Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
For some reason, the memory of meeting Ioniko the first time made her blush, too. Or maybe it was because of the naked admiration in the Greek billionaire’s eyes as he, too, smiled at her.
“I think the same,” Stavros murmured in that quiet, calm way of his. “It’s Leventis’ infinite luck that I had not found Mairi’s whereabouts—-”
“Lucky or not, none of that matters now,” Damen snapped, irritated at the way the other men dared to flirt with his wife. Pulling Mairi towards him possessively, he stated in clear concise terms, “Mairi is mine.” After a beat, he added generously, “But you are all welcome to form a club of course.”
Mairi blinked in confusion. “A club?”
He grinned down at her before lifting his wine glass in the air. “I propose a toast, gentlemen.” When the other men had lifted their glasses, Damen said, “To the men who were and might have been dumped by Mairi.”
The men laughed even as Mairi wailed in embarrassment. “Damen!”
The party ended at a riotous note, with most of the guests blissfully tipsy as they trooped out of Damen’s house at five in the morning.
When Damen caught sight of Mairi yawning for the second time in five minutes, he muttered, “That’s it.” Without a word of warning, he swung her up in his arms and took the stairs.
“But there are still guests,” Mairi protested.
“The babysitter can handle it.”
A drowsy giggle escaped her even as she snuggled against the inviting warmth of Damen’s chest. “Stop calling Drake that.”
“It’s what his future job will be if he doesn’t leave.”
Inside their bedroom, Damen nimbly took off her clothes and tucked her under the covers before he shrugged out of his. When he joined her in bed, Mairi automatically rolled herself towards him.
Damen kissed his wife, the urge to do so becoming only stronger since Mairi had “caught” him. When he lifted his head, he waited for Mairi’s gaze to meet his before whispering, “I love you, sweetheart.”
She swallowed. “I love you, too...”
The hint of despair in her eyes made him ask quietly, “What’s troubling you?”
Mairi took a deep breath, knowing there was no better time to talk about what had hurt her the most. They had been blessed with another chance to start fresh, and this time she wanted no secrets between them, not even if the truth hurt.
She whispered, “Alina?”
Damen frowned. “What about her?”
“Will you...will you ever talk to her again?”
His eyes narrowed, and what he saw on Mairi’s face made him curse silently. “You knew I met with her yesterday, didn’t you?” He didn’t give her time to answer, guilt for once again unintentionally causing Mairi pain making him press his lips to her forehead in a remorseful kiss. “I’m so damn sorry if it made you doubt me, sweetheart, but I swear it was that one time—-”
She tensed against him. “Don’t lie to me, Damen—-”
“I’m not.”
“But what about all those calls you took that you never wanted me to hear—-”
Again, Damen groaned, his lips brushing against hers in a silent apology. “It was Willow. My editor. I’ve been talking to her for months about the book. She ghostwrote it for me.” He grabbed her hand, pressing it to his heart. “Feel it. I’m not lying. I’ll never lie to you again,” he said fiercely. “Tomorrow, we’ll go to Willow’s office. We’ll watch the CCTV footage so you’ll see the number of times I’ve been there. I’ll get phone records to show—-”
Mairi pressed one trembling finger against his lips. “I...believe you.” Her voice caught. “But I didn’t know then...you were so good,” she said in a tear-choked laugh, “at keeping your surprise that when I saw you talking on the phone and it was obvious you did not want me to hear you, I thought you were talking to Alina all those times. I thought you had fallen in love with her but couldn’t make yourself leave me because of...the past.”
“Nothing’s ever happened between us, Mairi,” Damen gritted out vehemently. “I swear it.”
“Even...before? Even when I was with Drake?”
His jaw clenched, any mention of the time Mairi had spent with the other man killing him. But that would always be his penance, his cross to bear, and Damen strove to keep his tone level as he answered, “Never. There was no other woman for me the moment I had my engagement ring on your finger.”
Mairi hesitated.
The unspoken questions lurking in her eyes made Damen prod softly, “What is it? You can say anything. Ask anything. I have nothing to hide—-”
She took a deep breath. “Alina...met me at the airport when...when I came back to Miami. She told me that when we were apart, she and you—-”
A sick look crossed his face as Damen realized what Mairi was implying. “Never,” he said flatly. “I don’t understand why she would lie about such a thing, but I never ever touched her. I swear it on my life, Mairi.”