before she could respond, he produced the cheque and handed it to her.
She took the cheque without saying a word. She stared at him. She stared down at the cheque—and she gasped.
It’d be okay. Money talked. He had this covered. As long as he married her.
He had no choice.
‘This… this is for real?’ she whispered.
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘We’ve thought of every option and this is the only one we believe can work.’
She was staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. She was staring at him as if he was a lunatic.
‘There’s more,’ he said into the silence. ‘We’ve done a lot of digging in this last week. My researcher knows all about you and the people you work with and we’ve come up with a package deal. Apparently the only strong connection you seem to have is with Spiros and his team. We’ve learnt that Spiros’s boatyard is struggling. As an inducement—because it would be best for everyone if Michales does stay on the island, and thus you, too—I’m also offering Spiros something he can’t refuse. We’ll relocate this boatyard to Sappheiros, with every cost taken care of. We’ll give him transport of boats between the Diamond Isles and the rest of Europe. We’ll give him blanket international advertising. My researchers tell me Spiros has been fighting to make a living here, and he’s homesick. He and his wife want to live somewhere they can speak their native Greek. So all you need to do now is agree.’
She said nothing. She was staring at the cheque as if she couldn’t believe it.
She was so shocked. She was so…
Beautiful?
Don’t go there, he told himself sharply. This was a business proposition—nothing more, nothing less. His lawyers had worked it out as a done deal. ‘There’s no way she’ll knock back this offer,’ he’d been told, and for good measure, thinking of Mia’s greed, they’d added another zero to the cheque.
As Crown Prince, Alex would inherit all Giorgos’s wealth. The lawyers’ thinking was that he should use a fraction of this to ensure the island’s future. This marriage of convenience was necessary. Michales’s continued presence on the island was desirable. So pay her and get it sorted. But…
‘Get out,’ she said.
He didn’t move.
‘Get out.’ She was breathing too fast, her eyes flashing daggers. ‘How dare you… ?’
‘Propose marriage to the mother of my son?’
‘He’s not your son.’
‘You said… ’
‘By birth, yes. You want him back on the island for you? For you? Michales hasn’t come into this discussion once except as a tool to keep the monarchy safe. Neither have I. For you to manipulate me… to find out about Spiros and use him as a tool… Get out and stay out.’
‘Lily, look at the amount on that cheque,’ he said urgently. ‘You can’t possibly knock back what I’ve just offered.’
‘Watch me,’ she said and she ripped the cheque in half, in half again and then kept on going until it lay in shreds round her feet. She snatched Michales up and stalked to the door. ‘Out!’
‘You’re being ridiculous. If you want more… ’
‘You’re being ridiculous,’ she snapped back at him. ‘Don’t you understand? I have everything I want, right here, right now. I have something you and Mia and people like you can’t understand. I have enough. I can stay working on the boats I love, and I can raise my son. I have my future and I’m free. Why would I possibly jeopardise that by diving into the royal goldfish bowl?’
Free? How did free come into it? She spoke as if she’d just come out of prison.
He had to make her see sense.
‘And Spiros?’
‘He’s happy here.’
‘He’s not. Any minute now this business is going to go belly up. Ask him.’
‘That’s nothing to do with you.’
‘It’s everything to do with you. You have to marry me.’
‘I don’t have to marry you.’ She opened the door. ‘Get out,’ she said again.
‘I can’t,’ he said, trying to figure where the hell to take it from here. ‘Lily, you have to do this. The islanders are facing ruin. If I don’t get this succession sorted, the titles belonging to the Crown will be forfeit to outside business interests. Sappheiros will become an exclusive resort for the rich, and my people will be exiles. The other two islands will face a similar fate.’
Her face stilled. For the first time, she hesitated.
He paused.
Was he going about this the wrong way? Was it possible that this woman had the heart that Mia lacked?
She’d given away her baby. The assumption had been she’d done it for profit, for greed. But now…
She looked pale and sick. And suddenly that was how he was feeling. Sick.
He was starting to feel… smirched. As if he was acting as Mia and Giorgos had acted. Buying her baby. Buying her.
‘Get out,’ she whispered again, and this time he nodded.
‘I’m going. But… ’ He hesitated but it had to be said. ‘Lily, this is too fast. It’s urgent but it’s not about us. I suspect I’ve misjudged you, and if I have then I’m sorry.’
‘That’s kind of you.’ She was trying to sound sardonic but her voice was shaking.
She swayed, just a little.
He moved, crossing the few steps to her in an instant, holding her shoulders. Steadying her.
‘Don’t… don’t touch me.’
But she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t. She was holding on to Michales with one arm, with the other the door handle. ‘Please leave.’
Hell, how ill had she been? ‘Lily, are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ she managed and steadied. She tugged away and he released her with real regret. She seemed suddenly… frail?
It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.
He’d walked into this room feeling nothing but anger at the mess this woman had got him into. Determined to act with honour, no matter what the cost. Now, stupidly, all he wanted was to protect her.
It didn’t make sense to her either. She was looking at him with a mixture of fear and something else. Something he couldn’t pinpoint.
Regret? The word
