She spoke of trust. He realised he had an abiding distrust of women. His mother, the first betrayal. Then his nanny, falling in love and marrying a Greek boy from a town too far away for the young Lukas to visit. She hadn’t abandoned him completely. He was still in touch with her, even now. But he had loved her more than anyone and had not been allowed to express it for fear of offending his mother. Then he had allowed Céline to shatter his trust—foolishly now, he saw. He should have treated that as the fling it so obviously had been for her. But Ashleigh had not lied to him—he had asked her to lie for him.
Nevertheless, the fear was there. If he made himself vulnerable to her—the first woman since Céline to make him want to—he could end up wounded beyond endurance. With all the responsibility for his family on his shoulders—the son holding up the parents instead of the usual way of things—he could not afford the distraction. Yet if he did not—what kind of empty life stretched out ahead of him?
By his persistence in thinking she would betray him and return to her former fiancé, had he driven Ashleigh away? Had he ever really heard her?
The house was very quiet. Too quiet. He usually took delight in solitude. But he longed to hear the most tuneless version of Jingle Bells ever sung coming from his bathroom. Instead there was nothing. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway below had always sounded comforting. Now it sounded ominous. Each second taking her further away from him.
He gave up on work. Found himself heading in the direction of her bedroom. He pushed open the door—almost expecting her to be there. A remnant of her scent danced in the air—fresh and sweet. Lukas closed his eyes the better to inhale it.
When he opened them, he was shocked to see she’d left everything he’d bought her behind, neatly packed in the closet. It was bitterly cold today; snow was predicted for Christmas Day. He was angry at her for not taking at least the coat and the boots. She would be freezing in that old anorak.
But she had left something else behind. A small gift-wrapped box on the dressing table. He picked it up, was stunned to see it was for him. He read the tasteful Christmas tag.
To Lukas—good luck.
A xx
With hands that weren’t steady he tore open the wrapping. It was a hand-blown glass ornament in the shape of a pomegranate, its rich colour picked out with gold. Lukas remembered telling her about the Greek tradition where a pomegranate was hung above the front door for Christmas. He was touched by her thoughtfulness. Of the many lavish gifts he had been given over the years, this was the most precious by far.
Lukas turned the card over.
P.S. This was not paid for with your credit card.
He was feeling it now all right. Loss. Regret. A deep, aching need for her. And, overriding it all—hope.
She did not intend to come back. He’d found her keys and the credit card on the hallway table. He hadn’t needed to see them to know she was gone. He had felt the emptiness of the house.
But if she felt a fraction of the emotion that was building in him he might be able to convince her to come back. He had to find her. Apologise. Explain. Grovel if he had to. And he had to go armed with something to convince her of the truth about how he felt.
He thought of the many kiss-off pieces of jewellery he had purchased to signal the end with a woman who had started pushing him for more. The only kind of jewellery he wanted to buy for Ashleigh was something she’d wear on the third finger of her left hand and that he’d be around to admire until death did them part.
She’d told him where she was staying. He had to go find her. He wanted her. And he didn’t stop until he got what he wanted.
But then the phone rang.
* * *
Ashleigh stood with the other bridesmaids, lined up alongside Emma under the elegant floral arch in the main reception room at The Daphne Hotel. She was enthralled as she witnessed Emma and Jack renew their vows six years after they had married in secret as teenagers. There was something heart-wrenchingly beautiful about celebrating a relationship that was already deeply committed and had been forged through hardship and separation. These two deserved their happiness.
They were the Earl and Countess of Redminster, high up on the social scale that was the English aristocracy. Yet today, here, they were simply a man and a woman in love, celebrating that love with a select few family and friends. Ashleigh felt honoured to be part of the bridal party.
Jack was so tall and protective, Emma slender and golden in the strikingly elegant white dress designed by Sophie, with flowers twisted through her blonde hair. Love and trust and faith shone from their eyes as they made promises to each other. To love. To honour. In sickness and in health.
Could she have felt that for Lukas? The painful lurch in her heart told her yes. Or had she fallen for a man who didn’t really exist? Real or not, she’d been grateful she’d had the wedding preparations to distract her. Because that man she had only known such a short time had left a big, aching gap in her life. All this happiness, all this talk of love made her feel that loss even more. For the first time since she’d been in London, she felt lonely.
Emma and Jack concluded the ceremony with the sweetest of kisses that made the bridesmaids sigh. Then the couple was immediately surrounded by well-wishers—including Emma’s mother and her second husband, who had come from France. Clio Caldwell was there too, in the company of an intriguingly handsome man who could rival Lukas for dark, Mediterranean good looks. Was that an engagement ring flashing on Clio’s finger? Standing at a distance, emanating disapproval, were Jack’s parents. Apparently, they would never forgive Emma for the scandal that had enveloped her father and dragged her along with it.
Parents, Ashleigh mused. Here they were in their mid- to late twenties—Lukas in his thirties—still being affected by their parents and their behaviour. It sounded as if Lukas’s family had been dysfunctional at best; no wonder he’d learned to tamp down on his emotions for self-protection. Except for their inexplicable obsession with Dan, Ashleigh’s parents were almost boringly normal and she wouldn’t have them any other way.
The thought struck her that perhaps she’d been striving for the kind of marriage her parents had when she’d agreed to marry Dan. Thank heaven she’d run, because now she’d tasted fireworks with Lukas, she knew nothing else would do. Ever.
* * *
Lukas had no trouble getting past reception at the quirky Chelsea hotel and through to the ballroom where the renewal of vows ceremony was being held for the Earl and Countess of Redminister. Another thing he didn’t know about Ashleigh—he’d had no idea she had connections with the cream of this country’s aristocracy. She could hold her own anywhere, as she’d proved again and again. But all he wanted was for her to find her place in his heart.
The ceremony was concluding as he made his way quietly to the back of the room. His eyes immediately arrowed in on Ashleigh, standing in a row with three other bridesmaids. Out of the five beautiful women in the bridal party he saw only her—the smallest of them, luminous in a dusky pink dress, her bright hair pulled up off her face and entwined with creamy flowers. Her gaze was intent on the bride and groom. Even from where he stood, he could see the expressions flit across her face. Joy for her friends. Happiness. And a poignant longing that echoed how he felt as he gazed at her.
His longing was fierce, possessive. He wanted to see her dressed not as a bridesmaid but as a bride—his bride—with all that longing and joy lighting up her face for him. Now he had to convince her to trust him, to believe that he had left behind him any play-acting or pretence, and pray that she felt the same way he felt. He slid his hand in his breast pocket for the reassurance of that important piece of jewellery that he hoped would seal the most important deal of his life. And summoned up the courage to reveal his true self to her.
Lukas watched as the ceremony concluded. He had always prided himse
lf on his lack of sentimentality. But when he watched the tall blonde bride and the dark-haired groom exchange a lingering kiss he felt overwhelmed by an agony of longing. Yes. This was what he wanted for him and Ashleigh.
He wanted to propose to her right now. But she was surrounded by people congratulating the happy couple. He considered himself a brave man. It had taken courage to make the difficult decisions required to save the family company. He was fearless in sport. But what if he asked Ashleigh to marry him in front of all these people and she said ‘no’? Humiliation wasn’t something he could wear lightly. He had to get her on her own, away from here.
* * *
‘Ashleigh.’ The voice was low and urgent. Did she want to be with Lukas so much she was conjuring up his voice at her shoulder? But no. Ashleigh turned to see him standing just behind her.
‘You’ve gatecrashed my friends’ wedding?’ she hissed, while trying to deny the way her heart leapt at the sight of him. Tall and imposing in an immaculately tailored dark suit, he put the rest of the male guests to shame—including the incredibly handsome groom.
‘I told the gatekeepers I was your significant other,’ he said in a low voice.
‘So we’re back to the pretend now, are we?’ she said through a sickening sense of disappointment. ‘I thought that was what gave you such cause to doubt me? Maybe we should try sticking to the facts. You could have told them you were my boss and they would have let you in. Though the security is pretty tight. My friends have had a problem with paparazzi in the past.’
‘I didn’t realise you had friends in such high places,’ he said. He seemed...nervous. Lukas Christophedes nervous? Surely he wouldn’t be intimidated by the grand company here? Or was he intimidated by her less than friendly welcome?
She had no idea what he was doing here—not when he’d been so relieved to see the last of her that heartbreaking night of Tina’s drinks. The night she had humiliated herself by revealing her feelings. Feelings he’d made so clear were not reciprocated. But if it went on past performance he must want something from her. Something related to his business—the work that meant more than anything to him. Certainly more than she could ever mean.
‘You told me you weren’t interested in weddings, so the titles of the bride and groom didn’t come into it.’
‘It’s true I’ve never been interested in weddings. Though I could get interested if the circumstances were right.’ Was he trying to tell her something? If so it was in some kind of male-speak code she had no idea how to decipher. But his tortured expression didn’t give her any clues.
‘That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,’ she said. Hope leapt in her heart. Had he missed her? Come to ask her to come back? It had hurt, the way he’d let her go so easily, had seemed so relieved she’d decided to leave before Christmas.
He cleared his throat, took a step closer. She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Try not to look too friendly,’ she warned. ‘And no need to act lovey-dovey—Tina’s not here. However, Clio Caldwell is here and it’s against Maids in Chelsea rules to fraternise with clients.’ Not to mention push them against a wall and kiss them in a frenzy of want. Lukas was attracting a few interested looks. She had to be careful; she didn’t want lose her job.
‘I came to ask you...to ask you a favour,’ he said finally.
Business again. Why had she thought it would be otherwise? She sighed. Hid her plummeting disappointment behind a matter-of-fact manner. ‘What is it this time? And does it involve me requiring a complete change of wardrobe?’
‘Just the clothes waiting for you back at home,’ he said. His home, he meant. It could never be hers. Although, the way she felt about him, anywhere he was would be home. Why was he here, stirring up impossible feelings?
Ashleigh took a deep breath to steady herself. She really couldn’t endure any more make-believe; it would be cruel of him to expect it of her. Not when she yearned for him to take her in his arms and tell her...oh, tell her impossible things like he’d fallen in love with her the way she’d fallen for him. That he wanted their relationship to be genuine. Get real, Ashleigh, she told herself. There was a far more likely explanation for his presence.
‘Is Tina offering invitations again?’ she asked. ‘Maybe a double date with her and Gary that you think you can’t refuse?’ Unable to meet his gaze, she looked down at the floor, at a pattern in the carpet that seemed appropriately like a jagged red heart torn in two. ‘If so, I think it might be time to tell her...to tell her you’ve crushed my heart and moved on.’ Which wouldn’t actually be far from the truth.
‘It’s not that.’ There was a note of urgency to his voice that made her look up to find his dark brown eyes lit by something unfamiliar and unsettling as he searched her face.
‘Then...then what is it?’ she asked in a voice that came out shakier than she had meant it to. For a long moment her gaze met his and it seemed as though everything around her faded away—the chatting of the guests, the music, the happy laughter of the reunited bride and groom. She had the feeling that her world was about to change for ever.
‘It...it’s something personal. I...I want to ask you to...to...’ She wasn’t used to seeing Lukas this uncertain, as if he were unable to get the words out.
‘Ask me what, Lukas?’ She clasped her hands behind her back so he wouldn’t see they were trembling with nervous anticipation.
He took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘Ashleigh, I...’ he choked out.
‘Yes?’ she said.
One of the groom’s friends, bearing two flutes of champagne, brushed past them, murmured an apology.
Lukas glared at him, then muttered something under his breath in Greek that didn’t sound like a curse word, rather that he might be berating himself. Whatever it was, Ashleigh got the distinct impression he had changed his mind about what he was going to ask her—and that she might never know what it would have been.
She looked up at him, forced her voice to sound steady. ‘Lukas, are you asking me to help you with something?’
He responded to her question as if to a lifeline. But his answer took her completely by surprise. ‘Yes. My parents called to see when I’d be arriving in Athens for Christmas. When I told them I was spending Christmas in London they insisted on coming here to join me. They’re arriving tomorrow morning, Christmas Eve.’
She frowned. ‘And that involves me, how?’
‘I want you to spend Christmas Day with me.’
Ashleigh was so astonished she was momentarily lost for words. ‘So you want to hire me as your hostess?’ she said eventually. Work, after all. ‘If so, you need to talk to Clio.’
‘No! I’m not saying that at all. I need someone there so I’m not outnumbered.’
Ashleigh almost choked on the nausea that rose in her throat. ‘So you want to trundle out the pretend girlfriend again to make Christmas Day easier for you?’ she managed to get out, aware she needed to keep her voice low so interested bystanders couldn’t hear her. ‘Well, I don’t even have to think about it. I’ve paid over and over for my mistake in squatting in your house. The ledger is balanced; as a matter of fact, there’s probably credit in my column. My answer is no. The deal is off.’ They were equals here. Ashleigh and Lukas. Not the billionaire and his errant maid. In fact he was the intruder into her world.
He paled beneath his tan and she could see a pulse throb at the corner of his mouth. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong. I need someone to give me moral support. Watch my back. I want someone to be on my side.’
‘And that’s me?’
She saw a new vulnerability in his eyes, an appeal. ‘Right now, Ashleigh, I can’t think of anyone more on my side than you.’ He looked and sounded so sincere—but then he’d proven himself to be a top-notch actor.
‘Really?’
‘Yes. I...I need you. Not for business reasons. This is...thi
s is personal.’
He needed her. The word flashed out a warning that if she went along with this she was heading into danger. Danger to her heart, danger to her sanity. Because the thought of him needing her was alluring beyond reason. She wasn’t at all sure what this was about. It was far from the declaration of devotion that would have sent her heart singing. But she had missed him. There wasn’t a minute since they’d parted that she hadn’t missed him.
He needed her.
Spending Christmas Day with him would be a cruel torture. How could she endure having to fall back into the easy repartee, the flirtatious fake kisses, the pretence of being someone special to him when she ached for it to be real? When it could never be real. Why had she let herself fall in love with such an unattainable, difficult, damaged man? A man who had given no indication he reciprocated her feelings. He had admitted he was attracted to her. But that wasn’t enough. Her heart would be breaking knowing that once her usefulness had expired, his parents back on a flight to Athens, it would be goodbye, Ashleigh.
And yet... He needed her. She kept coming back to that. No matter what his motivation for having her back in his house, she wanted to be with him. And it would be a milder form of torture than if she was without him. If she said ‘no’ to his proposition, she would most likely spend the most miserable Christmas Day of her life wondering what he was doing.
Sadly, it seemed he thought he could just pick her up and put her down again as he chose. But if she went into this with her eyes open, knowing the likely consequences, knowing it would be for the last time, she would say yes. For his sake, but also for her own.
‘I actually have plans for Christmas Day,’ she said.
‘Surely you could change them,’ he said, with the arrogant assurance of a man used to getting his own way.
‘I’ll have to talk to Sophie.’ In between their bridesmaid preparations, she had taken her friend into her confidence about her feelings for Lukas. Sophie wouldn’t think she was blowing her off for a better offer if she accepted Lukas’s invitation. But it would be good manners to check first.
Greek Tycoon's Mistletoe Proposal Page 15
