‘So it’s guilt that’s been eating at you?’
‘It was before, but not so much any more. As much as I regret what happened, I can’t undo the past. You’ve taught me that I need to look to the future, to let go of things I can’t change. And I have to believe that Sofia would want that for me too.’
‘Then why did you stash me on the boat?’ Her hurt was unmistakable.
‘I’m sorry. I wanted to spare Sofia’s relatives unnecessary pain, yes, but I also wanted to make sure the villa was ready for you. For our wedding. I haven’t lived here for three years, and it was nowhere near as ready as I wanted it to be.’
Her fingers twisted round the tissue in her hand and his heart twisted along with it. ‘But why here? We could’ve married anywhere else in Greece.’
He frowned. ‘You don’t remember what you said to me when we met?’
Confusion marred her forehead. ‘What I said?’
‘At Macdonald Hall, you said your first trip to Greece was to Santorini. That you’d always dreamed you’d get married here.’
Realisation dawned and her eyes grew wide.
‘Yes, glikia mou, I wanted to give you that wish.’
‘Why?’
‘Because your happiness means the world to me.’
She sucked in a breath. ‘Please don’t say that. Please don’t make me hope.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’ll make me want the impossible.’
‘What do you want, Perla? Tell me what you want and you might be surprised by how motivated I am to give it to you.’
When she said nothing, he ventured closer. The orange sundress she wore made her golden-hued skin glow. Unable to resist, he reached out and took her hand in his.
The shiver that coursed through her echoed through him.
‘Please tell me what you want, agape mou.’
Green eyes rose to his. In their depths he saw courage, determination, naked longing and another emotion he hoped to God was what he imagined it to be.
‘I want you. To love me.’
‘Only if you love me half as much as I love you, Perla mou.’
She gasped. ‘What?’
He kissed her knuckles and closed his eyes for a second when her fingers trembled against his lips.
‘I love you. I knew from the first that what I felt for you went beyond mere desire, but I fought it because...well, you know why.’
‘But on the plane you said—’
‘Something stupid about us not loving each other? That was pure self-protection speaking. I thought I could have what I wanted while protecting my heart.’ He shook his head. ‘The truth is, I don’t need to protect my heart; not from you. Yes, what I feel scared the life out of me but what you and I have also fills me with joy even while making me a little crazy. Every time I look at you, I crave you. Every time I make love to you, I want to do it all over again, immediately. It makes me insane but it also makes me feel more alive than I have in the longest time. I never want to lose you because I intend to drive myself insane for a lifetime. If what I had with Sofia is being described as the love of the century then ours will be the love story of the millennia.’
Her eyes filled with tears he didn’t hesitate to kiss away. ‘Oh, Arion. I thought you were doing all this for the baby.’
‘When I wasn’t sure you’d take me as I was I admit I tried to use our baby to sway you.’
‘And I let myself be swayed because I didn’t see any other way to be with you. Now I can tell you that I love you too, without being scared it’ll push you away. Tell me you love me again, Arion.’ Her eyes shone with a brilliance that stopped his heart.
Happiness rushed into his chest and he had no problem uttering the words. ‘I love you. I wish I’d admitted that to us both sooner. But I intend to make up for lost time. You have my promise on that.’
He kissed her for a long time, only raising his head when they ran out of air.
‘The house is almost ready. But you have a free hand to change anything you want before the wedding tomorrow.’
She licked lips swollen from his kisses, making him groan. ‘Um, can I practise a woman’s right to change her mind? Blame it on all the pregnancy hormones rushing through my body right now.’
‘What do you want to change?’
She touched his face, leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Ari knew he wouldn’t like what was coming but he didn’t care. ‘The wedding date. The venue. The guest list. Everything?’