wife because she loved him. “Three months,” she moaned, tugging his lower lip with her teeth. “Let’s set a date for after three months and no later. I don’t have your patience or your willpower...”
He took her mouth in a hungry kiss that set fire to her claim... “Willpower, yineka mou? Waiting for you to walk toward me in your wedding dress...that’s the only thing that will keep me going.”
EPILOGUE
Three months later
STAVROS HAD NO idea that three months could feel like an eternity. Theos, he must have been insane to set the rule he had because touching Leah and kissing Leah without taking her had been an exercise in torture.
But in the same breath, he was also extremely glad that they had waited. Because Leah was worth every smile, every ache, every moment he had spent thrashing in his bed because he missed her with a bone-deep hunger.
On a beautiful October evening, he waited with his breath hovering in his throat while a hundred guests looked on.
Giannis’s mansion and grounds had been decorated lavishly and he stood under an archway in the garden. Lilies in beautiful arrangements spread their fragrance while the sky glittered a brilliant blue.
Most of the guests had come to see his beautiful bride, the new designer that had shaken the fashion world with her designs—models she had worked with the past couple of months, half the population from his estate, workers from her factory, all because of Leah’s generosity of spirit, her kindness, the depth of her commitment and loyalty.
And finally today, the magnificent woman was going to be his in a bond born out of love and laughter and joy. His heart ached as he remembered how much Calista would have loved to see Leah and him like this...
And there she was, on Dmitri’s arm, walking toward him with sure steps.
His heart threatened to jump out of his chest when he saw her.
She had told him she was going to wear her own creation—the first wedding gown she had ever designed.
She looked utterly fragile and so beautiful that he stared hungrily, desire fisting tight in his gut.
Her long hair was combed away in a stylish ponytail, pearl earrings that had been a gift from Giannis at her ears, and the dress she wore was a demure creation in lace and sheer silk that didn’t bare an ounce of flesh.
The modern, no-frill design hugged her slender body, leaving her arms bare, highlighting the long line of her thighs and legs.
Had she made the outfit more modest because of him? Did she think he wouldn’t like it if it was one of her outrageously sexy, insubstantial creations?
Had he made her doubt his love again?
But one look into her gorgeous, shining eyes and all his doubts perished like so much dust.
They shone with such happiness that he felt a tightness in his chest relent.
They had spent the last three months touring for fabrics, laughing, and teasing each other, learning each other and falling in love all over again, and breathlessly waiting for this day.
He felt his entire world sway and tilt at the love he saw in those eyes, at the way her luscious mouth trembled.
She kissed Dmitri’s cheek and he handed her over to him.
Gripping her fingers with his, he pulled her closer, the scent of her hitting him right in the solar plexus. “I love you, Leah,” he whispered in her ear, without waiting for the priest to begin.
Her breath caught, she ran shaking fingers over his cheek as if she needed to check that he was all there.