And, just like that, he recognised that he’d been afraid of this all day. It was why he’d stayed local, why he’d moved mountains to be able to come home to her tonight. He’d been worried about her reaction.
Regret. Guilt. Shame. Everything he’d felt after the first time they’d been together came crashing back into him. But this was different—he’d been so careful this time, fighting all his instincts to make sure the time was right for Annabelle, that she was ready.
Except something was bothering her, and that was everything Dimitrios had wanted to avoid. He braced himself for whatever was coming. ‘Okay. Let’s talk.’
Annie poured two glasses of wine and handed one to him, the ring catching her attention. She stared at it for a few seconds, then moved towards the table nearest the pool. The water was a deep turquoise colour and greenery surrounded them—bougainvillea grew rampant like a purple-flowering wall, giving privacy on one side. The city glistened straight ahead, and geranium and succulents formed a lush garden to their left. She breathed in, the fragrance of this place heaven. Except her nerves were too stretched to enjoy it.
‘Well?’ He was so formal, an air of caution infusing his words. The man she’d made love to for hours the night before was nowhere to be seen. ‘What did you want to talk about?’
She ran her finger over the rim of the glass, forcing herself to rip this plaster off, to be brave even when she knew she could just enjoy the good parts of this life and be done with it.
You have to live your life for me now, Annie.
She sipped her wine, glad of the hit of alcohol. ‘I need to know if anything changed for you last night.’
He leaned forward, his fingers linked at the front of the table, his eyes boring into hers. ‘Such as?’
A weight dropped inside her. She sipped her wine again, knowing she shouldn’t do that—this was definitely a conversation she wanted to be present for, and to have all her brainpower at her disposal. The problem was, if he didn’t understand what she was saying then she already had her answer. Nonetheless, she knew she needed to explain.
‘You were right about the first time we slept together. It was more than sex for me.’
He stayed ominously silent, and for the first time Annie had a sense of what it would be like to be opposite this man in a combative capacity, of what he must be like in business.
‘I think I fell in love with you the first time we met and that never really went away.’
‘A girlhood crush,’ he dismissed easily, except it wasn’t easy. She heard the hesitation in his voice, and knew he’d recognised how she felt. How could he have failed to see? She’d worn a huge heart very clearly on her sleeve.
‘No, it was more than that. I’d heard Lewis talk about you, so I think even before you and Zach came to our place I was halfway to thinking you were pretty amazing. But something inside me just clicked the day we met.’
‘You were fifteen,’ he reminded her, a hint of cynicism in his voice.
‘Yes. And I tried very hard not to think about you again.’
‘Right. You went out with other men,’ he pointed out, earning a frown from Annie.
‘How do you know who I dated?’
‘Lewis mentioned it,’ Dimitrios responded tightly.
‘Technically, I guess I did date, but really it was just friendships. I didn’t ever feel anything for anyone. Handsome, intelligent men could chat me up in a bar and I wouldn’t have the time of day for them. That’s never changed.’
She sipped her wine, looking into the distance, the past pulling at her. ‘Even after Max, I’d meet people. In playgrounds and cafés, on the street, and yet no matter who asked me out, the answer was always the same. You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted, Dimitrios.’
He sat very still, his features inscrutable. But in the depths of his eyes she could see emotions—concern, resistance, disbelief.
It was another answer he didn’t realise he was giving her. His obvious rejection of what she was saying made it crystal-clear how little he welcomed this confession.
‘I was angry at you too, though,’ she continued anyway. ‘Angry that you were going on with your life, with other women, other friends, and no doubt you’d forgotten all about me.’ She shook her head. ‘So long went by that somehow I hoped my feelings for you had dwindled into nothing in the intervening years.’
He reached for his wine for the first time, taking a generous drink before quietly replacing the glass between them on the table. ‘Go on.’ His voice was a growl, scarcely encouraging.
‘I can’t fight this any more, Dimitrios. I don’t want to fight it. I’m as much in love with you as ever, and last night just made it impossible for me to ignore it. Everything clicked into place for me. I love you.’
Silence fell, loud with expectation.
She waited, even when she knew that every second stretching between them made the waiting futile.
‘Annabelle.’ He sighed, standing up and coming round to her side of the table, leaning against it, his long legs kicked out in front of him. His citrusy cologne reached her nose, making her insides clench in instinctive recognition. ‘You are...’