The Hot-Headed Virgin: The Virgin's Price / The Greek's Virgin / The Italian Billionaire's Virgin

‘Y-you did?’

‘Yes,’ Agnes said. ‘I thought it would be nice for us to have a little woman-to-woman chat.’

‘Oh…’

A small silence fell into the room. Mia could hear the rattle of a tea trolley further down the corridor, and further away the sound of a relaxation CD playing in another patient’s room.

Agnes finally spoke. ‘Bryn won’t be an easy man to live with, Mia. I feel I should warn you, since it’s really my fault you’re rushing into marriage so quickly. You haven’t had time to get to know him properly. I know you love him, that’s more than obvious, and he very clearly is devoted to you, but you might find things tough going once the first rush of love passes.’

Mia remained silent, her heart doing a funny hit-and-miss beat in her chest.

‘I always knew it would take a very special woman to melt the ice around Bryn’s heart,’ the old woman said. ‘He’s been so guarded for so long. He has never let his emotions rule his heart before. I’m so very glad he found you.’

‘Thank you…’ Mia said softly, her eyes falling away from the unwavering gaze of Bryn’s only relative.

‘You see, Mia, Bryn has never really come to terms with his parents’ death…’

‘It was an accident, wasn’t it?’ Mia inserted into the silence.

‘Yes, but it wasn’t really anyone’s fault,’ the old woman said. ‘The young driver of the car that hit my nephew and his wife head on lost control on a bend. He’d only had his licence a short time. He wasn’t speeding and the inquest found that no alcohol or drugs were involved. It was just one of those accidents that wouldn’t have even happened if Bryn’s parents had driven past just a few seconds later.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘It’s hard to imagine how different things would have been just for the sake of a few seconds…’

Mia swallowed the lump of emotion clogging her throat. ‘You’ve given up so much for Bryn…’

‘Yes, that’s true, but he needed me and I was happy to step into his parents’ role. He was such an unhappy little boy. What Bryn needed was his parents, but due to circumstances beyond our control he could never have them. He has harboured such ill feeling towards that poor man for most of his life. Forgiveness is something he finds very hard. I guess you could call him stubborn.’ She gave Mia a little smile. ‘No doubt you’ll come up against his strong will from time to time.’

‘I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it,’ Mia said. ‘I’m pretty strong-willed myself.’

‘You will need to be, my dear. Bryn can be a wonderful friend but a powerful and deadly enemy. But I am sure with your gentle love you will be able to help him let go of the past and find it in himself to forgive.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ Mia promised.

Agnes gave her hand a little squeeze. ‘Are you excited about the wedding?’

‘Um…nervous really…’

‘That’s understandable. It’s been such a rush.’ She gave a little sigh. ‘I wish I had more time allotted me, then you would have had more time to prepare for your life together. It doesn’t seem fair for you to be fast-tracked into marriage without the time to plan things properly.’

‘It’s fine…really,’ Mia reassured her. ‘It’s what Bryn and I both want.’

‘You know, Mia, I was in love once,’ Agnes said softly. ‘It happened late in life; I was so excited. We were going to be married but when Bryn’s parents were tragically killed my fiancé wasn’t keen on having an instant family. He gave me a choice. It was either him or Bryn.’

‘And you chose Bryn…’

‘Yes. But then I had to act as if I was no longer in love with my fiancé. It took some doing, I can assure you, especially when after a few months he married someone else and had a child with her. I was heartbroken but I had to carry on.’

Mia felt the sting of tears at the backs of her eyes for what both Bryn and his great-aunt had been through. How had she coped with losing the man she loved? And how had Bryn as a child so small and defenceless coped with such a terrible loss without it leaving permanent scars?

‘Bryn shut down emotionally after his parents died,’ Agnes went on sadly. ‘I tried to ease him out of it but I’m afraid he resisted all my attempts to get him to talk about it. It was as if his parents had been permanently erased from his mind. He never mentioned them. He still doesn’t. Even the photos I kept about the place would disappear without explanation. I gave up in the end.’

‘He speaks so fondly of you…’

‘Yes, he’s a darling, but as I said you’ll have your work cut out for you. I never thought he’d ever settle down. No one did. It’s a miracle it happened while I was still alive to see it.’

Mia moistened her lips self-consciously. ‘Yes…it is…’

‘I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see him so happy at last,’ the old woman went on. ‘I am so excited about the wedding. I am living for the day.’

Mia gave a tight swallow. ‘So am—’ Her words faded as a tall figure suddenly appeared in the doorway.

‘Is this a private meeting or can anyone join in?’ Bryn asked as he entered the room.

‘Bryn, darling, you’re early,’ Agnes greeted him warmly. ‘Look at the lovely flowers Mia brought me.’

Mia watched as he stooped to press a kiss to his great-aunt’s cheek, trying to work out if he had overheard any of their conversation. She could imagine he would be very annoyed to find her discussing his past with his only living relative. How long had he been standing there?

‘And how is my gorgeous fiancée?’ He turned and pulled her into his embrace, lowering his head to place a scorching kiss on her lips.

She forced herself to meet his glinting dark gaze once he’d lifted his mouth from hers. ‘Hi…’

He held her look for what seemed a very long time before he turned back to his great-aunt. ‘Are you all set for the wedding?’

‘Yes, dear,’ Agnes responded. ‘The nurse is coming with me, as you arranged. I can hardly wait.’

Bryn took Mia’s hand and tucked it through his arm, looking down at her with an inscrutable expression on his face. ‘Nor can I, isn’t that right, sweetheart?’

‘Um…that’s right…’ Mia gave a shaky smile.

Bryn waited until they were outside in the car park before he spoke, his tone and frown accusatory. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to visit my great-aunt?’

‘It was a last-minute decision,’ she said, lowering her gaze. ‘I thought she might like some flowers.’

‘What did you talk about?’

‘Not much…the wedding arrangements and stuff…’

His frown increased at her evasive answer. ‘You weren’t tempted to act on your threat to spill the beans?’

‘No, of course not.’ She looked up at him. ‘I didn’t even mean it when I said it, much less intend to ever act on it. I was angry at you. I would never do anything to upset her.’

His eyes were hard as they clashed with hers. ‘You’d better be telling me the truth.’

‘I am telling you the truth but if you don’t stop glaring at me like that your great-aunt along with the staff around here might draw their own conclusions about the true state of our relationship,’ she warned him.

He let out his breath in a ragged stream, his mouth tilting wryly. ‘You’re right. I must have pre-wedding nerves or something.’

‘It’s not too late to call it off,’ she said, fiddling with her car keys in an effort to avoid his eyes again. ‘I’m sure Agnes would understand if you told her the truth.’

‘No.’ His tone was implacable. ‘Our marriage is going ahead come hell or high water. It’s what she wants more than anything. Besides, Annabelle rang me just before I arrived here and told me my latest ratings. My popularity is at an all-time high. If we pulled the plug now it would destroy my credibility and totally ruin my career.’