Page 90 of A Diamond Deal
She inched closer, craning her neck to keep hold of his eyes. ‘I love you, Konstantinos,’ she said, and she waited, her heart beating so hard, so fast, for him to say he loved her back. But he didn’t speak. He looked at her. Regarding her with a wide-eyed contemplation.
He closed the minimal space between them. ‘How pretty you make it all sound.’ His hand rose. He cradled her cheek. ‘Thisloveof yours. Thislifeyou want to giveme.’
So desperately did she want to lean into the heat of it. But his touch, however softly he held her there, it felt off. Something wasn’t right.
She ignored it. Her instincts. She’d make him understand.
‘We can build it together,’ she told him thickly. ‘A new life. Without rules… Arealfresh start.’
He dipped his head. ‘You say you love me?’
‘More than anything.’
‘And this love, it will protect those you profess to love. It will protect me?’
‘Yes!’
His lips turned upwards, but it wasn’t a smile. It was all teeth and the movement of lips. But it was…vicious.
Lower his head came.
Closer his lips.
‘Liar,’ he breathed into her mouth.
Poppy flinched. ‘What?’
His hand fell from her cheek. He raised his head. Brought himself to his full height before her. ‘It must be so hard, after your father, to differentiate when your truth is nothing but another lie.’
‘Konstantinos!’ she hissed, because his words—his accusation she was telling lies… It scrambled her thoughts. Stole her conviction shewastelling the truth.
He turned his back on her. ‘You are a liar, Poppy,’ he said again, walking over to his desk, opening a drawer.
She squared her shoulders. Ignored her instincts to turn tail and run. Something brewed in the air between them.Conflict.She could smell it.Taste it.
She planted her feet. She wasn’t running this time because of her fear.
‘I’m not lying.’
‘But you are,’ he said, and slipped free a Manila folder. He closed the drawer, walked to his high-back chair made of dark wood. He pulled it out. Sat down. And only then did he look at her.
‘Your love is no better than my mother’s or my father’s.’
‘They didn’t love you.’
‘Exactly. My mother, she abandoned me because she was selfish. My father abandoned my mother and me because he was selfish. You are selfish, too, Poppy. Only thinking of what you want—whatyouneed.’
‘I’m thinking of what we both need.’
‘What will you do if I do not return your love?’
‘I—’
‘You’ll leave me standing at the altar. You will abandon me.Again. Thatis not love.’
‘How do you know what love is if you’ve never felt it? I know what love is, Konstantinos.Thisis love. I love you. You love me.’
‘I loved my mother and she died, because my love was selfish, too. I should have called for help, but my heart demanded I follow her.Save her.’
