IF BRIDES WERE meant to look radiant on their wedding day, Margo thought, she fell lamentably short. She still had the exhausted, washed-out look she’d been sporting since the nausea had first hit, and she was, according to Leo’s plan, going to get married this afternoon.
Sighing, she dragged a brush through her dark hair and wondered which of the two outfits she’d brought would be better to get married in—a sweater dress or jeans?
She didn’t actually want the whole white wedding affair that Leo had mocked yesterday, but even so it felt pathetic and sad to be married like this, in the clothes she’d travelled in, looking like death barely warmed over.
With a sigh, she pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail and went in search of Leo.
She found him in the dining alcove of the kitchen, where the wide windows overlooked the small garden at the back of the townhouse. He’d made breakfast: toast and coffee, yogurt and fruit.
‘I know you probably can’t manage anything,’ he said, gesturing to all the food, ‘but I thought I’d make it just in case.’
‘Thank you,’ Margo murmured and sat down.
She spooned a little fruit and yogurt into a bowl and stirred honey into the centre.
Leo rose from the table and a few seconds later brought back a mug of ginger tea.
Margo blinked in surprise. ‘How—?’
‘You left the box of sachets in the kitchen. It seems like something you can keep down.’
‘Just about the only thing.’
‘Don’t forget melba toast.’
‘Right.’
She took a sip of tea and tried to still her swirling thoughts. Leo’s consideration made her feel both restless and uneasy. It would have been easier to deal with his businesslike briskness, even his coldness, but this kindness...it reached right inside her. It made her ache with both regret and longing.
‘Why are you doing this, Leo?’ she asked.
‘Doing what?’
‘This.’ She gestured to the breakfast dishes. ‘You’re being so...considerate.’
He gave her the ghost of a smile. ‘Is that a bad thing?’
‘No, but...’
‘I don’t want to fight all the time, Margo. That’s not good for either of us, or our child.’ He hesitated and then said, ‘The doctor’s office called this morning with the results of the paternity test.’
So that was the reason for his kindness and consideration. ‘So now you know.’
‘And you knew all along.’
‘I told you there wasn’t anyone else, Leo.’
‘I believe you.’
He didn’t look particularly pleased, though, and Margo wondered if the truth had hurt him as much as her lie had. Could he ever understand the desperate fear that had driven her to act as she had? She didn’t even want him to.
‘The marriage ceremony is at the town hall, at two o’clock,’ he said after a pause. ‘We can drive back to the estate afterwards.’
‘All right.’
‘We need two witnesses for the ceremony,’ he continued. ‘I thought I’d ask two of my staff from the Athens office.’
‘Fine.’
It wasn’t the way she’d ever anticipated getting married —a cold ceremony in a bureaucrat’s office in a country she didn’t know—but then she’d never anticipated marrying at all. She’d expected to live her life alone, the way she had since she was twelve and she’d lost everyone. She’d lost Annelise.
Leo glanced at the rumpled sweater dress she’d worn two days in a row. ‘Do you have something to wear to the wedding?’
‘I wasn’t planning to get married today,’ she reminded him. ‘I have this or jeans.’
He frowned and took a sip of coffee. ‘Then we’ll go shopping this morning for something suitable. If you feel up to it?’
She almost asked him why they should bother, but then just nodded instead. Leo had said arguing would be unpleasant for both of them, and she agreed. She would do her part in keeping things civil, even if his kindness had a strange way of hurting her.
Half an hour later they were strolling down Voukourestiou Street, home to many designer boutiques. Leo led her into the first one, a soaring space of airy lightness, with a white leather sofa where shoppers could rest and a few select garments hanging from silver wires suspended from the ceiling.
Margo glanced at the elegant gowns in bemusement, for she had no idea what kind of dress she was supposed to get married in. But this was a business arrangement, so a business outfit seemed appropriate. She saw a pale grey suit at the back of the boutique and nodded to it.
‘How about that one?’
Leo frowned. ‘That doesn’t look much like a wedding dress.’
‘This isn’t much of a wedding,’ she answered.
His frown deepened. ‘We might be marrying in a civil ceremony, but it is still very much a wedding. We will still very much be married.’
He nodded towards a dress of cream silk with an empire waist and a frothy skirt glittering with beaded crystals.
‘How about that one?’
It was a feminine, frou-frou kind of dress—so unlike her usual tailored wardrobe. Margo hesitated, because while it wasn’t something she would normally wear, she did like it. It was different. It wasn’t armour.
She gave a quick nod. ‘All right. I’ll try it on.’
Moments later she stared at herself in the mirror, surprised at how the dress softened her. The warm cream of the material actually brought a bit of colour to her face, and complemented her dark hair and eyes. The sales assistant had brought her a matching pair of shoes—slim heels with a small diamante on each toe. They went perfectly with the dress.
‘Well?’ Leo called.
‘You’re not supposed to see it before the ceremony,’ Margo called back. ‘But I think it will do.’
At the cash desk she offered to pay for it, but Leo silenced her with a single look as he handed over his credit card. He’d been the same when they were dating: he’d paid for all their meals and hotels, despite Margo’s insistence that she could pay her way. She hadn’t minded, because she’d still felt safe. Still kept him at a distance.
This felt different. This was a wedding dress—the start of a new life that would be utterly intertwined with Leo’s.
‘We should go back to the apartment,’ he said as he accepted the dress, now swathed in a designer hanging bag. ‘You should rest before the ceremony.’
* * *
A few hours later Margo’s stomach was seething with a whole different kind of nausea, now caused by nervousness. She’d showered and put on her new dress and heels, coiled her hair into its usual elegant chignon. The dress’s high waist hid her small baby bump, for which she was grateful. She’d rather not have some sanctimonious city official looking at her disapprovingly.
‘Are you ready?’ Leo called, and she gave her reflection one last, swift look.
In less than an hour she would be married. She would have made vows that would bind her to Leo for ever.
‘I’m coming,’ she called, and walked out of the bedroom.
Leo’s eyes widened as he took in her appearance, and then he gave one nod. ‘You look very nice.’
It was a rather ‘milquetoast’ compliment, but Margo saw the way colour touched his cheekbones. She felt awareness—physical awareness—sweep through her in an electrifying wave.
‘You look nice too,’ she said, which was a serious understatement.
In a dark grey suit and silvery-grey tie he looked amazing. The colour of his tie made his eyes look even more silver, seeming to blaze in his swarthy face, and his dark hair was brushed back, the strong lines of his cheekbones and jaw emphasised by the cut of his suit.
‘We should drive to the town hall,’ he said. ‘And then we can leave directly from there. I need to get back to the estate to work.’
Margo nodded. No matter how incredible Leo looked, this marriage was still no more than a business arrangement. ‘I’ll get my bag.’
They drove in silence to the town hall, with tension stretching and snapping between them, or at least that was how it felt to Margo. She knew the civil marriage ceremony would be short and simple, but she would still be making promises to Leo. To herself. To their baby. Promises she intended to keep. Which made her heart race and her hands go clammy. There would be no going back from this.
The town hall in Athens was an impressive building in the centre of the city; the marriage ceremony was to be held in a small room on a top floor, with only a few people in attendance. The two staff from Leo’s office greeted him with bland faces, although Margo imagined they had to be curious as to why their CEO was getting married in such a quick and pragmatic way. Thank goodness her bump wasn’t visible, although of course it would be soon enough.
The official cleared his throat and began, and within a few minutes it was over. Margo had barely had to say a word.
Leo slid a ring of white gold on her finger; she stared down at it in surprise.
‘When did you...?’
‘I had it couriered,’ he answered, and for some reason it hurt her—the thought that someone else had bought her wedding ring.
It was stupid, of course, but then she’d been so emotional lately. In any case, Margo knew she’d have to get used to these little things and remind herself that they weren’t slights. She hadn’t wanted romance, so she shouldn’t expect it. Its absence surely shouldn’t hurt her.
Just like the fact that he hadn’t kissed her shouldn’t hurt. It was simply the way it was. And so they walked out of the town hall into the bright winter sunshine, and then to the car.
They drove out of Athens as husband and wife, with not one word or person to mark the occasion.
* * *
Leo drove in silence for nearly an hour, his mind seething with thoughts he didn’t want to articulate. The ceremony had been both simple and brief, which was how he’d expected and wanted it to be, and yet somehow he felt as if he were disappointing Margo. Disappointing himself.
It had hardly seemed appropriate to have a big church wedding, and yet... It had been a very small ceremony for a big step such as they were taking.
He glanced at the ring she’d slid onto his finger, her fingers seeming so fragile and cold on his. Married. He was a husband now, with responsibilities to his wife and child. Responsibilities he’d bear gladly, and yet he still felt their weight.
And one of those responsibilities was introducing Margo to his family. He hadn’t considered the ramifications of marrying quickly and bringing Margo back to his villa immediately after. He’d simply wanted to control the situation, to have it on his terms.
Now he realised two of his sisters, Xanthe and Ava, who lived on the estate with him, would be wide-eyed and speculating when he brought back his sudden and obviously pregnant bride.
His older brother Antonios had done virtually the same thing—coming back from a business trip to North America with his unexpected bride, Lindsay. Antonios’s iron will had assured Lindsay was made welcome, but even so Leo had seen how hard it had been on her, for a variety of reasons. And she hadn’t even been pregnant.
He didn’t want the same rocky start for Margo.
Flexing his hands on the steering wheel, he glanced at her, looking so pale and weary. ‘My sisters will be at the estate when we return,’ he began, and she turned to him sharply.
‘Sisters? I didn’t even know you had sisters.’
‘Three, and one brother.’
‘Your brother I know about. He was CEO before you?’
‘Yes.’ He’d told her that much at least, although he hadn’t even hinted at the strains and sins that had marred their relationship. ‘Two of my sisters live on the estate. They will want to meet you.’
‘They weren’t there before when I came?’
‘No, they were visiting Parthenope, my third sister. She lives with her family near Patras.’
‘Timon’s mother?’
‘Yes.’
Margo expelled a shaky breath. ‘And what about your parents?’
‘They’re both dead.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She glanced at him, her eyes dark. ‘When?’
‘My father ten years ago, and my mother six months ago.’
Her eyes widened. ‘When we were together?’
‘Yes.’
He hadn’t told her. There was so much he hadn’t told her. And for the first time Leo acknowledged how Margo had had a point, claiming their relationship hadn’t been going anywhere. He’d kept inside its careful parameters as much as she had. It was only when he’d become CEO that he’d decided he should marry and have an heir, and Margo had seemed the obvious choice. The right choice.
And now it had all happened just as he’d wanted...and yet not at all as he’d expected.
‘They won’t be pleased, will they?’ Margo said after a moment. ‘To welcome a surprise sister-in-law, and one who’s pregnant?’
‘They’ll be surprised,’ Leo allowed.
Margo let out a huff of laughter. ‘I should say so. Did they even know you were—that we were—?’
‘No.’ He shifted in his seat. ‘I never told anyone about us.’
She eyed him curiously. ‘And yet you asked me to marry you?’
‘I know.’ He hesitated, and then continued a bit stiffly, ‘I realise now how surprising my proposal must have been. Regardless of how you felt about it, it had to have been a shock.’
‘It was.’ She took a breath. ‘Why...why did you ask me, Leo? If you didn’t love me?’
‘It felt like the right time to get married. I’d just been made CEO and I was conscious of needing an heir, stability. And as we were already together...’
‘It was convenient?’
She let out another huff of sound, although whether it was a laugh or something else Leo couldn’t tell.
‘Well, that’s what it is now. Convenient.’
‘In any case,’ Leo continued, ‘I want to make sure my family accepts you as mistress of the household. You’ll have my full support—’
‘I don’t want to displace anyone.’
‘As my wife, you will have a role—’
‘I know.’ She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. ‘I know. And I will rise to that particular challenge, I promise you. Just...just give me some time—please?’
‘What about your family?’ he asked, deciding it was wiser, or at least safer, to leave the topic of his own family for now. ‘Is there anyone you want to tell? You could invite them to come—’
‘No,’ she cut across him flatly, her face turned to the window. ‘There’s no one.’
‘Your parents?’ Belatedly he remembered she’d said she’d grown up without a father. ‘Your mother, at least?’
‘I haven’t seen her since I was twelve.’
‘Really?’
Perhaps he shouldn’t have been shocked. In the last few days he’d sensed a sorrow, even a darkness, in Margo’s past that he’d never noticed before, perhaps because she’d been careful to hide it.
‘Why not?’
She twitched her shoulders in a shrug. ‘She wasn’t a very good mother.’
It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it, and Leo decided not to press. There had been enough emotional upheavals today.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, and she bowed her head, a few tendrils of hair escaping her ponytail to rest against her cheek.
‘So am I,’ she said, and she sounded so sad that Leo felt an answering emotion rise in him in an unstoppable tide.
For a moment he considered pulling the car over, pulling her into his arms. Making her feel better.
But then she raised her head, set her jaw, and that moment passed almost as if it had never happened at all.
They didn’t speak until they reached Amfissa.