by Maggie Cox
Ludo thought he should, too. But first there was something important he had to do … something that involved purchasing an engagement ring.
As if reading his mind, Alekos put his arm round his shoulders and said, ‘Now, let us go and find your beautiful fiancée. I want to reassure her that you and I no longer bear any grudges. I also want to tell her that I am proud my son has been guided by his heart and not his head in choosing such a lovely woman to be his wife. Which reminds me—weren’t you two supposed to be getting an engagement ring today?’
Not missing a beat, Ludo replied, ‘We were—we are.’
‘Good. Then later on tonight we must meet up again, so that your mother and I can see the ring, and then go out to dinner and celebrate.’
Natalie was over the moon when Ludo appeared with his father and they told her that all previous tensions or grudges between them were no more. Following the wonderful revelation that both men were now willing to forgive and forget, she made the discovery over more coffee and baklava that Alekos Petrakis had a wicked sense of humour as he regaled her with illuminating tales from his boyhood and the mischief he had got up to.
‘I was not always the upstanding citizen you see before you today!’ he confessed laughingly.
But even as she enjoyed his jokes and stories Natalie couldn’t help feeling a little down. It was clear that Alekos was regarding her as his son’s bona fide wife-to-be, and yet again she couldn’t help feeling hurt because it wasn’t true. How would he and his charming wife Eva react when they found out that her engagement to Ludo was nothing but a sham? That as soon as they left Greece in all probability she’d be going back to work in the bed and breakfast she ran with her mother, never to see their charismatic son again … even though in secret she loved him with all her heart?
When Alekos had bade them goodbye, making them promise they would drive over that evening to show them the engagement ring they had chosen, Natalie felt almost sick with guilt and regret.
In complete contrast to the blues that had descended on her, Ludo was uncharacteristically relaxed and happy. ‘Will you do something for me?’ he asked, impelling her into his arms as they returned inside the house after waving his father goodbye.
Her nerves jangled a little and her mouth dried. Her gaze was wary. ‘What’s that?’
His blue eyes sparkling, as though nothing was amiss or possibly could be, he replied, ‘I want you to go upstairs and find something pretty to wear. Perhaps the beautiful dress you wore on our first night here? I’d like to get some photographs of us together when we buy the engagement ring.’
Natalie blinked and stared. ‘Don’t you think this charade has gone far enough, Ludo?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Are you honestly saying you want to keep up the pretence that we’re engaged? It’s going to break your father’s heart when he learns that it’s not true, and, personally, I really don’t want to be responsible for that. He’s a good man, and you’ve just made up with him after years of hardly speaking to each other. How do you think he’s going to feel when he finds out you’ve been playing him for a fool?’
His hands dropping away from her waist as if he’d been mortally stung, Ludo flashed her a piercing blue gaze like the precursor to an all-out thunderstorm.
‘Again I have to ask you—have you forgotten the deal we made before we flew out here?’
Her heart knocking painfully against her ribs, Natalie shook her head sadly. ‘I’ve forgotten nothing, Ludo … including giving you my word that I’d pretend to be your fiancée unless things became too difficult or untenable.
I have to tell you that that’s exactly what they’ve become. Untenable.’
With her head held high and her heart pierced by unbearable sorrow, she headed for the marble staircase without sparing him a second glance.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE BEDROOM DOOR was flung open just as Natalie was hauling her suitcase onto the bed in order to pack. With the heel of her hand she hastily scrubbed away the scalding tears that had been blurring her vision and spun round to find Ludo standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest and an enigmatic smile hitching his lips.
She was immediately incensed. ‘I can’t believe you think the situation is remotely amusing! The fact that you do tells me you’re not the man I thought you were.’
‘I am far from amused that you think my father too good a man to be deceived about our engagement. Anything but.’
‘Then what are you smiling about?’
Inside her chest Natalie’s heart ached with distress. All she wanted to do right now was board the next plane back to the UK and spend some time reflecting on what she could do to prevent herself from ever being so gullible again.
Slowly, Ludo started to walk across the room towards her. When he was almost a foot away Natalie caught the familiar sensuous drift of his cologne and her insides cartwheeled. How would she ever come to terms with not seeing him again? Her feelings for him were no five-minute wonder, here today and gone tomorrow, she was crazy about him—despite his using her to help achieve his own ends. It didn’t matter that he’d made a deal with her, or that he’d followed through on his part of the bargain—she now found she couldn’t meet hers. How could she when even contemplating such a painful idea had suddenly become impossible?
‘You’ve been crying,’ he observed.
There was a look in his eyes that momentarily stole her breath.
‘Yes, I’ve been crying.’ Sniffing, she pulled out a crumpled tissue from her jeans pocket and blew her nose.
‘Why?’
‘Can’t you guess? I’m crying because you were right, Ludo … it is going to break my heart to leave you. I also don’t want to leave Greece. I didn’t want to go home so soon, but now I’m going to have to. I thought I could do this but I can’t … not after learning how much it means to your mother that you’ve met someone special and are engaged, and not after listening to your father today and seeing how much he loves you. I can’t do it because I’m not mercenary and I don’t want to hurt people. If you want to sue me for reneging on our deal then go ahead. There’s nothing I can do about that.’
‘You said that it would break your heart to leave me. Did you mean it?’
Sounding amazed, Ludo moved in a little closer and smiled. Feeling heat pour into her face, Natalie swallowed hard and stared.
‘Yes. I’m not trying to put you in an awkward position, but I mean it.’
‘How does telling me such an incredible thing put me in an awkward position?
‘I don’t want you to feel you have to do anything about it. It’s bad enough that people are going to be hurt because I’m not going to be able to continue to carry out my part of our bargain.’
‘You mean my parents?’ His expression was grave.
‘Of course I mean your parents’
‘What about me, Natalie? Do you not consider that I might be hurt if you don’t adhere to our bargain and agree to be my fiancée?’
‘You mean if I don’t pretend to be your fiancée?’
‘I no longer want you to pretend.’
He moved in even closer—so close that his warm breath fanned her face. Every plane and facet of the handsome features that were so dear to her made her heart ache anew, because after today she might never see them again.
Then, suddenly registering what he had just said, she turned rigid with shock. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said I no longer want you to pretend to be my fiancée. I want us to get engaged for real.’
‘You’re joking.’
‘No, I’m not. I want us to become officially engaged with a view to getting married. I’m deadly serious.’
At the end of this declaration he tenderly gathered Natalie’s face between his hands and brought his lips passionately down on hers. There was nothing she could do but eagerly respond. The lessons in love that he had given her had made her an addict for his touch, for the slow, t
antalising kisses that rendered her so weak with need that she couldn’t think straight … couldn’t even remember her own name when he made love to her.
She was so glad his arms were round her waist when she could finally bear to tear her lips away from his or she might have stumbled.
‘This really isn’t some kind of a joke, is it?’ she asked huskily, staring up into the incandescent sea of blue that never failed to mesmerise her.
‘No. It isn’t a joke. I would never be so cruel. I mean every word I’ve said. I don’t want a pretend engagement, Natalie, I want a real one. So there is no longer any need for you to worry about deceiving my parents. I genuinely want you to be my wife, agape mou. When I buy an engagement ring for you today I want it to be for real.’
‘But why would you want that?’
‘Do you really need to ask? Have you not already guessed?’ He exhaled a wry breath, then, smiling warmly down into her eyes, said, ‘I love you Natalie … I love you with all my heart and soul and I don’t think I can even bear the thought of living without you. That’s why I want to marry you.’
For several heart-pounding seconds his passionate declaration stunned her into silence. Then, gathering her wits, she tenderly touched her palm to his cheek and smiled back.
‘I love you too, Ludo. I wouldn’t consider marrying you if I didn’t. You swept into my life like a whirlwind and turned everything I thought about myself and what I wanted upside down. I know it might sound ridiculous, but I had more or less resigned myself to being single for the rest of my life, because I couldn’t imagine marrying anyone for anything less than true love.’
‘That is what I thought, too. I longed to find someone real and true who would be my friend and my companion as well as my lover … The idea that a woman might only marry me for my money was a genuine fear of mine.’
‘I would never marry you for your money, Ludo.’ Natalie frowned. ‘I’m an old-fashioned girl who believes that there’s someone for everyone—that when two people fall in love it’s written in stars.’ Her cheeks reddened self-consciously. ‘And I believe it was written in the stars that day we met on the train and you paid for my ticket. Especially when you turned out to be the man who was buying my father’s business! People sometimes read me wrong because I have a side to me that’s very pragmatic, but I’ve had to be. When my dad left I had to be a support and friend to my mother, as well as help her to get a business up and running so that we had an income. But I’m still an incurable romantic. Anyway, I learned early on in my life, from what happened with my parents, that money is no guarantee of living happily ever after with someone. Not unless their love for each other is more important than anything material.’
Tipping up her chin, Ludo stole a brief, hungry kiss. When he lifted his head to gauge her reaction, he seemed delighted by the fact that she was blushing again.
‘I told you once that you have a very sexy voice, remember? As much as I would love to listen to you talk some more, glykia mou, we have a special appointment at my friend’s jewellers in Lindos. He is closing the shop for the afternoon so that we might take our time in choosing a ring. He is the most sought-after designer and will create something utterly exquisite for you. That may take a few weeks, and we will have to wait for it to be made, but my intention is to buy you a beautiful ring that we can take with us today, so that the world knows we intend to marry. That being the case—we should be making our way over there now.’
‘That seems awfully expensive, Ludo. Surely just one ring will do?’
He stole another kiss and playfully pinched her cheek. ‘In the circles I’ve moved in you are unlike any other woman I have ever known, my love. Most of those women have their eye on a man who can keep them in the style they believe they deserve, and they do not much care if he is a good person or even if they really like him … as long as he is rich. But with you, Natalie, I already know you love me for myself and not for the material things I may provide. Therefore I’d be pleased if you indulge me in this matter today.’
‘If it means that much to you, then I will.’
‘Good.’
‘Ludo, can I ask you something? Something we haven’t really talked about?’
His hands resting lightly on her hips, he gave her a briefly wary nod. ‘What’s on your mind?’
Because it wasn’t an easy question to ask, and she was slightly dreading hearing the answer, Natalie grimaced. ‘Have you—have you had many lovers before me?’
‘No. Not many. So few, in fact, that none of them are even memorable. They weren’t exactly good choices. But I’m not interested in revisiting my past, Natalie.’ He sighed. ‘I’m much more interested in what’s going on right now and the lovely woman who is standing in front of me … the woman who has so miraculously told me that she loves me and that it would break her heart to leave me.’
‘It’s true.’ It was her turn to reach up and plant a soft kiss on his bristled cheekbone. ‘She does love you, Ludo … with all her heart. And if you really want a photograph of us to mark the occasion of our engagement I’ll go and put on that dress you like so much and tidy my hair.’
‘Natalie?’
‘Yes?’
‘Do you mind going into the bathroom to dress instead of staying in here? Because if you stand here and disrobe I might not be able to resist the temptation to help you.’
‘If you do that we’ll never get to the jewellers today.’
‘You are right. We had better focus on the matter in hand. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time later for the other things I’d like to focus on.’
With a boldly lascivious gleam in the sapphire eyes she had so come to love, Ludo reluctantly freed her from his embrace, turned her round and gave her a little push in the small of her back. He was still chuckling when she hurried into the bathroom and shut the door.
The heavily perfumed air was just as hypnotic and spellbinding as Ludo remembered, and it throbbed with the soporific sound of bees and insects. Blessedly devoid of the noise of traffic—there was none on the island, and the only means of reaching it was by boat—if there was one place in all the world where a person couldn’t help but relax and unwind from day-to-day stresses then Margaritari was that place.
He’d taken his father’s advice about returning to the island and creating some happier memories, and had brought Natalie with him to do just that. He had also shared with his father his conviction that he felt he’d become a better man for having met and fallen in love with her, and hoped with all his heart that they would enjoy a marriage as long and as happy as Eva’s and Alekos’s.
Barefoot, he started to follow the crescent-shaped arc of lush golden sand, thoughtfully gazing out at the calm blue waters gently rippling beside it and sending up a silent prayer of thanks for his good fortune. He had made his peace with his father and he was in love with the kindest, most beautiful girl in the world. And he didn’t care who knew it.
Right now Natalie was back in the simple but elegant stone cottage he’d had built for his own use, telephoning her father. He hadn’t forgotten that his cultural tradition demanded that he ask him for her hand in marriage, but first Natalie wanted to talk to Bill Carr in private and tell him why she wanted to marry Ludo. They were madly in love … it was as simple as that.
He hoped her father would not try and talk her out of it in the belief that he was leading her on … that he might not follow through on his declaration to marry her … that he was untrustworthy. Snapping himself out of the old habit of fearing he was not as well regarded as others, he stopped walking and stood quietly staring out to sea at the vast incandescent horizon that stretched out before him. Sadly he remembered his brother Theo. Even though he had died too young, and so tragically, somehow Ludo knew that he was pleased he had made up with their father and had met Natalie and fallen in love with her. He had a strong sense that his beloved brother wished them well …
‘Ludo!’
He turned at the sound of the voice that thrill
ed him like no other, his heart thrumming in anticipation of what she might be going to tell him. He prayed the news was good.
Natalie was running towards him across the sand, barefoot and beautiful in the mint-coloured sarong he had bought her at the market in Lindos, her lovely long hair cascading over her shoulders like a shining waterfall. In her hand she was carrying a small bunch of oleander and lavender. As she drew level he made himself resist taking her into his arms and gave her the chance to get her breath back first.
‘He gives us both his blessing, and says that you can ring him when we get back to the cottage.’ Her grey eyes shining, she grinned. ‘He also said I’m to tell you that you’re a lucky man … a very lucky man.’
‘Does he think I don’t know that already?’ Impatient to hold her, Ludo hauled his wife-to-be against his chest, the heady scent of the small floral bouquet she held drifting hypnotically beneath his nose. ‘So, he gives us his blessing and does not mind that you are to become Mrs Ludo Petrakis?’
‘As long as it’s what I want, then he’s more than happy. In fact he’s going round to my mum’s tomorrow to tell her the news himself. Apparently she’s invited him to stay for dinner.’ Natalie’s brow furrowed a little. ‘I suppose it’s good that they’re talking properly … Anyway, my dad says it’s only right that if he gives us his blessing to be married he should be the one to tell her.’
‘He sounds to be in good spirits. Is his health any better?’
‘Much. You have no idea how much it helped him when you agreed to pay him that extra sum for the business. He says he’s buzzing with ideas for a new one. I just hope he doesn’t get too carried away and overdo it.’
‘And why have you brought these flowers to the beach, agape mou? If you want to admire them they are all around us in the coves and by the rock pools … the garden is also full of them.’
‘I know. That’s where I picked these from. To tell you the truth, I wanted us to say a little prayer for your brother and cast them out to sea in his memory,’ Natalie answered softly. ‘Do you mind …?’
