Epilogue
Two and a half years later
‘Did you know, Freya, my daughter was so excited when she heard her uncle Theo was coming to Parádeisos for a whole week she couldn’t sleep last night.’
Freya grinned at Poppy Caras, who she already considered to be a sister, as they lay together on the pool loungers, enjoying the afternoon sun while their men took care of Gemma. ‘He was pretty excited to be coming here to see her, too.’
Freya returned her gaze to the man in question, who was standing beside his brother on the other side of the pool, looking tanned and handsome, his wet swimming trunks clinging to his muscular butt—his arms full of his niece, who was busy chatting a mile a minute…
Freya’s heart swelled. She was pretty sure the toddler hadn’t drawn a full breath since they’d both arrived that morning on the yacht.
‘The ironic thing is,’ she mused, ‘no one is more surprised he’s a natural with children than Theo himself.
He’s terrific with my brothers, too,’ she added.
‘Apparently, Jacques asked his advice about girls when the boys were home during spring break. I wish I’d been a fly on the wall for that conversation.
’ She chuckled, remembering Theo’s bemused expression when he’d relayed the information to her, then refused to go into specifics because it was ‘confidential guy talk’.
She and Poppy laughed. But then Poppy sighed.
‘Xander thought fatherhood would be an impossibly steep learning curve too, even though he’d spent his whole life being a father figure to his own brother.
I’m not sure the trauma of what their father did to them will ever be completely gone.
’ Her expression became pensive—the sunlight on the clear blue water made the moisture in her eyes sparkle.
‘But I know he’s so glad Theo found you.
He’s been able to stop worrying about him and that’s huge. ’
Freya blinked, touched by the vote of confidence from one of her favourite people. ‘He didn’t just find me, he kidnapped me!’
Poppy laughed. ‘True. The Caras boys are nothing if not proactive. Xander kidnapped me, too!’
Freya laughed. ‘I guess Xander knew a good thing when he saw it… Just like Theo.’
‘Yes, let’s not sell ourselves short,’ Poppy added vigorously. ‘It takes a strong woman to domesticate a Caras!’
‘Precisely.’ Freya lifted a hand, for Poppy to high-five it.
‘So, you haven’t said—what’s going on with you two?
’ Poppy asked, the sudden change from amused to nonchalant belied by the splash of colour appearing on her cheeks.
‘Any news about making your relationship more…’ she cleared her throat as if searching for the correct word, the colour blooming ‘…official?’
‘Are you asking if Theo’s popped the question yet?’ Freya replied, then laughed at Poppy’s pained expression.
‘Well, yes! You’re just so perfect for each other.
And Xander and I would love to host your wedding, here.
However you want to do it. We know you’ve both said in the past you weren’t interested in marriage after your awful father’s manipulations, but…
’ She stumbled over the words, still looking pained.
‘Relax, Poppy,’ Freya laughed, stupidly happy with the woman who she hoped would be her sister-in-law officially, soon. ‘I’m planning to pop the question myself.’ Because she suspected if she didn’t, Theo would freak out when he heard her news. News that she had been sitting on for two whole days.
She pressed her palm to her stomach, the heat of the Mediterranean sun warming the skin.
‘Oh. My. God!’ Poppy bolted upright. ‘You’re not…?’
‘Shhh…’ Freya sat up, too. Good grief, when had she become so transparent?
She glanced at the two men across the pool terrace, but all their attention was still taken up with Gemma’s never-ending chatter. ‘I only took the test two days ago. I haven’t told Theo yet…’ she whispered.
‘Why not?’ Poppy whispered back. ‘He’ll be overjoyed.’
Her heart bobbled. Oh, God, she hoped so. ‘I guess… I guess I panicked. We haven’t planned this properly.’
Poppy’s eyebrows shot up, but then she laughed. ‘Freya, have you two ever planned anything properly? I mean, chaos seems to totally work for you both.’
Freya found the laughter suffusing her heart. And had to admit, her future sister-in-law had a point.
‘Damn, for a two-year-old Gemma can talk the back leg off a mule. Can you imagine what she’ll be like as a teenager? No one will ever get a word in edgewise.’
Theo groaned and collapsed into bed beside Freya—they were supposed to be getting changed before dinner on the terrace, but somehow they’d ended up in bed after their very energetic shower instead.
‘The phrase is a hind leg off a donkey.’ Freya smiled as her guy clasped her round the waist and drew her into his naked body, the familiar erection swelling against her bottom. Again.
‘Whatever,’ he murmured, his lips feasting on her neck, his hands stroking her belly.
‘It seems she hasn’t tired you out too much though,’ she replied, stretching to press her bottom against the rigid column.
He rolled her over, to press a kiss to her nose. ‘I’ll never be tired of my woman,’ he said, the possessiveness in his tone so familiar.
And yet she knew he’d never pushed for marriage because she’d told him she didn’t want that one night on a frozen wall in Galicos.
He’d supported her dreams and her independence, fully and wholeheartedly in the two and a half years since.
They’d moved to Switzerland, so she could attend college and do a language degree, which she’d aced in two years.
They were moving to Paris at the end of the summer, so her brothers could attend a day school there, and he had insisted on giving her financial backing so she could set up a foundation for women’s education.
He’d never pushed her or pressed for the security she had always known he needed, after the terrors of his childhood.
He’d let them make a home for each other, their way.
But it was past time now to take the next step. And stop being such a coward.
She cupped his chin and kissed him, trying to convey the swell of need, and love and anticipation—and suppress the flicker of panic at what she had to tell him.
He kissed her back with equal fervour but then cradled her cheeks to drag her back. He searched her face, his expression going from playful to serious in a heartbeat.
‘What’s wrong?’ he said. ‘Because you’ve been acting weird for two days now.’
She choked out a strained laugh—so much for not being totally transparent, then.
‘Not wrong,’ she said. ‘Or I hope not.’
‘What is it?’ he demanded, his jaw tensing and his eyes darkening with concern.
She took his hand and pressed it to her still flat stomach. ‘I… I found something out two days ago. And I didn’t know how to tell…’
He swore softly in Greek. ‘A baby… You’re having our baby?’ he said, but it wasn’t really a question, because it was so full of expectation… And pure unbridled joy.
She nodded dumbly.
He whooped, then dragged her close. Cradling her head against his chest, stroking her back, her bottom, the excited punch of his heartbeat as prominent as the still throbbing erection.
He rolled on top of her, caging her in with his big body. ‘Freya, I don’t want to freak you out,’ he said, the demand in his tone unvarnished. ‘But we’re going to have to talk about marr—’
‘Stop… Don’t say it.’ She pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Let me…’ she said, not sure why she had waited so long now, when she had realised months, maybe even years ago that marriage didn’t scare her any more, not if it was with him. ‘Will you marry me, Theo?’
‘Yes!’ The answer burst from his lips as he pressed his forehead to hers, his breathing as ragged and thick with emotion as her own—his relief palpable.
‘A thousand times yes…’ He raised his head and sent her that devil-may-care grin she had come to absolutely adore.
Full of promise and purpose and a wild, untamed love for her that was as much a part of him as the erection still pressing against her belly. ‘I thought you’d never ask…’
Her heart soared, tears searing her eyes, but she was also laughing as he set about sealing their deal—and staking his claim on her for ever—in the most delicious way possible.
Keep reading for an excerpt from GREEK BOSS TO HATE by Michelle Smart.