Revelations of His Runaway Bride by Kali Anthony

Author:Kali Anthony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-04-13T14:25:48+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

THEA WALKED INTO her bedroom and flopped into a chair, escaping the chaos downstairs. A flurry of party planners had transformed the huge lounge and entertainment area into a sumptuous ballroom for the evening. The home’s modern lines had been draped and swathed until they mimicked the art deco opulence of the Queen Mary—the perfect setting for Atlas Shipping’s anniversary celebrations.

She checked her watch. In a few short hours the party would begin—Christo’s crowning achievement, where she’d be expected to glitter and shine. Even now a shaky kind of heat trembled through her. But this wasn’t a hangover from the illness. It was something else altogether.

She’d taken a week to recover fully from what the doctor had assured Christo was a virus, and not an infected tattoo. After three days of being confined to her sickbed she’d risen to find that on the surface everything had returned to normal. Anna fussed about her assiduously. Sergei returned to work, taciturn as ever. The sun still rose, the night still fell, she ate, she slept...but everything was different.

It had changed as the fever racked her body. Christo’s voice had grounded her, soothing as the cool run of a mountain stream. Each time she’d woken in those days, he’d been there, eyes stormy green and intent, dark stubble shading his jaw.

She suspected he hadn’t left her bedside throughout her brief incapacitation. His gentle touches to check her temperature, to reassure, had melted her bones and left her wanting. Now all she craved was the soft lilt of his voice and his masculine touch. Because somehow what she’d shared with him had changed everything.

She walked into her dressing room, pulled out the gown she planned to wear that night and laid it on the bed. The slither of fear snaked through her veins. Christo had warned her that Tito and Demetri were coming. Here, to this home, where she’d finally found some measure of comfort and safety.

This place...they’d taint it. She shivered. Why had Christo invited them when he knew what they’d done to her? He’d promised her there was good reason, just as he’d promised to protect her. If only she could find the means within herself to trust him...

‘Mrs Callas?’

Thea looked up as Anna walked into the room, clutching an armful of boxes. ‘I thought I told you to call me Thea.’

Anna smiled, bouncing on her toes. She seemed so happy—glowing. No more the shy woman Thea had first met. Obviously her relationship with Sergei was going well.

Was that what love could do to a person? Since it wasn’t something she expected for herself, best not to muse on that.

‘These are from Mr Callas,’ Anna said in a breathless kind of way as she placed the packages on the bed.

Thea plucked a card from under the outrageous silver bow on the largest box, opened the envelope and read Christo’s bold script.

Wear these tonight.

She glanced at her choice of dress for the evening, lying on the bed. A floor-length sheath. Black. Restrained and classical.

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