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what I really want to say is that I love you, Jess,’ he said simply. ‘I love you. Completely, absolutely and enduringly.’

      ‘Oh, Loukas,’ she said as she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her cold face to his. ‘I feel exactly the same about you. I love you so much, and I’ve made such a mess of showing you.’

      ‘Then show me,’ he said fiercely. ‘Show me now.’ And when she lifted her face to his, her eyes were very bright as he brushed his lips over hers.

      The kiss deepened. He kissed her until they were both breathless and when he pulled away they were smiling—as if they’d just allowed themselves to see something which had been there all the time. He put her into the car and snapped her seat belt closed and when he’d parked outside her cottage, he took her hand and led her inside. He made coffee and smoothed the hair from her eyes and it was only when she was sitting snuggled up against him on the sofa that he looked down at her gravely.

      ‘But there are a few things we need to get cleared up before we go any further.’

      ‘Mmm?’ she said dreamily, her head resting against his shoulder.

      ‘Just for the record—I know you aren’t a city girl,’ he said. ‘And you don’t have to be, because all I want to do is to marry you and make a home with you. Where that home will be is entirely up to you.’

      ‘Loukas—’

      ‘No, Jess,’ he said. ‘Hear me out. I need you to know that I’m not saying any of this in reaction to what has just happened. I need you to know that I’ve been thinking about this and have wanted it for a long while.’

      She opened her eyes wide. ‘You have?’

      ‘I have. When I was in London I talked to my brother about it, in a way I’ve never talked to anyone.’ He smiled. ‘Except maybe you. I told him that I was in love with you but that I thought you were scared because you kept pushing me away every time I tried to get closer.’

      She sniffed again. ‘And what did he say?’

      ‘He said that deep down most people are scared of love, because they recognise it has the power to hurt them like nothing else can. And that there are no guarantees in life.’

      ‘You mean that nothing is certain?’

      ‘Absolutely nothing,’ he agreed, and now she could see the pain in his own eyes. ‘But we both know how important it is to succeed at this. We’ve both had things happen which make it hard for us to believe it ever can, but I know it can. I think we both want this relationship to work more than we’ve ever wanted trophies, or money in the bank, or houses and cars.’ His voice deepened. ‘I know I do.’

      ‘So do I,’ she said in a squeaky voice which sounded perilously close to more tears.

      ‘Because at the end of the day, love is the only thing which matters, and it is important that we mark that love.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiarly coloured magenta box, tied with the distinctive Lulu ribbon. ‘Which is why I want to ask you to be my wife.’

      She swallowed. ‘You’ve already bought me a ring?’

      His face was grave. ‘Well, I had the choice of some of the world’s finest jewels.’

      He flipped open the box and Jessica blinked. She had been expecting to be dazzled by diamonds, but all that lay on the indigo velvet was a small, metal ring-pull—the type you found on a can of cola.

      She looked at him in surprise, with the first flicker of amusement tugging at her lips. ‘And this is my engagement ring?’

      He shrugged. ‘Everything seemed such a cliché. Aquamarine to match your eyes, or diamonds for their cold and glittering beauty? With a whole empire at my disposal I was spoilt for choice—and I gather that, these days, the trend is to let women choose what they really, really want.’

      ‘Put it on,’ she said fiercely, and as he slid the worthless piece of metal onto her finger she saw that it was trembling. And she thought that being with Loukas Sarantos made a mockery of the steady hands which had once been her trademark. But she was smiling as she cupped his face in her hands and pressed her own very close.

      ‘I don’t want your diamonds,’ she whispered. ‘You’re the only thing I really, really want. Your love and your commitment. They are more precious to me than all the jewels in the world, and I will treasure them and keep them close to my heart. Because I want you to know that I love you, Loukas Sarantos. I always have and I always will. A diamond isn’t for ever. Love is.’

       EPILOGUE

      ‘HAPPY?’ LOUKAS NUZZLED his mouth over Jess’s bare shoulder and felt her wriggle luxuriously.

      Turning her head towards his, she smiled.

      ‘Totally,’ she sighed.

      ‘Sure?’

      ‘How could I not be?’ She traced his mouth with a tender finger. ‘You’re my husband and I’m your wife. Your pregnant wife.’

      He saw the way that her eyes flashed with joy and that pleased him. It pleased him that he could read her so well—and that these days she was happy to let him. And he recognised you couldn’t change the past overnight. You had to work at things. No pain—no gain.

      And yet the gain.

      Ah, the gain.

      He sighed with contentment as he stared out of the window, where the massive Greek sun was beginning its scarlet and vibrant ascendancy. The most dazzling sunrises he’d ever seen had been here, on the island where he’d been born and then taken away from as a wriggling baby, too young to remember its powdery white sands or the crystal seas after which it had been named.

      Until now.

      Kristalothos was one of the most beautiful places he’d ever seen, although he’d been reluctant to return at first, because it symbolised a dark time of his life. But Jess had gently persuaded him that it would be healthy to lay this particular ghost to rest.

      His first trip back had been with his twin, Alek—just the two of them, when they’d stood and stared at the luxury hotel which had replaced the fortress in which Alek had grown up. It had been razed to the ground and now, as a luxury hotel, it was a place of light, not shade. And the two brothers had swum and fished, and listened to the night herons as they’d gathered around the lapping bay. And they’d talked. They’d talked long into the night, having conversations which had been over thirty years in the making.

      Loukas had gone home to Jess and told her that the island was a paradise and when she’d suggested spending part of their honeymoon there during their tour of the Greek islands, he had readily agreed. He wanted to show her the place of his birth and to share it with her. He wanted to share pretty much everything with her.

      He looked at the platinum and diamond wedding band which gleamed on her finger. It had been the most amazing wedding—especially for a man who didn’t like weddings. But he had liked his own. He had liked making those solemn vows and declaring to the world that Jessica Cartwright was his. She had always been his, and she would remain so for as long as he drew breath.

      Hannah had been their bridesmaid—resplendent in a blue silk dress which had contrasted with her gap year tan—overjoyed to have the big brother she’d always longed for.

      Alek had been his best man and his wife, Ellie, Jess’s matron of honour. And their young son, named Loukas after his uncle, had been the cute hit of the day as he had toddled down the aisle as pageboy behind the bride.

      One of the first things Loukas had done was to terminate the contract on his suite at the Vinoly. He had told Jess he was prepared to work as much as possible from the west of the country, if she really wanted to stay there. But Jess had changed, just as much as he had. She hadn’t wanted to be apart

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