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‘Man,’ Elias pronounced with approval, for there was none in his world.
‘Daddy,’ Leonidas contradicted without hesitation, resting his broad shoulders back against the sofa behind him to allow Elias to scramble freely over him.
Maribel parted her lips to object and then sealed them shut again. Leonidas lifted Elias up and held him upside down above him. Elias was thrilled by that manoeuvre. Maribel watched in frank fascination while Leonidas, whom she had never seen make an uncool move in his life, engaged in horseplay on the rug with Elias. They ambushed each other round the sofa. Elias got rolled and tossed about and he clearly adored every minute of such robust handling. Feeling superfluous, Maribel sat down on the arm of a chair. She had expected to act as a connecting point, but neither her son nor his father required her encouragement to get to know each other. The discovery that Leonidas could relax to that extent with a young child astonished her.
‘He’s amazing,’ Leonidas pronounced finally. ‘What do I do with him now?’
Exhausted by all the excitement, Elias was draped over Leonidas now like a small crumpled blanket.
‘He’s ready to go to sleep.’
‘No problem.’ Leonidas vaulted upright. ‘I’ve got a crib waiting for him upstairs.’
‘Do you want me to carry him?’
‘No. I need to learn how to manage him.’
‘You’re doing very well for someone who’s not used to children.’ Maribel accompanied him up the long, elegant stone-and-iron stairway.
‘Elias is different. He’s mine.’
The bedroom that contained the crib also contained a uniformed nanny, who could just as easily have competed as an entrant in an international beauty contest. A six-foot-tall Nordic blonde with a pearly smile, she took Elias and cooed over him while attending to him with an efficiency that could only impress. Even so, Maribel was dismayed at the speed with which Leonidas had acquired a member of staff to take care of Elias, and said so.
Leonidas shrugged. ‘We have to talk. Elias has to sleep and he needs someone to watch over him. Diane has superb references. Loosen the apron strings, glikia mou.’
Maribel was mortified. ‘Is that what you think?’
‘I want to share the responsibility of raising Elias. Stop worrying. You’re not on your own any more.’
‘But I’ve managed fine on my own.’
Ignoring that defensive rejoinder, Leonidas rested a lean hand lightly at her spine and walked her to the end of the landing where a giant window overlooked a fabulous view of the parkland. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was determined to win her agreement. If everything went to plan, she and Elias would be flying out to Greece with him the next morning and he would be introducing his son to the family. ‘What do you think of Heyward Park?’
‘This place?’ Her brow furrowed in bemusement. ‘It’s—it’s magnificent.’
Leonidas turned her round to face him. The sudden intimacy in the air took her by surprise and she went pink, insanely conscious of his masculine proximity. His stunning dark golden eyes glittered in his lean, devastatingly handsome face. ‘I would like you and Elias to make this your home.’
Shattered by that proposition coming at her right out of the blue, Maribel froze, her brain going into override while she attempted to work out exactly what he meant. But she could think of only one possible interpretation: he was asking her to move in with him! What else could he possibly mean? It was so typical of Leonidas to behave as though the most important issues were quite inconsequential. He understated, rather than overstated, with a dispassionate cool that few could match. ‘Leonidas…’ she tried to say, but her voice ran out of steam and croaked into silence again.
‘Why not?’ Leonidas murmured softly, staring steadily down at her while combing her luxuriant hair back from the sides of her face with surprisingly gentle fingers.
Her breath rattled in her constricted throat. He had never set up home with any woman before and she was very much aware of the fact. So were the newspapers and magazines that recycled incessant stories of how ruthlessly he ended his affairs and maintained his unfettered lifestyle. But then, nobody had taken account of how the advent of one little boy might affect the Pallis outlook. ‘You’ve really taken me by surprise.’
‘You’re not fighting me any more.’ A charismatic smile curved his wide sensual mouth as she gazed up at him with anxious violet-blue eyes. ‘I appreciate your generosity.’
Her heart was beating so fast it felt as if it were in her throat. He was only asking her to move in because of Elias. She couldn’t accept on those terms; she couldn’t possibly. Didn’t she have any pride?
