But even memories of Martha naked and eager beneath him were not quite as enthralling as the real thing.
While the real Martha wasn’t the svelte lithe Martha he had known then, she was just as intriguing as ever. Her pregnancy had created a new set of curves and swells. Her wealth of winter clothing—she was wearing a thick burgundy wool sweater and a pair of black stretchy trousers that didn’t give him a real sense of where they stopped and Martha began—worked as a sort of camouflage. But he didn’t care. He just liked watching her—and imagining what it would be like to slip that sweater over her head and run his hands over the new shape of her.
He’d never imagined being attracted to a pregnant woman. But his body didn’t lie—and his body was attracted to Martha.
He knew, watching her, that she was aware of his regard even though she pretended not to be. There was an edginess to her movements and she darted occasional nervous flicking glances over her shoulder, as if to keep tabs on him.
Was he making her nervous? Too bad. She was making him nervous, too, up on that damn scaffolding. It was wider where she was painting now, but he still thought she could fall off any minute. He’d have stopped her going up there if it weren’t for her pint-size canine bodyguard. He shot the dog a hard scowl. It made a low muttering noise deep in its throat.
“Oh!” Martha suddenly turned. “Ted needs to go out. Would you take him?”
Theo jerked up straight and stared at her. “What?” Surely he couldn’t have heard her right. She wanted him to—
“Take Ted out,” she said again, confirming his worst nightmare. “I forgot. I should have done it when I came down for lunch. And now that I’m up here…” She waved a hand and the scaffolding creaked under her feet.
“Stop that!” Theo snapped.
She stopped, startled. “Why?”
“Because you’re going to fall off, damn it.” He wanted to grab her down and make sure she kept both feet on the ground.
“I’m used to it.” She dismissed his concern. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Will you take him or not?”
Not, Theo wanted to say at once. But agreeing might make Martha a little more amenable than she was right now. It might make her listen to reason. He gave the dog a sideways glance. Ted was watching him, too, his teeth behind a closed mouth for a change. He seemed to understand that some sort of negotiations were going on in which he was involved.
“If you’re afraid of him…” Martha began.
“I’m not afraid of him! I just thought I might…scare him. You know, since he doesn’t know me.”
“Oh, right.” Martha rolled her eyes. “I think Ted can take care of himself.” Which was pretty much what Theo thought, too. Martha sighed and shrugged. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She set down the paint and brush and started toward the ladder. The planks wobbled.
“Damn it!” Theo burst out and started toward her, making Ted rumble, showing all his pearly whites again. Theo stopped where he was. But he glared up at Martha. “I told you to stay put!”
“But Ted—”
Theo raked a hand through his hair, then snatched up his jacket. “Fine. Okay. I’ll take him.”
Maybe he could lose the damn dog in a snowdrift! Or get his arm bitten off trying.
“You’ll have to shovel him a path,” Martha said as if she could read his mind. “And clear him off a spot.”
“Dig him a path? And clear off a…spot?” he echoed in frank disbelief.
Martha grinned. “He has business to attend to out there.”
Right. Business. Theo hoped it wasn’t dismembering and burying him! He sighed and shot Ted one more baleful look. Ted seemed to be tapping his foot.
“Leash is on the table,” Martha prodded. “Shovel’s down by the door.”
Theo glared at her.
Still grinning, obviously pleased with herself, she waggled her fingers at him. “Have fun.”
Theo gave her a dark look, then picked up the leash and approached Ted with it. Amazingly, the dog stood up and wagged his whole body with eagerness. Theo clipped it cautiously to his collar and Ted headed straight for the door. Maybe they would survive after all.
“Okay, here we go,” Theo said, more to himself than the dog. “We can do this. In the meantime you—” he turned and aimed a stern glance in Martha’s direction “—don’t do anything stupid until we get back.”
Ha, Martha thought.
Ever since the day she’d blithely proposed having a full-fledged affair with Theo Savas, she’d done one stupid thing after another. Why stop now?
And what was he doing here?
For all Theo’s fears about her safety on the scaffolding, the only time she’d come close to falling had been the moment she’d heard his voice and turned to see him standing there.
Of course she’d instantly told herself that it was the smell of food combined with her hunger that had made her knees wobble and her stomach somersault. But that wasn’t totally true. It was the sight of Theo.
What was he doing here?
Surely he hadn’t come to insist she marry him. Of course he hadn’t! Theo Savas didn’t want to marry anyone. That was how they’d ended up having their affair in the first place—keeping Agnetta and Cassie at bay.
So, then, what was he doing here?
He couldn’t think he was going to lay claim to her baby, could he?
The very notion hit Martha like an avalanche of ice, making her cold and sick, desperate and trembling all at once. Abruptly she sank down onto the planks, digging her fingernails into the wood and trying to drag a breath of air into her lungs.
“He can’t do that,” she said out loud. The words seemed small and hollow in the expanse of the room. Her voice shook, too, which made it even worse.
“He can’t!” She tried again. More forceful that time. Stronger. Steadier. Better. She sucked in another breath and another. Then let one out slowly. “He can’t,” she said, calmer now, sanity returning.
He wouldn’t want a baby. What would Theo do with a baby? Take it on a boat with him? It was laughable, really. She tried to laugh, but she wasn’t there yet.
She needed to get a grip—and she needed to do it fast. Before he and Ted came back from their walk. Unless, of course, Ted chewed him up and spat him into a snowbank. She mustered a smile at the thought.
Unfortunately it wouldn’t happen. Ted was, as French bulldogs were, a sweetheart in a dog suit. He was the quintessential “companion animal.” The only thing he ate was food. And even though Ted had a very broad definition of food, Martha knew he would draw the line at eating Theo.
So they would be back. And she would have to have mustered her equilibrium by then. She would have to find out why he’d come—probably some misguided notion that he wanted to be part of their child’s life—and, she guessed she could promise him that much. Chances were he’d never take her up on it.
Theo was all about not being tied down. No Strings was his motto. A child had more strings than a fishing net, was more likely to tie him down than any mooring line, was the anchor to end all anchors.
And if she could think of that many seagoing metaphors, surely she could stay sane and steady long enough to deal with Theo this afternoon and see him on his way with no harm done.
“No harm done,” she said aloud now. Then she repeated the words, determined to believe them. “No harm done.”
Except to her heart.
Was she never going to get over him? She’d practically swooned when their fingers had brushed as he’d handed her the pasty. And how ridiculous was that? And how ridiculous to be so aware of the rough stubble on his unshaven jaw and the bloodshot whites of his storm cloud eyes.
And how foolish to want to reach out and soothe him, put her arms around him—and feel his arms hard and strong and safe round her.
There was no safety where Theo was concerned. Not in her heart. Not in her life.
Theo was good for a fling. Nothing more.
So she had to get rid of him. Ha
d to steel herself to his drop-dead-gorgeous presence. Until the wedding she had only seen him in summer clothes—in shorts and T-shirts and, well, nothing. At the wedding she’d seen him in formalwear, handsome and debonair—and every bit as sexy as he had been in nothing at all. Unfortunately he was no more easy to resist in the black sweater, black jeans and a dark-red down jacket that he was wearing today. They complemented his deeply tanned olive complexion and tousled black hair to perfection.
That was Theo—a Greek god in human form. Stunning and irresistible. And he’d brought her food.
A lethal combination—but one she had to resist.
If he wasn’t here to demand their child, he was here to make a grand gesture, one last offer before he felt free to go his own way.
Martha thought her first refusal should have already freed him from any such obligation. But maybe Cristina had blabbed to everyone. Maybe by now the entire Savas and Antonides families were aware that he was the father of her child.
If so, she could well imagine the pressure that the combined forces of Socrates Savas and Aeolus Antonides might push even a loner like Theo to offer a proposal of marriage.
Do the right thing. Make an honest woman of her. Give the baby a name and all that.
Yes, she could imagine them doing that. And from their standpoint, she supposed it made sense.
But not from hers.
It would not be right to marry a man who didn’t love her. She didn’t need him to “make an honest woman” of her. She was honest enough, thank you very much. And the baby could have any name he chose when he got older. It wouldn’t matter to her. She would love him no matter what.
Deep down, she might still love Theo, too.
So she would let him go—not accept his proposal and tie him to a life he would hate and had never bargained for.
Resolution growing, Martha began to feel stronger, steadier. She took a deep breath and tried to do a bit of that deep breathing that she was learning in her childbirth class.
“Deep breathing calms you,” her instructor, Sally, had said at their first meeting. “You can do anything when you breathe deep.”
Martha feared that was something of an exaggeration. But it had better work now because by the time Theo got back she was going to have to have all her defenses well in place.
One lone, albeit opinionated, French bulldog was not going to do the trick. Especially not one who could be bought with a pasty or a potato chip or almost anything else Theo might think to feed him.
Fortunately at that moment the door downstairs opened and a herd of teenagers pounded up the steps. They were, as always, noisy and bubbling over with their own lives and problems. Jeremy was going to fail Spanish. Clare was going to bomb her PSATs. Stephen wasn’t going to end up on the bench instead of starting the basketball game. Dustin had missed his appointment with his probation officer.
They were all talking and moaning at once, and if things had gone the way they normally did, Theo might have brought Ted back, taken one look at the chaos and turned and fled.
But at the sight of the handsome stranger in their midst, one who had obviously been entrusted to walk their teacher’s beloved dog, all talking ceased. Five pairs of eyes fastened on him.
“Who zat?” Jeremy demanded.
“How come he’s got Ted?” Dustin scowled.
Stephen just sized him up silently, while Clare murmured appreciatively under her breath, “I don’t know who he is, but I’ll take him.”
And it was all Martha could do to stop herself from murmuring right back, “Be my guest.”
Instead she said briskly, “This is Theo Savas. Mr. Savas to you. My brother’s brother-in-law,” she added, which was true. “He’s just stopped by for a visit.”
“Yeah?” Dustin looked sceptical. “Just drivin’ by in the middle of a blizzard? On his way to where?”
Martha shot him a quelling look. “Never mind.” She clapped her hands impatiently. “Come along. We don’t have much time. I did a bit more on your piece, Dustin. But now you have to get to work.”
She shot Theo a glance, said, “Thank you. I hope he was no trouble,” meaning Ted, and got back a curt nod in reply.
“We managed,” Theo said. He shrugged out of his jacket and Martha saw Clare note the breadth of his shoulders and smile. The boys weren’t interested. Now that his presence had been at least minimally accounted for, they began to work, talking to each other, arguing. Dustin and Jeremy were throwing wads of paper at each other.
“The graffiti artists?” Theo guessed.
Martha nodded. “They’re very talented,” she said defensively. “Just not totally disciplined yet.”
Theo nodded. “Hey,” he said to Dustin. “You the guy who’s doing the wedding painting?”
Dustin scowled. “Yeah. What of it?”
“And you’re the one with the mines down there?” He looked at Jeremy, then jerked his head toward the vignette Martha had been working on.
Jeremy stiffened. “You got a problem with it?”
“Not with the painting. It’s great. But a problem with your teacher up there on the scaffolding, yeah, I do.”
“Now wait just a minute,” Martha began.
But Theo kept right on talking as if she hadn’t opened her mouth. “She shouldn’t be up there, not without a railing to protect her and the baby. Ordinarily she’d be fine. Surefooted as a mountain goat,” he went on, steadfastly ignoring her.
“Don’t shower me with compliments,” Martha bit out.
“But her balance has changed, you know, since her, er, center of gravity has shifted,” Theo continued.
Which was another way of saying she’d become a blimp, Martha thought, more annoyed by the minute. “I’m fine,” she protested vehemently. “I know what I’m doing!” she said to the boys since Theo refused to listen.
But Jeremy and Dustin were paying no more attention to her than Theo was. Dustin was nodding and Jeremy said, “Yeah. I was thinkin’ that, too. She could get hurt.”
“But try tellin’ her that,” Dustin said.
Both boys nodded knowingly, as if they’d been trying to get her off the scaffolding for weeks. And Stephen ambled over and agreed, “She hadn’t oughta be up there at all. But she insists.”
“She wants us to get everything done by the performance.” Clare, at least, defended her motives.
“And what needs to be done?” Theo asked them.
They told him. Dustin pointed out how much more needed to be finished on his part. A whole lot, Martha was gratified to hear him admit. And Jeremy said his needed quite a bit of work, too. But he would take the time, he promised. And Clare, who normally stayed as far away from Jeremy as possible, volunteered to help him.
“’Cause it would be better if Ms. Antonides didn’t have to climb so much,” she said, shooting a quick glance in Martha’s direction.
“Yeah,” they all chorused and turned as one to look at her belly.
It was nice to know she hadn’t entirely disappeared, Martha thought sourly. “I’m very glad you’re all so eager to help,” she said, doing her best to sound calm and pleasant instead of like a fishwife who wanted to wring Theo Savas’s meddling neck. “And I’m sure you will. But there’s no need to worry about me.”
“There’s every need,” Theo cut in. “And I’m glad they realize it even if you don’t.”
At his sharp, almost proprietary tone, all the kids turned and looked at him.
“You, um, got a whaddya call it, interest?” Dustin said.
“Vested interest.” Clare knew immediately what he meant.
“In Ms. Antonides?” Jeremy finished, and Stephen narrowed his gaze on Theo.
Don’t say it, Martha said in the silence of her head.
“I do,” Theo said, though even if he’d heard her she doubted he’d have heeded her plea. He looked straight at her belly. “That’s my baby.”
Collectively the kids sucked in their breath.
Then Clare beamed
. “Of course.” While Stephen looked as if he weren’t sure if he believed it or not and Jeremy scratched his head.
But Dustin squared his shoulders and faced Theo, demanding, “So how come you’re just now showin’ up?”
Theo looked a little taken aback. He wasn’t the only one, Martha thought, more than a little amazed herself at the boy she would least have expected to sound like an overprotective father doing exactly that.
She thought Theo might well tell him to mind his own business. But instead he said, “I didn’t know about the baby right away. I was in Greece. Martha—Ms. Antonides was here. I didn’t see her until a wedding a couple of weeks ago. That’s when I found out. It took me until now to clear the decks and sort out my life so I could be here.”
What? He’d sorted his life? He was planning to be here? Oh, no, he wasn’t!
But before Martha could say anything, Dustin, Jeremy and Stephen all spun around to face her and Dustin demanded, “You didn’t tell him?”
“Well, I—He was in Greece! I didn’t know where he was!” She was scrambling for justification.
“They don’t got mail in Greece?” Stephen wanted to know.
“They don’t got telephones?” From Jeremy.
“How responsible is that?” Dustin gave her a disgusted look. He shook his head.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Martha was ready to knock their heads together. “This is none of your business. This is entirely between Theo—Mr. Savas—and me. And he shouldn’t have brought any of it up!”
“Yeah, well, if it’s his kid,” Jeremy said, “he’s got a right to be worried.”
“An’to be here,” Dustin added. “Finally.” He gave Theo a look that said he was almost as disgusted with him. “You gonna stay?”
“Yes,” Theo said, at the same time Martha said, “No!”
Dustin, Jeremy, Stephen and Clare all looked at each other and grinned.
Then Jeremy gave them all a thumbs-up and crowed, “This ain’t gonna be half interestin’.”
The Santorini Bride Page 14
