Amaya sipped her coffee as she glanced over her iPad, catching up on company emails as she walked to the spacious living room of the mansion, where her son Tommy and Chase were engaged in a lively card game. Earlier, before getting up from the shared bed, she told Tommy about marrying Chase, and the little boy was over the moon. He didn't even bother to question her; he was just happy to have a father. Yes, it was very selfish of her to keep a secret from her son, but Amaya was just as scared of losing him, and the idea of risking something she couldn't live without didn't count on her bucket list of risks to take."Mom, guess what!" Tommy exclaimed with excitement, his face lighting up as he held his cards close.Amaya looked over with a warm smile. "What is it, sweetie?""I just got the rarest Pokémon card in the whole game! Daddy Chase is losing!" Tommy said, showing off the card in his hand to Amaya.She frowned when she heard him calling Chase Daddy. "Tommy, did you ask Mr. Johns

"Here." She was back, holding out a glass of water and punching out two tablets from a blister pack. "Take these, um, for the headache.""Only if you do."Amaya punched out two for herself, and they shared the glass of water. Funny that he noticed a little thing like that—funny that to Chase it mattered that she didn’t go and get another glass."We’ll feel better in twenty minutes." Amaya smiled, glad that they seemed to be talking normally again after the strain of the past few weeks. "It says so on the box."She zipped his suit holder and picked up the phone to summon his driver as Chase downed a quick shot of espresso from his coffee machine. He stuffed files and papers into his briefcase as he gave her a few last-minute instructions that would take about a couple of hours to execute."Any problems, ring me. It doesn’t matter what time it is there—things have to be in place for tomorrow.""Sure!" He watched her bristle slightly, and inside Chase smiled."And tell Tommy, I'll win ov

Landing at Chase's father’s mansion, Amaya had enjoyed the helicopter ride that had taken them on the final leg of their journey to his small coastal village—and everywhere Amaya looked, the view was stunning. Houses perched on top of houses were all staring out to the twinkling ocean, and the mansion was the jewel in the crown—the massive home had been lavishly extended, and every room was angled to take in the spectacular sea view.Donna’s welcome was warm and effusive, pulling Amaya into an embrace and kissing her on both cheeks, then guiding her through to a large terrace that ran the length of the house while chatting non-stop in her rich accent, alternating between English and Greek."Chase!" The squeals of delight from Donna had Amaya smiling, and he was far more pleased to see his sister than Amaya’s own father ever was—hugging her warmly, teasing her about the face pack she was wearing, and introducing her to Amaya, whom Donna eyed with the same suspicious navy eyes as her br

And now, lying in bed, Amaya felt as if she were falling.Anger for all the things she had missed out on was seething inside her. Pain for her father and anger for not telling Chase about Tommy. Anger for everything. Regrets and exhaustion for keeping her emotions at bay all the time.And she lay in a strange land in a strange bed with a playboy boss who didn’t deal in emotions when hers were exquisitely raw.Why would he marry her if he wanted nothing but shows? She wanted it to be real; she wanted him to tell her that he wanted to marry her because he loved her, needed her, and wanted her.She actually felt sorry for him.Chase's hand was still patting her in a sort of there, there motion, with this slight note of horror in his voice as he felt her shiver at the prospect of the grief she must hold in for now. Yet it was leaking from her eyes and from her breath—this scream inside that was building, the tension in her muscles where she wanted to just run—to curl up, to howl, and to w

Their day at the beach had brought a glow to her skin, and on the morning of the wedding, Amaya massaged in body oil, glad of the peace in their bedroom and the chance, for once, to take her time getting ready without Chase snapping his fingers and telling her she looked fine as she was.Most of the mansion had been commandeered by the bride and her entourage. The whir of the hairdryer had been continuous since eight a.m. and there was a constant stream of flowers, including the traditional arrival of flowers for the bride from the groom, which Amaya was summoned down in her dressing gown to witness.As Raul was conserving his depleted energy for the wedding, Chase had stepped into father-of-the-bride duty, and Amaya had a little giggle to herself to see the usually unruffled Chase, who could handle the most difficult client or tense boardroom meeting with ease, just a touch frazzled as he dealt not just with his sister’s theatrics but vases and flowers and the hairdresser, who was tr