A Stormy Greek Marriage (15 page)

Of course, the past eighteen months had proved more than usually eventful for her mother and had led to a much-changed lifestyle. Lauren had stayed on in London to paint the town red and, within six months of the publication of the story she had sold, she had spent all the money she had earned from it and the hotel where she’d been in residence had contacted Alexei, just before throwing Lauren out onto the street for unpaid bills. At that point, Hilary had persuaded her sister to go into rehab for, by that stage, there had been little doubt that Lauren had a problem with alcohol. But, unhappily, the treatment hadn’t worked on that occasion, probably because Lauren had merely surrendered to Hilary’s arguments rather than acting on a genuine need to seek help for herself. It had been Billie who’d taken charge of her mother the next time that her lifestyle had got her into trouble—because, by then, Hilary had been abroad on her honeymoon. Now Lauren herself was willing to acknowledge that she had a serious addiction problem.

This second stay in rehab, followed by regular attendance at AA meetings, had helped Lauren to stay off the booze and she and her daughter were getting on much better since then. Sobriety had softened Lauren’s sharp tongue and lessened her dramas, while happiness had made Billie more accepting of her mother’s weaknesses.

The previous year, Hilary had married Stuart McGregor, the captain of Alexei’s yacht, in a quiet ceremony. Still working on her history book, which had
since found a publisher, Hilary was—to her astonishment and delight—now four months pregnant with her first child. Up until then the little terrier, Skye, which Alexei had given to Billie on their wedding day, had been the apple of her aunt’s eye. Skye had, after all, lived with Hilary while Billie and Alexei were enjoying their extended honeymoon in France, and by the time the couple returned Hilary had confessed that she couldn’t face giving the puppy up because she had become so attached to the little animal.

Billie currently worked several hours a day in Alexei’s company and occasionally accompanied him abroad. These days he travelled less because he was keen to take an active role in his children’s daily life. Billie had found her husband wonderfully supportive during her pregnancy and it had wiped out all the memories of her lonely sense of isolation while she’d carried Nicky. She had enjoyed her second pregnancy and had also been blessed with a straightforward delivery. It would be a long time before she forgot Alexei’s eyes shining with tears of pride and fascination when he saw his daughter for the first time.

As Nicky pelted out of the nursery and greeted his father at the top of his voice Billie turned to greet Alexei.

‘Your mother’s flirting like mad with your father. He’s mesmerised,’ Alexei revealed with a wicked grin.

‘Oh, dear, I do hope she doesn’t hurt his feelings.’ Billie sighed.

‘I think Desmond is mature enough to look after himself,’ Alexei told her with quiet assurance. ‘How’s our daughter?’

‘Fast asleep. I think all the attention she got this afternoon exhausted her.’

‘You got plenty of attention too,’ Alexei reminded her, scanning her slim shapely figure in the sapphire-blue dress and jacket she wore. ‘You look amazing,
agapi mou.
’

He closed his arms round Billie and eased her up against his tall, powerful body. He stared down into her shining eyes and the ready smile of welcome already tugging at her ripe mouth and murmured softly, ‘Every time I see you, it’s like coming home and like no other feeling I’ve ever had. I love you,
moraki mou.
’

Billie whispered the same sentiment back with similar intensity and gave herself up to the pleasure of his mouth on hers, happiness singing through her every skin cell…

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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First published in Great Britain 2010

Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,

Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

© Lynne Graham 2010

ISBN: 978-1-408-91923-1