Page 34 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Jury’s still out,’ she warned him.

‘If you will only agree to stay with me as my wife, I promise to be the best husband ever,’ he assured her, still on his knees.

‘Oh, I’m gonna stay,’ Lexy told him with confidence, fingers delving into the luxuriant depths of his black hair. ‘I mean, you’ve got a lot going for you. Honesty, that’s a plus...especially when you mess up.’

His dark head bent as he grimaced. ‘Yes, I lost the plot. Jace warned me way back that Angeliki was toxic and I didn’t listen. That side of her never bothered me because, until recently, it wasn’t aimed at me. She won’t be a part of our lives in the future.’

‘But she’s your sister.’

‘And far from happy about the fact. After confronting her, I went to see my mother to break the bad news that her best friend had given birth to her husband’s child,’ he told her tautly. ‘And that was anything but fun.’

‘I can’t imagine,’ she murmured, thinking of Bianca’s soft, affectionate heart. ‘That must’ve hurt her.’

‘Not at all,’ Nic disconcerted her by responding. ‘She already knew the whole story, hadalwaysknown, which explains why she was constantly careful to remind me that Angeliki was the little sister I had to look after when we were kids. Apparently, it wasn’t an affair between Argus and Rhea. He had information about Rhea’s husband which would have financially ruined the family...he virtually blackmailed her into bed.’

Lexy winced. ‘Oh?’

‘He threatened Rhea that he would reveal that bombshell unless she acquiesced,’ Nic revealed with strong distaste. ‘She gave in and Angeliki was the surprise result. It wrecked Rhea’s marriage and there was a divorce.’

Lexy was frowning. ‘And your mother actuallyknewthat he did that to her best friend?’ she exclaimed in bewilderment.

Nic vaulted upright again. ‘Yes, we talked and I didn’t understand. That’s the thing about my mother. She forgave my father no matter what he did. She says he wasn’t a good man but that she loved him anyway. He beat her, he beat me and it still didn’t change anything.’

‘He got physical?’ Lexy stood up with a grimace. ‘I didn’t realise.’

‘It’s not something you talk about. I learned to stay out of reach when I was quite young. He would fly off the handle if you annoyed him. Mum tried to distract or interrupt him and if that didn’t work, she would tell me that my father was in a bad mood and that I had to understand that he was a very busy man.’ Nic shrugged in dismissal. ‘But that’s how I grew up, being bullied and beaten, and I learned fast that if I showed any emotion, he saw that as a weakness.’

Lexy stretched up on tiptoe, her small hand stroking his jawline soothingly. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know.’

‘When I met you, I was still living with that conditioning. I knew that I wanted you more than any woman I’d ever met straight away but I couldn’t process it. I fell for you that night—it was crazy, but I did. I liked everything about you. You were down to earth and frank and that impressed me. Then...’ Nic spread eloquent hands and a wicked grin slashed his lips. ‘The sex was incredible and all I wanted was more and more of you and that’s what we would have had, had Angeliki not intervened.’

‘But she did, and I had the triplets alone but for Mel,’ Lexy completed with regret. ‘We can’t change that but I learned to hate you for that.’

‘Could you learn to unlearn it?’ Nic prompted very seriously. ‘I’m not planning to keep anything from you any more. Perhaps I should’ve been more honest from the start. Our wedding night wasn’t planned... I genuinely was not expecting that to happen.’

‘Youmadeit happen!’ Lexy tossed back at him as he swept her off her feet at the foot of the stairs. ‘What happened to the rest of dinner?’

‘We gave up on it. I didn’t make it happen,’ Nic protested as he carried her upstairs like a parcel. ‘I guess, I was just overexcited.’

‘Yeah, no short memory here...you and all the supermodels you entertained yourself with while we were apart. I saw you on the Internet with them.’

‘But I didn’t have sex with a single one of those dates.’

‘You expect me to believe that you didn’t sleep with any of those gorgeous ladies?’ Lexy asked incredulously as he laid her down on the big bed in their bedroom.

‘Yes. Since the night I met you, there hasn’t been anyone else.’

‘But...?’

‘At first, I was expecting to find you and I was being faithful,’ Nic contended, faint colour edging his high cheekbones. ‘And then when I couldn’t find you, I was so intoyouthat I wasn’t attracted to anyone else. I’ve never slept around. You and I were special and I couldn’t move past that. And I was glad I hadn’t given way to lust when I finally found you again.’

‘Only because I put a solicitor on your trail,’ Lexy broke in, but she was thinking about that. About Nic Diamandis with his many options choosing not to have sex with anyone else after her. And she liked that, she liked that so much that she felt light-headed in receipt of that confession. He had been loyal to her even after he had lost hope of seeing her again. He had valued what they had found together. All of a sudden, she could think back to that passionate wedding night and forgive herself for being part of it.

‘There wasn’t anyone else for me either...although I can’t pretend I had many opportunities to stray,’ she whispered. ‘Is there a reason why you brought me straight to bed?’

A boyish grin skimmed Nic’s mobile mouth. ‘The obvious.’

‘I like that you’re not pretending.’

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