And why she had been a virgin.
‘Leah Bristow.’ The name tasted sour in his mouth.
Why hadn’t it occurred to him? He’d been blinded because Leah was Susan’s double.
‘Leah Hamlin,’ she told him in a quiet, shaky voice.
‘Susie’s identical twin sister,’ Spiros supplied.
The last piece of the puzzle fell into place, making him reel. He saw the whole picture with clarity and his gut churned. She’d been deceiving him so that Susan could be with Spiros. So that Susan could marry Spiros! He swallowed down on the bile rising up his throat.
‘Alex —’ she started.
She’d lied to him. All this time, she’d been lying. He’d been falling for her, and she’d been deceiving him, playing him for a fool.
‘What’s Leah doing here?’ Spiros demanded again.
‘Perhaps you’d like to explain, Leah.’ He glared at her.
Although the look that she sent him was full of remorse, not a single sound escaped her mouth when she opened it.
Then again, there was nothing she could say. No way she could explain the magnitude of her deceit.
Spiros made an impatient gesture with his hands. Alex’s attention shifted away from Leah.
‘Alex, what’s she doing in your bed?’
His tone was bitter as he answered. ‘Trying to succeed where her sister failed.’
‘Alex,’ she begged, ‘I was going to tell you the truth. I —’
‘I doubt you’d be able to tell the truth,’ he bit out. ‘You’ve proven to be quite the accomplished liar.’
The woman in his bed flinched as if he’d slapped her, then paled to the colour of parchment. His hands became fists at his sides, and he hardened his heart against the pain. The lie she’d perpetrated…she’d brought this on herself, and there was no talking her way out of it. Now that he understood her duplicity, he would never trust her again.
‘Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?’ his brother demanded.
‘Get out, Spiros!’ Alex roared.
Even though his brother drew back, he stayed put, glancing between Leah and Alex in bewilderment.
‘Please, Alex, let me explain it to you,’ Leah pleaded.
‘You don’t have to explain. You pretended to be your sister so she could be with Spiros.’
‘What else could I do? Susie and Spiros love each other, they —’
‘No, we don’t,’ Spiros cut in.
‘What?’ she asked. The sheer disbelief in that single syllable echoed around the room.
Alex cursed. His pulse throbbed at the vein at his temple. ‘Please, God, don’t tell me you married Susan.’
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Leah wanted to cover her ears. The clock on Alex’s dresser seemed horrendously loud in the ensuing silence, like a timer on a bomb waiting to detonate. Every second that passed was bringing them all closer to a dangerous explosion, threatening to blow them apart, the devastation catastrophic.
She held her breath as she waited for Spiros’s reply. Appearing guilty and somewhat abashed, he shifted from foot to foot again, his eyes fixed on the carpet. Then he lifted his head up and looked straight at Alex.
‘We’re not married.’
Alex exhaled in relief.
‘We won’t be getting married, either,’ he added.
‘What do you mean?’ she demanded. ‘What about the baby?’
Spiros looked at her and shook his head. ‘There isn’t any baby.’
All her blood rushed away from her extremities, and she felt herself swoon. Her heart contracted in pain. ‘Susie suffered a miscarriage?’
‘No, Leah.’ Spiros moved toward her. ‘Susie was lying. There was never a baby.’
‘No!’ she denied.
How could Susie lie about something like that?
Her eyes flew to Alex. He’d been right.
A strangled sob escaped her tight throat at the knowledge that she’d been acting to protect a sister who’d deceived them all. What had happened to the sister she thought she’d known? The sister she loved and idolised?
‘I didn’t know,’ she began. ‘If I’d realised, I would’ve told you earlier —’
‘I doubt it,’ Alex disagreed. ‘You may have lied to me initially at your sister’s bidding, but it wasn’t long before your motivation became self-serving.’
‘Wha…what do you mean?’
‘You’ve been hoping you’d get into my bed.’ His voice was flat. ‘Did you hope I’d fall for you? Did you think I’d set you up as my mistress?’
The heat of shame and humiliation flooded through her. She did want to be in his bed, there was no denying that. But not as his mistress — as his wife.
‘You saw the dollar signs,’ Alex continued.
How could he think that? How could he sell himself so short?
Christina! He’s comparing me to his wife.
‘I see you don’t deny it,’ he ground out. ‘You’re no better than your sister.’
‘No!’ she cried out.
‘Hang on, Alex,’ Spiros protested. ‘That’s not fair. Leah’s not like —’
‘Your deception’s over.’ Alex’s fury was blistering. ‘You played a dangerous game and you lost. Get dressed, and get downstairs. Spiros, see her to the helicopter. Make sure she leaves the island.’
‘But —’ she started.
‘I’ll make arrangements for you to leave Greece. You can use Susan’s passport, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you. Lying obviously comes as naturally to both you and your sister as breathing.’
Tears pricked her eyes. ‘Alex, please —’
‘I’ll be waiting for you in my study as soon as she’s gone, Spiros.’ Alex turned, and walked out of the room without so much as a backward glance at her.
It’s over.
Alex knew the truth, and he’d walked away without giving her a chance to explain.
She was alive. Her heart was broken, but somehow it was still beating and managing to pump the blood around her body. Perhaps the cruellest punishment of all for her deceit was that she would go on living, knowing that she’d lost any chance of being with Alex.
If only she’d told him earlier.
‘Leah, what’s going on?’ Spiros sat down next to her on the bed. ‘How did you get here?’
‘Alex brought me here.’
‘He kidnapped you?’
‘It didn’t happen exactly like that.’ Strange, now it was over, how she could see everything through Alex’s eyes. She no longer thought of him as her kidnapper.
‘He thought you were Susie.’
She nodded, but didn’t want to keep talking about things that had happened between her and Alex. The pain was too fresh. Too raw. ‘Where’s Susie?’
‘She went back to London.’
‘I thought you were married. You were in Paris together.’
‘We couldn’t marry. You were carrying all Susie’s identification.’
‘But, she got to Paris. Didn’t she get a new passport?’
‘She used yours.’
She shook her head. Was there no rule that Susie wouldn’t break? ‘I thought…It doesn’t matter. You said you don’t love each other?’
‘No. Alex was right, Leah. Susie was using me to get at him. She’s obsessed with him.’
‘She lied to you about being pregnant to get you to elope with her?’
He nodded. ‘She was off her face last night with drugs. I couldn’t get her to stop using. I was angry with her and worried about what it’d do to the baby. She told me there was no baby.’
‘Was that the only reason you agreed to marry her?’
He nodded slowly. ‘I’d tried to break up with her the day before you went to see Alex.’
Leah closed her eyes tight, unable to believe the extent of Susie’s manipulation. They’d all been pawns in her game. But had Spiros been equally guilty of playing games?
‘Did you ever care for her, or was Alex righ
t in saying you were more interested once he warned you not to get involved?’
A flush stole over his olive skin. ‘She turned my head.’ His hands moved in an agitated gesture. ‘It got out of hand. I was angry with Alex.’
‘Because he wouldn’t back the business you wanted to start up?’
‘That and other reasons. I want to start an agency and a recording studio. Alex wouldn’t lend me the money I needed.’ His fists clenched. ‘He’s always —’
‘You used Susie just as much as she used you.’ Leah didn’t want to listen to his excuses. ‘You were trying to score points against Alex.’
‘Susie said she’d sign a contract with me. I hoped others would follow suit if I could get her under contract.’
‘You took her to bed,’ she accused.
‘Hell, Leah, she didn’t need any convincing. If anything, it was the other way around. But I would’ve stuck by her if she’d been pregnant. I was prepared to marry her.’
‘Thank goodness you didn’t.’
‘Leah, your sister never loved me. She was using me. She’s got it bad for Alex, and he rejected her. She’s out of her head. I think she really would’ve married me if you didn’t have her passport.’
Leah buried her head in her hands. What a tangled deceit.
‘What about Elena, Spiros? She’s planning your wedding in less than a month. Didn’t you stop and think of her?’
He stood up. ‘For God’s sake, Leah. Don’t rub salt into the wounds. I know what I did was wrong, but I’m back to make things right.’
Her hand tightened around the bed sheet. ‘You make it sound so easy, but you and Susie have played with everyone else’s emotions. There are things that have happened that just can’t be put right.’
A look of horror spread across his features. His jaw slackened. ‘You and Alex! He’s been sleeping with you.’
‘He hasn’t been sleeping with me.’
‘But you’re in his bed, he…’ Spiros broke off. ‘Tell me tonight isn’t the first time.’
Her anger subsided as her own pain gripped her. Tears welled in her eyes again, making Alex’s brother blur in front of her.
He let out a long string of angry words in Greek. ‘I knew Alex was ruthless, but I never realised he’d go this far.’
She was missing something. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘A couple of nights ago I sent a fax to Alex. I told him to expect my arrival tonight.’
She frowned. It took her a few seconds before she understood, then her stomach twisted in despair. ‘You think he — ‘
He nodded. ‘Alex staged your seduction. He thought you were Susie and knew I’d be arriving tonight. I believe he planned it so that I’d find you two together. If I found her in bed with him, of course I’d lose interest in your sister.’
It was too much. Her head swam, and she thought she might pass out. Everything in her wanted to sink into oblivion rather than face the truth of Alex’s actions.
A potent cocktail of misery, shame and embarrassment coursed through her veins. Alex’s whole attitude toward her had changed in the last couple of days. After he’d received the fax from Spiros, they’d spent time together, had fostered a closeness. But that had turned out to be a lie and merely a prelude to her seduction. The most special time in her life —falling in love, giving herself heart and body — was fake. He’d abused her trust. He’d used and manipulated her.
It was impossible to stop her strangled sob of pain. Tears stung her eyes.
‘He’ll pay for this, Leah,’ Spiros vowed. ‘I promise you.’
‘No! Just let it go.’
‘You don’t want retribution for the way he’s shamed you?’
Closing her eyes tight, a teardrop spilled down on to each of her cheeks. The shame was partly hers. The moment she’d deliberately deceived Alex and agreed to go along with the lie of being Susie, she’d regretted her decision. The man was ruthless, but he couldn’t have realised she’d never have surrendered her virginity if she didn’t love him with her entire being.
‘Alex didn’t know who I was.’
‘Even if you’d been Susie, he still used you.’
‘Are you really championing me, or am I just another way you can score points against him?’ she asked accusingly.
He flushed as her words hit home.
Defeated and washed out, she told him, ‘Spiros, you and Susie both need to grow up.’
She watched his Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed hard. ‘I’ll wait outside and let you get dressed.’ He left.
Finally alone, she forced her heavy limbs to push herself up and out of Alex’s bed, fighting to suppress the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. Wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands, she acknowledged that if she allowed herself to cry for what might’ve been between her and Alex, the tears would be unstoppable. She would cry for an eternity.
What a mess. What a horrible, tangled mess.
She was furious with Susie. It had to be the effect of the drugs; Spiros had confirmed that Susie was still using. Leah knew her sister could possibly be suicidal; despair and anxiety replaced her fury. Finding Susie and booking her into a rehabilitation facility was now her main priority. It was only with professional support that she could help her sister get back to normal.
Sadness filled her heart. All the deception had been nothing. No new start for Susie. No happy-ever-after ending. Susie had never loved Spiros in the first place. It’d all been about Alex.
Alex. The man she’d deceived. Betrayed. A man whose trust had already been left in tatters by the actions of his wife and mother. Now she’d eroded that trust even further.
Had he really planned her seduction so cold-bloodedly?
‘I didn’t mean to go this far, but I can’t stop.’ Those were the words he’d uttered before they’d made love. Maybe he’d planned to have her in bed so Spiros could find them together, but he’d never intended to seduce her completely.
He’d made love to her. Even in her inexperience, she was sure he’d felt the magic between them. That hadn’t been a mechanical act, performed just for his own physical satisfaction. She replayed their lovemaking in her memory. He’d cared about her responses, had almost worshipped her with his body. Was he really such a good actor that he could forget the tenderness he’d displayed?
‘This time, I promise, it’ll be even better for you.’
Despite not wanting to, he still cared. Of course, his initial reaction was to be furious now that he knew he’d been duped, but he’d made love to her — to Leah, not to Susie. The rapport they’d established had come from a meeting of their minds as much as from the physical attraction between them.
As fast as she could, she picked up her clothes scattered over Alex’s bedroom floor and put them on. Throughout the whole masquerade she’d fought against her own desires and her own sense of what was right, for Susie’s happiness. Her conscience screamed at her to find her sister fast now she was at her most vulnerable, but before she did, it was time to make a last stand for her own happiness.
There’d be no helicopter flight off the island until she’d spoken to Alex again. She had to make him understand why she’d taken part in the deception. She needed to tell him how much she loved him and see whether he truly reciprocated her love.
Whether there could be a chance for them.
Leah couldn’t leave him knowing he believed she was just like his wife.
Pride was a terribly destructive emotion, and Alex had it in spades. It was the reason he was shutting her out of his life so ruthlessly and completely. Well, not if she could help it. It was time to face him and know the truth, even if exposing her heart destroyed her.
Leah found Alex sitting by the swimming pool, staring into the water.
‘Alex.’ She said his name hesitantly.
His eyes hardened as he looked at her. ‘Why are you still here?’
‘We need to talk.’
He stood up, toweri
ng over her. ‘I told you to leave.’
She swallowed down her nerves and straightened her spine. Everything was riding on this. ‘I heard what you said, but I’m not sure you really meant it.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I meant every word.’
‘What we shared this afternoon was real for me Alex, not contrived.’
‘You’re wasting your time, Leah.’
‘You were my first lover. Doesn’t that prove to you how much you mean to me? How much I wanted you?’
‘It proves you’re prepared to do anything to get your hands on my wealth.’
‘I don’t give a damn about your money. Alex, I want you.’ He was hurting. She had to make him see how different she was from the picture he had in his mind.
‘I’m not listening to anymore of your lies.’ He started turning away from her, but she reached out and held his arm.
‘Why wouldn’t I want you? I know you acted out of love for Spiros. I respect that.’
‘I don’t respect you!’ He pulled away from her touch and started walking away.
‘You were starting to respect me,’ she called after him. ‘I don’t believe you’d take me to bed without caring for me.’
‘Believe it!’ He kept walking.
Her legs propelled her forward. She wouldn’t let him leave her. This was her last chance to make him listen.
‘You wanted me, Alex, and not just on a physical level.’ He picked up his pace. ‘As inexperienced as I am, I know it was more than that.’
Damn it all! Why wouldn’t he stop and listen? She moved faster. Got in front of him. I will make him listen.
She searched his face for a sign that she was penetrating the barriers he’d erected. His face may as well have been carved out of stone. His features were hard and unyielding like granite.
‘I met you on every level, Alex — mind, body, and soul. I gave you my heart right along with my body. There was no other motivation to make love to you except that I wanted to. I wanted you.’
‘What we had was sex. Nothing more.’
His words were like razors ripping into her heart, but she couldn’t stop herself from continuing.
Mistaken Identity Page 14
