Ruthless Milllionaire, Indecent Proposal. Emma Darcy
out, sealing the decision.
His face broke into a happy grin. His eyes sparkled with pleasure. Or was it triumph, having won what he wanted? ‘That’s great, Christina!’ he enthused. ‘I’m glad you’ve decided it’s the best course because it is.’
He was so positive it instantly raised doubts in Tina’s mind. Was she a fool for giving in? She had to put a high value on the marriage so he would treat her as he should.
‘Give me your hand,’ he pressed, reaching across the table to take it.
She shook her head, keeping both hands tightly in her lap. ‘I haven’t finished what I want to say.’
He frowned at her reluctance to meet his offered hand. He spread his fingers in open appeal. ‘Tell me what you need from me.’
‘I need you to sign the prenuptial agreement you offered me,’ she threw back at him, determined that those terms be kept. It was her safeguard against being used to give Ari a stronger paternal position than he had now.
He drew back, his mouth twisting into an ironic grimace. A sharp wariness wiped the sparkle from his eyes. Tina’s stomach cramped with tension. If he retracted the offer, she could not go ahead with the marriage, regardless of any pressure from any source. It was risking too much. He might walk away from her again and take Theo with him.
She waited for his reply.
Waited … and waited … her nerves stretching tighter with every second that passed.
Ari’s mind was swiftly sifting through Christina’s possible motivations. She didn’t trust his word. He understood where she was coming from on that score. What concerned him most was if she had a vengeful nature.
The prenuptial agreement he’d offered gave her everything if he didn’t remain a faithful husband. What if she planned to be such a cold, shrewish wife, he would be driven to find some pleasure in other company? If she was secretly determined not to be responsive to him, he’d be condemning himself to a hellish marriage. He needed more than her public compliance to a couple of dances to feel secure about winning her over in bed. Out here alone together, she wouldn’t even give him her hand.
What was in her mind?
What was in her heart?
A totally selfish revenge on him … or hope that they could make a happy future together?
He was risking a lot.
He decided she had to meet him halfway before he tied a knot which could not be undone.
‘I am prepared to sign it, Christina,’ he said, his eyes burning a very direct challenge at her as he added, ‘If you’re prepared to spend one night with me before I do.’
She stared at him, startled by the provision he was laying down. ‘Why? You’ll have all the nights you want with me after we’re married.’
‘I want to be sure that I will want them. I won’t sign away my right to my son to a woman who’ll turn her back on me. I need you to show me that won’t happen, Christina. Right now your attitude towards me is hardly encouraging. You won’t even give me your hand.’
Heat surged up her neck and scorched her cheeks. Her eyes glittered a challenge right back at him. ‘I think it’s a good idea for us to spend a night together before either of us commit ourselves to anything. Maybe you’re not as good a lover as you used to be, Ari.’
Relief swept through him at her ready acceptance of a sex-test. He smiled. ‘And maybe you’ll warm to me once I prove that I am.’
Again her lashes swept down, veiling her feelings. She heaved a sigh, probably relieving tension. ‘We’re scheduled to leave Santorini the day after tomorrow,’ she muttered.
‘That can easily be changed.’
She shook her head. ‘I’ll spend tomorrow night with you.’ Her lashes lifted and there was resolute fire in her eyes. ‘That can be the decider for both of us.’
She would bolt if he didn’t satisfy her. Ari was confident that he could if she was willing to let it happen.
‘Agreed,’ he said. ‘However, our other deal ends tonight, Christina. Tomorrow you tell your mother and Theo that I am his father. Whatever happens between us, this has to be openly acknowledged.’
She nodded. ‘I’ll do it in the morning.’
‘Make sure your mother understands the circumstances, that I was not told you had my child until we met in Dubai. I would have come back to you had I known, Christina.’
She made a wry grimace. ‘Since I’ve decided I might marry you, naturally I’ll put you in as good a light as possible to my mother.’
‘It’s the truth,’ he rammed home as hard as he could, wanting her to believe at least that much of him.
‘And my truth is you left me and I didn’t want you back,’ she shot out, her eyes glittering with angry pride. ‘Don’t you start harassing me, Ari. I’ll do what I have to do to smooth the path to a workable future.’
His father’s words about Christina were instantly replayed in his mind … beautiful, intelligent, and with a fighting spirit I admire. If she shared his own strong desire for everything to turn out well, there was no need to concern himself about her presentation of the past to her mother.
‘I’d like to be there when you tell Theo I’m his father,’ he said softly, needing to remove the anger he’d unwittingly triggered. ‘I’ve missed so much—not being there when he was born, his first words, his first step, learning to swim, his first day at kindergarten. I want to see the expression in his eyes when he realises I am the Papa he wished for. Will you give me that, Christina?’
Her eyes went blank, probably focussing inward on the memories she hadn’t shared with him. He willed her to be more generous now. Yet when she did speak, her whole expression was one of deep anxiety.
‘I hope you really mean to be a good father to him, Ari. Please don’t lead him on and then drop him, pursuing other interests.’
He knew she felt he had done that to her.
It had been wrong of him, letting temptation overrule good sense. She had been too young, too impressionable. Theo was much more so and she was frightened for him. Her fear evoked a powerful surge of emotion in him. He wanted to say he’d look after them both for the rest of his life. He hated seeing the fretful doubts in her eyes. But laying them to rest would take time.
‘Give me your hand, Christina,’ he gently commanded, his eyes pleading for her acquiescence.
Very slowly she lifted it from her lap and held it out to him.
He enclosed it with his. ‘I promise you I’ll do everything I can to win Theo’s love and keep it,’ he said fervently. ‘He’s my son.’
Tears welled into her eyes. She nodded, unable to speak. He stroked her palm with his thumb, wanting to give comfort and reassurance, wishing he could sweep her into his embrace but cautious about rushing her where she might not be ready to go.
‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll come to the El Greco resort tomorrow afternoon. We can spend some time with Theo before having our night together,’ he quietly suggested.
She nodded again, sucked in a deep breath and blurted out, ‘I’m sorry. It was mean of me … leaving you out of Theo’s life.’
‘You had your reasons,’ he murmured sympathetically. ‘It’s how we take it from here that will count most to Theo.’
‘Yes,’ she agreed huskily, taking another deep breath before adding, ‘He usually takes a nap after lunch. If you come at four o’clock, we’ll tell him then.’
‘Thank you.’
She gave him a wobbly smile. ‘If that’s everything settled, we should