The Darkest of Secrets (21 page)
Read The Darkest of Secrets Online
Authors: Kate Hewitt
He couldn’t have done it, he knew, without Grace. Without her strength. She’d been strong enough to walk away from him. And now he prayed she would come back to him when he found her.
Ammar stepped back, his smile as awkward as Khalis’s hug. This was new and uncomfortable territory for both of them. ‘It is good,’ he said, and Khalis nodded.
‘What will you do now?’ he asked after a moment. ‘Tannous Enterprises should by rights be yours.’
Ammar shook his head. ‘Father wanted you to have it—’
‘But I don’t want it. And your whole life has been dedicated to the company, Ammar. Perhaps now you can make something of it. Something good.’
‘Maybe.’ Ammar looked away. ‘If it is possible.’
‘I’ll sign my shares over to you—’
‘I need to do something first.’
Surprised, Khalis blinked. ‘What?’
‘I need to find my wife.’
‘Your
wife
?’ He had not known his brother had married. But of course he had not known anything about these last fifteen years.
‘Former wife, I should say,’ Ammar corrected grimly. ‘The marriage was annulled ten years ago.’
Curiosity sharpened inside him, but the hard set of his brother’s features kept Khalis from asking any more probing questions. ‘Still,’ he said, ‘you should take control of Tannous Enterprises. Turn it around, if you will.’ Perhaps then the company could be redeemed, as Grace had suggested. Redeemed rather than dismantled and destroyed.
‘There is time to discuss these matters,’ Ammar said, and Khalis nodded.
‘You must come to Alhaja. We can celebrate there.’
Ammar’s mouth twisted. ‘I’ve always hated that place.’
‘As did I. But perhaps we can redeem even that wretched island.’
‘You are full of hope,’ Ammar observed wryly. He did not sound particularly hopeful himself. His brother might have changed, but he still looked haunted.
‘I am,’ Khalis answered. His heart felt light, lighter than ever before. He felt as if he could float. And he needed to find Grace. ‘And while you need to find your wife, I need to find my—’ He paused. ‘My love.’ Smiling, he embraced his brother once more. ‘And tell her so.’
Six hours later, Khalis strode into the head office of Axis Art Insurers. A receptionist flapped at him, saying she’d have to check if Ms Turner was available, but Khalis just flashed her a quick smile and kept walking. Nothing was going to keep him from Grace now.
He’d wandered down several wrong corridors before he finally found her in one of the labs. She was standing in front of a canvas—he couldn’t see what it was and, frankly, he didn’t care—and his heart swelled with love at the sight of her. She wore a crisp white blouse and navy pencil skirt, reminding him of when he’d first seen her. Her hair was up in its classic chignon, but a few tendrils had escaped and curled around her neck. She gestured to the unseen canvas with one slender arm, and he felt pride swell along with overwhelming love. She was so strong. So amazing, to have come so far and done so much on her own. To have not just survived, but triumphed.
Khalis opened the door.
Grace heard the door open, felt that prickling along the nape of her neck that had alerted her to Khalis’s presence before. Her body was wired to his in some elemental way, and yet.
Surely he couldn’t be here.
He was. She turned and saw him looking as mouth-dryingly gorgeous as ever, his expression intent and serious as he gazed at her. And Grace gazed back, drinking him in, knowing that even though it had only been a few days she’d missed him. Terribly.
He nodded towards the canvas on the stainless steel table. ‘Forgery?’
‘No, it appears to be genuine so far.’
Khalis gave her a crooked smile. ‘I don’t know much about art, but thank God I know the real thing when I see it.’ He closed the space between them in two long strides and swept her into his arms. ‘You.’
Grace’s arms came around him as a matter of instinct even as she searched his face. ‘Khalis—’
‘I found my brother. I talked to him.’
Her arms tightened around him. ‘I’m glad.’
‘So am I. Mainly because losing you over something like that would have killed me. But also because you were right. I did need to face my past. Face my family, and that darkness in myself.’ His throat worked as his voice choked just a little. ‘I needed to forgive myself.’
She laid one hand against his cheek. ‘Sometimes that’s the most difficult part.’
‘But worth it. Most definitely worth it.’ He bent his head and, smiling, Grace tilted her own back as he kissed her softly, a promise. ‘Now,’ Khalis said as he lifted his head, ‘we really can look towards the future. Our future.’
‘That sounds like a wonderful idea.’ Grace’s gaze widened when she saw him retrieve a small velvet box from his pocket.
‘And I think,’ Khalis said with a smile, ‘it can begin with this. Grace Turner, will you marry me?’
She let out a shocked and joyous laugh. ‘Yes. Yes, I will.’
‘Then,’ Khalis said, sliding a gorgeous diamond and sapphire ring onto her finger, ‘the future looks very bright indeed.’
EPILOGUE
G
RACE
stared at the imposing villa in one of Athens’s best neighbourhoods and felt a flutter of nerves so strong it was more like a kick in the gut.
‘What if she’s forgotten me?’ she whispered. ‘What if she doesn’t want to go with me?’
Khalis slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. ‘We’ll take it together, one step at a time. One second at a time, if need be.’
Grace let out a slow breath and nodded. It had taken six months to get to this moment. Her ex-husband had been brought to court in a custody appeal, and after a lengthy trial Grace had been awarded main custody of Katerina, with Loukas having her every other weekend. Furious that he’d been thwarted, her ex-husband had relinquished all claims on his daughter. Even though Grace was saddened that he’d rejected Katerina, she was thrilled to have her daughter back. Thrilled and terrified. After years of stilted and unsatisfactory visits, she’d finally tuck her in at night. Sing her songs. Hold her close.
If Katerina would let her.
‘I’m so scared,’ she whispered and Khalis put his arm around her as he guided her up the front steps.
‘The past really is the past,’ he reminded her. ‘We’re looking towards the future now—as a family.’
A family.
What a wonderful, amazing, humbling thought. Gulping a little, Grace nodded and pressed the doorbell.
Katerina’s nanny answered the door; she had remained on as the child’s carer while the trial went on. Now, with trepidation, Grace introduced herself and then waited as the nanny went to bring her Katerina.
The first sight of her daughter in several months nearly brought her to her knees. She’d grown several inches and, at nearly six years old, she was starting to lose some of that toddler roundness. Her eyes were wide and dark as she stared at Grace.
‘Hello, Katerina,’ Grace said, her voice only just steady. Khalis squeezed her hand in silent, loving encouragement. ‘Hello, darling.’
Katerina gazed at her for a long moment, and then glanced at Khalis curiously before turning back to Grace. She offered a shy, hesitant smile. ‘Hello, Mama,’ she said.
* * * * *
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
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First published in Great Britain 2012
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Kate Hewitt 2012
ISBN: 978-1-408-97404-9
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