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The office door sprang open without warning ‘Why on earth is there a crowd of people hanging around outside?’ demanded the older woman hom Maribel shared the office ‘Oh—sorry I didn’t realise that you had so?’
‘Not at all,’ Leonidas murmured impassively ‘I was about to leave’
Gripped by a giant wave of frustration, Maribel watched Leonidas depart She could not understand why she should feel bereft when he walked away Her office was no place for emotional discussions He needed to think about what she had said, as well Her hand crept up to her lower lip, which was still swollen from the erotic heat of his It was so typical of Leonidas to try and blur serious issues with sex He could handle sex He could handle it beautifully It was the emotional stuff he couldn’t and wouldn’t deal with
Wide-eyed, her colleague hurried back to the doorway ‘Good heavens, was that who I think it is? Was that actually Leonidas Pallis?’
A h she were a rare animal on display in a zoo for the first time…
CHAPTER FOUR
MARIBEL could not sleep that night, or indeed during the night that followed
How long was it since she had fallen in love with Leonidas Pallis? Almost seven years It sounded like a prison terled to feel soht as well have been locked away in a cell, for neither intelligence nor practicality had exercised the smallest influence over what she felt She had done her ut She did not respect him as a person Yet helpless sympathy for a nise grief had led to her lowering her guard after her cousin’s funeral And, to the conception of the son she adored
Who are you to judgethat question at dawn on the second day after his latest visit As she had not expected to see Leonidas again, it had not occurred to her that he would ever find out about Elias Now that he had, everything had changed and she had been too slow to recognise that truth Suddenly she was being forced to justify the decisions she had ht to deny Elias all contact with his father Accusto her own counsel, she felt that she was too eht be wise to ask for a second opinion from someone she could trust to be discreet
Later that , Maribel went over to see Ginny Bell and finally told the older woman who had fathered her son
For the space of an entire minute, the older woman simply stared back at her with rounded eyes of shock and disbelief ‘Leonidas Pallis? The Greek billionaire who’s always plastered all over the celebrity en’s ex?’
Red as a beetroot, Maribel nodded affirmation
‘My goodness You do put newa dark horse!’ Ginny exclaimed ‘Leonidas Pallis is really Elias’ father?’