“Hi, darling? Where are you? I thought you’d be home before now.”
She turned her back on Andreas. “When I went out, it was to meet a man I arranged to see in Athens the other day. He’s with me now and wants to talk to you and Dad. I realize this sounds very cryptic.”
The silence on the other end told its own story. “Do we know him?”
Gabi swallowed hard. “No, but you know of him by reputation.” You and everyone in Greece.
“What’s his name?”
“Andreas Simonides.”
“Good heavens!” When the Simonides yacht was occasionally spotted outside Heraklion harbor, the whole city knew about it.
Gabi closed her eyes tightly for a second. “I realize it’s getting late, but this is of vital importance. Prepare Dad, will you?”
“Of course. The babies are asleep. We’ll be waiting for you in the salon.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re one in a billion.”
Andreas eyed her as she put the phone back in her purse. “If you were looking for a job, I’d hire you as my personal assistant on your integrity and discretion alone.”
She’d just received the supreme compliment from him, but the last thing she’d ever want to be was his personal secretary or anything else that put her in such close proximity to him for business reasons. No way would she allow herself to be put in emotional jeopardy like that again.
“Shall we go in?” She led the way to the front door and opened it. The salon was to the right of the main foyer where Gabi found her parents. Blonde and fit, she thought they were the most attractive people she knew. Andreas wouldn’t be able to help but like their soft-spoken manner.
After she made the introductions, he sat forward in one of the chairs opposite the couch where they were seated. Gabi sat in another matching chair, knowing her parents were dying of curiosity.
“I’ve noticed you staring at me,” Andreas began without preamble. “No doubt you’ve seen your grandsons’ resemblance to me. That’s because their father Leonides is my brother. We’re identical twins, too. Twins run in the family.”
While her parents digested that startling piece of information he said, “Nikos and Kris have an uncle Gus and two aunts, Melina and Leila. Until Gabi came to my office on Friday evening, my parents had ten grandchildren. But after our chat, I realized that number has grown to twelve.”
“But this is unbelievable!” Gabi’s mother exploded. She actually sounded relieved as she looked at Gabi’s father. His burnished face had broken out in a smile, the last reaction Gabi would have imagined from either parent.
Andreas sent Gabi a satisfied glance. “Later, she’ll fill you in on all the hows and whys of our first meeting. The important thing to know is that on Saturday, Leon met the children at the park.
“Unfortunately he’s not ready to claim them yet. His wife Deline knows about his one-night relationship with your daughter Thea while he and Deline were separated. His pain and guilt over what he’d done drove him to go home the next day and talk everything out with her.
“It took a lot of gut-wrenching sessions and tears, but she eventually forgave him because she wasn’t without her faults in the marriage, either. But that was a year ago and she has yet to learn he fathered two children. That’s the hurdle facing him as we speak.”
Gabi’s parents squeezed hands.
“When Leon tells Deline about the twins, it could break up their marriage, possibly for good. The irony here is that they’ve been trying for a baby since the day they got married. It was one of the reasons they quarreled in the first place. She claimed he worked too hard and wasn’t home long enough for them to start a family. So far they haven’t been successful.”
The added revelation hurt Gabi a little bit more. There’d been too much suffering all the way around.
“They’d been separated a while at the time he met Thea aboard the yacht. She’d come with a big group of friends, but Leon didn’t know them. His friends had arranged it in order to party and cheer him up. His wife Deline had just told him she wanted a permanent separation. In his grief, he acted out unwisely. It doesn’t excuse him for what he did, but it does explain his actions that night.”
Gabi’s father sat forward. “I’m afraid my daughter acted just as irresponsibly. Her marriage never took. When she won her divorce after a long battle, she made a wrong choice that night.”
Andreas frowned, his brows black above his gray eyes. “Even if he was separated from his wife at the time, my brother’s in a bad way because of his shame over making love to a virtual stranger when he was already married. His shame is even worse because he knows your daughter has passed away leaving two beautiful little babies who are his. Believe me, he’s in anguish right now.”
“He would be,” her father murmured.
“Leon’s my best friend, Mr. Turner. I know his heart.”
Gabi bowed her head. She heard the love and the caring in his tone. He really was a wonderful man.
“In another day or two when he’s found the courage to tell his wife, he’s going to want to see the children again and meet you. Hopefully at that point he’ll be able to make some decisions in their best interest.”
“I don’t envy him,” Gabi’s mother murmured.
Neither did Gabi, but her thoughts were also on Andreas. This was no shallow man. The depth to his character kept hitting her harder and faster. Only a few days ago she’d thought he had ice water in his veins.
“I’ve come here tonight to urge Gabi not to go back to Virginia yet. I believe that if she stays in Greece another week where the children are accessible, something good will come of this.
“But she’s told me her fears about Thea’s exhusband, Dimitri Paulos. I know him and his family through business. Apparently he became hostile when your daughter asked for a divorce. That’s his way. Gabi’s worried he’s going to keep nosing around until he finds out who fathered Thea’s twins. She’s afraid that if he learns it’s Leon, he’ll expose him to the press.”
Her mother nodded. “He’d do it without a qualm.”
By now Gabi’s father had gotten to his feet. “I’m afraid he turned on me when I helped my daughter obtain her divorce.”
“It happens. But by the time my brother comes to grips with this situation one way or the other, it will have lost its sensational value. For now I’d like to suggest Gabi and the chil-dren be removed to an undisclosed place that’s still close enough for Leon to have immediate access.”
Gabi blinked. “Where?”
Andreas shot her a penetrating look. “I know The perfect spot,” he said with authority and got to his feet. “It’s late. Walk me out and we’ll talk about it.”
The next few minutes were a blur while her parents thanked him for his frank speaking and dealing with this delicate situation head-on. Before he joined her at the front door, there’d been hugs to welcome the twins’ uncle to the family. The man was endowed with charm from the gods.
She went outside with him. The balmy night air seemed to make the moment more intimate somehow. Strange little tingles brought an ache to her hands. When she looked up at him, she felt her body come to life with feelings she’d thought Rand had killed. But it wasn’t true.
This couldn’t be happening again. It just couldn’t!
In the semi-darkness she felt his piercing gaze travel over her features. “Gabi?” he said her name in his deep voice. “Will you continue to trust me for a little while longer?”
It