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“So what are you suggesting? That we give this a go? I’ll be honest with you, Valentin. I don’t hold hopes for things being any different than they were the first time. We may have gotten along in bed, but we had very little in common outside of it. Carla aside, and as difficult as it is to admit, I don’t think we’d have lasted the distance. We met in a hothouse of extreme circumstances. It wasn’t a normal relationship in any sense of the word.”
“Then why not give it a chance and see how we do in a more traditional setting? We’re unlikely to find another match that can make us both feel like this,” he said, before reaching out one finger and tracing the line of her lower lip.
Shock and desire warred with each other as he felt her softness. Her warmth. The gasp of heated breath as her lips parted. Every muscle in his body clenched in anticipation of closing the distance between them. Of tasting that tender flesh and discovering if she was still as sweet, and as tart, as she used to be. Valentin watched as a light flush colored Imogene’s cheeks and as her pupils dilated to almost consume her irises.
While she battled with her emotions, Valentin pressed on. “Imogene, look at it this way. We have a rock-solid prenup in force. We have a three-month out clause. What have we got to lose?”
He saw her internal battle reflected in her eyes. Heard it in her every ragged breath. Sensed the moment of weakness, the chink in her armor, and took the opportunity to drive straight through it.
“And children, Imogene. Think about the kids we would have together if it all worked out. The family we always wanted. I promise you, if you agree to marry me again, you won’t regret it. I will be faithful to you. I will see to it that I meet your every need as your husband and your life partner. I failed you last time. I never fought for you the way I should have, so I’m fighting for you now. I realize that I had tunnel vision when it came to my work, which left very little beyond the physical for you. I never saw the cracks when they appeared in our marriage. Never saw how vulnerable you had become. If I had been a better husband, you would never have jumped to the conclusion that I had been unfaithful. I won’t let that happen again if you give us another chance. What will your answer be? Will you marry me?”
Three (#u0f0231b6-629a-5227-ae26-a1078296dcd8)
She said yes.
Alice Horvath couldn’t even begin to describe the sense of relief that overtook her when Valentin came out of the office and informed her the wedding would go ahead. She hadn’t wanted to believe it wouldn’t—she did, after all, trust her instincts wholeheartedly—and persuading others she was never wrong was rarely the issue, but it seemed that when it came to her grandsons, she was two for two, so far, on having her judgment questioned.
Valentin had gone to rejoin his brother, Galen, and a handful of cousins, who had congregated at the front of the function room. Alice took a moment to find her medication in her handbag before resuming her seat. This darned pain in her chest was becoming tiresome. She certainly didn’t have time for it now. She fought the urge to rub at it. It never did anything anyway. Ah, there was her pillbox. She popped a tablet under her tongue just as Imogene came out of the office.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Horvath?” she asked.
“I’m fine, my dear. And let me say that I’m so glad you’ve decided to go ahead with the wedding.”
“Let’s just say your grandson can be very persuasive.”
Alice looked at the younger woman carefully. It was easy to see why Valentin had been attracted to her in the first place. The dark auburn hair and delightful figure aside, Imogene O’Connor had a rare exquisite beauty that was very clearly underlined with a strong personality and bright intelligence. During her background checks, Alice had discovered that over the past seven years, Imogene had grown her early-childhood centers into a business that had just been franchised nationwide. She was a strong and independent young woman with a good head on her shoulders, but it was the emotional side of Imogene that intrigued Alice most. She knew Imogene had rarely dated after her return from Africa. Whether it was because she was too busy for a new relationship or that she simply wasn’t emotionally ready, Alice was glad the other woman hadn’t rushed headlong into someone and something else.
When Alice looked at Valentin, with his aloof and slightly dark nature, together with the bright flame of light this woman epitomized, she knew Imogene was unquestionably the yin to his yang. The computer data and her specialists had backed up her instincts completely. She would never have taken a risk with either of these young people’s happiness otherwise. Life was just too precious, as she was becoming all too well aware.
The tablet continued to dissolve under her tongue, and incrementally the angina that had become such a plague in recent months began to ease. Alice inhaled carefully, relieved to feel the last of the tightness disappear, and directed a smile at the beautiful bride in front of her.
“Shall we return to the ceremony?” she asked.
“Perhaps you could ask my mom to join me again,” Imogene said in a voice that was just a little indecisive. “I’d feel better with her beside me.”
“Certainly.” Alice turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back to Imogene before reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it lightly. “You won’t regret this, you know. It may not be an easy road back to loving each other the way you did before. In fact, I hope the two of you discover a different kind of love this time. Something stronger, something that will endure. That’s my wish for you and Valentin.”
“It remains to be seen.”
“Yes, it does. And it will take hard work from both of you.”
Imogene gave her a nod and Alice turned away. These two were going to have an interesting time of it—of that she was certain.
Imogene went through the motions, repeating the words uttered by the celebrant standing before her and listening to Valentin do the same. The service was simple, without the personal touches that it might have had if they’d planned this day together. In many ways it was about as detached as their first wedding had been, although the celebrant today tried to invest the ceremony with a great deal more joy than the slightly bored local official who’d performed their ceremony back in Africa.
Africa. She had to stop thinking about that time and comparing it to now. It was another world ago.
Today was a new beginning. One she’d agreed to pursue. She still wasn’t even certain how Valentin had persuaded her to go ahead with it. All she knew was that with that one touch of his fingertip to her lips, he’d reminded her of the incendiary attraction they’d shared. Just one fingertip and she’d made a decision that would affect her for the rest of her life. Her entire body had reacted, concentrated on that mere touch. No one else had ever had the ability to set her alight with the brush of a finger the way he did. Which was a good thing, she’d always told herself as she’d pointed her attentions into her career and into establishing, then expanding, her business. Dating had been, for lack of a better word, a bland experience once she’d decided to test the waters again. But that very blandness was what had put her in search of a matchmaking service that would find her something better than bland. Had she been unconsciously searching for a relationship like what she had with Valentin all along? The idea was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.
And more important, now that she had agreed to go ahead, where would they go from here?
“You may now kiss your bride.”
The celebrant’s words penetrated her thoughts, dragging her back to the reality that was her wedding day. Her eyes flared wide as she caught Valentin’s smile and she froze in place. His eyes locked with hers, a serious expression reflecting back at her as he lifted her left hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her wedding finger.
“This is the ring you deserved all along,” he murmured before leaning closer.
She barely caught her breath before she felt the pressure of his lips against hers. Sensation bloomed through her like a starburst, radiating to the tips of her fingers and the soles of her feet, not to mention everywhere in between. She parted her lips in response, kissing him back instinctively. Her hand rested on his chest for a brief moment before sliding up to his neck. The texture of his slightly long hair against her fingers sent another jolt of awareness surging through her and she lifted slightly upward. Valentin’s arm curled around her waist, holding her to him.
It had always been like this between them. This intensity. This overwhelming need to be close. Closer still. As if the world began and ended with each other.
“Um, guys?” Valentin’s brother, Galen, interrupted them. “Care to leave something for the honeymoon?”
The gathered crowd laughed at his words and Valentin slowly drew away, leaving Imogene feeling more than a little stunned by what had just happened between them. Seven years. Actually, to be precise, seven years, three months, two weeks and five days since she’d walked out of his life. And still she was as hopelessly overcome by him.
“Are you okay?” Valentin asked gently, his arm still around her waist and his blue eyes searching her face for any signs of distress.
“Well, aside from my lipstick, which is probably demolished right now, I’m fine,” she said as coolly as she could manage given the rapid beat of her pulse and the tingling shocks that still lingered in parts of her body that hadn’t tingled in far too long.
He gave her a smile, took her hand again, and together they turned to face the assembly.
“I give you Mr. and Mrs. Horvath!” the celebrant triumphantly declared before surreptitiously wiping at his brow with a handkerchief.
They were married. Imogene couldn’t quite believe it. Her synapses were still somewhat fried by that kiss. But there was no mistaking the strong fingers that were wrapped around her own, nor the steady presence of the dark-suited man standing beside her. Her mother rushed forward, her cheeks still wet with tears, to congratulate them both. But as she drew back again she fixed Valentin with a stern eye.
“Don’t mess it up this time, young man. You’re lucky to get a second chance with my girl. Look after her.”
“I will,” Valentin promised.
Imogene felt a sting of embarrassment at her mother’s words, but the gentle pressure of Valentin’s hand signaled he’d taken no offense. She knew her mother would never understand why she’d made her choice to go ahead today. But then again, maybe she would. After all, her own husband had conducted many, albeit discreet, affairs during their marriage. Which was another reason Imogene had felt so strongly about infidelity. She’d always wondered why her mother had agreed to settle for less than 100 percent from her husband. Why she’d allowed other women to fill his life, where she rightly belonged. But then again her mother accepted a lot of things in the pursuit of her ordered life. Heavily involved in charity work, she enjoyed the distinction of being married to a leading international human rights lawyer. Of being perceived as calm and unflappable and the perfect hostess at all times. Imogene had learned early in her life that she wanted far more than that when she married. And she’d thought she had it with Valentin when they’d fallen so instantly and passionately in love.
Could they achieve that together again? She thought of the words Alice had spoken to her just before the ceremony, about it not being an easy road back to loving each other again. Could they even hope to love each other again? she wondered. When she’d agreed to go ahead with this, the only thing she’d locked her mind onto was her main goal in this entire venture. A child, or children, of her own to love. But to love her husband, too? She flickered a glance up at Valentin. She wasn’t sure if she could trust herself to trust him again, let alone love him.
Her insides clenched at the idea of making a baby. He’d made it patently clear he wanted children, too. Would that be enough to be the glue that would hold them together?
He also told you he was never unfaithful to you, a snide voice whispered in the back of her mind. In fact, he’d been adamant on that point, promising she had nothing to fear on that score. She wished she could believe him. Her eyes had told her a different story seven years ago. But she couldn’t think about that now. She’d made her choice. She’d agreed to marry him and agreed that once their three-month trial period was up, if they were still together, they’d start trying for their family. And until then, she could only wait and see.
Valentin fought his frustration. He was never good with crowds, and this crowd was too happy, too noisy and very much too in his face. He had to concede that everyone here was celebrating his wedding, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. Not when every cell in his body urged him to take Imogene by the hand again and whisk her to where the helicopter waited on the expansive lawn outside so they could head to SeaTac, and then in one of the Horvath private jets to Rarotonga for their honeymoon. He couldn’t wait for that part, but even though that kiss to seal their marriage had been better than everything he’d remembered, he knew that this time he and Imogene needed to tread carefully if they were going to make their union work.
He had no intention of creating a family without a strong foundation based on love and genuine trust in each other, no matter how well they survived the initial three-month trial period of their marriage. He wouldn’t do that to her, nor would he do that to any child they might have. Their future happiness hinged on one thing: rebuilding Imogene’s trust in him as her life partner. He had to do whatever it took if this was going to work. But it couldn’t all be one way. He needed to be certain she was working just as hard on their future as he was. That she wouldn’t run out on him again.
Losing her the first time had been crippling. He’d coped the only way he knew how, by throwing himself into things he could control, to a degree anyway. He’d signed on for another volunteer contract and did longer clinics, more surgeries and, even under the growing threat of civil war, more visits out into the bush. Some might say he’d had a death wish, because the political climate in the nation had become wildly volatile—driving many volunteers out—but for Valentin it allowed him to focus on what needed to be done and to tuck away the pain of distrust and abandonment that Imogene had left in her wake.
He looked across the room, to where she circulated among her friends. God, she was beautiful. But physical beauty aside, he knew she had depths he had yet to discover. Depths they’d never imagined of each other the first time around. And now they had another opportunity. When he’d seen her today he’d been shocked, but instinct had taken over. And while logic had protested, his body had rejoiced.
All of which brought him back to his thoughts of only a moment ago. He couldn’t give in to that powerful pull they had between them. If he kissed her again, the way he truly wanted to, there was no way he’d be capable of pulling away.
Imogene’s face lit up on a burst of laughter as one of her friends said something amusing. Again he felt the knot deep in his gut. He was going to have to do some serious workouts to burn off the sexual energy that had taken his body hostage since seeing Imogene again, because they had to take things slowly this time—to truly begin to know and understand each other better before losing themselves in physical sensations.
“So, having second thoughts?”
Valentin turned to face his brother, Galen. “No, should I?”
“I have to say I was worried there for a while at the beginning. I’d have laid odds that today wasn’t about to go ahead and that my staff would be eating cake for the rest of the week.”
Galen was head of the Horvath chain of resorts and was based here in Washington. Valentin allowed himself a small smile.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to inflict that on them.”
Galen looked at him. “Something’s different. Are you okay?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know exactly. You were looking forward to this marriage, I know that much. But I was certain that when Imogene came down the aisle you would put a stop to it. You both seemed so adamant about it not going ahead. What changed your mind? Don’t tell me Nagy put a spell on you both,” Galen finished with a laugh.
Valentin paused for a moment. With his brother, he’d always been honest. With his cousin Ilya, too. The three men had grown up close. But for some reason he didn’t want to put into actual words what had come over him when he’d made the decision to try to persuade Imogene to go ahead with the wedding.
“Maybe she did.” It was all he would concede. “But it’s early days yet. We have our three-month trial period to get through.”
“You say that as if you don’t believe it’ll be easy.”
“Nothing worthwhile ever is. We both know that, right? And Imogene and I have a lot of work to do. Deep down she still believes I was unfaithful to her.”
Galen spluttered his disbelief. “As if. You are the most loyal man I’ve ever known. So, who does she think you had an affair with?”
“One of the doctors I worked with.”
“Was she hot?”
“Oh, yes, she’s hot.”
Galen stiffened beside him. “As in present-tense hot?”
He could always rely on his brother to be quick to pick up an unspoken thread. “Yes. As in she works for me now as head of research and development in New York.”
Galen let out a slow whistle. “That could prove to be an issue. Have you told Imogene yet?”
“No, and I’m hoping we can overcome that before it becomes a problem.”
“Well, if anyone can, you can, my brother. You deserve to be happy. I just hope that Imogene is the one you can find that happiness with.”
“As do I. As do I.”
Four (#u0f0231b6-629a-5227-ae26-a1078296dcd8)
The jet was impressive; it even had its own master suite complete with luxury bathroom. Imogene wondered about the wisdom of having a bubble bath at thirty-six thousand feet but then pushed the idea aside. Right now, weariness dragged at every cell in her body and her mind. All she wanted to do was rest. She looked at the wide bed in the master bedroom and the expanse of fine Egyptian cotton that covered it. She knew it was fine because she’d touched it, her fingertips sliding over the silky softness of the high-thread-count fabric in absolute delight.
Valentin entered the room behind her.
“Tired?” he asked as he tugged his cravat loose from his throat.
“Shattered,” she replied, feeling herself physically wilt.
It had been a tough day on so many levels, not least of which was discovering she was still powerfully attracted to her ex-husband. Well, new husband. She would never have believed he could talk her into agreeing to go ahead, but he’d been so convincing, almost making her believe that maybe she’d made a mistake all those years ago. That maybe she should have waited and listened before reacting. But then, given her own family situation, and her vehemence about never being in the same position as her mom, was it any surprise she’d reacted the way she had? Faced with the same situation, heaven forbid, wouldn’t she do the same again?
She looked up at Valentin and saw the lines of strain on his face.
“You must be worn-out, too. I remember you never were one for grand social occasions.”
“You remember correctly. Look, we have just over fourteen hours before we get to Rarotonga. We should get some sleep. Try to be fresh when we arrive at the Cook Islands.”
“Did you want to take the bed?” she offered. “I can sleep in the main cabin.”
“No, you take the bed. While you remember my discomfort with large social gatherings, I remember how you need to be comfortable to sleep.”
Imogene felt her cheeks color at his words and the images that rapidly filled her mind. Of the two of them in a narrow double bed doing anything but sleeping. Or when they did, and despite the intense heat of equatorial Africa, they curled so close together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. She’d grown used to sleeping with him so quickly after they’d met, and it had taken her months before she’d stopped reaching for him in the dark after she’d returned to New York.
She averted her gaze before she suggested something stupid, like sleeping together again. After all, they were married and had a common goal of creating a family together. But even as she thought it, she knew she wasn’t ready to take that step. Not yet anyway.
“Thank you,” she finally managed. “Would you like to use the bathroom first?”
Valentin laughed.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Us. We sound so damned civilized.”
She giggled. “Yes, we do. Surprising under the circumstances, when you think about it.”
“Shows we’re better people than we were before.” His eyes grew dark and serious. “I meant what I said back in that office, Imogene. Even more than the vows we exchanged. You won’t regret this.”
Imogene swallowed against the lump in her throat and gave him a small nod. She was beyond words, but she wasn’t beyond feeling, she discovered as he strode through to the well-appointed bathroom and closed the door behind him. After a few minutes she heard the shower begin to run. She groaned at the knowledge that he was naked, that water now coursed in strong rivulets over his body. A body she’d once known perhaps even better than her own. She slumped onto the bed and kicked off her shoes before tugging at the invisible side zipper on her gown. She stood again and let the gown drop to the floor before stepping out of it and picking it up again to gently fold it and lay it on an easy chair.
As she did so, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Dressed in a white lace-covered bustier and matching panties, together with white lace garters and sheer white stockings, she looked the epitome of bridal innocence. She touched the top of her thighs where her skin was exposed and felt a shiver course through her. Looks were one thing, but the actuality was quite another. Her entire body was attuned to every sound she could make out from the bathroom and it responded to the visual effects that her mind so willingly supplied.
The water snapped off and the sound propelled her into action. She grabbed her carry-on case and yanked out the robe she’d packed in there earlier. Had it only been this morning? It felt like a lifetime ago. She shook out the robe and gasped when she saw a shower of rose petals fall from the folds. The only person who could have sabotaged her things was her mom—she was the one Imogene had wanted with her all morning. And despite the lack of romance in her own marriage and her trepidation about the way Imogene had approached this one, Caroline had attempted to inject a little romance into her daughter’s day.
The door to the bathroom opened.
“You okay? I thought I heard you make a noise,” Valentin said, stepping through the doorway with a white towel wrapped around his hips.
All rational thought fled. The perfect lines of his body could have been carved by Michelangelo, except she knew that if she touched him he wouldn’t feel like cold marble. No, his skin would be hot, pliable and highly responsive to her caress. Every feminine instinct in her body clamored to be reacquainted with him. Intimately.
“Are those rose petals?” he asked, snapping her out of the seductive trance that threatened to take over her weary mind.
He drew closer and Imogene quickly shoved her arms in the sleeves of the robe and dragged it closed at her waist.
“Don’t rush on my account,” Valentin teased, the gleam in his eyes showing his appreciation of her attire.
