“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