Doorstep Twins / The Cowboy's Adopted Daughter: Doorstep Twins
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Startled out of her thoughts, she exited the limo, not having realized they’d arrived at the port of Piraeus. He held her overnight case and walked toward a gleaming white luxury cabin cruiser probably forty to forty-five feet in length moored a few steps away along the pier.
A middle-aged crew member took the bag and helped her aboard. “My name is Stavros. I’ll take you to Kyrie Simonides, who’s waiting for you to join him in the rear cockpit. This way, Ms. Turner.”
Once again she found herself trailing after a stranger to an ultraleather wraparound lounge whose sky roof was open. Her dark-haired host was standing in front of the large windows overlooking the water lit up by the myriad boats and ferries lining the harbor. The dream vessel was state of the art.
Since she’d last seen him in the lift, he’d removed his suit jacket and tie. He’d rolled his shirtsleeves up to the elbow. Thea had been right. He was spectacular-looking.
She understood when the man announced to her host that the American woman had come aboard. He turned in her direction. The lights reflecting off the water cast his hard-boned features into stark relief.
“Come all the way in and sit down, Ms. Turner. Stavros will bring you anything you want to eat or drink.”
“Nothing for me, thank you. I just ate.”
After his staff member left the room, she pulled the envelope out of her purse and put it on the padded seat next to her, assuming he wanted a better look at everything. He wandered over to her, but made no move to take it. Instead his enigmatic gaze traveled over her upturned features.
She had an oval face, but her mouth was too wide and her hair was too naturally curly for her liking. Instead of olive skin, hers was a nondescript cream color. Her dad once told her she had wood violet eyes. She’d never seen wood violets, but he’d said it with such love, she’d decided that they were her one redeeming feature.
“My name’s Andreas,” he said, surprising her. “What’s yours?”
“Gabi.”
“My sources tell me you were christened Gabriella. I like the shortened version.” Unexpectedly he reeked of the kind of virile charm to turn any woman’s head. Thea hadn’t stood a chance.
Gabi understood that kind of potent male power and the money that went with it. Once upon a time she’d loved Rand. Substitute this Greek tycoon’s trappings for seven hundred thousand acres of Texas ranch land with cattle and oil wells and voilà—the two men were interchangeable. Fortunately for Gabi, she’d only needed to learn her lesson once. Thea had learned hers, too, but it had come at the cost of her life.
One black brow quirked. “Where are these twins? At your home in Virginia, or are they a little closer at your father’s consulate residence in Heraklion?”
With a mere phone call he knew people in the highest places to get that kind of classified information in less than an hour. Naturally he did. She wanted to tell him that, since he possessed all the facts, there was no need to answer his question, but she couldn’t do that. Not after she’d been the one to approach him.
“They’re on Crete.”
“I want to see them,” he declared without hesitation, sending Gabi into mild shock that he’d become curious about these children who could be his offspring. She felt a grudging respect that he’d conceded to the possibility that his relationship with Thea, no matter how short-lived, had produced them. “How soon are you due back in Heraklion?”
“When I left this morning, I told my parents I was meeting a former work colleague from the States in Athens and would fly home tomorrow.”
“Will they send a car for you?”
“No. I told them I wasn’t sure of my arrival time so I’d take a taxi.”
He shifted his weight. “Once I’ve delivered you to Heraklion, there’ll be a taxi waiting to take you home. For the time being Stavros has prepared a room for you. Are you susceptible to the mal de mer?”
They were going back by sea?
“No.”
“Good. I’m assuming your parents are still in the dark about the twins’ father, otherwise you wouldn’t have needed to lie to them.”
“Thea never wanted them to know.” She hadn’t wanted anyone to know, especially not Thea’s ex-husband Dimitri. For the most part their marriage had been wretched and she hadn’t wanted him to find out what she’d done on the very day she’d obtained her divorce from him. Dimitri wouldn’t hesitate to expose his ex-wife’s indiscretion out of simple revenge.
“Yet she trusted you.”
“Not until she knew she might die.” Thea hadn’t wanted to burden anyone. “Though she admitted making a mistake she dearly regretted, she wanted her babies to be taken care of without it being Mom and Dad’s responsibility. I approached you the way I did in order to spare them and you any notoriety.”
“But not my pocketbook,” he inserted in a dangerously silken voice.
“You would have every right to think that, Mr. Simonides.”
“Andreas,” he corrected her.
She took a deep breath. “Money isn’t the reason I came. Nor do you have to worry your name is on their birth certificates. Thea refused to name the father. Though I promised to find a good home for the twins with another couple, I couldn’t keep it.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re alive. I’ve looked into the law. No one can adopt them unless you give away your parental rights. In truth, Thea never wanted you to know anything.”
He shrugged his elegant shoulders. “If not for money, then why didn’t you just spirit them away and forget the legalities?”
Gabi stared hard at him. “Because I plan to adopt them and had to be certain you didn’t want to claim them before I take them back to Virginia with me. You have that God-given right after all.” She took a fortifying breath. “Being their aunt, I don’t.”
Her lids prickled, but she didn’t let tears form. “As for the twins, they have the same God-given right to be with their father if you want them. If there was any chance of that happening, I had to take it, thus my presence in your office today. Naturally if you do want them, then I’ll tell my parents everything and we’ll go from there.”
The air seemed to have electrified around them. “If you’re telling me the truth, then you’re one of a dying species.”
His cynical remark revealed a lot. He had no qualms about using women. In that regard he and Rand had a lot in common. But Gabi suspected Mr. Simonides didn’t like women very much.
“One day when they’re old enough to understand, I wouldn’t be able to face them if I couldn’t tell them that at the very beginning I did everything in my power to unite them with you first.”
His eyes looked almost black as they searched hers for a tension-filled moment. “What’s in Virginia when your parents are here in Greece?”
“My life, Mr. Simonides. Like you, I have an important career I love. My parents’ responsibilities are here on Crete for the time being. Dad has always had connections to the Greek government. Every time they’re transferred, I make the occasional visit, but I live at our family home in Virginia.”
“How long have you been here?”
“I came a month before the children were born. They’re three months old now.” They’re so adorable you can’t imagine.
“What’s your routine with them?”
Gabi thought she understood what he was asking. “Between naps I usually take them for walks in their stroller.”
“Where?”
“Several places close by. There’s a small park with a fountain and benches around the corner from the consulate. I sometimes go there with them.”
“Let’s plan to meet there tomorrow, say three o’clock. If that isn’t possible, phone me on my cell and we’ll arrange for another time.”
“That will be fine,” she assured him.
“Good.” He wrote a number on a business card and handed it to her. In the next breath he pulled the phone out of his trouser pocket and asked Stavros to report.
Half a minute later the other man appeared. “Come with me, Ms. Turner, and I’ll show you to your cabin.”
“Thank you.” When she got up, she would have taken the envelope with her, but Andreas was too fast for her.
“I’ll return this to you later. Let’s hope you sleep well. The sea is calm tonight.”
She paused at the entrance. Studying him from across the expanse she said, “Thank you for giving me those two minutes. When I prevailed on your receptionist, she said you were already late leaving your office. I’m sorry if I interrupted your plans for the evening.”
He cocked his dark head. “A life and death situation waits on no man. Go to bed with a clear conscience. Kalinihta, Gabi Turner.”
His deep, attractive voice vibrated to her insides. “Kalinihta.”
As soon as Stavros saw her to her cabin, Andreas pulled out his cell phone to call Irena for the second time this evening.
“Darling?” she answered on the second ring. “I’ve been hoping to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry about tonight,” he began without preamble. “As I told you earlier, an emergency came up that made it impossible for us to join the family party on Milos.”
“Well, you’re free now. Are you planning to come over?”
He gripped the phone tighter. “I can’t.”
“That sounded serious. Something really is wrong, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” his voice grated. In the space of a few hours his shock had worn off enough for agony to take over.
“You don’t want to talk to me about it?”
“I will when the time is right.” He closed his eyes tightly. There was no right time. Not for this.
“Which means you have to discuss it with Leon first.”
What did she just say?
“Judging by your silence, I realize that came out wrong. Forgive me. Ever since we started seeing each other, I’ve learned you always turn to him before anyone else, but I said it as an observation, not a criticism.”
She’d only spoken the truth. It brought up a potentially serious issue for the future, but he didn’t have the time to analyze the ramifications right now. “There’s nothing to forgive, Irena. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Whatever’s disturbing you, remember I’m here.”
“As if I could forget.”
“S’agapo, Andreas.”
In the six months they’d been together, he’d learned to love her. Before Gabi Turner had come to his office, he’d planned to ask Irena to marry him. It was past time he settled down. His intention had been to announce it at tonight’s party.
“S’agapo,” he whispered before hanging up.
Chapter Two
THE next afternoon Gabi’s mother helped her settle the babies in their double stroller. “It’s hot out.”
“A typical July day.” Gabi had already packed their bottled formula in the space behind the seat. “I’ve dressed them in their thinnest tops and shorts.” One outfit in pale green, the other pastel blue. “At least there’s some shade at the park. We’ll have a wonderful time, won’t we?”
She couldn’t resist kissing their cheeks. After being gone overnight, she’d missed them horribly. Now that they were awake, their sturdy little arms and legs were moving like crazy.
“Oh, Gabi…they’re so precious and they look so much like Thea.”
“I know.” But they also looked like someone else. That was the reason they were so gorgeous. She squeezed her mother around the shoulders. “Because of them, Thea will always be with us.”
“Your father’s so crazy about them, I don’t know if he can handle your taking them back home to Alexandria to live. I know I can’t. Please promise me you’ll reconsider.”
“We’ve been over this too many times, Mom. Dad can’t do his work the way he needs to. It’s best for both of you with your busy schedules. At home I’ll be around my friends and there’ll be other moms with their babies to befriend. We’ll see each other often. You know that!”
Right now Gabi had too many butterflies in her stomach at the thought of meeting up with Andreas to concentrate on anything else. She slowly let go of her. “See you later.”
Making certain the twins were comfy, she started pushing the stroller away from the Venetian-styled building that had become a home to the consulate with its apartments for their family. From her vantage point she could look out over the port of Heraklion on the northern end of Crete, an island steeped in Roman and Ottoman history.
Normally she daydreamed about its past during her walks with the children, but this afternoon her gaze was glued to the harbor. Somewhere down there was the cabin cruiser that had brought her from Piraeus.
The trip had been so smooth, she could believe the sea had been made of glass. She should have fallen into a deep sleep during the all-night crossing, but in truth she’d tossed and turned most of it.
That was because the man she’d labeled bloodless and selfish didn’t appear to fit her original assessment. In fact she had trouble putting him in any category, which was yet another reason for her restlessness.
As a result she’d slept late and had to be awakened by Stavros, who’d brought a fabulous breakfast to her elegant cabin with its cherrywood décor. She’d thanked him profusely. Following that she’d showered and given herself a shampoo. After drying her hair, she’d changed into white sailor pants and a sleeveless navy and white print top.
Once her bag was packed, she’d applied lipstick, then walked through to the main salon before ascending the companionway stairs in her sandals. She’d expected to find Andreas so she could thank him for everything, but discovered he was nowhere in sight. Somehow she’d felt disappointed, which made no sense at all.
Since Stavros had let her know her ride was waiting, she’d had no choice but to leave the cruiser from the port side. He’d carried her overnight bag to the taxi and wished her a good day. After thanking him again, she’d been whisked through the bustling city of close to a hundred and forty thousand people. Further up the incline they reached the consulate property and passed through the sentry gate.
After her arrival, she’d made some noncommittal remarks to her parents about having had an okay time in Athens, but she’d missed the children too much and wanted to come straight home. The babies had acted so happy to see her, her heart had melted.
Closer to the park now, she felt her pulse speed up. Though the heat had something to do with it, there was another reason. What if Andreas took one look and decided he did want the children? Though that was what she’d been hoping and praying for, she hadn’t counted on this pang that ran through her at the thought of having to give them up.
The park held its share of children, some with their mothers. A few older people sat on benches talking. Several tourists on bikes had stopped to catch their breath before moving on. It was a benign scene until she noticed the striking man who sat beneath the fronds of a palm tree reading a newspaper.
There was an aura of sophistication about him. A man in control of his world. One of the most powerful men in Greece actually. Everywhere he went, his bodyguards preceded him, but she would never know who they were or where they were hidden.
Today he’d dressed in a silky blue sport shirt and tan trousers, a picture of masculine strength and a kind of rugged male beauty hard to put in words.
She glanced at the twins. They didn’t know it, but they were looking at their daddy, a man like no other who wasn’t more than ten feet away.
His intelligent eyes fringed with inky black lashes peered over the newspaper at them before he put it aside and stood up.
Gabi moved the stroller closer until they were only a few feet apart. Hardly able to breathe, she touched one dark, curly head. “This is Kris, short for Kristopher. And this…” she tousled the other gleaming cap of black curls “…is Nikos.”
Andreas hunkered down in front of them. Like finding a rare treasure, his eyes burned a silvery gray as his gaze inspected every precious centimeter, from their handsome faces to the tips of their bare toes.
He cupped their chins as if he were memorizing their features, then he let them wrap their fingers around his. Before long both his index fingers ended up in their mouths.
Gabi started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. “He tastes good, huh. You little guys must be hungry.” She undid the strap and handed Nikos to him. “Sit down on the bench and you can feed him.” In a flash she supplied him with a cloth against his shoulder and a baby bottle full of formula.
“If you’ve never done this before, don’t worry about it. The boys will do all the work. Let him drink for a minute, then pat his back gently to get rid of the air bubbles. I’ll take care of Kris.”
For the next little while, she was mostly aware of the twins making noisy sounds as they drank their bottles with the greatest of relish. Afterward they traded babies so he could get to know Kris.
Every so often the sounds were followed by several loud burps that elicited rich laughter from Andreas. When she’d approached him in his office yesterday, she hadn’t thought he was capable of it.
Any misgivings she’d had about starting up this process fled at the sight of him getting acquainted with the boys. It was a picture that would be impressed on her heart forever. Wherever Thea was, she had to be happy her sons were no longer strangers to their father, even if he’d never sought her sister out again.
Gabi didn’t know the outcome, but this meeting was something to cherish at least.
“We’ll have to make this fast because I don’t want to keep them out in the sun much longer.” She flashed him a quick glance. “Next time—if you want there to be a next time—you can take them for a walk on your own.”
He made no response. She didn’t know what to think. Another five minutes passed before she said, “There now. They’re as sated as two fat cats.” Again she heard laughter roll out of him.
Together they lowered them back into the stroller. Her arm brushed his, making her unduly aware of him. She put the empty bottles and cloths away. When she rose up, their glances collided. “I have to go,” she said. Maybe she was mistaken, but she thought the light in his eyes faded a trifle. “If you want to see them again, call me on my cell.”
Pulling out his phone, he said, “Tell me your number and I’ll program it into mine right now.”
Maybe that was a good sign. Then again maybe it wasn’t. A small shiver ran down her spine in fear that when he contacted her next, he would tell her that, cute as the boys were, he was still signing his rights away and they were all hers with his blessing.
After she’d given him her number, he pushed the stroller toward the path leading out to the street. One of the older women caught sight of the twins and shouted something about them having beautiful children.
“Efharisto,” Andreas called back, thanking the woman as if this were an everyday occurrence.
Gabi didn’t want to tear herself away, but her mother would worry if she wasn’t back soon and would want to know why the delay. “I really have to go.”
“I know,” he said in a husky tone before giving the boys a kiss on their foreheads. “I’ll be in touch.”
With those long powerful strides, he left the park going one way while she trundled along with the stroller going the other. The farther apart they got, the more fearful she grew.
He wasn’t indifferent to the twins. She knew that. She’d felt it and seen it. But one meeting with his children didn’t mean he wanted to take on the lifetime responsibility of parenting them. Between his work and girlfriends he wouldn’t have much time to fit in the twins.
She’d told him she’d be leaving for Virginia next week. If he didn’t want her to take them away, he needed to make up his mind soon.
Maybe he would compromise. She’d raise them and he’d be one of those drop-in daddies. For the boys’ sake Gabi couldn’t bear the thought of it, but having a daddy around once in a while, even if he only flew into D.C. from Greece once a year with a present, was better for them than no daddy at all, wasn’t it? Gabi loved her own father so much, she couldn’t imagine life without him.
The only thing to do now was brace herself for his next phone call.
Accompanied by his bodyguards, Andreas rushed toward the helicopter waiting for him at the Heraklion airport. Once he’d climbed aboard, he directed his pilot to fly him to the Simonides villa on Milos where the whole clan had congregated for the weekend.
Last night there’d been a party to celebrate his sister Melina’s thirtieth birthday, but he’d been forced to miss it because of a life and death situation. Gabi Turner had been right about that.
Though his married sister had been gracious over the phone, he knew she’d been hurt by his excuse that something unavoidable had come up to detain him in Athens. He’d promised to make it up to her, but that kind of occasion in her honor with extended family in attendance only happened once a year. Now the moment was gone.
Yet, sorry as he was, he had something much more vital on his mind and couldn’t think about anything else. Throughout the flight he still felt the strong tug of those little mouths on his fingers. Their touch had sent the most peculiar sensation through Andreas.
Even though he had ten nieces and nephews, he hadn’t been involved in their nurturing. The closest he’d come was to hold their weightless bodies as they were being passed around at a family party after coming home from the hospital.
Today had been something totally different. It was as if the blinders had come off, but he hadn’t known they existed until contact was made. Kris and Nikos weren’t just babies. Those excited bodies with their bright eyes and faces belonged to a pair of little guys who one day would grow up to be big guys. Guys who had the Simonides stamp written all over them.
As soon as he entered the main villa Andreas went in search of his vivacious mother, who was in the kitchen supervising dinner preparations with the cook, Tina.
“There you are, darling,” she said the minute she saw him.
He gave her a kiss, already anticipating her next comment. “My absence was unavoidable.”
Her expressive dark brows lifted. “A delicate merger?”
“Incredibly delicate,” he muttered. The memory of Nikos and Kris so trusting in his arms as they inhaled their formula never left his mind.
“You sound like your father. I have to tell you I’m glad he’s finally stepped down and you’re in charge. He’s a different man these days. Let’s just hope that when you’re settled down, hopefully soon, your wife will have more influence on you to take time off once in a while. You’re already working too hard if you had to miss Melina’s birthday party.”
His mother could have no idea. He gave her an extra hug. “Where’s everyone?” he asked, knowing the answer full well, but he didn’t want to sound like anything out of the ordinary was wrong.
“Still waterskiing. Your grandparents are out on the patio watching your father and your uncle Vasio drive the younger children around. We’ll eat out by the pool in an hour.”
“That gives me enough time to get in a little exercise.” After stealing an hors d’oeuvre from the plate Tina was preparing, he pecked her cheek to atone for his sin before walking through a series of alcoves and walkways to reach his villa with its own amenities farther down their private beach.
The massive family retreat—a cluster of linked white villas in the Cycladic style—had been the Simonides refuge for many generations. Because of business, Andreas didn’t escape from his penthouse in the city as often as he wanted and had been looking forward to this time with the family.
Who would have dreamed that, before the lift door closed, an innocent-looking blonde female would sweep into his office like a Cycladic breeze, bringing a fragrance as sweet as the honeysuckle growing wild on the island before she dropped her bomb?
Still charged with adrenaline, he changed into his swim trunks and hurried down to the beach where the family ski boats were in use.