Page 58 of A Diamond for My Forbidden Bride

‘Don’t go,’ she said softly. ‘Please stay.’

And I stopped in my tracks. Because those were the words I’d said to her that day on the beach when I’d met her. She’d been so cross to see me and I’d known she was going to leave. I hadn’t wanted her to. I’d been desperate for her to stay.

And she had. She hadn’t left me. She hadn’t left me alone.

A bolt of something hot pulsed down my spine in that moment like lightning, rooting me to the spot.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I could feel things shifting around inside me, rearranging themselves into a different shape, a picture I couldn’t quite see yet.

I didn’t turn, didn’t want to move in case I disturbed that picture coming into view, but it was still distorted, still blurry.

‘Why are you still here?’ I demanded, staring out over the water, impatient because it was just within reach, that picture,but I still couldn’t see it. ‘What do you want from me?’

There was a moment of silence behind me, nothing but the crackle of the fire filling the air.

‘I want you to trust me, Val,’ Olivia said softly. ‘I know it’s hard after what Domingo did to you. I know it’s hard to trust anyone. But you can trust me. And you can trust my love for you. That’s why I’m still here. I meant what I said. I’m not leaving.’

My anger turned inside me, the frozen wasteland melting.

I wanted to deny that Domingo had done anything to me, but I couldn’t. He’d twisted me just as thoroughly as he’d twisted Constantine.

‘You think that’s easy?’ I demanded.

‘No.’ She sounded very calm. ‘I think it’s the most difficult thing in the world. It’s a leap of faith, Val. But if you never take it, all you’re doing is letting your father win.’ She paused. ‘You never let him win before, my love. Why start now?’

My heart was suddenly hammering in my chest and I couldn’t breathe. It was almost as if I was afraid.

‘I don’t know how to do this,’ I found myself saying, my voice hoarse. ‘I don’t know how to love you. I don’t even know if I can.’

‘Of course you can,’ she said simply. ‘You gave me laughter and honesty and belief. You gave me courage. You gave me the strength to be who I am. To embrace it and not be afraid. And what’s that if not love?’ Another pause. ‘I think it’s time for you to do the same.’

I couldn’t breathe all of a sudden.

I turned around and stared at her, sitting by the fire, watching me steadily through the flames.

Her mouth curved. ‘You’re proud and bossy and far too arrogant. And you don’t like the word no. But you’re also protective and passionate. Gentle too, and never cruel. You have so much love to give, I can feel it, I can see it. And you want someone to love you too.’

Slowly she rose to her feet, the breeze catching the hem of her tunic and making it float out behind her. ‘You’re a difficult man, Valentin Silvera, but you’re not a difficult man to love. So, come and sit by me and toast me a marshmallow, and then perhaps make love to me under the stars. We could argue after that about the best way to start a fire, perhaps. Or we could simply go back to the villa and I could show you all the ways I love you.’

She smiled, her face lit up by the fire, every part of her shining. My little star. ‘Then maybe we’ll get married the way we always said we would.’

I stared at her, my heart cracking inside my chest. ‘How can you say all these things after everything I did? I let you believe I was dead. I kidnapped you. I—’

‘You showed me how it felt to be loved.’

I was shaking.

A leap of faith...

Suddenly I was walking towards the fire, barely conscious of what I was doing. The sand beneath my feet was still warm from the hot day’s sun as I skirted the fire, coming to stand in front of her where she stood.

‘Show me,’ I demanded, every part of me aching and raw. ‘Show me what it feels like.’

‘Idiot,’ Olivia said gently. ‘It feels like this.’ She reached up and wound her arms around my neck, then pressed her mouth to mine.

And, just like that, the picture snapped into complete, sharp focus.

I did know. Ididknow what love felt like.

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