no slut,’ Xan said. ‘She’s honest and decent and true. And I will not have you speaking about her that way. Do you understand?’
‘And you know her mother was no better than a whore?’ continued the older man. ‘That she has children by many different men?’
‘Yes, I know that,’ replied Xan slowly. ‘But that isn’t Tamsyn. She’s never really had a chance, but now she’s been given one, she’s come into her own. She’d uneducated but she’s bright. She reads. She plays with Gia’s little girl—and that child thinks she’s an angel. She’s funny. You should meet her. I think you’ll be surprised.’
‘Oh, I’m not denying she’s beautiful.’ His father gave an ugly kind of laugh. ‘But that’s the main reason she’s here, isn’t it? You turned down the chance to marry a woman like Sofia, for her? I’ve heard she’s hot, but so what? Whores usually are. You get what you pay for.’
There was a loud bang, which sounded like a fist being smashed against a desk and Tamsyn was vaguely aware of Xan’s furious response, but by then she had started to run. To run and run until she had left the house and been swallowed up by the dense shadow of a fragrant pine tree.
Her brow felt hot and sticky by the time she came to a halt and it took a long while before she had calmed down enough to be able to think straight. Time for her breathing to slow and her heart to stop feeling as if it were going to burst out of her chest. Something made her tidy up the strands of hair which must have escaped during her run and to extract a slim tube of lipstick from the concealed pocket of her dress, before applying it to her trembling lips with shaky fingers. Her dress was smooth and she needed her features to mimic that smoothness, so that to the other guests it would appear as if nothing had happened.
Because nothing had.
Xan’s father had simply told the truth—and he didn’t know the half of it. And although Xan had sprung to her defence and her heart had melted slightly at his defence of her—it had still been lacking in emotion. He had still somehow managed to make her sound like piece of rock which had been carved into a rough approximation of a human being.
And suddenly she knew she couldn’t endure any more. There was no way she could stay here, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. If she did that, then these crazy feelings would keep building and building until she was ready to explode. She needed to walk away with Xan never guessing what had happened. To escape, and quickly—but not tonight. Tonight she would continue to play the role expected of her. The shining and loyal wife, basking in her newly-wed golden glow. The woman lucky enough to have finally snared the elusive Greek billionaire.
She drank a glass of champagne before going back to the illuminated swimming pool to join the other guests, chatting brightly and forcing herself to smile as she accepted congratulations. But her stupid heart turned over with sorrow when Xan reappeared and began to walk towards her.
Did he read something untoward in her expression? Was that why a frown had creased his brow beneath the delicious tumble of his black hair?
‘You okay?’ he questioned.
She could tell him, of course. She could say she’d gone into the house to meet his father and heard him calling her a whore. But if she did that, the evening would be ruined—and for what purpose? The fact that Xan’s father didn’t like her should be regarded as a positive, surely? It meant he would be delighted when his son announced they were splitting up. Maybe their own relationship would even improve as a result. What was it they said? Every cloud has a silver lining.
You can do this, Tamsyn, she told herself fiercely. You’ve had a lifetime of pretending everything’s okay. Of acting like it doesn’t matter when other people judge you, or look down their noses at you.
‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she said, then cleared her throat. ‘Did I see your father arrive?’
‘You did.’ An odd expression darkened his face. ‘But he couldn’t stay.’
‘Oh? Was he—?’
‘I don’t want to talk about my father, Tamsyn,’ he interrupted, and suddenly his voice sounded urgent. ‘I just want to be alone with you.’
Her heart felt like it wanted to break when she heard the note of hunger she heard in his voice, but she couldn’t stop herself from responding to it. ‘Xan,’ she said, mock-sternly. ‘We have guests.’
‘I don’t care about the guests.’ His voice dipped. ‘There’s only one thing I care about right now.’
His smile was hard and his eyes gleamed with an unspoken message. It reminded her that Xan remained a man who always got what he wanted, and right now he wanted sex. Tamsyn shivered as he traced a finger down her arm, knowing she should refuse to go along with it, especially in view of what his father had said earlier.
You get what you pay for.
But her mind was made up. She wasn’t going to ruin the night by dwelling on the negative and besides, she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Maybe even more. Xan had no idea this was going to be the last time, but she did—and wasn’t it crazy not to want to make the most of every precious second with him?
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ she questioned huskily, as she went into his warm and waiting arms.
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