Doorstep Twins

by

Rebecca Winters
The Cowboy’s Adopted Daughter

by

Patricia Thayer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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From brooding bachelors to doting dads!

Join in the tears and triumphs as these couples get a crash course in parenting adorable children

in…

DOORSTEP TWINS

by Rebecca Winters

And the next instalment of

The Brides of Bella Rosa:

THE COWBOY’S ADOPTED DAUGHTER

by Patricia Thayer

Enjoy our new 2-in-1 editions of stories by your favourite authors—for double the romance!

Doorstep Twins

by

Rebecca Winters

REBECCA WINTERS, whose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high Alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her Mills & Boon® Romance novels because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.

Rebecca loves to hear from her readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at www.cleanromances.com

Dear Reader

Before I started writing Andreas and Vincenzo’s stories I had an experience that gave me the idea for it, and I’d like to share it with you.

When I was in high school my girlfriend and I had planned to go to Hawaii for the summer and work at jobs already promised to us. We’d saved our money and had bought our airline tickets. It was something we’d been planning for months. The night before we were supposed to fly out my girlfriend called, telling me she couldn’t go after all because she was getting married to a guy she’d fallen in love with on their first date! I don’t think they’d been on more than two dates when she phoned me. I’m happy to report that I recovered from my disappointment and that they’re still married after fifty-one years.

In my novel, love hits Andreas and Gabi exactly the same way. Two exceptional people are going down separate roads full tilt when they suddenly collide—and in seconds their worlds and those around them change for ever. This love story is set on the gorgeous Greek island of Crete.

Enjoy!

Rebecca Winters

Chapter One

“I’M SORRY, Ms. Turner, but Kyrie Simonides says he can’t fit you in today. If you’ll come next Tuesday at three o’clock?”

Gabi’s hand tightened around the leather strap of her taupe handbag. “I won’t be in Athens then.” The outcome of this visit would determine how soon she left Greece…that was if she were allowed to see him now.

She fought not to lose her composure in front of the retirement-age-looking receptionist who was probably paid a lot of money not to lose hers. “After waiting over three hours for him, surely he can take another five minutes to talk to me.”

The woman with heavy streaks of silver in her hair shook her head. “It’s the weekend. He should have left Athens an hour ago.”

At twenty after six on a hot Friday evening Gabi could believe it, but she hadn’t come this far to be put off. There was too much at stake. Taking a calming breath, she said, “I didn’t want to have to say this to you, but he’s left me no choice. Please tell him it’s a matter of life and death.”

Because it was the truth and her eyes didn’t blink, the receptionist’s expression underwent a subtle change. “If this is some kind of a joke, I’m afraid it will backfire on you.”

“This is no joke,” Gabi replied, standing her ground at five feet five in her comfortable two-piece cotton suit of pale lemon. She’d already undergone a thorough vetting and security check upon entering the building, so the receptionist knew she didn’t pose a threat.

After a slight hesitation the taller woman, clearly in a dilemma, got up from her desk and walked with a decided limp back to her boss’s office. That was progress.

While businessmen came and went from his private domain on top of the building complex in downtown Athens, she’d been continually ignored until now. If Gabi had just come out with it in the first place, it might not have taken her most of the day to get results, but she’d wanted to protect him.

Gabi only knew three facts about the thirty-three-year-old Andreas Simonides: First, he was the reputed new force majeure at the internationally renowned Simonides Corporation whose holdings were tied up in all areas of metallurgy, including aluminum, copper and plastics.

Her source confided that their vast fortune, accumulated over many decades, included the ownership of eighty companies. With a population of twelve thousand employees, the Simonides family ruled over a virtual empire extending beyond Greece.

Second, if the picture in the newspaper didn’t lie, he was an exceptionally attractive male.

The third fact wasn’t public knowledge. In truth no one knew what Gabi knew…not even the man himself. But once they talked, his life would change forever whether he liked it or not.

While she stood there anticipating their first meeting, she heard the woman’s footsteps. “Kyrie Simonides will give you two minutes, no more.”

“I’ll take them!”

“You go down the hall and through the double doors.”

“Thank you very much,” she said with heartfelt sincerity, then rushed around the reception desk, her golden jaw-length curls bouncing. At first she didn’t see anyone as she entered his elegant inner sanctum.

“Life and death you said?” came a voice of male irony from behind her. Though deep, it had an appealing vibrant quality.

She spun around to discover a tall man shrugging into an expensive-looking gray suit jacket he’d just taken from a closet. The play of ripcord muscle in his arms and shoulders beneath a dazzling white shirt attested to the fact that he didn’t spend all his time in the confines of an office. Helpless to do otherwise, her gaze fell lower to the fabric of his trousers molding powerful thighs.

“I’m waiting, Ms. Turner.”

Heat stole into her cheeks to be caught staring like that. She lifted her head, but her voice caught as she looked up into eyes of iron gray, half veiled by long black lashes that gave him an aloof quality.

He possessed a healthy head of mediumcropped black hair and an olive complexion. Rugged of feature, his dark Greek looks fascinated her. The picture she’d seen of him hadn’t picked up the slight scar partially hidden in his left eyebrow, or the lines of experience she could detect around his eyes and wide male mouth. They revealed a life that had known every emotion.

“You’re a difficult man to reach.”

After shutting the closet door, he walked across the room to his private elevator. “I’m on my way out. Since you refused to come back next Tuesday, say what you have to say before I leave.” He’d already stepped inside the lift, ready to push the button. No doubt he had a helicopter on the roof waiting to fly him to some exotic vacation spot for the weekend.

Standing next to him, she’d never felt more diminutive. Even if she didn’t have an appointment, his condescension was too much. But because she might never have another opportunity to get this close to him, she hid her reaction.

Without wasting time she opened her handbag and pulled out a manila envelope. Since he made no move to take it, she undid the flap and removed the contents.

Beneath a set of DNA results lay the front page of a year-old Greek newspaper revealing him aboard the Simonides yacht, surrounded by a crush of people partying the night away. Gabi’s elder half sister Thea, whose dark Grecian beauty stood out from the other women on board, was among the crowd captured in the photo. The headline read, “New CEO at Simonides is cause for celebration.”

Along with these items was a photograph taken a few days ago of two baby boys wearing diapers and shirts. Gabi had gone to a store to get it enlarged into an eight-by-ten.

She held everything up so he couldn’t miss looking at the identical twins who had a crop of curly black hair and gorgeous olive skin like his and Thea’s. He’d had his hair cut since the photo.

Up close she picked out many of the other similarities to him, including their widow’s peaks and the winged shape of their dark eyebrows. The strong resemblance didn’t stop there. She quickly noticed they had his firm chin and wide mouth. Her list went on and on down to their sturdy bodies and same squarecut fingertips.

Yet nothing about the set of his features indicated the picture had made any kind of impression. “I don’t see you in the photograph, Ms. Turner. I’m sorry if you’re in such a desperate situation, but darkening my doorstep wanting a handout isn’t the way to get the help you need.”

Gabi’s jaw hardened. “And you’re not the first man to ignore the children he helped bring into the world.”

His black eyes narrowed. “What kind of a mother sends someone else on an errand like this?”

Somehow she got around the boulder in her throat. “I wish my sister could have come herself, but she’s dead.”

The moment the words left her lips, she sensed his body quicken. “That’s a tragedy. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Andreas Simonides was a cold-blooded man. There was no way to reach him. As his hand moved to the button on the panel, alerting her that this conversation was over, she said, “Are you saying you never saw this woman in your life?”

Gabi pointed to Thea’s face in the newspaper picture. “Maybe this will help.” She put the items under her arm while she pulled out Thea’s Greek passport. “Here.”

To her surprise he took it from her and examined the photo. “Thea Paulos, twenty-four, Athens. Issued five years ago.” His black brows formed a bar. He shot her a penetrating glance. “Your sister, you say?”

“My half sister,” she amended. “Daddy’s first wife was Greek. After she died, he married my American mother. After a while I came along. This was the last passport Thea held before her divorce.” Gabi bit her lip. “She…celebrated it with friends aboard your yacht.”

He handed the passport back to her. “I’m sorry about your loss, but I can’t help you.”

She felt a stab of pain. “I’m sorry for the twins,” she murmured. “To lose their mother is tragic beyond words. However, when they’re old enough to ask where their father is and I have to tell them he’s alive somewhere—but it doesn’t matter because they never mattered to him—that will be the ultimate tragedy.”

The elevator door closed, putting a definitive end to all communication. Gabi spun around, angry and heartsick. For two cents she’d leave the incriminating evidence with his receptionist and let the other woman draw her own conclusions.

But creating a scandal within the Simonides empire was the last thing Gabi wanted to do, not when it could rebound on her own family, especially on her father whose diplomat position in the consulate on Crete might be compromised. In his work he met with Greek VIPs in business and governmental positions on a regular basis. She couldn’t bear it if her presence here brought on unwanted repercussions.

No one had asked her to come. Except for Mr. Simonides himself now, no one knew the nature of this visit, especially not her grieving parents. Since Thea had died in childbirth from a heart condition brought on by the pregnancy, Gabi had taken it upon herself to be the babies’ advocate. Every child deserved its own wonderful birth mother and father. Unfortunately not every child was so lucky.

“Mission accomplished,” she whispered to the empty room. Her heart felt like an anchor that had come loose and had plunged through fathoms of dark water to the lowest depths of the Mediterranean.

Once she’d put everything back in the envelope and stashed it in her handbag, she left his private office. The venerable receptionist nodded to Gabi before she disappeared into the hall. In a few minutes she arrived at the ground floor of the building and hurried outside to get a taxi back to her hotel.

To her surprise, the chauffeur of a limo parked in front got out and approached her. “Ms. Turner?”

She blinked. “Yes?”

“Kyrie Simonides said you had to wait a long time to get in to see him. I’ve been asked to drive you wherever it is you wish to go.”

Her adrenaline kicked in, causing her pulse to speed up. Did this mean the twins’ father wasn’t a complete block of ice after all? Who wouldn’t melt over seeing a photo of his own flesh and blood? If the boys’ picture didn’t completely convince him, the printout of their DNA would provide infallible proof of a match.

By sending a limo for Gabi, it could mean he planned for a second meeting with her, but he was forced to be discreet. With his money and power, not to mention his looks, the head man had learned how to keep his former liaisons private.

“Thank you. If you wouldn’t mind taking me to the Amazon Hotel?” She’d purposely checked in there because it was near the Simonides building in the heart of the Plaka.

He nodded as he helped her in.

Before carrying out her plan to meet with Mr. Simonides today, Gabi had told her parents that one of her female coworkers from Alexandria, Virginia, was in Athens on a trip. They’d decided to get together and see a little of the sights. Gabi felt awful for outright lying to them, but she didn’t dare let them know her true agenda.

Until Thea’s fifth month of pregnancy when she’d developed serious heart complications and was hospitalized, Gabi hadn’t even known the name of the babies’ father. But as the end drew near and it became apparent Thea might not make it, she told Gabi to look in her jewel box at home and bring her the envelope she’d hidden there.

Gabi brought it to the hospital. Thea told her to open it. She took one look and gasped when she realized who the man was. “This is all I have of him. Like everyone else on board, we’d both had way too much to drink,” Thea whispered. “We were ‘strangers in the night’ kind of thing.”

Her confession elicited a moan from Gabi.

“It didn’t mean anything to him. He didn’t even know my name. I’m ashamed it happened and he shouldn’t have to pay for a mistake which was as much mine as his. I wanted you to see him so you’ll know what kind of genes the children have inherited. Now promise me you’ll forget everything.”

Gabi understood how Thea felt and planned to honor her wishes. Besides the unsuspecting father, she realized that any news would be exploited if linked to the Simonides family. As they had recently lost the daughter of her father’s first marriage, Gabi wanted to save her parents any added grief.

While she sat there deep in thought the rear door opened. Surprised they’d already arrived in front of the hotel, she gave a start before getting out.

“Please thank your employer for me.”

“Of course.”

Once he’d gone, she hurried inside, anxious to eat something at the snack bar before going up to her room. Whatever Mr. Simonides intended to do, he was in the driver’s seat and would be the one to set the timetable for their next conversation. If there were to be one…

She could only hope he would make the arrangements before morning. Tomorrow she needed to fly back to Heraklion on Crete and rejoin her family. On top of their sadness, they had their hands full with the twins who’d been born six weeks premature.

When it had looked as if Thea was in trouble, Gabi had taken an undetermined leave of absence from the advertising agency in Virginia to fly to Heraklion. Since then she’d taken over the care of the babies because her busy parents’ demanding diplomatic position didn’t allow for the constant nurturing of the twins without full-time help.

That was four months ago and Gabi’s job as public relations manager had been temporarily filled by someone else at Hewitt and Wilson, so she had a vital decision to make. If Mr. Simonides chose to claim his children, then she needed to get back to her work in Virginia ASAP.

Her immediate boss had been made regional director of the East Coast market and hinted at an important promotion for her. But she needed to get back home if she wanted to expand her career opportunity with him. The only other career more important would be to become the mother to Thea’s children. But if she chose to do that, then it meant she would have to give up her advertising career until they were school age.

Having been burned by Texas rancher and oil man Rand McCallister five years ago, Gabi had no intention of ever getting married or having children, but if the twins’ birth father didn’t want them, then she would take on the responsibility of raising them because they were her family. As such, she needed to go back to Virginia where she could rear them in familiar surroundings.

Her family’s home in Alexandria was the perfect residence in a guarded, gated community with other diplomats’ families, some of whom had small children. Gabi had always lived in it with her parents when they weren’t in Greece on assignment. Since Gabi’s father owned the house outright, she wouldn’t have to deal with a mortgage payment.

If she combined the savings from her job with her dad’s financial help, she could be a stay-at-home mom until they were both school age, then get back to her career. It could all work. Gabi would make it work because she’d grown to love the twins as if they were her own babies.

In all likelihood Mr. Simonides wasn’t interested in the children and had only made certain she got a ride back to wherever she’d come from. Therefore she would fly the twins to Alexandria with her next week.

After a quick meal, Gabi went up to her room on the fourth floor, reasoning that her mother would go with her to help the three of them settle in before returning to Crete. The consulate was no place for two new infants. Her parents would never admit it, but the whole situation had grown out of control.

No sooner did she let herself inside with the card key than she saw the red light blinking on the telephone. Her mother could have left a voice message rather than try to get her on her cell phone. Then again…

With an odd combination of curiosity and trepidation, she reached for the receiver to retrieve it.

“Another limo is waiting for you in front of the hotel, Ms. Turner. It will be there until eight-thirty p.m.” Her watch said eight-ten. “If you don’t appear with your luggage by then, I’ll understand this isn’t a life and death situation after all. Your hotel-room bill has been taken care of.”

Gabi hung up the phone feeling as if she were acting in a police procedural film, not living real life. He’d had her followed and watched. The fabulously wealthy Mr. Simonides inhabited a world made up of secrecy and bodyguards in order to preserve, not only his safety, but the privacy he craved.

She imagined the paparazzi constituted a living nightmare for him, particularly when someone unknown like Gabi materialized. Her intrusion reminded him there were consequences for a night of pleasure he couldn’t remember because everyone partying on the yacht had been drinking heavily.

Thea had confided he was a Greek god come to life. Unlike Gabi, who’d inherited her mother’s shorter height and curves, Thea had been fashionably tall and thin. Growing up, she could have any boy she wanted.

She’d always had a man in tow, even the bachelor playboy Andreas Simonides touted in the press, now the crowned head of the Simonides empire. When he’d picked Thea out from the other women on board and had started making love to her in one of the cabins, she’d succumbed in a moment of extreme weakness.

How tragic that in celebrating her divorce she’d become pregnant, the consequences of which had brought on her death…

Gabi couldn’t imagine Mr. Simonides forgetting her sister no matter what. But if he’d been like Rand, then there’d been many beautiful women in his life. As both sisters had learned, they’d only made up part of the adoring horde. What a huge shock it must have been to discover he’d fathered baby boys whose resemblance to the two of them was nothing short of astounding.

Gabi only had a few minutes to freshen up and pack her overnight bag before she rushed down to the lobby. It was a simple matter since she hadn’t planned to be in Athens more than a night and had only brought one other change of outfit with her.

Through the doors she spied a limo with dark glass, but a different driver stood next to it. She assumed she would be driven to an undisclosed location where Mr. Simonides was waiting for her.

“Good evening, Ms. Turner.” He opened the rear door to help her in with her case. “I’ll be taking you to Kyrie Simonides.”

“Thank you.”

Before long they were moving into the mainstream of heavy traffic circulating about the old Turkish quarter of Athens. Again she had the feeling she was playing a part in a movie, but this time she experienced a distinct chill because she’d dared to approach a complete stranger who had all the power.

The sky was darkening into night. If she were to disappear, her family wouldn’t have a clue what had happened to her. Their pain at such an eventuality didn’t bear thinking about. In the desire to unite the babies with their only living parent, she’d been blinded to the risks involved. Now it was too late to pull out of a possibly dangerous situation she’d created.

At this point she wasn’t quite sure what she’d hoped to achieve. Unless a bachelor who partied and slept with women without giving it a thought were to give up that lifestyle, he wouldn’t make the best father around. But for the sake of the twins who deserved more, she couldn’t just take them back to Virginia and raise them without first trying to let their father know he was a father. Would he want any part in their lives?

She wanted him to be a real man and claim his children, invite them into his home and his life…be there for them for the whole of their lives. Give them his name and seal their legacy.

But of course that kind of thing just didn’t happen. Gabi wasn’t under any illusions. No doubt he was convinced she’d approached him to extort money and was ready to pay her off. He would soon find out she wanted nothing monetary from him and would be leaving for the States with her precious cargo.

Before Thea died, she’d asked Gabi to help get the babies placed for adoption with a good Greek couple. She wanted them raised Greek. Both sisters realized the impossible burden it would put on their older parents to shoulder the responsibility of raising the children. For all their sakes Gabi had made Thea that promise.

But after her death, Gabi realized it was a promise she couldn’t keep. In the first place, the twins’ birth father was alive. Legally no one could adopt them without his permission.

And in the second place, over the last three months Gabi had learned to love the boys. She’d bonded with them. Maybe she wasn’t Greek, but, having been taught Greek from the cradle, Gabi was bilingual and would use it with them. They would have a good home with her. No one but their own father could ever pry them away from her now.

Suddenly the rear door opened. “Ms. Turner?” the driver called to her. “If you’ll follow me.”

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.

“There’s Uncle Andreas!” One of his nieces waiting on the beach for her turn screeched with joy and ran toward him. Her brother followed. “Now that you’re here, will you take us? Grandpa hasn’t come back for us yet.”

His sister Leila’s children were the youngest, seven and nine. “What do you think?” He grinned. “Climb in my ski boat. We’ll show everybody! You spot your sister first, Jason.”

“Okay!”

Happy chaos reigned for another half-hour, then everyone left the beach because dinner had been announced. Andreas secured his boat to their private pier. Things couldn’t have turned out better than to find his brother Leon the last to tie up his own ski boat. His wife Deline had gone up with the others, leaving them alone for the moment.

“How was the party last night?” Andreas asked as he started tying the other end for him.

Leon shot him a glance. “Fine, but I have to tell you Dad wasn’t too thrilled you didn’t make a showing. He was hoping to see you there with Irena.”

Irena Liapis was a favorite with the family and the daughter of his parents’ good friends who owned one of the major newspapers in Greece. It was the same paper that had shown Thea aboard the family yacht.

Everyone was hoping for news that a wedding was in the offing. With his four siblings married, his parents were expecting some kind of announcement from him.

Andreas groaned. No woman had ever been his grand passion. Maybe there wasn’t such a thing and he was only deluding himself because he’d been a bachelor for too long. But his feelings for Irena had grown over the months. Besides being beautiful, she was intelligent and kind. He wanted his marriage to work and knew it could if she were his wife.

But last night Gabi Turner’s explosion into his life had caused every plan to go up in smoke. Now that a certain situation had developed threatening to set off a conflagration, his whole world had been turned on its side. For the time being he couldn’t think about Irena or anything else.

Andreas knew it wasn’t fair to keep any secrets from the woman he’d intended to marry, but, as he’d just found out, life wasn’t fair…not to the twins who’d lost their mother or to Gabi who’d taken on the awesome responsibility of raising her half sister’s children.

By tacit agreement he and his brother started walking up the beach toward the pool area. Using his fingertips, Leon scooped up his sandals lying in the sand. “Your non-appear-ance was kind of a shocker. Normally Dad gives you a pass.”

“It’s because he has a soft spot for Melina.” She was the baby in the family.

“If you pulled off the Canadian gold-refining merger, I’m sure all will be forgiven.”

Andreas frowned. “That might not happen. I’m still debating if it’s to our advantage.”

“With the kind of revenue it could bring in, you must be joking!”

“Not at all. I think they’re in deeper trouble than they’ve made out to be.” He gave his brother a covert glance. “Speaking of trouble, there’s something you and I have to talk about in private.”

“If you’re referring to the acquisition of those mineral rights in—”

“I’m not,” he cut him off. “You made a brilliant move on that.” Leon was his second in command. “I’m referring to something else that doesn’t have anything to do with business. After we eat, come to my villa alone. Make it look casual. You need to see something.”

Leon let out a bark of laughter. “You sound cryptic. What’s gotten into you?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

For the next hour Andreas joined in with his family and gave Melina the gift he’d found for her on one of his business trips to the Balkans. She collected nesting dolls. The one he gave her proved to be a hit. Once dessert was served, he faded from the scene and headed for his place, nodding to one of the maids on the way. Not long after, Leon showed up.

“Lock the front door behind you. I don’t want us to be disturbed.”

Leon flicked him a puzzled glance as he pushed in the button. He walked into the living room. “What’s going on? The last time I remember seeing you this intense was when Father suffered that mild heart attack last year.”

Heart attack was the operative word.

Andreas was still trying to recover from the one Ms. Turner had given him. Without wasting any more time he handed the newspaper photo to Leon, who studied it for a minute before lifting his head. “Why are you showing me a picture of you? I don’t understand.” He handed it back to him.

“If you’ll notice the date, this headline is a year old. When the picture was taken, I happened to be in the States on business with our big brother. As usual, the paparazzi got you and me mixed up. That was during the time you and Deline were separated. This tall, ravenhaired beauty who’s looking over at you was the woman, right?”

Only now did it strike Andreas that Thea bore a superficial resemblance to both Deline and Irena. Sometimes it astounded him that he and Leon had similar tastes, not only in certain kinds of foods and sports, but in women. They were all striking brunettes.

“Yes,” he whispered. “And if I hadn’t gone to Deline and told her the truth about that night, it could have cost me my marriage. I still marvel that she forgave me enough to give us a second chance.”

Leon unexpectedly grabbed the paper out of his hand and balled it up in his fist. “Why are you reminding me of it? Look here, Andreas—” His cheeks had grown ruddy with unaccustomed anger.

“I have been looking,” he came back in a quiet voice. “Because I love you and Deline, for the last twenty-four hours I’ve been doing whatever it takes to protect you and keep this news confidential.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you’d like to know the name of the woman you spent that hour with on the yacht. Her name was Thea Paulos, the divorced daughter of Richard Turner, of the Greek-American Consulate on Crete. Her ex-husband Dimitri Paulos is the son of Ari Paulos who owns Paulos Metal Exports, one of the subsidiary companies we acquired a few years ago.”

While his brother stood there swallowing hard, Andreas removed the twins’ photo and DNA results from the manila envelope and handed everything to him.

Stunned into silence, Leon sank down on the couch to stare at the children he’d unknowingly produced. Though Andreas had it in his heart to feel sorry for his brother’s predicament, a part of him thought Leon the luckiest man on earth to have fathered two such beautiful sons.

“I had our DNA compared to theirs. It’s a match.”

Leon’s face went white.

“I’ve seen them,” Andreas confided. Thanks to Gabi, he’d held and fed both of them, an experience he’d never forget.

His brother’s dark head reared back. “You’ve seen them—” He sounded incredulous.

“Yes. They’re three months old.”

“Three months?” He mouthed the words, obviously in shock. “How did Ms. Paulos contact you?”

“She didn’t. Tragically for the children, she died on the operating table giving birth to them.”

“She’s dead?” He kept repeating everything Andreas said, like a man in a trance.

“It was her half sister, Gabi Turner, who came to my office yesterday. She’s the one who arranged for me to see the boys at a park near the consulate today.”

His brother jumped up from the couch looking like a caged animal ready to spring.

“Take it easy, Leon. I know what you’re thinking, but you’d be dead wrong. In the first place, she believes I’m the father.”

Leon jerked around. “You didn’t tell her I was the one in that news photo?”

“No.”

His brother averted his eyes. “How much money does she want to keep quiet?” he asked in a subdued voice.

It was a fair question since the same one had dominated Andreas’s thoughts when she’d first pulled out the photograph. “Forget about her desire to blackmail me. This has to do with something else entirely.”

“And you believed her?” Leon cried, grabbing his shoulders.

Andreas supposed Gabi could have been lying through her teeth. If that were the case…He saw black for a moment before a semblance of reason returned.

“I’d stake my life on the fact that her only agenda for coming to me was to make sure I knew I had two sons before she left Greece.”

“Why would she do that?”

He sucked in his breath. “Because she said they deserve to be with their real father if it’s at all possible.”

Leon’s eyes clouded for a moment before he flashed Andreas a jaded look and released him. “It could be a ploy. Where’s she supposedly going?”

“Alexandria, Virginia.” To her home and her life, as she’d put it. “Her father started his diplomatic career there. I have confirmation of it.”

While Leon stood there tongue tied, Andreas’s cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and clicked on. “Mother?”

“Where are you?”

“In my villa.” He glanced at his brother. “Leon’s with me.”

“Can’t you two stop talking business for one evening?”

“Yes. We’ll be right over.”

“Good. Everyone’s wondering where you are. Deline’s been looking everywhere. We’re going to start some family movies.”

“Tell her we’re coming,” Leon called out loud enough for her to hear before Andreas clicked off.

He went into the study and locked the envelope in his desk, then eyed his brother soberly. “Since Gabi thinks I’m the father, we’ll leave it that way for now.”

As soon as Leon handed the wad to him he set it in an ashtray on the coffee table and put a match to it. When the evidence was gone, he lifted his head. “Before you make a decision about anything, you need to see the twins for yourself.”

Another odd sound escaped his brother.

“I’ll phone Gabi and see if we can’t arrange it for Monday. We’ll make up some excuse to the family about a business emergency. We won’t have to be gone long.”

Leon buried his face in his hands. “How am I going to be able to act like everything’s normal until then?”

A shudder passed through Andreas’s body. “We’re both going to have to find a way.”

His dark head reared back. “When Deline finds out about this…I swear I’ve been doing everything to make our marriage work. It only happened that one time, Andreas. It’ll never happen again. I love Deline.” The tremor in his voice was real enough.

“I believe you.”

“You know the reason why we separated for those two months. We’d been fighting over my working too much. She got on that old rant about my being married to you instead of her. She said she was tired of being neglected and told me I was the reason we hadn’t gotten pregnant yet.

“When she told me she wanted a separation because she needed time to think, I was in hell. After weeks of trying to get her to talk to me, she told me she was thinking of making the separation permanent. I was so hurt, I ended up taking the yacht out. Some of my friends came along and brought women. There was too much drinking. I never meant to lose my head.”

Andreas had heard it all before. He’d seen his brother was in anguish then, but this news added a terrifying new wrinkle.

After pacing the floor, Leon stopped and faced Andreas. “I know that was no excuse for making the ghastliest mistake of my life.” His mouth formed a thin line. “Sorry you got involved in this mess.” There was a lengthy pause. “It isn’t your problem. It’s mine, but I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do about it yet.”

At least Leon had admitted responsibility. “Once you’ve seen those babies, you’ll figure it out.” Of course Andreas could tell himself that now, but there was no sure way to know how his brother would feel after he’d gotten a look at them. “Let’s agree that for the moment there’s nothing else to be done. You go on back and find Deline. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Though he’d promised his mother he wouldn’t be long, he found he didn’t want to put off the phone call to Gabi until tomorrow. It surprised him how much he was looking forward to talking to her again.

Gabi had just finished changing the last diaper of the night when she heard her cell phone ring. She’d kept it in her jeans pocket to be certain she’d didn’t miss Andreas’s call if it came.

A peek at the caller ID and a rush of pleasure filled her body. Since her parents had gone out to dinner with guests, she could talk freely and clicked on.

“Andreas?”

“Good evening,” came his deep, compelling voice. She liked the sound of it. Thea had obviously found it attractive, too. The knowledge that she’d had an intimate relationship with him increased Gabi’s guilt and anger at herself for having any thoughts or feelings about him.

“Am I calling at the wrong moment?”

“No.” She left the bedroom that had been turned into a nursery and closed the door. “It’s a perfect time.” Gabi was the only person to speak for the children. He sounded eager enough to see them again. “The children are finally down until their three-o’clock bottle, thank heaven.”

“Then you’re going to need your beauty sleep, so I won’t keep you.”

She let the remark pass. His only agenda had to do with his children, who appeared to be growing on him. That was the result she’d been hoping for. Leaning against the wall in the hall, she said, “Have you decided you want to see the twins again?”

“Yes. Could we meet at the park on Monday?”

Her pulse sped up. “Of course. When would you like to come? Morning or afternoon is fine with me.”

“Morning would be an ideal time for me.”

“Then I’ll meet you at ten o’clock. After they’ve been fed and had their baths, I often take them on a walk when it’s not so hot.”

“I’m anxious to see them again.”

That was an excellent sign. “The children love any attention.” Especially when it was from their father. “I’ll see you then.”

“Gabi?” There was a nuance in his voice that caught her off guard.

“Yes?”

She heard him take a deep breath. “Thank you for being there for them.”

It was too early for her to get a handle on his vision for their future. After his visit on Monday to see the children, there might not be another one. She had to prepare herself for that possibility. “You don’t need to thank me. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

“I’ve noticed you don’t accept compliments graciously, so I’ll say it another way. Not everyone would do what you’re doing. Not for your sister, not for anyone.”

“Before you give me too much credit, don’t forget I watched the twins being born. It was a life-changing experience for me.”

“I don’t doubt it. Ta Leme.” She knew that phrase well enough.

Gabi hung up, wishing his visit was as soon as tomorrow instead of Monday. She would like to know his plans because she was leaving with the children next week. It was no good staying in Greece any longer. One way or the other, she needed to get on with her life and her parents needed to get on with theirs.

During Gabi’s morning walk with the children, Kris had nodded off. Last night he’d played too hard after she’d gotten up to give him a bottle. Nikos, on the other hand was wide awake and raring to go.

When she reached the park bench beneath the shade, she undid the strap and picked him up. He clung to her as she showed him the fountain. The noise of the babbling water had captured his attention. She looked round to see if Kris was all right. As before, her breath caught to discover Andreas standing over the stroller looking down at him.

Every time she saw the boys’ father, she experienced a guilty rush of excitement that was impossible to smother. He’d dressed in a light blue business suit with a darker blue shirt and no tie, the personification of male splendor in her eyes. Thea’s, too.

There was a time when Gabi hadn’t thought there was a man who came close to Rand in his cowboy boots and Stetson. While on her two-week summer vacation with Rachel McCallister, her friend from college, she’d fallen hard for Rachel’s cousin and his Texas charm. Two weeks of a whirlwind relationship and she’d thought it would go on forever.

Too late she found out there was nothing deeper to back up his fascinating drawl and the smile in those dancing blue eyes. He’d let her go back to Alexandria without making any kind of plans to see her again. When she learned through Rachel that he was getting married to his old girlfriend, Gabi’s heart withered.

Since then she’d met and dated some attractive, successful men at her work and at the consulate, but she took no relationship seriously. Her career had become her top priority, the one thing she could count on.

Thankfully she’d learned her lesson well before meeting the legendary Andreas Simonides. Though there was no male to equal his intelligence or incredible appeal, she wouldn’t fall into that trap again. Once had been enough.

She walked toward him carrying Nikos. “Good morning.”

“Kalimera.” His voice had a lazy, almost seductive quality. She felt his gaze linger on her face before he switched his attention to Nikos. Again his gray eyes lit up. “Do you remember me?” He kissed the baby’s cheek.

Nikos’s eyelids fluttered in reaction. He was so cute.

“Gabi?” His eyes trapped hers once more. They held a trace of anxiety. “I brought someone with me I’d like you to meet.”

Who?

Maybe it was a woman he was thinking of marrying now that he was running the Simonides company. Gabi fought to remain calm. Naturally that woman would be hopelessly in love with him. But when she learned he had two sons, would she be able to accept and eventually love the children he’d fathered with someone else?

Suddenly Gabi was feeling very possessive. No woman could mother them the way she could, but it was none of her business since she had no parental claim to the boys.

He put a hand on her upper arm and squeezed gently. “It’s all right,” he whispered, noticing how quiet she’d gone. “I trust him with my life.”

Him?

While her heart picked up the lost beat, Andreas stepped around the end of the wall. Within two seconds he came back again, but at this point Gabi thought her vision had become blurred because she was looking at two of Andreas.

She blinked in alarm, but nothing seemed to clear her double vision. They came closer, in range now, she realized there was nothing wrong with her eyesight. Moving toward her was Andreas and his mirror image wearing a tan suit and cream shirt, only he didn’t have a scar and his hair was the same style and longer length as in the news photo.

Gabi stared at Andreas in surprise. “You’re a twin!”

“That’s right. Gabriella Turner, meet my best friend and older brother by five minutes, Leonides Simonides.”

“Hello, Mr. Simonides,” she said, shaking his hand.

“Leon? Say hello to your sons.”

Chapter Three

Thea had been with Leonides Simonides, not Andreas?

“Ms. Turner? I hardly know what to say.” Leon looked as stunned as she felt. In fact he barely got those words out because his gaze had fastened on the boys in visible disbelief.

“Gabi’s holding Nikos,” Andreas stated, filling in the silence. “Down there is Kris, who looks like he just woke up from his catnap.”

Swift as the speed of light Andreas caught Gabi’s eye and winked. Warmth flowed through her body as she smiled back, remembering the humorous comment she’d made on Saturday about the children being fat cats.

But she couldn’t forget Leon. Though Andreas would have told him about the children ahead of time, this still had to be the most earthshaking moment of his life. She wasn’t surprised he sank down on the bench literally stupefied.

“Would you like to hold Nikos?” she asked.

“I won’t know what to do if he cries,” he murmured, ashen faced.

“He won’t.” She handed the baby to him. By now Andreas had reached for Kris and was kissing his sweet little neck.

Deciding to give them privacy, she wandered to the other side of the park and sat down to finish reading the biography she’d picked up on the life of the French chef Julia Child.

She hadn’t enjoyed a book as good as this in several years. Like Julia, Gabi had experienced an epiphany about food. But it hadn’t happened until her father had been transferred to Crete where she’d tasted her first pastitsio and developed an instant love of Greek cuisine.

During the last few months she’d been practicing in the kitchen at the consulate, determined she would raise the boys on Greek food in honor of both their parents. By now she could make pretty good spanakopita.

When she realized she’d read the next page for the tenth time, she closed the book and looked across the park. The babies had been put back in the stroller. Both men stood next to them. It seemed as if Andreas was doing most of the talking. Gabi wasn’t sure what it all meant.

Hesitant to interrupt, she waited until he started wheeling the stroller toward her with a grave countenance marring his handsome features. She put the book back in her purse and stood up, noticing that Leon had walked out to the street.

“Let me apologize for my brother.” He spoke without preamble.

“There’s no need. It’s not every day a man is confronted by instant fatherhood, especially when they’re twins.” The happiness she’d felt earlier to see the children united with Andreas had dissipated. Not in her wildest dreams would she have thought up a contingency where his twin brother was the father!

Andreas eyed her with a solemn expression. “Especially when he’s been married three years.”

A small gasp escaped her throat. Had Thea known he was married, or hadn’t it mattered to either of them in the heat of the moment?

“Obviously he’s going to need some time,” she whispered.

“You’re a very understanding woman. When he can gather his wits, I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.” She was fairly certain Leon wouldn’t, particularly when Andreas would have already told him she planned to go home to Virginia and raise the twins. But she didn’t say anything.

“Thank you for making this meeting today possible, Gabi.”

It sounded like a goodbye speech if she’d ever heard one. Leon had probably told him he couldn’t deal with the situation. What man could? One night in a stranger’s arms wasn’t supposed to end up like this. He wouldn’t be the first father to opt out of his responsibilities.

She felt sorry for Andreas, who clearly loved his brother and had done everything he could to support him. “Of course. I approached you, remember? Thanks to you I won’t ever have to lie to the children.”

After clearing her throat, she said, “When I get back to Virginia, I’ll be reconnecting the phone and will leave the new phone number on a voice mail for you. That way if your brother ever wants to contact me, you can give him both numbers. One last thing. Please let him know I’ll never try to get hold of him for any reason.”

His eyes turned as black as his grim expression. “How soon are you leaving?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“The day after tomorrow.” She extended her hand, not wanting to prolong the inevitable. “Goodbye, Mr. Simonides.”

Tuesday evening Gabi’s phone alerted her to a text message while she was packing the last of the babies’ clothes into the big suitcase. Her parents were in the nursery playing with the twins, their last night together for two months or more. Pretty soon it would be bedtime. Her dad wanted to put them down.

Since yesterday when she’d pushed the stroller in the opposite direction from Andreas and his brother, she’d tried hard to put the whole business behind her. She thought she’d been doing a fairly good job of hiding her feelings from her parents. Any pain they’d seen would have been attributed to tomorrow’s dreaded departure.

Little did they know she’d met the boys’ father. To her dismay he was doing nothing to prevent her from taking his children out of the country, out of his life.

Gabi hurt for his sons.

She hurt so horribly she could scarcely bear it, but she had to handle it because that was her agreement with Andreas. She would honor her commitment even if it was killing her.

With a tortured sigh she reached for the phone on the dresser. Her best friend Jasmin knew she was coming home and probably wanted to find out her flight number and time. But when she saw who’d sent the message, her adrenaline kicked in, causing her heart to thud.

I just arrived in Heraklion. When you’ve put the twins to bed, meet me at the park. I’ll wait till morning if I have to because we need to talk. A.

She had to stifle her cry of joy. This meant Leon had been having second thoughts about letting his children slip away without making some arrangement to see them again. It meant she would have contact with Andreas one more time. Gabi wished her pulse didn’t race faster at the thought.

After shutting the suitcase, she hurried to her bedroom to change. She slipped off her T-shirt and jeans, then reached for the tan pleated pants and kelly green cotton top she’d left out to wear on the plane tomorrow.

Once she’d run the brush through her curls and put on lipstick, she poked her head around the door of the nursery. Her parents were absorbed with the children, too busy to be unduly curious about her. “I’m going out for a few minutes to pick up some things at the store.”

“Don’t be too long,” her dad cautioned in between singing to Nikos off-key. The scene melted her heart.

“I won’t.”

A minute later she waved to the guard at the sentry and headed in the direction of the park. Because of the reflection from the water, twilight brought out the beauty of the Greek islands, but never more so than tonight. It was Andreas’s fault. The knowledge he was waiting for her had added that magical quality.

Maybe this was how Thea had felt when she’d met Leon that evening aboard the yacht, as if the heavens were close for a moment and one of the twin gods from Olympus had come near enough for a human to touch.

He’d come close all right, so close he’d touched her with two little mortals, and now his twin, the powerful god Andreas, was here to parlay a deal between the two worlds. When Gabi thought of him in that light, the stars left her eyes and sanity returned.

Tonight he wasn’t dressed like a god. She spied him at the fountain wearing a cream sport shirt and khakis. No one else was about. Instead of expensive hand-sewn leather shoes, he’d worn sandals like everyone else walking along the beachfront.

He watched her coming, but didn’t make a move toward her. “Yassou, Gabi.”

“Hi!” Keep it airy. “I came the minute I got your message because Mother and I have an early morning flight to Athens.”

“I’m aware of that.” He stood with his hands on his hips, emanating a stunning male virility. “Before you go anywhere, I have something in mind I’d like to discuss with you.”

She blinked. “Why isn’t Leon with you?”

Andreas studied her for a long moment. “I think you know the answer to that question.”

Gabi was afraid she did, but Andreas’s presence confused her. “Then I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“Because I don’t want you to leave Greece.”

She struggled to stifle her moan. Of all the things he might have said, his blunt answer wasn’t even on her list. Now if Rand had said, “I don’t want you to leave Austin…” But he hadn’t said anything. As for Andreas, she knew his agenda had nothing to do with her personally.

“I don’t understand.”

He took a deep breath. “Leon’s in a panic right now, but in another day or two he’s going to conquer it. When he does, the children need to be here, not clear across the Atlantic.”

Gabi was the one starting to panic and shook her head. “I can’t stay on Crete.”

His pewter gaze pierced her. “Why not?”

“B-because my parents need to get their life back,” she stammered. “The boys and I need our own home.”

He took a step closer. “You’ve had a home here for months. I would imagine your parents will be devastated when the babies are gone. Therefore that couldn’t be the real reason you’re so anxious to take flight. Do you have a lover in Alexandria waiting for you?”

Taking the out he’d proffered, she said, “As a matter of fact I do. Not that it’s anyone’s business.” While she spoke, she watched a young couple who’d wandered into the park and had started kissing.

“You’re lying. Otherwise he’d have flown here to whisk you and the children back to Virginia weeks ago.” The comment had come out more like a soft hiss. He would make a terrifying adversary if crossed.

She turned her eyes away from the amorous couple. “If you must know, I want the children to myself.”

“So they’ll know you’re their mother,” he deduced. “That makes perfect sense, but you don’t have to go to Virginia to do that.”

Gabi sucked in her breath. “I don’t have the means to earn a living right now and Dad’s home in Alexandria is paid for. With my savings and his financial help, it will work until they’re in school and I can go to work.”

He shook his dark head. “I’ve learned enough to know your father has the means to help you move into your own place here on Crete where you and the boys can be close by but still independent. Why are you afraid to tell me the truth? What’s going on?”

Andreas saw too much. “There are already too many questions being asked about the paternity of the twins. My parents don’t know anything. If it got out about your brother and Thea, my family as well as yours would suffer and you know it. That’s why I want to take them back with me.”

“Out of sight, out of mind, you mean.”

“Yes.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “That might work for a while, but it’s inevitable the day will arrive when the secret comes out. They always do. By then the damage will be far worse, not only for the families involved but for the twins themselves.”

“I realize that, but for the present I don’t know what else to do. There’s—” She stopped herself in time, but Andreas immediately picked up on it.

“What were you going to say?”

“N-nothing.”

“Tell me!” he demanded.

Feeling shaky, she said, “I should never have come to your office.”

“That isn’t what you were about to blurt.”

The man had radar. At this point she had no choice but to tell him. Not everything, but enough to satisfy him.

Taking a few steps, she sank down on the park bench. He followed, but stood near her with his tanned fingers curled around the back railing. “Thea’s husband would love to hurt our family for backing her in the divorce. He’s capable of making trouble that could make things unpleasant for Leon, too.”

“You’re talking about Dimitri Paulos.”

Gabi got up from the bench. “How did you know?”

His eyes played over her. “I did a background check. Thea’s passport alerted me she has an ex. Has he threatened you personally, Gabi?”

She pressed her lips together. “No, but suffice it to say he was furious when Thea divorced him. If not for diplomatic immunity through Dad, I don’t even want to think what might have happened to her. Dimitri considered her his possession. Thea was convinced he’d hired a man to follow her everywhere.”

One black brow lifted sardonically. “My father and I have had business dealings with Dimitri’s father in Athens. I’m familiar with his son’s more devious methods.”

That shouldn’t have surprised Gabi. Andreas knew everything. “The trouble is, before she died she told me he was still out for blood wanting to know who made her pregnant. If he were to learn your brother is the father of her twins, he’d love to feed that kind of gossip to the newspapers just to be ugly.”

“He can try,” Andreas muttered with unconscious hauteur. After a palpable silence he said, “Since your parents must be waiting for you, I’ll walk you back.”

Gabi shook her head. “That won’t be necessary.”

“I insist.”

He cupped her elbow and they started walking. Far too aware of his touch, she eased away from him as soon as they reached the street and moved ahead at a more brisk pace, but his long strides kept up with her.

When she nodded to the guard doing sentry duty, she thought of course Andreas would say goodnight. Instead he continued on through the front courtyard with her.

She halted. “You don’t need to see me all the way to the front door.”

“But I do. I want to speak to your parents.”

What? Her body tautened in defense. “No, Andreas! My parents aren’t involved in this. That’s the way I want it to stay. If Leon decides to claim the children, then I’ll tell them everything. If there’s any discussion about this, he’s the one who needs to do it.”

He cocked his head. “In an ideal world, it would work that way, but he’s not ready yet.”

That was obvious enough.

Reaching out, Andreas grasped her upper arms gently. She wished he wouldn’t do that. It sent too many disturbing sensations through her body. Her awareness of him was overpowering.

“I have a plan that will solve our immediate problem, Gabi, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Thea trusted me. Now look what’s happening because I broke my promise to her. After her wretched divorce and subsequent death, my parents have suffered enough pain.” Her voice throbbed. “Please just go.” She stepped away from him.

His jaw hardened. “I can’t, not when things haven’t been resolved yet. You know the saying about being forewarned. If our two families know the truth and unite now, no power later on can shake our worlds. Don’t you see?”

Yes. She could see there was no talking Andreas out of this. He wasn’t the acting head of the Simonides Corporation for nothing. Gabi had only herself to blame. He’d asked her to trust him. Up until a minute ago she’d thought she could. But to go any further with this was like flying blind.

“I—I don’t even know if they’re still up.” Her voice faltered.

“Then call them on your cell and alert them you’ve brought someone home with you.”

She lowered her head. “I can’t do that.”

“Then I will because they deserve to know exactly what’s going on.”

A shiver raced through her body. Andreas had just put his finger on the thing tormenting her most. She’d hated doing all this behind her parents’ backs. Defeated by his logic and her own guilt, she opened her purse and pulled out her phone. When she pushed the programmed digit, her mother answered on the second ring.

“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 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.

Tonight, when they were outside the consulate, it was all he could do not to pull her in his arms and kiss them both into oblivion.

After his shower he hitched a towel around his hips and reached for his cell. It rang until Irena’s voice mail came on. Frustrated because this wasn’t something he wanted to do by phone anyway, he started to click off when he heard her speak.

“Andreas—don’t hang up. I was in the other room and had almost given up on hearing from you tonight. I’ve missed you.”

Guilt smote him. The last time they’d talked had been Friday. Now it was Tuesday night. In that short amount of time he hadn’t missed her at all. Another woman had filled his thoughts to the exclusion of everything else. How could that be?

“Irena? Forgive me.”

“You know I do.”

Yes, he knew.

“Something’s definitely wrong. You sound so different.”

Heaven knew his world had changed. “I’m not sure how to say this except to come straight to the point because you deserve my total honesty. Up until last Friday you’ve been the only woman in my life.”

A long pause ensued. “And now you’re telling me there’s someone else?”

He bowed his head. “Let’s just say I met someone.” Andreas couldn’t believe he’d admitted it to the woman he’d loved and had been planning to ask to marry him. It meant Gabi had a hold on him more profound than even he had realized. “I swear this was the last thing I ever expected to be saying to you.”

More silence. “Does she feel the same way?” Irena finally asked in a subdued voice. There were never any tantrums with her. She wasn’t like that. He wished she would rage at him. Instead there was this condemning quiet that underlined her pain.

“I sense she’s not indifferent to me, but I haven’t acted on my feelings yet.”

“But you want to?”

He drew in a ragged breath. “I would never hurt you purposely, Irena, but until I explore what’s going on inside of me, being with you right now wouldn’t be fair to you. That’s why I’m calling.”

More silence. “Won’t you at least come to the house so we can talk about this?”

“I will when I’m back in Athens.”

“Where are you?”

His hand tightened on the receiver. “I’m on Crete and can’t leave.” He was in a hotel, wondering how he would be able to wait until morning when he saw Gabi again.

“Does she know about us?”

There’s no us. Not anymore. “No.”

“Who is she?”

Irena deserved that much. “An American who came to my office because of a life and death situation. She had business with me no one else could help her with. I’m still helping her solve a very serious problem before she returns to the States.”

“I see,” she whispered.

Except she didn’t see. How could she? Andreas wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn’t until he knew what Leon was going to do. Irena was best friends with Deline. The whole situation was more complicated than anyone knew.

He clutched the phone tighter. “I know I’ve hurt you, Irena, but to be less than honest with you at this point would be unconscionable.”

“Your father told me your courage is one of your most remarkable traits. After this conversation I have to say I agree with him. I love you, Andreas. I know you did love me in your own way. But you were never in love with me, otherwise—” She broke off talking. He knew what she was going to say, that otherwise they would have married months ago. “I’m going to hang up now.” The line went dead.

Horrible as he felt for hurting her, relief swept through him that from here on out he wouldn’t be lying to her or Gabi.

Before he let any more time pass, he had a second call to make to Leon, who was vacationing for the next two weeks on Milos with Deline and the rest of the family. With Gabi sequestered in Apollonia on the north end of the island nine kilometers from the Simonides villa, the timing and proximity couldn’t be better.

In anticipation of her falling in with his plan, he’d made all the arrangements ahead of time. Now there was nothing left to do but inform his brother, who’d known this call was coming.

As soon as they spoke he’d never heard Leon sound so upset. He hadn’t told Deline the truth yet, but knew he had to.

After encouraging him not to wait any longer, Andreas hung up to wait for Gabi’s phone call. If she chose to fly back to the States in the morning, then he’d take her and the twins home in the company jet.

Gabi’s father patted the side of the bed and stared at her with solemn eyes. “When did Thea tell you about Leon Simonides?”

With that question she realized it was going to be a long night. She sat down next to him. “Right before she died.” After clearing her throat she said, “All along Thea thought the man she’d made love with was Andreas. That’s why I went to his office.”

Her parents listened intently as she explained what had happened to Thea. “When she swore me to secrecy, I intended to honor my promise to her. But after she died, I kept looking at the babies and thinking how terrible it would be if they never knew their father, either. I realized I couldn’t go through life with that kind of a secret.”

“Of course you couldn’t.” Her father pulled her into his arms. “I love you more than ever for what you’ve done.”

“So do I,” her mother cried. “It took tremendous courage, darling.”

“I’m sorry to have lied about my reason for going to Athens on Friday, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to get in to see Andreas.”

“Thank heaven you did. Honestly, when he walked in the salon, it was like looking at the children all grown up.”

Her dad shook his head. “I’m still amazed by what we’ve learned. He’s a very remarkable man. A good one. No wonder he’s at the head of the Simonides empire.”

“You should see him with the boys, Dad. The way he responds, you’d think he was their father.” Her voice shook.

Her mother reached over to press her arm. “What’s Leon like?”

“I can’t tell yet. He was in shock on Saturday and hardly spoke, but the fact that he came at all speaks of his character.” She wiped her eyes.

“Seeing those two brothers together will really be something,” her mom said. “That’s how it’s going to be for Kris and Nikos.”

Gabi nodded. “Thea was so beautiful, and they’re so handsome already. When they’ve become men, they’ll be as spectacular as Andreas—I mean Leon.”

“Does he know Kris will have to undergo a series of surgeries in the future?”

“Not yet, Mom,” she mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because I knew Leon was in shock. When I put myself in his place, I realized how hard it would be for him to tell his wife. I suppose I didn’t want to scare him off or have him thinking I was after his money to pay for the medical expenses.”

Gabi’s father patted her arm. “Tell Andreas. He’ll know the best way to broach his brother.”

Her dad was right. “I will.”

“Do his parents know anything yet?”

“No.”

“So where is this safe place he was talking about?”

She slid off the bed, too filled with nervous energy to sit any longer. “On Milos.”

“Of course,” her father said. “Their family compound is on that island in a private bay that is better guarded than the White House.”

“Actually, he mentioned I’d be staying at a nearby village called Apollonia, but I don’t know any of the details yet. He said to leave everything to him, but I have to be sure it’s the right thing to do. I told him I would have to think about it. He’s waiting for a phone call from me tonight.”

Her dad cleared his throat. “I guess your mother and I don’t have to tell you how wonderful it would be to know you and the children are close by while Leon is deciding what to do. Naturally I’d prefer that you stayed right here and—”

“No, Dad,” she interrupted him. “I don’t know how you’ve done your work through all this, but it’s time you were able to concentrate on the job you were appointed to. You have too many dignitaries coming and going to put up with so much distraction.”

“You and the children are hardly a distraction, Gabi.”

“You know what I mean. Your life isn’t conventional. You need to get back to it. Andreas told me to think of this as a vacation.”

Her mother flicked her a thoughtful glance. “If Leon realizes he wants his children, then you have to admit Andreas has come up with a temporary solution that suits everyone. A week from now and everything could be settled. But it’s your decision.”

That was what was haunting Gabi. No decision sounded like the right one.

If Leon wanted to claim his children and raise them, then she would be free to get back to her old life in the States. But her world had changed so dramatically since her arrival on Crete four months ago, she didn’t know herself anymore.

The twins had come to mean everything to her. As for Andreas…She kneaded her hands. He was waiting for her to get back to him.

She paused in the doorway fighting conflicting emotions. “Andreas is doing everything in his power to unite his brother with his own babies. I started all this and need to finish it, so I’ll tell him yes. See you in the morning.”

Once out the door she rushed down the hall to her room to make the phone call. He answered on the second ring.

“Gabi?” came the deep voice she could pick out over anyone’s. “Did you discuss this with your family?”

“Yes.” She struggled to sound calm. “The children need their father. If my coming to Milos will hasten the process, then so be it.”

“Good. Now here’s what I want you to do. Follow through exactly with the plans you and your parents have for tomorrow morning. But when you arrive at the airport, tell the driver to take you through to the heliport where my helicopter will be waiting. I’ll be there to help you and the boys aboard.”

“All right.” She gripped the phone tighter. “Andreas—there’s something else you need to know. I should have told you before now, but I was afraid.”

“Of what?”

“That you would believe what you first thought about me—that I was out to get money from you.”

“Go on.”

“This concerns Kris.”

“What about him?” Just now she heard a raw edge to his voice.

“He was born with a defective aortic valve in his heart. No one knows why. He didn’t inherit anything genetic from Thea. She didn’t develop heart trouble until she became pregnant. His condition is called stenosis.”

“I noticed he’s a little smaller.”

Most people saw no difference in the twins, but nothing got past Andreas. “According to his pediatrician here in Heraklion, he’ll have to undergo his first operation next month. I’d planned to have the surgery done in Alexandria with a highly recommended pediatric heart specialist.”

“We have one of the best here in Athens,” Andreas murmured, sounding far away. “How many procedures will be required?”

“Maybe only one more after that. The doctor said most valves have to be replaced every two to three years, but with non-embryonic stemcell heart tissue, the replacement valve should grow as Kris grows and no more surgery will be necessary. That’s what we’re hoping and praying for.”

“Amen to that.”

She put a hand to her throat. “When do you think you’ll tell your brother?”

“Tonight. He needs to be apprised of all the facts before you’re settled on Milos. In the next few weeks he and I will start giving blood for Kris’s fund.”

“Our family plans to give some, too. To look at him you wouldn’t know anything’s wrong. He’s so precious.”

“Until now I’ve never coveted anything of my brother’s.”

“I know what you mean. If the gods were giving out perfect children, you wouldn’t have to look any further than Kris and Nikos.”

“No,” came the husky rejoinder. “Get a good sleep for what’s left of the rest of the night, Gabi. Tomorrow’s a new day for all of us.”

“Andreas—”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say that I think Leon is very lucky to have a brother like you. Would that the twins develop that kind of love for each other. Goodnight.”

“We’re coming up on the little fishing village of Apollonia, named after the god Apollo.” Andreas had been giving Gabi an insider’s tour of the Cyclades from his position in the co-pilot’s seat.

She’d never been to Milos. As the pilot swung the helicopter toward the beautiful island sparkling like a gem in the blue Aegean Gabi’s breath caught. She’d once visited the islands of Mykonos and Kea on the ferry, not by air. To see all the fantastic volcanic formations and colorful beaches from this height robbed her of words.

During the flight from Heraklion, her awestruck gaze had met his many times. Maybe it was a trick of light from being at this altitude in a cloudless sky, but when he looked at her the gray of his irises seemed to turn crystalline, almost like a glowing silver fire.

The twins were strapped down in their carry-cots opposite her so she could watch them. They’d stayed awake during the flight, good as gold.

“Is that Apollonia down there hugging the bay?” she questioned as they drew closer.

Andreas chuckled. “No. That’s the home of the Simonides clan. Apollonia is just beyond it.”

Gabi was staggered. She stared at the twins. Little did they know the lineage they came from included a kingdom as magical as anything she’d seen in a fairy tale. But instead of towers and turrets and drawbridges, it was a gleaming white cluster of cubical beauty set against an impossibly turquoise-blue sea found only in this part of the world.

Further on lay the picturesque little town where she’d be staying. It was built in the typical royal blue and white motif along a sandy beach, the kind you saw in videos and on postcards advertising the charm of the Greek islands. Before the helicopter landed, she knew she was going to love it here.

She picked out the boats at the village pier. There appeared to be myriad shops and restaurants close by, an idyllic vacation spot if there ever was one. As soon as they landed and the blades stopped rotating, Andreas helped her and the twins into a car waiting by the helipad.

The pilot loaded her luggage and the stroller into the trunk. There was a considerable amount of stuff. She poked her head out the window. “Thank you!” she called to him. “When you travel with babies, there’s no such thing as packing light.”

Both men flashed each other a grin before Andreas took his place behind the wheel and started the motor. Seated across from his hard-muscled body, Gabi felt an excitement out of all proportion to the reason why she and the twins had been whisked to this heavenly place.

He drove them past tavernas and bars, pointing out a supermarket and a bakery where she could buy anything she needed. In a few minutes they turned onto a private road that wound beneath a cluster of trees and ended at a perfectly charming blue and white house with its own shaded garden and stone walkways.

Gabi let out a sound of pleasure. “This is an adorable place, Andreas.”

“I’m glad you like it. From the front door you step right out onto the beach. The house is fully air-conditioned, another reason why I chose it.”

“The babies and I will be happy as clams here.”

He darted her a curious look. “That’s an odd American expression. Do you think clams are happy?”

She burst into laughter. “I have no idea, but I know we will be.”

His low chuckle followed her as she got out of the car to open the back door. By now the twins were so awake they were eager to escape their confinement. While she released Kris’s carry-cot from the strap, Andreas removed Nikos. Together they walked toward the door where a pretty, dark-haired woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties held it open for them.

“Kalimera, Kyrie Simonides.”

“Kalimera, Lena. This is Gabi Turner.” The two women smiled. “Lena and her husband manage this resort. They have a son, Basil, who’s five months old.”

“Oh—I’d love to see him.”

“He’s with my husband right now, but I’ll bring him out to the garden later in the day. How old are your children?”

“Three months.”

“They are very beautiful.” Lena’s glance slid to Andreas, no doubt trying to figure out their relationship when the wiggling babies looked like him, not Gabi. “We have maid service. If you need anything, pick up the phone and the office will answer.”

“Thank you. This is delightful.”

“I think so, too. Enjoy your stay.”

After she walked off, they moved through to the living room whose white interior was accented with dark wood furniture and blue accessories. “What a charming house!” she cried.

“I’m glad you like it.” Andreas sounded pleased as she followed him through to one of the bedrooms down the hall where two cribs and a set of dresser drawers had been set up. Everything was impeccably clean.

Andreas helped her lift the boys out of their carry-cots and lay them down in their cribs. “I’ll bring in your things.”

“That would be wonderful.” She kissed Kris. “The babies have been awake for a long time and are getting impatient for their lunch, but first they’re going to need a diaper change.”

“Afterward I’ll help you feed them.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“What if I want to?”

His playful teasing didn’t fool her. “You’ve done more than enough, Andreas. I can just picture your exceptional receptionist wondering where on earth you’ve disappeared to.”

She watched him kiss Nikos. “Didn’t I tell you I’m on vacation? The whole family’s here for the next two weeks.”

This time her heart really did get a major workout. “As I recall, you were going to give me an appointment at three o’clock yesterday afternoon.”

“If you recall,” he murmured, coming to stand next to her, bringing his warmth and enticing male scent with him, “a life and death situation altered the scheme of our lives.”

Gabi gripped the railing of the crib tighter. Our lives was right. When she’d gone to his office in Athens on Friday, the idea that days later she’d be alone with him on Milos would have stretched the limits of her imagination. Yet here she was…

“For the time being, my first priority is to lend Leon moral support.” On that succinct note he left the bedroom.

While he was gone she gave herself another lecture about remembering why she’d been temporarily ensconced in this corner of paradise. Leon was blessed to have his brother’s backing. As Gabi’s father had said, Andreas was a good man. How good no one would ever know who hadn’t walked in her footsteps since last Friday evening when she’d first confronted him.

In a few minutes he’d returned with the diaper bag and bottles of formula already prepared. They changed the babies before going into the living room to feed them. He was as confident and efficient as any seasoned father. Whether Leon ended up raising them or not, Andreas had claimed his nephews. She had an idea he would be an intrinsic part of their lives from now on.

After they put the twins down for their nap, Andreas announced he was leaving for his villa. “I’ll be back with food before they’re awake.” He flicked her a heavy-lidded glance before disappearing from the house.

While she was taking clothes out of the suitcase to hang up and put in drawers, she heard the car drive off. He’d told her the Simonides compound was only ten minutes away by car, but already she missed him. To keep herself busy she acquainted herself with the rest of the house.

A perfect little kitchen containing snacks and a fridge stocked with drinks connected to the living room. On the other side was a hall with a bathroom separating two bedrooms. Hers had a shady terrace with loungers and a table looking out on the translucent water. The pots of flowers and an overhang of fuchsia-colored bougainvillea on the trellis gave off a subtle perfume.

Gabi hugged her arms to her waist, hardly able to contain the rush of euphoria that swept through her. She was in that dangerous state where the lines were blurred and she was imagining something quite different than the reality of her situation.

The beach was calling to her, so, with Lena’s assurance that she would watch over the babies, Gabi changed into her two-piece aqua-colored swimming suit. A month ago she’d wandered into a little shop in Heraklion and had bought the most modestly cut outfit she could find, but it still revealed more than she liked. A tan might have helped, but this hadn’t been a summer to relax in the sun.

After smoothing on some sunscreen, she grabbed a large striped towel and left for the beach through the terrace exit. A person could step down to the sand where the sea was only ten yards away, no more. It shimmered like a rare aquamarine. She dropped the towel and ran out, luxuriating in the calm water whose temperature had to be in the seventies.

Gabi swam for a while, then floated around on her back while she watched various sailboats and the occasional ferry in the distance. There were a few other people farther down the beach, but for the most part she had this area to herself. Doing a somersault, she swam underwater to examine the shallow sea floor before surfacing to reach the beach and stretch out on her towel.

While she lay there on her stomach thinking this was pure heaven, she heard a motor that signaled a boat was approaching. When the sound was suddenly cut, she lifted her head from her arms and realized a ski boat had glided right up on the sand.

Her double vision was back as two Greek gods in dark swimming trunks jumped down from the sides with the kind of agility any male would kill for and walked in her direction.

“Andreas—” She sat up with a start, taking the towel with her to give herself a little protection from his all-seeing eyes. Then she remembered her manners, her gaze darting to his brother. “How are you, Leon?”

A faint smile hovered around his lips. “More in control than I was a few nights ago. I apologize for my rude behavior.”

She shook her head. “There’s no need.”

“There’s every need,” he insisted, reminding her of a forceful Andreas. “I should be the one asking you how you are. You’ve been taking care of my sons all this time and I never knew.”

Gabi smiled. “They’re my nephews so it’s no sacrifice, believe me.”

“May I go in and see them?” He was making the effort, she’d give him that.

“Of course. If they start to fuss, there are bottles of formula made up in the fridge. Just warm them up in some hot water. Andreas?” She flicked her gaze back to him. “Why don’t you show him their room while I go for another swim? If they wake up, it will be lovely for them to see their daddy.”

His white smile had a domino effect that slowly melted every bone in her body. “When you surface again, climb up the back ladder into the boat and I’ll take you for a ride. While Leon gets acquainted with them, we’ll enjoy a picnic on the water.”

“That sounds good. I’m getting hungry.” It was already three-thirty. She’d lost track of the time.

“So am I.” His husky tone caused a ripple effect through her body.

The second they disappeared through the front door, she hurried into the bedroom via the terrace and grabbed a loose-fitting short sundress with spaghetti straps she often wore over her suit as a cover-up.

Their deep male voices faded as she rushed back to the beach. After shaking out the towel, she walked in the water and chucked her things in the back of the boat before climbing in. By the time Andreas emerged from the house, she was presentable enough to feel comfortable being with him.

He ran toward her, shoving the boat back into the water, then he levered himself effortlessly over the side. His brief glance managed to take in all of her before he started the motor. “We’ll head for Kimolos.” He nodded toward an island that couldn’t be more than a mile away. “The sight of the little village of Psathi is worth the short trip.”

Halfway across, he turned off the engine and joined her in the back so they could eat. In the hamper were sodas, fruit and homemade gyros. No food had ever tasted so good. She didn’t have to search for a reason why.

“Thank you for a wonderful meal. In fact this whole trip.”

Andreas stared at her while he munched on an apple. “Thank you for not giving up trying to get in to see me.”

Gabi knew what he meant. Her mouth curved in a half-smile. “We need to thank your receptionist. Without her going out on a limb for me, that would have been the end of it.” Then a slight frown marred her brow. “But maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t had compassion on me.”

Lines darkened his striking features. “Don’t ever say that. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Neither did she. A world without Andreas was incomprehensible to her. She finished her cola. “What are your brother’s feelings by now?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and lay back on the padded bench to get the full effect of the sun for a moment. End to end, his toned physique with its smattering of dark hair plus his chiseled profile proved to be too much for her. She turned her head to stare anywhere but at him.

“If the twins hadn’t tugged at Leon’s heart the first time he saw them, he wouldn’t have agreed to my plan for you to bring them here. When I told him Kris has to go in for heart surgery next month, that seemed to jar him to the reality of the situation. But he’s terrified because he loves Deline and is afraid he’ll lose her when she learns the truth.”

“I can’t imagine being in his position.”

After a silence, “If you were Deline, do you think you could handle it?”

His searching question brought her head around. They looked at each other for a long time. “I don’t honestly know. She forgave him for what happened a year ago, but now that the other woman’s children are involved…”

She bowed her head. “If I loved him desperately, it might be possible. At the time he didn’t know he’d gotten my sister pregnant, but I’m not Deline. Do they have the kind of love for each other to deal with it?”

He jackknifed into a sitting position and put his feet on the floor of the boat. His eyes looked haunted. “After he tells her, I guess they’re going to find out how solid their marriage really is.”

Gabi stirred restlessly. “He needs to do it soon. Every day that passes while he keeps it from her will make it harder for her to trust him.”

“I told him that the night he saw the children at the park.”

“Andreas—much as I’d love to go sightseeing with you this afternoon to give him more time with the twins, I think we should go back. You need to impress on him that if he waits even another day, it might be too late to convince Deline of anything.”

“I agree,” his voice rasped.

“Trust is everything. If Leon wants to prove his love, then he needs to approach her now.”

He nodded. “Not only that, every day he’s away from his sons, he’s losing that vital bonding time with them.” Andreas sprang to his feet. “Let’s go.”

With the sea so placid, they made it back to the beach in a flash, but Gabi had returned in a completely different frame of mind than when they’d headed for open water. She jumped into the shallows carrying her towel above her head and walked in the front door of the house ahead of Andreas.

To her surprise, Leon had brought the children into the living room. It was a touching scene to see the three of them spread out on the quilt together. Nikos lay next to his daddy, who held Kris in the air, kissing his tummy to produce smiles.

Andreas’s eyes looked suspiciously bright as he darted her a glance that spoke volumes. While she held back, not wanting to interrupt, he lifted Nikos from the floor and cuddled him.

Leon stood up with Kris pressed against his shoulder. “I can’t believe they’re mine.” He spoke into the baby’s soft black hair. He was totally natural with the children now.

“I dare say you’ve produced the most beautiful sons in the entire Simonides clan.”

He eyed Andreas with a soulful look. “No matter what, I have to tell Deline today. Come with me, bro.”

What Gabi had been hoping for had come to pass, yet with those words no matter what she felt a door close on her secret dream of adopting the twins herself. It was as if her heart had just been cut out of her body.

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