LITMIR.BIZ

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so you’ve told me. Pretty expensive and protracted way of doing so. You came all this way to tell me that? You didn’t think of ringing?’

      It would give too much away if she confessed that she’d wanted to see his expression when she told him. He might think she’d been holding out for a remarkable about-turn—as if he would pull her into his arms and tell her he’d missed her, and that having her carrying his babies beneath her heart was like a dream come true.

      And hadn’t there been a tiny part of her which hadn’t ruled out that thought—even though it had flown in the face of all logic? That the man who had everything might realise that none of it mattered when compared to these miraculous new lives they’d created? But there could be no mistaking the lack of emotion on his proud and beautiful features. She had wanted an answer to her silent question and it was written there—in stark detail.

      Slowly, Rebecca began to rise to her feet, her heart suddenly heavy.

      ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he demanded.

      ‘Home. Well, back to the hotel. I have done what I came for.’

      His black eyes narrowed. ‘But nothing has been decided.’

      ‘There’s nothing to decide, Xandros. That isn’t why I’m here. You are now in full possession of the facts and my conscience is clear.’

      ‘Well, mine is not!’ he thundered. He raked his fingers back through his ebony hair. ‘I will pay!’ he announced.

      For a moment she completely misinterpreted what he meant and her trembling hand shot out to grab hold of the chair-back. ‘P-pay? What are you talking about?’

      He stilled. ‘What do you think? For your upkeep. For the children’s—’ Briefly, the word froze in his throat. ‘For their upkeep, once they are born,’ he continued. ‘And you will need money to support yourself until that happens. I assume you won’t be allowed to fly after a certain point? Isn’t that what usually happens?’

      She opened her mouth to tell him that she was not allowed to fly now—that she had lost her job because she had broken the rules—but did she want to come across as some kind of victim? No, she did not. In fact, it was imperative that she didn’t. From now on she needed to be strong and independent—not just for her own sake, but, more importantly, for the sake of her babies. Babies. Rebecca shivered. If the idea of twins had come as a shock to Xandros, it had troubled her even more. He was used to two of everything, while she was a complete novice. How on earth was she going to manage?

      ‘I didn’t come here to ask you for money,’ she said.

      ‘Maybe not, but I am a wealthy man—we both know that.’ His black eyes glittered. ‘I want you to take what I am offering. In fact, I insist upon it.’

      And as Rebecca looked into his eyes she realised that Xandros needed to give her something concrete—like money. That way he could wash his hands of all responsibility. Because he hadn’t expressed the wish she had secretly prayed for—to want to play some part, no matter how small, in his children’s lives.

      She shook her head. ‘You aren’t in any position to insist on anything, Xandros,’ she said.

      Fleetingly, he thought it ironic that, with Rebecca in this new and physically vulnerable state, he had never seen her look or sound quite so strong and focussed. But maybe this was what she had wanted all along, despite her protests—something to tie her to him.

      ‘But this is not a battle of wills, Rebecca,’ he said softly. ‘It is what is known as making the most of a bad situation. You live in that tiny place, which some might consider too small even for one. How the hell do you expect to be able to cope with, not one, but two new babies there—had you thought about that?’

      ‘What do you think?’ She had thought of little else. This would be a good cue for hysteria, Rebecca thought as she stared at him in disbelief—but she could not allow herself the indulgence of such a useless emotion. She registered the critical way he had dismissed her apartment. To think how hard she’d worked on it—hoping to impress him with her little home—and all the time he had felt nothing but contempt for it! Didn’t he realise that not everyone was as fortunate as he was?

      But it was her sheer short-sightedness which troubled her most. That she could have made so bad a judgement about a man. How could she have possibly thought that she loved him—when he had a heart of stone which made a mockery of the hard warmth of his body?

      Rubbing her shivery arms with her hands and wishing she’d brought some kind of jacket, she fixed him with a look which told him that, although her self-respect might have taken a bit of a battering, she would repair it as best she could, but without any help from him.

      ‘I’ll manage somehow,’ she said, her voice low but dignified. ‘I may not be rich, but you can be sure that I’ll love these babies, Xandros. I’ll love them with all my heart—and I don’t want anything from you. Do you understand that?’

      His eyes narrowed as they met in a silent clash with hers, but unexpectedly her fervent words pierced him. She had said that she would love them—but he knew only too well that being a mother did not guarantee loving your children. When she realised that he meant what he said about not marrying her—would she still feel the same? Or might she then see adoption as a sensible solution?

      ‘I understand perfectly,’ he said. ‘But whether you want help or not, you’re getting it. I will pay money into an account for you—what you choose to do with it is up to you. In return, I ask that you keep me informed of your progress during the pregnancy. Is that understood?’

      She stared at him. ‘You mean you want to be involved?’

      He hardened his heart against her violet eyes. ‘I meant I want a progress report,’ he said, as if he were talking about the construction of one of his own projects. ‘I wish to know when they …’ He swallowed then, despite his determination to feel nothing. ‘I want to know when you give birth. Will you do that for me?’

      ‘Yes.’ The word was little more than a lost sigh in that great big office space and Rebecca stood up. If she didn’t feel so emotionally and physically vulnerable, she would have left quietly and gone in search of the nearest subway. But she couldn’t face it. ‘I’d like to go now,’ she said, in a low voice. Before she did something unforgivable, like breaking down into a cascade of choking sobs in front of him.

      Xandros could see the trembling of her lips. Once he would have kissed that tremble away, but now he could not—for that would dishonour them both. Their relationship was over—they both knew that.

      He suspected what she really wanted of him—what was probably expected of him—but he could not give any kind of emotional commitment to these unborn children. Far better to promise nothing than to fail to deliver. And didn’t he come from exactly the right kind of background to walk away from a child? Didn’t abandonment run deep in his veins?

      Hidden by the shafts of his powerful thighs, his fists clenched in anger. ‘My driver is waiting,’ he said tightly. ‘I will take you down to him.’

CHAPTER SIX

      YET for the first time in his life, Alexandros Pavlidis found himself proved wrong.

      He had expected—what? That Rebecca would use her pregnancy to gain increased access to his life, in an attempt to make herself a permanent fixture there, no matter how much she had protested otherwise?

      Yes, of course he had. Too often in the past women had lied to him or tried to conceal their true motives in their attempts to ensnare him. And didn’t she have a more valid reason than any of her predecessors to want him in her life? Two babies on the way. Two babies which were due to be born in a few short weeks’ time, according to the calendar on his kitchen wall.

      Xandros

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