Page 21

She was so caught up in her memories that she didn’t realise how still he’d grown. How carefully he was studying her, or she might have tried harder to hide the hurt on her features. “To say I had the rug pulled out from under me is an understatement. When we broke up, it shook the foundations of my whole world.” She bit into her lower lip to stop the tears from forming. “It was bad and once I got over the catatonic sense of shock, I became determined to never, ever let myself go through that again.”

He made a gruff noise of agreement, so her eyes flicked to his face and her heart lurched. She felt self-conscious suddenly, at what she’d revealed. “My point is,” she continued, voice gravelled. “Humans are wired to protect themselves. Most of us, anyway. Ellie’s lost her dad, and seen the way it unraveled things for her mother. She’s spent years holding everything together, trying to keep her mum on track, and now, she’s lost her, too. It’s totally understandable that she’s made pushing people away an art form. Even you.”

His eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t push you away.”

“She doesn’t let you close, either. She treats you like a polite stranger, and this is your home, not hers.” He went to say something but she cut him off, urgently needing to say this, having watched the two of them all weekend. “I think she’s scared that if she shows you what she’s really feeling, if she cries, if she makes herself a nuisance, if she leaves a mess, if she does anything wrong, you might leave her, too.”

He swore under his breath. “I would never,” he disputed, slashing a hand through the air. “She must know that.”

“Maybe she does, intellectually. But how can she trust it?”

She sipped her own wine, eyes holding his, stomach twisting. “You told me you wouldn’t hurt me, but I’m not relying on that.”

“I meant it.”

“I know. But I’m going to make sure of it.”

“How?”

Her lips pulled to the side. “By keeping you at arm’s length,” she said, without hesitation. “By leaving when I’m finished and not looking back.”

He nodded, expression gravely serious. “So, if I can’t say anything to make her feel safe here, to make her feel loved, what do I do?”

“You show her,” Chloe said gently. “You spend time together. Watch movies.” She looked around the dining room, with all its imposing decorations, and wrinkled her nose. “I’d also start with making your palace feel a bit more like a home.”

“It’s not a palace.”

“It might as well be. It’s seriously grand. I don’t know what her old home was like, but children need to live somewhere they can relax. This,” she gestured down the twenty-seater table. “Is not relaxing.”

He looked down the table, frowning. Like he’d never even realized how big and stuffy the room was. Sympathetic amusement softened her expression.

“Can you help me?”

“Help you?” she repeated.

“Help me fix this,” he pointed to the room.

Her heart lurched. Excitement tingled at the tips of her fingers, but she shook her head. “I can’t.”

A determination she’d seen in his eyes before fired anew. “It’s what you do.”

“Christmas theming is what I do,” she said gently.

“But you’re qualified to do homes.”

“Yes, but…”

“I’ll pay.”

She reached across the table, putting her hand over his. “This is me protecting myself,” she said, softly. “I know what you and I agreed, but this isn’t without risk. If I stay, get too involved—with you and Ellie both—I feel like I might lose myself. And I’m never going to do that again.” His eyes bore into hers, his jaw shifting as though he were thinking what he could say to change her mind. She didn’t give him a chance. “But I have a friend,” she said. “I went to uni with her, and she’s brilliant. Even better, she doesn’t live too far from here. I know she’s usually booked to the gills but if I call and ask her to take you on, she will. Okay?”

“I want you.”

Her heart stammered. “Sorry, you’ve already used up your bossy billionaire card with me. I squeezed you in for Christmas this year, but that’s it. You’re out of favours with me.”

She stood up, no longer cognizant of the spread of beautiful food on the table. She moved to Dimitrios’s side, and when he shifted to push his chair back, she sat in his lap, arms linked behind his neck.

“I really think the smartest thing for us to do is keep this to just-sex.”