“Don’t worry,” Audrey, her closest office friend, had whispered as they left. “They’ll get used to it. Just give them a little time.”
Holly hoped she was right. She still felt a lump in her throat, remembering that awkward lunch.
But at least she and her sister were friends again. Though Nicole hadn’t told her much, apparently Oliver’s financial situation had improved. Either they’d learned to live on less, or Oliver must have found a job. Either way, she was happy to have her sister back. Nicole now answered all her texts, and had even visited Holly last week at the penthouse.
But when Holly asked how things were going, Nicole had given a wan smile. “You know how marriage is. Or at least,” she’d sighed, “you will.”
And maybe Nicole had had a point.
Because Holly felt like something had already changed in her marriage. She and Stavros had started in such bliss, with such joyful days together. It hadn’t been just shopping. She’d gotten lots of his time and attention. She’d watched him play with their baby. They’d spent hours talking, hours just kissing—in front of the fire, on the sidewalk as they pushed the stroller...he kissed her anywhere—but somewhere along the line, something shocking had happened.
She’d fallen in love with him.
It was the purest bad luck, a horrible coincidence, that the very day she realized she loved him, and started trying to find the words to tell him, Stavros had become utterly distracted at work by the acquisition of some billion-dollar tech company.
He wasn’t avoiding her deliberately, she told herself. Of course not. Why would he? True, he’d told her he had some issues about fearing love and commitment, but that was all in the past. He’d married her, hadn’t he? He’d promised to be faithful forever. That proved he was more than ready to open up his heart!
But Stavros had run his company for nearly twenty years. That mattered to him, too. He’d tried to explain the new technology to her, and why Minos International needed to acquire it, but Holly’s eyes had crossed with boredom halfway through the first sentence.
Or maybe she just hadn’t wanted to understand it. What she wanted was for him to finish the deal, so he could stop spending eighteen-hour days at the office and spend time with her and Freddie again.
Like tonight. For the umpteenth time, Holly glanced at the clock over the mantel in the great room of the penthouse. It was nearly ten now, and Stavros had been at the office since dawn. He hadn’t seen his son before he left; and now, Freddie had been asleep for hours.
“Is that all, Mrs. Holly?”
Looking up from the chair where she was reading a magazine, Holly saw Eleni. The white-haired Greek woman, who’d by now become part of their family, still insisted on calling her by that formal name. “Yes, Eleni. Thank you.”
She nodded. “Kalinixta, Mrs. Holly.”
“Good night. Thank you.” After the older woman headed to her suite downstairs, Holly tried to read, watching the clock, waiting always to hear Stavros at the door.
Finally, she yawned and stretched. Letting the magazine drop against her chest, she looked out at the nighttime city through the wide windows.
She just had to be patient, she told herself. After his business deal was done, their marriage would return to the way it had been during their honeymoon. He would have time for their family again.
And Holly would finally tell him she loved him.
She closed her eyes, hope rising in her heart as she pictured the scene. And then—and then...he’d tell her he loved her, too.
She hoped.
What if he didn’t?
Nervousness roiled through her. She set down the magazine on the end table, then rose to her feet and paced in front of the windows. She stopped. There was nothing to be gained by being afraid, she told herself. She’d just have to be brave, and trust everything would be all right. Her husband would love her back. Of course he would.
Holly pushed away her fear. Glancing at the clock over the mantel, she saw that it was just past midnight. It was December twenty-third. Just a few minutes into her twenty-eighth birthday. She brightened.
At least she’d finally get time with him at the surprise party he’d promised her. Could it be called a surprise party when she was counting on it, longing for it? She smiled. He hadn’t said a word about what he’d planned, but Holly knew it would be wonderful.
Turning off the lamp, she looked around the quiet, lonely penthouse. It was dark, except for the lights of the Christmas tree shining in the great room.
She wished she didn’t have to go to bed alone. But she comforted herself with thoughts of tomorrow. As she brushed her teeth in the enormous, gleaming master bathroom, she closed her eyes in anticipation, imagining her friends and family celebrating together. They’d talk and laugh and eat birthday cake, and all awkwardness with her former colleagues would be smoothed over. Nicole and Oliver would be there. And best of all, she’d finally have time with her husband.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she came to a sudden decision.
Tomorrow at the party, she’d tell Stavros she loved him.
Yes. Tomorrow. Smiling, she peeked into the nursery to check on her sleeping baby, then padded softly back to climb into bed. Glancing at the empty bed on Stavros’s side, she looked out the window and made a birthday wish that he’d finish the deal tonight, and starting tomorrow, he’d never be gone so much again. And why shouldn’t it happen? Her smile became dreamy. When she woke up, they’d celebrate her birthday, and the day after that would be Christmas Eve. And sometime in the middle of the night tonight, Stavros would wake her with a kiss, and make passionate love to her.