‘Like you and me,’ Theo said, instantly grasping the point.
‘Yes. Exactly like that. But the princess asked the prince to keep her secret until after her sister’s wedding because she didn’t want to take people’s attention away from the bride. The prince understood this but he wanted to spend as much time as he could with his son. And he also wanted the princess to know that being a father meant a lot to him. It made him very sad that he had missed out on so much of his son’s life and he wanted to be there for him in the future.’
‘Can I guess now?’ Theo asked.
Ari nodded.
Theo cocked his head to the side, not quite sure he had it right, but wanting to know. ‘Are you my Papa, Ari?’
‘Yes, Theo. I am,’ he answered simply.
Tina held her breath until she saw a happy grin break out on Theo’s face. The same grin spread across Ari’s. Neither of them looked at her. This was their moment—five years in the waiting—and she couldn’t resent being excluded from it. It was her fault they had been kept apart all this time. Ari had been fair in his story-telling and she now had to be fair to the bond she had denied both of them.
‘I’m glad you’re my Papa,’ Theo said fervently, rising to his feet. ‘After my birthday party I dreamed that you were.’
Ari lifted him onto his knee, hugging him close. ‘We’ll always celebrate your birthday together,’ he promised huskily.
‘But I don’t want you to hurt Mama again.’
Tears pricked Tina’s eyes, her heart swelling at the love and loyalty in Theo’s plea to his father.
‘I am trying very hard not to,’ Ari said seriously. ‘I kept her secret until today, and now your Mama and I are going to work out how best we can be together for the rest of our lives. Will you be happy to be with your grandmother while we do that?’
‘Does Yiayia know you’re my Papa?’
‘Yes. Your Mama told her this morning. And now that you know, too, you can talk about it to your grandmother. Tomorrow, if it’s okay with your Mama, I’ll take you to visit your other grandparents whom you met at your birthday party.’
Theo’s eyes rounded in wonderment. ‘Is Maximus my Papou?’
‘Yes, and he very much wants to see you again. So does my mother. You will have a much bigger family. The boys you played with at the wedding are your cousins.’
‘Will they be there tomorrow?’
‘Yes.’ Ari rose to his feet, hoisting Theo up in his arms. ‘Let’s go back to your grandmother because your Mama and I need to have some time to talk about all this.’
The face Theo turned to Tina was full of excitement. ‘Is it okay with you, Mama?’ he asked eagerly.
‘Yes,’ she said, not yet ready to commit to a mass family involvement until after her night with Ari, but smiling at her son to remove any worry from his mind.
It was enough for Theo.
He was content to be left with her mother, happy to share the news that his birthday wish had come true and ask a million questions about what might happen next. He waved goodbye to Tina and Ari without a qualm.
All the qualms were in Tina’s stomach.
She was about to face a new beginning with Ari Zavros or an end to the idea of marrying him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ARI took her hand as they walked up the ramp to the courtyard in front of the reception building. The physical link flooded her mind with thoughts of the intimacy to come. For him it was probably just another night of sex—the performance of an act that had been commonplace in his life, varied only by the different women he’d taken to bed with him.
For her … a little shiver ran down her spine … it had been so long, and she wasn’t dazzled by him this time.
Could she really shut off her disillusionment with the love she’d believed he’d shared and take pleasure in what he could give her? He’d said he’d try very hard not to hurt her. There was no need to be frightened of him, but she was frightened of the feelings he might evoke in her. This was not a time to be weak or confused. There was too much at stake to blindly follow instincts that had led her astray in the past.
Though she had to concede that Ari had been very good with Theo. He’d also saved her from the dilemma of how to explain the truth to their son. At least that was done with, and done well, which was only fair to acknowledge.
‘I liked your fairy story,’ she said, slanting him an appreciative little smile.
He flashed a hopeful smile back. ‘We have yet to give it a happy ending.’
‘To dream the impossible dream …’ tripped straight off her tongue.
‘Not impossible, Christina. Open your mind to it.’
They reached his car and he opened the passenger door for her. She paused, looking directly at him before stepping in. ‘I don’t know your mind, Ari. That’s the problem.’
Intensity of purpose glittered in his amber eyes as he answered, ‘Then I hope you’ll know it better by tomorrow morning.’
‘I hope I do, too.’ She gestured to the car. ‘Where are you taking me?’
‘To Oia, the northern village of Santorini, the best place for watching the sunset. I’ve arranged for a suite in a boutique hotel which will give us the perfect view. I thought you would like it.’
‘That’s … very romantic.’
‘With you I want to be romantic,’ he replied, his whole expression softening with a look of rueful tenderness that twisted her heart.
She tore her gaze from his and quickly settled herself in the passenger seat, silently and furiously chastising herself for the craven wish to be romanced out of all her mistrust of his fairy-tale happy ending. He was going to make it all too easy to surrender to his charm and there was a huge vulnerable part of her that wanted to believe she was special to him this time and there would be no turning away from her ever again.
But it was his child he really wanted. She was the package deal. And she had no idea how long the package would stay attractive to him. Even if Ari romanced her beautifully tonight, she had to keep her head on straight and insist on the prenuptial agreement he’d offered. It was her insurance against making another big mistake with him.
He chatted to her about the various features of the island they passed on their way to Oia, intent on establishing a companionable mood. Tina did her best to relax and respond in an interested fashion. She remembered how interested he had been in Australia, always asking her questions about it whenever they were driving somewhere together.