‘Me?’ Her voice trembled as she spoke the single syllable.
‘After Kata left I decided that emotions just mess things up. That I was better concentrating on work, concentrating on things I could control. Then I met you and for the first time in a long time I felt something other than ambition. I lost control. And it terrified me. Feelings I didn’t know how to manage threatened to break through and ruin all that hard-won peace.’
He paused, trying to find the words to show her, convince her of his sincerity. ‘I recognised something in you from the first. I saw a woman who had experienced real tragedy and used it to move on. That shamed me, Lily. I allowed my past to define me, to hold me back, while you used yours to propel you forward.
‘You have been through so much, more than I could ever imagine. Your childhood, the loss of your friend. It could have hardened you, turned you into someone like me, but instead you decided to embrace life, to get as much from it as you could. You make me want to be different, Lily, you make me want to be more. And that terrified me, because if I take away work then what’s left? Who am I? Not Damir Kozina, hotelier, developer, investor but just Damir? I didn’t know, and I wasn’t brave enough to find out.’
‘I don’t know what to say, what to think,’ she said, her fingers tightening around his, looking up at him with a mingled expression of hope and fear. ‘You pushed me away so completely. I didn’t expect to see you again, not properly. And now you’re here and saying all this, trying to buy the villa for me. What about your dreams, your ambitions?’
‘I still have them, but they have changed. I don’t need to be bound by other people’s visions, I need to find my own. I am sorrier than I can say for deceiving you. Although I’m not sorry for getting to know you, the times we spent together were the most special times of my life.’
He ran a finger down her cheek and felt her quiver under the light touch, she felt like coming home. ‘You are clever and insightful, you’re funny and you’re kind and obviously you are insanely gorgeous. Those are the reasons I’m attracted to you, but you’re more than that, you’re made of steel, you’re resilient and strong and you care and that’s why I love you.’
That was it. That was all he had. His heart on the line.
* * *
Lily stared up at Damir, barely able to process all he had said, let alone believe it. ‘But how, why?’ she said in the end, inarticulately.
‘We were watching the concert,’ he said. ‘And you’d just told me that you needed my advice. That shook me. I’d been fooling myself that we were just like any other affair, that all we had was attraction. But it wasn’t true. You wanted more than my money and my body, you wanted my opinion—I can’t tell you how that felt. You saw me, saw behind the mask. Maybe I fell in love with you before that, when you brought cakes on our daytrip to Dubrovnik. You never just took, you always gave.’
‘They weren’t even very good cakes,’ she said, half in shock, and he laughed.
‘They were amazing, because they were made with care and generosity. I realised at the concert that I didn’t want to let you go, that the man I was when I was with you was a better, a happier man. But the last time I felt like that everything fell apart, my father died, my mother blamed me, my marriage disintegrated. I was terrified of what would happen if I acknowledged my feelings, acted on them. I was already distracted, making mistakes, unfocussed. It felt like history was repeating itself.
‘When you discovered the plans, walked away, it felt almost fortuitous, gave me the opportunity I needed to step back, push you away. But that didn’t help. And I couldn’t help but ask myself who I was doing all this for. I told myself owning the villa, building a resort here would make me happy, but they were hollow lies. Nothing would make me happy if I was too scared to love, to really live.’
‘You don’t need to woo me with grand gestures, Damir. Buying the villa? It’s too much.’
‘Is it a grand gesture if I mean it? Your vision is inspired, Lily. I just want to help you achieve it, in any way I can.’
Lily bit her lip. ‘Marija has offered to give it to me, if I want to stay and run it. She’s got quite a bit put by, so she’s thinking of building herself a small home in the garden for when she’s here and spending more time with Josip and mum the rest of the time.’
‘So my grand gesture was unnecessary?’ His smile was rueful and her heart melted.
‘No. It was the single most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.’
‘I wanted to make a public declaration, I wanted you to know that I meant every word, that I was willing to make a fool of myself for you. Willing to do whatever it takes.’ He stopped then and stared at her, eyes full of hope and love. Love for her. Lily’s heart thumped almost painfully at the intensity in his dark gaze. ‘Wait, Marija has given you the villa. Does that mean you’re staying?’
‘It does. Does that change things?’ Her pulse speeded to rushing point as she waited for him to reply. It was one thing to open up to someone who was leaving, who would always be a romantic fantasy, quite another to do it to someone real, who would be there no matter what happened.
‘Change things? I hope so.’ He smiled properly then, sweet and sexy and so devastating her insides melted. ‘I hope it means I get a chance to put things right, a chance to go back to the beginning and woo you the way you should always have been wooed. To see where this leads when time is on our side, to hope it leads to a home like Kata’s, one filled with love and happiness. Is that possible, Lily? Would you be able to give me a second chance?’
Lily didn’t answer for a long moment, trying to make sense of her jumbled thoughts. Damir had hurt her and understanding why didn’t change that. But understanding him made it easier. ‘I didn’t come here looking for anything but a way to heal. Meeting you, meeting anyone, wasn’t part of the plan.’ She reached up and cupped his cheek. ‘From the start I suspected you were too good to be true—and then I found out how you planned to use me. Fool me once...’ Her voice trailed off.
‘I know I made mistakes. Asking you to trust me again is a lot.’
‘It is.’
Lily hesitated. The sensible thing would be to say thanks but no thanks. To walk away with her dignity intact if not her heart. But the hope and sincerity blazing out of Damir’s face, in his voice, his whole body made her pause and hope, more than his grand gesture to buy the villa.
Go on, she could hear Izzy urge her. Give him the chance to prove himself to you. Don’t be afraid, Lily.
‘It is a lot,’ she replied. ‘But so is taking on permanent management of a B&B and trying to run it all year round. I suppose it would be useful to have an expert on hand to help me figure it out. And I’ve heard it can get cold and lonely on Lokvar in the winter months. A local man might be just what I need.’
It took him several incredulous seconds to respond but then Lily found herself swept up and whirled around. ‘You won’t regret it,’ Damir vowed.
‘I know,’ she said, smiling up at him. ‘Because I love you too and I don’t give my heart away easily or often, Damir. So I have to trust you to be careful with it.’
‘I will. Always.’ And then he finally kissed her, a kiss filled with all the pent-up love and emotion, an almost overwhelming kiss that consumed her entire body. ‘Always,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘I love you, Lily, and I will spend every day proving it to you, if it takes the rest of my life.’
‘I love you too.’ And as she kissed him back, Lily knew her heart was safe with this man, in this place, and that hard as the past had been, with Damir by her side her future would be more than she had ever dared dream possible.
EPILOGUE
One year later
LILY WALKED OUT of the villa, cake in her hands, and paused, taking in the scene below. It was almost as if she had stepped in a time machine and she was back to this point one year ago. The table was set on t
he private terrace, her mother, Josip, Marija and Ana were sitting around it, the remains of a delicious meal still on their plates.
But this year there were extra guests. Damir was sprawled on one side of the table, gently flirting with Marija and Lily’s mother, and Janet, Izzy’s foster mother, had come over to celebrate Izzy’s birthday, bringing the two teenagers she currently fostered, the first beneficiaries of the Isabella Burton Foundation. They were here for two weeks of rest and relaxation for Janet and activities and sunshine for the kids.
‘I hope you’d be happy, Izzy,’ she said softly. ‘They’re having a great time, and Tia is already asking about coming over to work when she’s eighteen. She reminds me of you. Lots of drive, lots of ambition and plenty of brains’ She looked up at the stars for a long moment. ‘I miss you. I’ll always miss you.’
She blinked back tears, pasting on a smile as she carefully carried the cake down to the table. Antun had outdone himself and the lavishly decorated confection deserved all the oohs and aahs that greeted it, and her smile widened and became genuine as she set it carefully in front of Ana, who was the best cake cutter in the villa.
‘You look happy, Lily,’ Josip said as she took her seat next to him. ‘Happy and well.’
‘I am happy,’ she told him. ‘It was the right decision, to spend the off season in Dubrovnik in Damir’s villa, and the summer here. I still think there are ways to make the villa productive through the winter but setting up the foundation, trying to learn Croatian and learning to sail were important too.’
‘No regrets?’ he asked her, and she smiled, her gaze settling on Damir, relaxed and at ease, and more handsome than ever, at least in her totally biased opinion.
‘None at all. This felt like home the day I first woke up here and now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m just glad Marija decided to work one last season. I’m learning so much from her. I’m also so happy you and Mum have visited so often.’
‘It’s taken time but I’ve found my peace with the past,’ Josip said. ‘I’m glad you have as well, Lily. You deserve all the happiness.’
At that moment Ana passed her a slice of the chocolate orange cake and Josip’s attention turned to comparing the size of his dessert to Tia’s and Leo’s, good-naturedly protesting that they had far bigger slices than he did. Lily leaned back and looked around the table, counting all her blessings as she did so. She lived in a place she loved with a man she appreciated more every day, doing a job she found rewarding whilst spending the long off season learning about the culture of the beautiful country in which she now lived. She didn’t think she could possibly be happier.
The dinner finally came to an end, and as the teenagers began to help Ana clear the table, Damir slipped his arms around Lily’s waist, kissing her neck as he did so, and she leaned gratefully back against him.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he said.
‘Then you shouldn’t take such long business trips,’ she said, and felt his laughter rumble through her.
‘I hurried home as soon as I could. Walk with me?’
‘Of course.’ It was their usual custom to walk along Fire Cove after dinner as long as Lily wasn’t working. She often thought this moment, hand in hand with the sun setting around them, was her favourite part of the day.
‘It’s so beautiful here,’ she said, as they walked past the last of the tourists onto the quieter part of the beach. ‘I know I say it every day, but it’s true every day.’
‘It is.’
‘Glad you didn’t turn it into an exclusive resort?’ And he smiled.
‘I wouldn’t go that far, but the area I’ve found is spectacular. I can’t wait for you to see it when it’s done.’ But he sounded distracted.
Lily squeezed his hand. ‘Are you okay?’
He started. ‘Yes, fine.’
They carried on until they reached the end of the beach but they didn’t stop there, Damir leading her over the rocks until they reached the tiny curve of sand, flanked by rocks and dunes and sea where they had first made love.
‘I love it here,’ she said softly, looking out at the boats bobbing up and down on the far horizon. ‘It’s like our own secret beach.’
‘Yes.’ He sounded distracted again and she turned to look at him. ‘Damir?’ She faltered to a stop. ‘What are you doing?’
He was on one knee, a small velvet box in one hand. ‘What does it look like I’m doing? No, ignore that, that wasn’t in the script.’
‘The script?’
‘I wanted this to be perfect.’ Damir was usually the most confident-seeming person she knew, but he didn’t look confident now, his throat working as he seemed to search for words. ‘I want this to be perfect, because you are perfect. Lily, I love you. You brought the sunshine into my life and the hope into my heart and have given me more happiness than I ever thought possible. I want nothing more than to keep loving you, laughing with you and to grow old with you. Would you, Lily Woodhouse, do me the very great honour of becoming my wife?’
He flipped open the box to reveal a beautiful ring, a sapphire flanked by diamonds, and Lily gasped.
‘Oh, Damir. Yes, of course I will.’
He smiled then, boyish and so handsome it took her breath away. ‘That is good, because there is champagne chilling behind that rock and I asked Josip and your mother’s permission this morning...’ He paused then. ‘I hope you don’t mind, I know you don’t need anyone’s permission to do anything...’
‘No, I don’t mind.’ Her heart turned over with love and thankfulness for his thoughtfulness. ‘Thank you for including Josip and showing him how important he is to me. Wait, they both said yes, didn’t they?’
‘After a very long time,’ Damir admitted, getting to his feet and extracting the ring from the box. Lily held out her left hand, feeling unaccountably shy as Damir slid the ring onto her third finger.
‘It’s perfect,’ she said, cupping his cheeks and rising up to kiss him.
‘So are you,’ he said, looking into her eyes. ‘So are you.’
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Jessica Gilmore
Bound by the Prince’s Baby
Reawakened by His Christmas Kiss
Cinderella’s Secret Royal Fling
Honeymooning with Her Brazilian Boss
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Fairytale Christmas with the Millionaire by Jennifer Faye.
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Fairytale Christmas with the Millionaire
by Jennifer Faye
CHAPTER ONE
CHRISTMAS WAS IN the air...
Cheerful holiday tunes played on the radio. The Manhattan storefronts were trimmed in shiny tinsel and twinkle lights. And right here on Holly Lane, the Stirling Apartments’ foyer was decked out with lush garland and a pencil Christmas tree adorned with white lights and red satin balls.
This was hands down Alina Martin’s favorite time of the year. She loved to sing the uplifting carols, all the while pretending she could carry a tune. She loved to decorate the tree. And she loved how the holiday season brought out the best in people. However, this year she was hoping for a Christmas miracle to keep her from losing her beloved home.
But at the moment, her immediate attention was focused on finding her apron. Mentally she recounted her actions the prior evening. The day hadn’t been much out of the ordinary. She’d worked the morning shift at the restaurant tending to the party planning as well as helping out in the dining room before rushing home to do her second job as building manager. Even with a rent-controlled a
partment, it wasn’t cheap living in New York City. And yet there was nowhere else in the world she’d rather live.
“Mrrrr...”
She glanced down to find her ginger cat, who she’d affectionately named Prince. They’d first met at a local park. She’d been out for a walk, trying to achieve her ten thousand steps a day, when she’d stopped at a local animal rescue adopt-a-thon. Long story short, Prince picked her out and the rest was history.
When Prince rubbed against her leg, she said, “Begging won’t work. You already had breakfast.”
“Meow.”
Sometimes it was like he could truly understand what she said, “Sorry, sweetie, I can’t hold you, either. I have to leave.”
“Mrrrr...”
He strode away, probably headed back to bed. She wished she could join him.
Alina turned her focus back to her missing apron. She rushed over to the dryer, where she found it at the back of the machine. It was a bit wrinkled. She shook it out with a couple of quick snaps. Good enough.
She rolled up her apron and then stuffed it in her oversize purse. She threw on her red winter coat, a knit cap and her boots. Out the door she went. Noticing the elevator was at the top floor, she opted for the stairs instead. Hers wasn’t a large building, not by New York City standards. But within its five floors, it housed the people she liked to refer to as her adopted family.
She exited the stairwell and rushed up the hallway. Meg, her best friend, stood in the lobby near the mailboxes. Her curly red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. However, instead of her usual sunny smile, she wore a distinct frown. Meg held up a letter. “Have you seen this?”
The worry in her friend’s warm brown eyes drew Alina’s concern. “What is it?”
Mediterranean Fling to Wedding Ring Page 14
