‘Just tell me one thing, Charlotte.’
‘Anything.’
‘Would you have stayed here on Iskos with Iannis Kiriakos the fisherman, had he asked you to do so?’
What could she say to make him believe her? Charlotte wondered. ‘I would,’ she said simply.
‘Would you have married him—had he asked you?’
‘Yes, I believe I would.’
‘So, you do love me?’ His voice was steady, and his eyes seemed to be watching her to see how far she could be pushed.
‘I adore you,’ Charlotte whispered, her eyes filling with tears of regret. But I cannot make the same mistake again.
‘That is good,’ Iannis murmured, taking hold of her hands, ‘because I have discovered that without you I am nothing. My business, my life, this island—none of it means anything to me without you by my side.’
‘What are you saying?’ The thought of spending her life as the plaything of the man she adored was almost worse than not having any time with him at all. And if he meant more than that—if he meant they should marry…Charlotte told herself not to be so foolish—not to forget she had failed as the wife of a successful man quite miserably once before.
‘I’m saying I love you,’ Iannis said bluntly. ‘Iskos was my haven, but you are my haven now, Charlotte. I am asking you to marry me,’ he said simply, ‘to be my wife—to share everything with me—’
‘Stop, Iannis,’ Charlotte cut in, pulling away from him. ‘You don’t understand. I can’t—’
‘I don’t understand?’ he said incredulously. ‘How can you accuse me of not understanding after everything we have been through this week?’
He had just asked her to marry him! Iannis Kiriakos, the man she adored…and must refuse. If Iannis the fisherman had asked her that same question Charlotte knew she would have said yes without hesitation.
‘What? What are you thinking about?’ Iannis demanded, bringing her into the circle of his arms. What was there to think about? he wondered, feeling a pang of concern, even resentment. They loved each other—although adored would have been a better way to describe how he felt about Charlotte. Why was she hesitating now?
‘I don’t belong in your world.’
Iannis tensed. She sounded so remote, so certain. ‘How can you know that?’
Remembering the way success had changed her ex-husband, remembering how it had felt to be nothing more than a trophy that was wheeled out on display once or twice a year and then forgotten, Charlotte shuddered.
‘Charlotte?’
Iannis’s voice cut through her thoughts like a blade. After all the trouble she had caused him, he deserved better than this. She had to give him a straightforward answer. ‘I’m so sorry, Iannis,’ Charlotte said softly, feeling as if her heart had just withered in her chest. ‘I can’t marry you.’
‘Can’t?’
The strident peal of his mobile phone distracted them both.
‘Not bad news?’ Charlotte said anxiously, trying to read his expression.
‘That depends if you want a fisherman for a husband or not.’ Iannis gave a wry smile and shook his head to see her smile, the hope that came into her eyes. ‘You do want to marry a fisherman, don’t you?’ he said with amusement.
‘Don’t laugh at me, Iannis. You heard what I told you,’ Charlotte said, the pain in her heart showing in her eyes as she gazed up at him. ‘Whatever has happened to your business empire, if it has all gone wrong…’ She paused as her imagination ran riot. Maybe there had been a backlash—something they hadn’t yet read. ‘If you have lost everything, and if you really still want me, you know I will always stand by you.’
‘I want you,’ Iannis confirmed steadily. ‘So, do I take it that’s a yes to my proposal?’
Reaching up to cup his face in her hands, Charlotte stared long and deep into her fisherman’s eyes. ‘Yes,’ she whispered.
‘I’m pleased to hear it,’ Iannis said with satisfaction, taking hold of her hands and kissing each finger in turn, ‘because it seems shares in the Kiriakos shipping line have reached an all-time high. No,’ he warned, when Charlotte tensed in his arms and stared into his eyes for confirmation. ‘You cannot change your mind now you know I have not lost the Kiriakos fortune. You have already given me your word.’
‘But you made me think—’
‘Let’s just call it good business practice,’ he murmured, cutting across her protest firmly. ‘And I haven’t deceived you, Charlotte, in any way. The news that I ground myself by returning to my roots has been so well received it seems I must continue to fish,’ he said wryly, ‘for the good of my business as well as my soul. So,’ he said, dropping a kiss on her mouth, ‘I’ll ask you again, just so that there can be no misunderstanding. Will you marry me, Charlotte Clare—regardless of my occupation?’
‘As long as you are always Iannis Kiriakos the fisherman of Iskos for me,’ Charlotte agreed softly, ‘I will.’
‘Is it really just six short days since we met?’ Iannis murmured, staring deep into Charlotte’s eyes.
‘Seven,’ Charlotte corrected him. ‘I saw you first on Tuesday.’
‘So long,’ Iannis teased, smiling into her eyes. ‘You saw me on Tuesday, we met on Wednesday, and now, the following Monday, you agree to marry me—would you describe yourself as a fast woman?’
‘No—just someone who can keep up with you,’ Charlotte warned him, feeling happiness flood through her.
‘So much has happened in so short a time,’ Iannis said tenderly, brushing some strands of hair from her face. ‘You have turned my world around in a week, Charlotte Clare.’
‘And you mine, Iannis Kiriakos.’
‘It seems that even a man who appears to have everything in the eyes of the world has nothing until he knows the value of love,’ Iannis observed wryly, and, drawing Charlotte back into the safe harbour of his arms, he kissed her.
‘MAMA, Mama!’
Charlotte looked up fondly as the small dark-haired boy erupted out of the kitchen at the taverna, with Mikos hot on his heels.
‘Papa!’ the child cried, plucking at Iannis’s hand, where it had been resting on the swell of Charlotte’s stomach. ‘Listen to me, Papa,’ Manos Kiriakos insisted, putting his face very close to his father’s as Iannis swung him onto his lap. ‘I have something very important to tell you.’
‘Hasn’t Mikos fed you enough yet?’
