Along Came Twins...
Auteur
Rebecca Winters
Lezers
17,7K
Hoofdstukken
10
Chapter One
“DR. SAVAKIS? THANK YOU for seeing me at the end of your busy day. When Dr. Creer, my doctor in Philadelphia, told me I was pregnant with twins, no one could have been more surprised than I was. You wouldn’t know that since my last visit to you before I left Athens, I filed for divorce. It will be final in a few days.”
Her fertility doctor shook his balding head. “After such a joyous outcome, what a pity, Mrs. Petralia. I remember how excited you both were to know your allergy problem didn’t have to interfere with your ability to conceive. Now that you’re pregnant, I’m extremely sorry to hear this news.”
No one could be sorrier than she was, but she didn’t want to discuss it. “I still need to tell my husband, but it isn’t the kind of thing he should hear over the phone. That’s why I’m here in Greece for a few days.”
“I see.”
“I wanted to pay you a visit to let you know the procedure worked. After all we went through together, naturally I wanted to give you my personal thanks.” Her voice caught. “It’s been a dream of mine to have a baby. Despite my failed marriage, I’m ecstatic over this pregnancy. Leandros will be thrilled, too. As you know, his first wife died carrying their unborn child, and he lost them both. Without your help, this miracle would never have happened.”
She should have gone to Leandros first with the news, but decided that by coming to their doctor to tell him her marriage was over, it would make the divorce more real somehow and help her to face Leandros.
Dr. Savakis eyed her soberly through his bifocals. “I’m glad for you and pleased you phoned to see me. How are you feeling?”
“Since the doctor prescribed pills that help my nausea, I’m much better.”
He smiled. “Good. You’ll need to take extra care of yourself now.”
“I know. I plan to, believe me.”
“As long as you’re here, I have information that might interest you at some later date.”
“What is it?”
“More medical research has been done on your condition. Did your doctor tell you?”
“No. I’ve only seen him once.”
“He’ll no doubt discuss this with you during one of your appointments with him.”
Kellie thought about all the anguish she’d been through hoping to get pregnant. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m going to have my hands full raising my twins.”
“Nothing could make me happier in that regard. But you need to keep in mind what I’m telling you for the future. You’re only twenty-eight. In time you could find yourself remarried and wanting another child.”
She shook her head. “No, Dr. Savakis. That part of my life is over.” Though they hadn’t been able to make their marriage work, Leandros had spoiled her for other men. He’d been the great love of her life. There would never be another.
“You say that now, but one never knows what the future will bring.”
“I—I appreciate that,” she stammered, “but I can’t think about anything else except raising my children.”
“I understand,” he said kindly. “If you have any problems while you’re here in Athens, call me. There’s a Dr. Hanno on staff here who’s an OB and works with high-risk patients. If you’re going to be in Greece for any length of time, I’d advise you to call him and make an appointment for a checkup. Tell him I referred you. And don’t forget. I’m always at your disposal.”
“Thank you, Dr. Savakis. You’ve been wonderful. I want you to know I’ll always be grateful.”
Kellie left his office in the medical building attached to the hospital and took a taxi back to the Civitel Olympic Hotel in central Athens. She was exhausted and hungry. Tomorrow morning she’d approach her soon-to-be ex-husband, wherever he happened to be. Her breath caught just thinking about seeing him again. It was better for her mind not to go there.
Once she had dinner in her room, she’d phone her aunt and uncle to let them know she’d arrived safely.
* * *
It was after eleven at night when the door connecting Leandros’s office with his private secretary’s opened. Everyone had gone home six hours go. It was probably one of the security guards, but he still resented the interruption. He looked up to discover his sister-in-law on her way in with a tray of food in hand.
A scowl broke out on his face. “What are you doing here, Karmela?”
“Mrs. Kostas told me you’d be working through the night to get ready for your mysterious trip. Is it true you’re leaving in the morning?”
“That’s not your concern.”
“I thought you’d like a cup of coffee and some sandwiches to help you stay awake.” She put it on his desk.
“You should have gone home with everyone else. I’m not hungry and need total quiet to work through these specs.”
“Well, I’m here now.” She grabbed a sandwich and sank into one of the chairs near his desk to eat. “Don’t be grumpy. I worry about you. So do Mom and Dad. They’ve tried to get you to come to dinner, but you keep turning them down.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Where are you going on your vacation?”
“That’s confidential.”
“I’m family, remember? I like to do things for you.”
“You need to lead your own life. I appreciate the coffee, but now you have to go.”
She didn’t budge. “You shouldn’t have married Kellie. She wasn’t good enough for you, you know.”
His hands curled into fists. Before Kellie had shut the door on him in Philadelphia, she’d expressed the same sentiment to him. He’d been crushed that she would even think such a thing, let alone say it to his face.
But for Karmela to dare speak her mind like this made him furious. She was never one to worry about boundaries. His first wife, Petra, had warned him about it and had asked him to overlook that flaw in her sister.
Unfortunately, tonight Karmela had stepped over a line he couldn’t forgive. Something wasn’t right with his sister-in-law. He recalled the times Kellie had made a quiet comment about Karmela’s familiarity with him. And how many times did you brush it off as unimportant, Petralia?
He fought to control his temper, but it was wearing thin. “You’ve said enough.”
“Ooh. You really are upset.” She got up from the chair. “The only reason I came in here was to help you.” Tears filled her eyes. “You used to let me when Petra was alive.” Only because Petra asked me to be kind to you. “I miss her and know you do, too.”
He’d had all he could tolerate. “Leave now!”
“Okay. I’m going.”
“Take the tray with you.” He kept the coffee.
At the door she turned to him. “How long will you be gone?”
“I have no idea. In any event, it’s no one’s business but mine.”
“Why are you being so hurtful?”
“Why do you continually go where angels fear to tread?” he retorted without looking at her. “Good night. Lock the door on your way out.”
Relieved when the sound of her footsteps faded, he got back to work. In the morning he’d call Frato and go over the most important items before he took off. His eyes fastened on the picture of Kellie that sat on his desk. He was living to see his golden-blond wife again. Though they’d both hurt each other, he’d do whatever it took to get her back.
* * *
When Kellie awakened the next morning, she was so nervous to see Leandros again, she decided it was a mistake to have come to Athens. The talk with Dr. Savakis had opened up thoughts and feelings she’d been trying to suppress.
Soon after their wedding she’d been diagnosed with a semen allergy, but the doctor had said he saw no reason why they couldn’t get pregnant. She and Leandros went to their first artificial insemination appointment with such high hopes. Kellie wanted a baby with him desperately. He was eager for it, too, and had made certain his business matters didn’t interfere while they went through the steps necessary for conception to work.
Leandros had been so sweet and tender with her about their situation. Like any happily married couple wanting to start a family, they’d waited for the signs that meant she had conceived. Two months into their marriage, her period came. Leandros had kissed her and loved her out of her disappointment.
“Next month,” he’d whispered.
Knowing he was disappointed, too, she’d loved him back with all the energy in her, wanting to show him she wouldn’t allow this to dampen her spirits. Once again they went back to the hospital, for another try, only to be disappointed the following month.
So many tries full of expectations, but each waiting period had seemed harder than the last, contributing to the problems that had slowly crept into their marriage. What bittersweet irony that now they were divorcing, she was pregnant.
After she showered and got dressed, she phoned for a breakfast tray. Halfway through her meal she panicked. What she ought to do was go right back to Pennsylvania and phone him when there were thousands of miles between them. But it would be the cowardly thing to do. Her aunt and uncle never said as much, but she knew they’d be disappointed in her if she left it to a phone call.
You have to tell him.
You can’t leave it up to anyone else.
Whatever is ultimately decided about the children, he has the right to hear it from you in person.
All the voices speaking in Kellie’s head finally drove her to follow through with her agenda.
She asked the front desk to phone for a taxi. In a few minutes she found herself being driven along Kifissias Avenue toward the Petralia Corporation office building in downtown Athens. When it pulled up in front, she paid the driver and got out.
After taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and opened the doors, where Giorgios, looking like a well-dressed prizefighter, sat at the security desk near the entry. When he saw her, he shot to his feet in surprise.
“Kyria Petralia—”
Her chocolate-brown eyes fastened on him. He was one of Leandros’s bodyguards and fiercely loyal to him. “Good morning, Giorgios. It’s nice to see you. Is my husband on the premises?”
“He arrived an hour ago.”
The news relieved her, since she hadn’t relished the thought of trying to hunt Leandros down. He could have been out of the city doing business right now. Then again, he could have been at his apartment here in Athens, or at his villa on the family estate on Andros.
“If you still want a job with him, you won’t let him or Christos know I’m here,” she said in fluent Greek.
His expression turned to shock before Kellie walked around his desk to the elevator located behind him. Unless Leandros made a helicopter landing on the roof after his flight from Andros Island, the elevator existed for his exclusive use when he entered or left the building from the street. For convenience sake it opened to the foyer of his private inner sanctum on the top floor. Giorgios had orders to guard it with his life.
She pressed her hand to the glass by the door, wondering if it would still recognize her code. For all she knew, Leandros had deleted it. But no, the door opened. She entered, still feeling Giorgios’s stunned gaze on her before it closed.
A little over a month ago she’d left Greece, vowing never to return. But a week ago nausea had driven her to make an appointment with her doctor in Philadelphia. When he told her what was wrong with her, a transformation had taken place inside Kellie. It transcended the anguish and pain of the past year and gave her the spine she needed to face Leandros one more time.
Their divorce would soon be final. She intended for nothing to change in that regard, but since this totally unexpected contingency had arisen, it required an alteration in the documents their two lawyers had drawn up. Twenty-four hours should give Leandros’s attorney enough time to take care of the necessary changes.
Kellie was desperate to catch her husband off guard; it was the only way to get through this final ordeal with him. She dreaded it, knew it would hurt, but had no other choice. For that reason she hadn’t even told her best friend, Fran Meyers, she was coming.
Fran was now married to Nikolos Angelis, a good friend of Leandros’s. They lived here in Athens with Nik’s baby niece, Demi, soon-to-be their adopted daughter. If Nik knew of her arrival, he’d have phoned Leandros. Among the legal papers in her purse was evidence of the restraining order she’d placed on Leandros to call off her bodyguard. Yannis had been her shadow for the two years she’d been married to Leandros. But when she’d demanded a divorce, she’d drawn the line at the retired secret service agent following her to the States. Leandros had been forced to comply, with the result that he had no prior knowledge she’d flown to Athens yesterday.
As the elevator carried her skyward, Kellie planned to take care of business as quickly as possible. She knew she’d soon be on her way back home to Philadelphia, where she’d been living with her aunt and uncle for the last month. But that was about to change.
By next week she’d move her aunt and uncle from their small apartment into a lovely four-bedroom brick row home in Parkwood with her. It was a charming residential neighborhood in the far northeast corner of Philadelphia, perfect for children. She’d already put down a deposit. A new life awaited her, but first things first.
When the elevator stopped and the door opened, Kellie took a deep breath and headed through the foyer. She walked past Christos, her husband’s chief bodyguard. He started to reach for his phone to warn Leandros, but she put a finger to her lips and smiled. He nodded and sat down again.
A few more steps and she reached the entrance to her husband’s private suite, which was also protected by a security code. As CEO of the Petralia Corporation, which built resorts all over Greece, he was one of the most successful businessmen in the country and had been a target for crazies long before Kellie had met him.
She had no idea what she might be interrupting, but that wasn’t her concern anymore. It had been on her wedding day, two years ago, when Kellie realized she had an enemy in Karmela Paulos. Karmela was the sister of Petra, Leandros’s first wife, who’d been pregnant when she’d died in a plane crash. At Kellie’s wedding to Leandros, the beautiful, fashionable Karmela would willingly have scratched Kellie’s eyes out if she could have gotten away with it.
Fran had been Kellie’s matron of honor and had witnessed the obvious fact that Karmela had hoped to become the next Mrs. Leandros Petralia. But it didn’t happen, so his sister-in-law had done the next best thing by becoming indispensable to Leandros, first as a confidante to the grieving widower, who was family, and later as a secretary in his inner office, under Mrs. Kostas. With cunning, Karmela had worked her way to the top floor, where she had daily contact with him.
Combined with the stress Kellie had been under because she couldn’t conceive, plus her struggle with feelings of inadequacy, the situation had grown intolerable for her. After much thought and soul-searching, she’d told Leandros she wanted a separation, and had left on a trip with Fran. But because of disastrous circumstances, it came to an abrupt end, with her friend staying in Athens to be with Nik. At that point Kellie had left for Philadelphia.
On the night before she was due to fly back, she’d had a fainting spell and Leandros had taken her to the ER. When the doctor could find nothing wrong, she was sent home with the warning to eat, so it wouldn’t happen again. They’d just returned when Karmela, whose hand was obviously recognized by the security entry, slipped into their apartment, as she’d done when Petra still lived there.
The fact that Leandros said nothing about his sister-in-law letting herself in unannounced had led Kellie to worry that he had more than brotherly feelings for Karmela. After all, she did resemble Petra. Perhaps, as Kellie had confided to Fran earlier, Karmela had become his pillow friend?
Evidently his brazen sister-in-law figured she had free reign with Leandros now that Kellie was leaving him. Her smiling, catlike eyes stared boldly at Kellie as she explained she’d brought some work for Leandros that needed his attention. Before she slipped out the door again, she’d wished Kellie a safe flight back to the States. No doubt she thought she’d seen the last of her. Kellie knew that her presence would knock the daylights out of Karmela, but this wasn’t about her. It was about them—Leandros and Kellie—and their babies.
She put her palm against the glass next to the door. She suspected Karmela’s manipulative smile would falter when Kellie walked into the office and word eventually circulated about the miraculous news. Everyone close to Leandros knew he’d mourned the loss of his first wife and unborn child, who would have been a girl.
Despite Kellie’s impending divorce from Leandros, for him to learn he was going to be a father again would come as a tremendous thrill. But it would deal a near fatal blow to his sister-in-law’s plans to have him for her own.
Kellie knew in her heart that Karmela was waiting for her chance to provide him with a living heir. At least that’s what Frato Petralia had confided to Kellie at the wedding, after having too much to drink.
Frato was Leandros’s good-looking first cousin and closest friend in the family. Still single, he was one of the vice presidents of the corporation, and enjoyed the company of several beautiful women, which didn’t surprise Kellie at all. That evening he’d said quite a few things she didn’t take seriously in the beginning, but over time she realized he’d spoken the truth.
On the day Leandros mentioned in passing about hiring Karmela to work under Mrs. Kostas, she’d tried not to let it affect her. But her first impression of Petra’s sister at the wedding wouldn’t leave her alone. She’d seen the way Karmela had behaved and talked to him. Karmela was no impartial bystander. Two years later the younger woman had insinuated herself into Leandros’s office life, and who knew how much more. But it was all history now.
The elevator door opened silently along the wall away from his desk. Leandros sat in his swivel chair, half turned from her while engaged in an intense business discussion with Frato on the speakerphone. She recognized his voice.
At first glance she realized Leandros needed a haircut and a shave. There were wavy tendrils of dark hair, a shade away from being true black, clinging to his bronzed nape. It looked as if he’d been running his hands through it. The sleeves of the white shirt he wore had been pushed up to the elbows. Given his condition, and the accumulation of coffee cups on the desk, she could imagine he might have spent the night here.
She’d never seen him like this before. He was thirty-four, yet he looked five years older right now. Her normally fastidious, temperate husband was nowhere to be found. Kellie had seen him truly out of control only once before. It was the night she’d told him she wanted a divorce. In a way, this was worse—different, even—because there was a savage air about him. For a second she feared she’d done the wrong thing by coming here without his knowledge. But with so much riding on this, she couldn’t run from him now. Too much was at stake.
Finding her courage, she called out softly to him. “Leandros?”
She knew he’d heard her voice, because his hard, lean body seemed to freeze in place before he slowly swung around to face her.
He’d lost weight. A pronounced white ring encircled his taut mouth, testifying to his incredulity at seeing her here. It stood out almost as much as his gray eyes, which had gone black as pitch at the moment. Their color reminded her of the dark sky before the tornado had struck the Petralia resort near Thessalonika five weeks ago, killing little Demi’s parents.
Frato was on the other end of the phone line, still talking. Leandros muttered something she couldn’t understand, before he hung up. His haunted look sent a shiver of alarm through her body. She sensed he was ready to spring from his chair.
“Don’t get up,” she urged, and walked over to one of the chairs in front of his desk to sit down. Not only had her legs turned to mush at the sight of him, she couldn’t handle him touching her. He was still the most gorgeous man she’d ever known. In that regard, nothing had changed.
Kellie heard his sharp intake of breath. “What in the name of all that’s holy brings you back to Greece?” His deep voice sounded so shaken, she hardly recognized it. His overarching look of disbelief sent a fresh shock wave of despair through her. The month apart had done the rest of the damage to their marriage, crushing the rubble to microscopic bits.
Suddenly there was a tap on the door and Karmela started to enter. “Not now!” Leandros snapped. Kellie had to admit she’d never seen Leandros this upset with an employee. Maybe he hadn’t even realized it was Karmela.
Kellie was shocked by the other woman’s sangfroid before she did Leandros’s bidding. She was tall enough to wear the attractive black-and-white dress skimming her figure. With her hair falling like a silky black curtain, she was extraordinarily beautiful and would cause a traffic jam when she walked down the street.
Since she and Petra shared such a strong resemblance, Kellie could well imagine how his former wife had turned the sought-after bachelor into a married man. Karmela’s hourglass figure was so different from Kellie’s rounded curves.
The younger woman closed the door, but not before she shot Kellie a venomous glance. That reaction alone vindicated Kellie’s belief that Karmela planned to win Leandros one way or another, if she hadn’t already.
“Karmela still works for you, I see. And is still dropping in unannounced. As I recall, the last time we thought we were alone, Karmela dropped by with some papers for you. Though she didn’t find us making love, she certainly could have if we hadn’t been on the verge of divorce.”
That was the first time Kellie had truly feared Leandros had been unfaithful to her with Karmela. Before that time, she’d only worried about the other woman’s behavior.
“She was wrong to have done that, Kellie.”
“It certainly was wrong, but you didn’t say so at the time. I was so hurt when you let her come to work for you, and I told you as much, but you kept her on. We’re almost divorced, yet she still works for you. As I’ve told you many times, your sister-in-law always had a habit of insinuating herself around you.
“Even a little while ago she walked in without as much as a tap on the door, but it’s all right with you because she’s family.”
Why did she sound so bitter? Kellie wondered. It was no longer her concern what Karmela did with Leandros. They were getting divorced. But the thought that he’d replaced her so soon hurt more than she could ever admit.
His beautiful olive complexion darkened with lines. “It’s never been all right with me and I am going to do something about it. I’ll ask you again. Why are you here?” He seemed to have lost some color.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I have news that demanded I come here in person.” She was in possession of certain facts that would alter his world forever.
His hooded gaze pierced hers. “Has something happened to your aunt or uncle?”
Kellie could understand why he’d asked that question. He’d been wonderful to them from the moment he’d first met them. “This has nothing to do with them. They’re fine.” She moistened her lips nervously. “A week ago I was so nauseated, I went to the doctor in Philadelphia to find out what was wrong. I learned that I’m...pregnant.”
His dark head reared back in complete shock. “What did you say?” She heard excitement exploding inside him before he’d even had time to assimilate the news. Though he’d never given up hope they would get pregnant, Kellie had stopped believing such a miracle would happen to them.
She breathed in deeply. “I’m more amazed than you. It seems that the last artificial insemination procedure I underwent worked. Impossible as it sounds, Dr. Creer says I’m already seven weeks pregnant.”
A triumphant cry escaped Leandros. He leaped out of his chair, charged with an energy that transformed him before her eyes. Her pulse raced, because she’d known this would be his reaction. “The doctor said it’s the reason I fainted the night before I left Athens. My periods have never been normal, so I never suspected anything.”
Leandros came around and hunkered down in front of her, like a knight kneeling before his lady. When he grasped her hands, she could feel him trembling. Emotion had taken the blackness from his eyes, filling the gray irises with pinpoints of light. “We’re going to have a baby?” There was awe in his voice as he kissed her fingertips. The news had started to sink in, but he didn’t know all of it yet.
“There’s more, Leandros.”
Fear immediately marred his striking features and his hands gripped hers tighter. “Did the doctor tell you you’re a high-risk pregnancy? Is something wrong?”
“No,” she rushed to assure him. After he’d lost his first wife and unborn child, she didn’t want to put him through such anxiety again. He didn’t deserve any more trauma in that regard.
His expressive black brows furrowed. “Then what do you mean?”
Averting her eyes, she said, “The doctor ordered an ultrasound.”
“And?” His voice shook.
“The technician detected two heartbeats.”
“Two?” His explosion of joy reverberated off the walls of his office. “We’re going to have twins?”
She nodded. “They’re due March 12.”
“Kellie—”
The next thing she knew he’d picked her up and wrapped her in his strong arms, burying his face in her neck. She felt moisture against her skin as he crushed her against him. He’d been at the hospital with her to do his part while they’d gone through procedure after procedure. Every time it turned out she hadn’t gotten pregnant, he’d been there to comfort her and promise her it would happen next time. He never gave up, and now they were going to be parents. But it was too late for them. The situation had put too much strain on both of them.
His reaction to the news was all she could have wanted if they’d been happily married, but that was the excruciating point. Their marriage was over and had been for months.
Soon they’d be divorced. Having his babies wouldn’t solve what was wrong between them. When he lifted his head to kiss her, she put her hands against his chest to separate them, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“Don’t push me away, agapi mou. Not now,” he cried. Before she could move, he drew her back into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with startling hunger. She could taste the salt from his tears. Her mind and body reeled from the passion only he could arouse.
For a moment she responded, because it had been so long since she’d known his touch, and because she simply couldn’t help herself. But when he moaned and deepened their kiss, she remembered why she was here.
Since he was physically powerful, her only weapon was to refrain from kissing him back until he got the message. He went on kissing every inch of her face and hair till it slowly dawned on him she was no longer participating.
A tremor shook his tall, hard-muscled body before he released her with reluctance. Dazed by his passion, she sank down in the chair behind her. His eyes searched her features, trying to read her. “Are you still suffering from morning sickness?”
“No,” she answered honestly. Though she’d love to use it as an excuse, she couldn’t. From here on out, everything she told him would be the whole truth and out in the open.
Dr. Creer was very worried about her going through a divorce right now. He’d warned her that since she didn’t want to burden her aunt and uncle with her problems, then she needed to find an outlet to deal with all her emotions. Keeping them bottled up inside was the worst thing for her at a time like this. She could tell Dr. Savakis had been worried about her, too.
After being alone with her thoughts for the last month, she realized the doctor was right. She’d gone about things wrong in her marriage. She was sick of trying to protect herself, Leandros and everyone else. But no longer. No more mistakes if she could help it. That’s why she’d come all this way. “The doctor has given me medication for it.”
His hands went to his hips, as if he needed to do something with them. Unfortunately, he stood too close to her, affecting her breathing. “This pregnancy puts a different slant on our impending divorce.”
“I know. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”
“You do realize that a great deal of our pain came from trying to get pregnant without results,” he reminded her grimly.
“So now that I’m carrying your child, you think that erases everything?”
“No,” he murmured, “but you’ve just brought me news I’m still trying to assimilate. One moonlit night on the sailboat, after we’d been disappointed a second time, you lifted tear-filled eyes to me and asked me if it was asking too much to reach for the stars. I told you we’d keep reaching for the stars and the moon. Now you’ve just told me we’ve been given both!”
“I remember.” She averted her eyes. “Please sit down so we can talk.”
Studying her through veiled eyes, he hitched himself on a corner of his desk. It still wasn’t far enough away from her, but that was as much room as he was willing to give her. “I have a better idea. We’ll go to our suite at the hotel, where we won’t be disturbed.”
He was referring to the Cassandra, the main Petralia five-star hotel in Athens, where he kept an elegant, permanent suite. It was like a small house, really, with three bedrooms, a dining and living room and kitchen facilities.
When she’d stayed at the hotel with her aunt and uncle on their first trip to Greece, that’s where she’d met him. Some of her happiest memories of their life together were associated with the Cassandra before they were married. It would be painful to go there.
“Why do we have to go to the hotel? Why not the apartment?”
He moved off the corner of the desk. “We can’t go to the apartment because I sold it to Frato three weeks ago. I’m living at the hotel.”
