“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 ex-husband, 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 children 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 headon. 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 was hard to swallow. “After approaching you first, I’m hardly in a position to refuse now. Do your parents know anything yet?”
“No. Leon wants to tell them when he’s ready.”
“So you have to continue to be the keeper of all the secrets.”
“I don’t mind.”
No, because she was learning what kind of a man he really was. “You have a lot on your shoulders.”
“So do you. In fact you’ve inherited the bulk by taking care of the twins. I’d like to help you with that. We’ll think of it as a vacation time for both of us. After all, they’re part my flesh and blood.”
“Andreas? Are you married, too?” Before she took another breath she needed the answer to that question. “I haven’t seen a wedding ring, but I realize some men don’t wear them.”
In the silence that followed, she felt his sudden tension. “I’m still single. You don’t need to be worried I’m keeping secrets from a wife or neglecting her for Leon’s sake.”
Single. His answer frightened her because she no longer trusted herself around him. When she’d promised to never let a man get under her skin again, Andreas had already found entrance, slipping past her guard totally undetected.
“W-where is this safe place?” she stammered.
“On Milos, in a little village called Apollonia. I realize you’re leaving in the morning, but I hope you’ll give my idea serious thought. Either way I’ll expect a call from you later tonight. Sleep well, despinis.”
Chapter Four
ANDREAS had two phone calls to make. The first was one he’d known was coming ever since Gabi had entered his office, or rather blown in with that head of curly golden hair and eyes like the periwinkle bougainvillea outside his villa door.
Like the Venus de Milo unearthed in the ancient town of Milos where he used to dig around the ruins as a boy, Gabi’s feminine shape appealed to his senses. With his six-foot-three height, he’d never been partial to shorter women or blondes until now, a fact that surprised the daylights out of him.
Her guileless honesty combined with her intensity had intrigued him. If he were to admit to all the traits he’d found fascinating and endearing since watching her with the twins, the list would be endless.
Something earthshaking had happened to him. Already he felt a changed man. Right or wrong, his desire to be with Gabi was so profound, he realized he had to break it off with Irena.
To feel this way about another woman wasn’t fair to her. He hadn’t planned for this to happen. It just did…
Maybe Andreas’s feelings for Gabi would die a quick death, but until that eventuality he had to explore them because he’d never known this kind of excitement over a woman in his life. Somewhere in his gut he knew these feelings weren’t all on his side. Gabi wouldn’t have asked him if he was married if her emotions weren’t involved, too.