Page 52 of Greek's Temporary "I Do"

He could see the tears glistening in her eyes, feel the pounding of her heart in time with his own. He’d meant every word he’d said and he genuinely didn’t care if Liassidis Shipping disappeared tomorrow, as long as he was by Helena’s side. In seven days she had become his world. She was the light, the sky, the ground beneath his feet, the sun, moon and stars above; she was the only person he would ever need in his life.

Her smile wobbled as she took a tentative step towards him. It was all he needed as he closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, taking her into his arms with a kiss that sent off another thousand sparks. A kiss that would appear on headlines around the world for years to come. A kiss that had many names, but the only one of real importance was theirs: true love’s kiss.

‘I love you,’ Helena pressed against his lips. ‘I’ve always loved you,’ she said again.

‘I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,’ he said, thinking of how long it had taken him to realise how much he lived for her. ‘You are the most precious thing in the world to me and I’ll not let a single day pass without letting you know that,’ he promised.

‘Okay,’ she said, looking up at him with a love so strong and so sure he could barely believe it.

‘Okay?’ he asked, unsure what she was agreeing to.

‘I’ll marry you,’ she said. ‘Again.’ And through the resounding cheers of celebration from the reporters around them, for the first time in years Leo felt the missing part of his heart return and completeness filled him as he gave Helena his heart, unchecked and untamed.

He kissed her again then, the first of many that would litter their lives like stars in the night sky. Theirs was a happiness proclaimed to the world as true love, from that moment until their very last breaths.

EPILOGUE

Two years later...

LEO LOOKED AT himself in the mirror, fixing his cufflinks, assessing his appearance with a more critical eye than usual. He took in the dark trousers, the morning coat, the waistcoat.

‘Tell me again that I’m doing the right thing.’

‘You are doing what you need to.’

‘Am I?’

‘Leo, if you want me to talk you out of this, I can,’ his brother offered, holding his gaze in the reflection of the mirror.

‘Would you?’

‘No. Not really. Kate would kill me if I tried to talk you out of this now.’

Leo barked out a laugh. Leander was absolutely right and, while he’d never tell a soul, secretly, he was slightly terrified of his sister-in-law.

‘This is what Helena wanted, and I will do whatever it takes to make her happy,’ Leo told himself.

Leander slapped him on the back. ‘That’s the spirit.’

He’d wanted a small ceremony, something quiet and intimate. Helena had done much in the last few years to bring him out of his shell, but Leo was still more inclined to prefer smaller gatherings. But he’d do anything for his future wife, the least of which was having the wedding of her dreams.

Which was why they were in an English Tudor mansion and he was about to put on, of all things, a top hat.

An actual top hat.

‘Apparently, she said it made you look handsome,’ Leander said, eyeing the damn thing with as much suspicion as Leo felt.

‘I don’t need a hat to make me look handsome,’ Leo replied coolly.

‘You keep telling yourself that, brother,’ Leander said, with another pat on his shoulder.

‘I don’t know what you’re laughing about. You have to wear one too.’

Leander’s face was a picture. A snapshot of a mixture of fear and horror.

‘No,’ he said, shaking his head, his hand slashing through the air definitively. ‘I love you. I do. But not that much.’

Leo couldn’t help it. He threw his head back and laughed.

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