A Forever Family: Reunited By Their Baby. Rebecca Winters

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      “But he’d like it to be longer, right?”

      Nothing got past Kellie. Fran nodded. “On the flight to Mykonos, Nik asked me if I would stay on to tend Demi until she’s comfortable with the family again. He hopes I’ll remain here until I have to go back to Philadelphia. I told him no because you and I were on vacation.”

      “Are you hoping I won’t hold you to it?”

      She shook her head. “No, Kellie. I only told him that as an excuse. This has nothing to do with you or our trip. I need to leave tomorrow before I find myself wishing I could take her back home with me. If it were possible, I’d like to adopt her.”

       “Adopt an Angelis?”

      “I know how outrageous that sounds. That’s why I’m glad we’re leaving tomorrow.”

      Looking haunted, Kellie got up from the bed. “I know how attached you are to the baby already and would love to say yes to him.”

      “Actually, I wouldn’t.”

      “You must think I’m being difficult, but it’s because I’m afraid to see you get hurt again. When I think what you went through with Rob…”

      Fran sucked in her breath. “Believe me, I don’t want that kind of pain again either. When I found Demi in that garden, I felt like I’d been handed a gift. I wanted her to be mine. But she isn’t! If I stayed here ten more days, it would kill me to have to walk away from her, traumatizing her once again. I refuse to put myself or her in that position. I’ve had too many losses in my life.”

      “Oh, Fran—” Kellie gave her a commiserating hug.

      She wiped her eyes. “I’m glad we’re leaving after the funeral. I need to put this experience behind me and forget Demi exists. It has dredged up too many painful memories. I need to move on.”

      By now Kellie’s eyes were wet. “That makes two of us. Leandros doesn’t want me working in his office.”

      “He wouldn’t even consider it?”

      “No. He says he wants to be able to come home to me after a hard day’s work, but the reason is crystalclear. Though he hasn’t come right out and said it, our love life has never been satisfactory to him.

      “How could it have been with a bride who was in terrible pain the first time he made love to her? His marriage to Petra was nothing like ours. They were expecting a baby when—when—” She couldn’t go on. “That’s why I have to put some real distance between us. Karmela can supply him what’s missing. Our marriage is over.”

      “I can’t bear it, Kellie.”

      “It’s for the best. Like you, I refuse to wallow in any more pain. As for the Angelis family, they need to hire a nanny as soon as tomorrow after the funeral and get her installed right away.”

      “Agreed. I know Demi will miss me, but she’ll get over it. She’ll have to. I made that clear to Nik.”

      “For your sake, I’m glad.” They eyed each other for a long moment. “Even though I’m nursing a horrendous headache, what do you say we put on our best smiles and go out to the patio as if nothing in the world is wrong? After we’ve mingled for a while, I plan to have an early night.”

      “So do I. Demi will be needing another bottle before sleeping through the night.”

      They reached the door. “Leandros will cover for me until he’s ready for bed. It’s what he’s good at. You might as well know we haven’t slept together for the last month.”

      Fran understood her pain. She hadn’t slept with Rob for the three months leading up to their separation. It had been the beginning of the end.

      The day was winding down. Nik’s mother and sisters-in-law spoke together while he talked with the men. But they all stopped long enough to admire the two American beauties who’d just stepped out onto the patio.

      At the first sight of Fran, Nik felt an unwanted quickening in his body. The same thing had happened at the hospital when they’d been removing their masks and gowns. In a very short time she’d grown on him despite the pain he was in.

      Most of the Greek women he’d known and dated were more chatty and conscious of themselves, famous for drama on occasion. His sisters-in-law were like that. Fiery at times—beautiful—and they knew it. Melina hadn’t been quite so theatrical. That’s probably why she’d appealed to the quietly spoken Stavros.

      Fran was an entirely different kind of woman. She seemed comfortable in her attractive skin, reminding Nik of still waters that ran deep. Did her calm aura hide unknown fires within? He felt in his gut this woman could become of vital importance to him.

      After some soul-searching, he recognized his motivation to keep Fran in Athens wasn’t driven exclusively by Demi’s best interests. Already he was trying to find a way to persuade her to stay on for his own personal reasons. But he feared that if he lowered the bars to let her inside his soul and she couldn’t take what he would be forced to tell her, blackness would envelop his world. He faced a dilemma he’d never experienced before.

      Should he run from what he feared most? Or did he reach out for the one thing that might bring him the greatest joy?

      On impulse he turned to the others. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Kyria Myers.”

      By now Kellie had joined her husband, leaving Fran alone. He watched her wander to the wall at the edge of the patio and look out over the water. Her violet-blue eyes flicked to his when she saw him approach. “I can’t imagine gazing out on this idyllic view every night of your life. All the stories about the Greek Islands are true. You live in a paradise, especially here on Mykonos.”

      “I agree there’s no place on earth quite like it. On the weekends, I look forward to leaving the office in Athens and coming home. The temperature of the air and the sea turns us into water babies around here.”

      She smiled. “There’s an American artist who has done some serigraphs of Mykonos. He’s captured the white cubic style of a villa like your family’s to perfection.”

      “I know the artist you mean. I’m fond of his artwork, too, particularly several of his Italian masterpieces.”

      “Aren’t they wonderful?”

      He nodded, enjoying their conversation, but was impatient to get down to business. “How long did it take Demi to finally fall asleep?”

      “Um, maybe ten songs,” she quipped. Her gentle laugh found its way beneath his skin.

      “Let’s go for a walk along the beach.” He took off his shoes. “Be sure to remove your sandals. You can leave them here by mine.”

      “All right.” Together they walked down the steps to the sand. From there it was only a few yards to the water. “Oh. Lovely. It warms my toes.”

      Nik chuckled. “Twilight is my favorite time to swim. If you wait a while, the moon will come up. Then everything is magical.”

      “It СКАЧАТЬ