"I CAN'T MAKE it to your party," Nikolos told the woman
reclining on the bed, pulling on the jacket of his suit
with the fluid grace that distinguished all his movements.
"Please...pretty please..." Naked but for a turquoise silk
wrap, Tania Benson leapt up and curled her arms round his
neck, deploying her long, rangy, supermodel body like a
lethal weapon of persuasion. "I want you to be there."
"No strings," Nikolos reminded her, irritated by her
persistence. Their relationship was basic and not
exclusive, for they often went months without contact. He
only saw Tania when he was in Paris or Brussels. To
complement her position in his life, he enjoyed the
company of an Icelandic blonde in New York and a sultry
Russian model in London.
The redhead pouted. "I've never asked you for a favour
before."
Nikolos shrugged. She had not had to ask, because he was a
very generous lover and she knew the score as well as he
did.
"You couldn't make it last year either!" 'I have another
engagement." His tone was cool, clipped. He came and went
as he pleased. Without explanation or apology. That had
been the agreement and he had no desire for anything else.
Certainly not the whole dating-type scenario of being
shown off like some trophy tycoon at a celebrity party. It
would also be indiscreet, since his appearance at a
fashionable party was a virtual guarantee of photos and
comment in the gossip columns. Once, Nikolos conceded
grimly, he had been a lot less considerate about the level
of public interest his way of life could attract.
Furious at that flat rejection, Tania looked sulky. "I
know what that engagement is, too..."
His dark golden eyes became semi-veiled, the hard, dynamic
cast of his darkly handsome features suddenly still and
impassive. "The limo will be waiting."
"It's her birthday, isn't it? Your wife's?" Tania launched
at him.
His brilliant gaze bore the chill of reserve. He swept up
his cashmere overcoat and moved to the door. "I have to
go —"
"I saw a photo of her in a magazine. She was wearing
freaky floral Wellington boots and a woolly hat, and she
was holding a rabbit... How can you prefer her to me?"
Tania wailed in melodramatic disbelief.
Pale with outrage below his bronzed skin, Nikolos stayed
only long enough to spell out the fact that their
connection was at an end and he would not be visiting
again. A stormy light in his usually cool gaze, he flung
himself into the opulent limo. The floral boots had been
one of the very few successful gifts he had managed to
choose for his wife. How dare Tania sneer at her? He never
discussed Pudding with anyone, not even his family. But
the state of his marriage did awaken a good deal of
curiosity. After all, he had been married for almost eight
years and had lived apart from his wife for most of that
period.
Time had done surprisingly little to blot out his
recollection of their disastrous wedding. When he recalled
his own behaviour towards the close of that day, a raw
sense of guilt and insecurity wholly foreign to his
forceful nature still assailed Nikolos. He rarely let
himself think about it: going there was not productive. He
had had to accept Pudding's refusal to even discuss what
had happened that night. Her distress had silenced him as
nothing else could have done. While she had been reluctant
to even listen to his explanation and his apologies, he
had been too proud to admit that he had no memory
whatsoever of events on their wedding night. Naturally he
had been afraid of what he might have said or done to her
during it. Had he sunk low enough to take his angry sense
of injustice out on her in bed? Had he been rough?
Those all too male apprehensions still haunted Nikolos in
low moments and sent a cold stab of foreboding through
him, for he knew his own flaws only too well. He had the
devil's own temper. He was very hard and had often in
recent years been called cold, callous and cruel. Dealing
with Theo Demakis, he had had to be all of those things
many times over. Had he not been strong and ruthless, he
would still have been dependent on his father-in-law's
goodwill. Instead he had paid back the amount incurred by
the debts Theo had settled, left his family secure and
bought his independence back. He had then picked the
optimum right moment to walk away from Demakis
International with Theo's agreement, if not his blessing.
In truth there were very few people in the world that
Nikolos cared about. While willing to do his utmost to
help those precious few, he remained utterly indifferent
to the plight of everyone else. Around Prudence, however,
he made a major effort to be a softer, gentler and more
compassionate guy than he could ever be in real life. Her
temperament was the polar opposite of his, for she was
neither aggressive nor cunning. Indeed, human evil always
shocked Pudding, who was full of decent scruples and lived
life entirely by the rules. Unselfish, kind and endlessly
sympathetic, she had trained as a veterinary nurse and now
devoted all her spare time to the needs of the animals in
the sanctuary she ran. From behind the scenes, Nikolos
tried to protect her from those who would have taken
advantage of her trusting nature. Of course, he cared
about her: she was his wife. Possibly, it would soon be
time for him to bring an end to their separate lives and
settle down into being married, Nikolos conceded lazily.
Prudence woke up at six on the morning of her birthday
and, as always, let her gaze fall on the photograph of
Nikolos that held pride of place by her bed: black hair
tousled by the rain, stunning dark eyes gleaming, perfect
white teeth dazzling against his bronzed skin as he
laughed and mopped himself dry in her homely kitchen. It
had been taken the previous year on one of his flying
visits. She had entire albums and scrap-books filled with
photos, tabloid cuttings and memorabilia about him. For so
long she had acted like a schoolgirl running a one-woman
secret fan club.
Even though she saw him only a handful of times a year,
Nikolos had been the centre of her world. His sexy drawl
on the phone and the nurse he had insisted on hiring had
lifted her sagging spirits when times were tough during
her mother's long, slow decline and after her death the
previous year. She had enjoyed days out in London when he
would meet her for lunch and afterwards give her the
official tour of his latest new office building or his
most recent business acquisition. Although she had never
lived with him as his wife, she was proud that she had had
the maturity to overcome the disillusionment of their
wedding night and win his trust as a friend.
It was really only after Trixie had died that Prudence had
had the time to think about her own needs and what was
best for her, and she had almost immediately boxed up the
albums and put them away. Nourishing a morbid interest in
Nik's taste in other women and cherishing a girlish flame
of unrequited love was doing her no favours. Having
finally come to terms with those facts, she had sunk her
energy into the animal sanctuary. She had got over Nik and
her longings for him. That was an achievement of which she
was immensely proud. Slowly but surely she had also begun
to understand what would really make her happy. To be
truly, madly happy, she had decided, she needed a child on
whom she could heap all the love she had to give. And very
fortunately for her, she thought wryly, medical science
meant that she was not dependent on Nik to make her dream
of motherhood come true.
Feeling buoyant at the very idea of attaining her dream of
eventually becoming a mother, Prudence reached for the
photo of Nik, opened the drawer in the bedside cabinet and
carefully put it away. Before she could even contemplate
having a child, she had to get a divorce from Nik and she
was ready to take that step. Once they were divorced,
however, Nik would vanish from her life, for she was
convinced that he only maintained regular contact with her
out of a sense of duty and responsibility. Some day soon,
therefore, she would never lay eyes on him again...
An unexpected knock on the bedroom door jolted Prudence
out of her disturbing thoughts. Dottie, a rotund little
dynamo of a woman in her fifties, appeared with a broad
smile and a breakfast tray.
"Dottie...my goodness, you shouldn't have!" 'After
everything that you've done for Sam and me, I don't want
to hear another word. It's your birthday. Enjoy! We'll
feed the animals today —"
"No, no way! Leo's coming and the vet's due later. You'll
have plenty to do while I'm out. Anyway, breakfast is more
than sufficient."
But of course Dottie and her husband, Sam, the tenants of
the tiny cottage attached to the end wall of the
farmhouse, had a card and a gift for her as well. Prudence
embarked on the morning feeding routine later than she
usually did.
"So...this is the big day," Leo commented when he arrived
to help her. "Ready for blast-off?"
"Stop teasing me." Prudence threw the tall, fair-haired
teacher a cheerful look of reproach as she doled out bran
mash for a pair of elderly donkeys. The sanctuary had a
rota of willing helpers but Leo Burleigh was the most
knowledgeable and regular. He lived only a field away and
in recent years had become her closest friend. "Nik won't
bat an eyelash when I tell him my plans. He's unshockable —
"
"With regard to his own freedom of choice," Leo slotted in
wryly. "But I'll be surprised if he takes the same liberal
view of his wife's lifestyle —"
"For goodness' sake, don't call me that." Prudence tossed
some carrot and apple into the mash before moving on to
the next shed to attend to an orphaned fox cub that had
been brought in. "I'm not and I have never been Nik's
wife —"
"Yet he refers to you as his wife in interviews —" 'That's
just because journalists ask him stupid, nosy questions
and he's forced to pretend —"
"Maybe he's not pretending. It could be that he's very
much an old-style, unreconstructed and thoroughly sexist
Greek tycoon —"
"Nik's not an old-style anything!" 'Isn't he? Some would
say that accepting an arranged marriage for family reasons
was incredibly medieval but he did it. He also runs a
stable of mistresses but still has no problem regarding
you as his wife —" 'Nik looks on me as a friend but I
suspect that a few years back...'Prudence ducked her head
down, wishing Leo hadn't mentioned the mistresses as her
tummy always turned queasy when anyone referred to that
subject. "...well, back then he had a fair idea of my
feelings for him. I think that's why he didn't ask for a
divorce the minute he was free to walk out of Demakis
International."
"You certainly took the heat off Nik Angelis there," Leo
mused, watching her take care of the cub with the minimum
of fuss. "Didn't your grandfather blame you for walking
out on your marriage to come back to England and look
after your mother?"
"By that stage I don't really think my grandfather gave
two hoots what I did," Prudence countered wryly.
Just when Theo Demakis had been in the act of divorcing
his estranged wife that same year, the lady had announced
that she was pregnant. Jubilant at having fathered his own
child, her grandfather had lost interest in the idea of
Nik and Prudence providing the next generation. Sadly,
however, the story had recently reached a most unhappy
conclusion when DNA testing had revealed that Theo's son
and heir was not his child after all. A very bitter
divorce had taken place and the older man's response had
been anything but gracious when Prudence had written in
all sincerity to offer her sympathy.
"But as your husband, Nik may well have a different
perspective on your current plans," Leo warned her. "Just
watch how you break the news about the sperm bank..."
Prudence turned an uncomfortable pink. "I wasn't planning
to mention that just yet."
Nik was not due until one. But a couple who had adopted a
dog from the sanctuary called back for a visit and by the
time they departed Prudence was running exceedingly late.
She pulled on the long grey skirt and a blouse and jacket
that she currently reserved for special occasions and
began applying polish to her short nails in a rush. When
she dropped the brush and smeared peach polish over her
blouse and skirt, she could've screamed. The clattering
whap-whap of Nik's helicopter was already sounding
overhead. Raking through a wardrobe that offered no formal
alternatives, she dragged out a flouncy cerise sun dress
that she kept for the garden and hauled it on. It fell to
her ankles but bared her shoulders and most of her arms.
Grimacing at her reflection, she unfolded a lilac pashmina
and wrapped it round her as tightly and thoroughly as if
she was facing a blizzard.
She liked to cover up and hated wearing anything that
might draw attention to her full figure. Her mother had
once wept inconsolably in her disappointment at having an
only child who had failed to inherit her slender blonde
beauty. Having accepted that she was homely, Prudence gave
very little thought to her appearance. She was five feet
two inches tall with a big bosom and generous hips.
Although the adolescent plumpness she had suffered had
mercifully melted away as she left the teenage years
behind, she knew that she had no hope of ever attaining
the tall, skinny, long-legged look of her youthful
fantasies.