The doctor’s advice came to mind. Conflict was normal. Focus on the issue at hand, not past issues.
“Wait, Nikos,” she said as he opened the door. “I apologize for my behavior. Instead of welcoming your gift, I threw it back in your face. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
He shifted his gaze to her. “I should have prepared you for what I had in mind.”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid my reaction would have been the same. Look, I realize you were happy living by yourself on the yacht with Yannis. Then I came along and disturbed your world. If I promise not to be a nuisance or get in your way, can we start over? But I can’t just be a lump around here. Give me a job and I’ll do it, besides my share of the cleaning.”
One dark brow lifted. “You really want to cook?”
“Yes. As many meals as you’ll let me.”
“Then so be it. That’ll free up me and Yannis to do other work.” Nikos closed the door. “Let’s drive to the market. Ever since you mentioned American food, I’ve been relishing the thought of it.”
Stephanie sighed in relief that they’d survived another skirmish. “Thank you. I promise you won’t regret this.”
Following her fried chicken for dinner that evening, both men finished off the apple pie. The fact that there were no leftovers told her she’d hit a home run on her first try.
Yannis got up from the table and winked at her. “If all your meals are this good, I’m going to put on weight.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
After he disappeared, Nikos sat back in his chair with the hint of a smile. “I guess you know you’re permanently hired. I’d help you with the dishes, but we’re headed for Engoussa right now. I need to assist Yannis.”
“Do you have business there?”
“Yes. I want my parents to meet you tonight.”
Her heart started racing. “Do they know about us?”
“Not yet. I phoned and told them I’d be coming by. They’ll send a car. It’s time they met their daughter-in-law, before the news of our wedding reaches them.”
The surprising revelation filled Stephanie with ambiguous feelings, of relief that their secret would be out, and anxiety because she wanted to make a good impression for Nikos’s sake. “I’ll wear the long-sleeved blouse with one of my new skirts.”
He nodded his dark head. “Stephanie...” The way he said her name made her think he was dead serious. “Follow my lead and don’t let my father intimidate you.”
After Nikos left the galley, she put their plates in the dishwasher, already feeling intimidated. She wished she knew what kind of deep-seated trouble lay between Nikos and his father. If he’d just given her a hint...
She dressed for the evening, then waited up on deck as the yacht pulled up alongside the dock on Egnoussa. Fairyland at night. Few people were out.
Nikos joined her, looking fabulous in a silky black shirt toned with dark gray trousers. To her surprise he’d brought his cane. This was a first. Using it for support, he reached out with his free hand and grasped hers. They left the yacht and started walking along the pier, toward a black car she could see waiting in the distance.
It appeared the ordeal he was about to face had drained him physically. Stephanie would do everything in her power to help him. As they reached the car, she gave his hand a squeeze. But whatever his reaction might have been was lost when a stunning dark blond woman with appealing brown eyes opened the door and stepped out of the driver’s seat.
“Nikolaos. It’s been such a long time.”
“Natasa.” He let go of Stephanie’s hand long enough to kiss the woman on both cheeks. “I didn’t know you were on the island.”
Stephanie felt de trop. This was the woman he would probably have married if Fate hadn’t stepped in to change his life.
“When I heard you were coming, I arrived early and asked your parents if I could meet you at the dock so we could talk in private. They assumed you’d be alone. Who’s your friend?”
Nikos turned to Stephanie. “This is Stephanie Walsh from Florida, in the States. She arrived a few days ago. Stephanie? This is Natasa Lander, an old friend.”
“How do you do, Ms. Lander.”
In the semidark, Natasa’s face lost color. “Ms. Walsh,” she acknowledged. “How is it you know Nikos?”
Stephanie groaned inwardly for this poor woman, who’d carried a torch for him all these years. It was no wonder. How could any other man compare?
“I was on a scuba diving vacation in the Caribbean months ago and we met.”
“Why don’t I drive?” Nikos offered. “When we reach the house, we can all catch up on each other’s news at once.”
Nikos... This was a terrible idea, but what could she do? While he helped Natasa into the backseat, Stephanie grabbed his cane and hurried around to the front to get in. As far as she was concerned, this was worse than any nightmare.
En route, Nikos chatted with Natasa the way you’d do with an old friend, drawing her out, until they reached the impressive Vassalos mansion with its cream-and-beige exterior. His ancestral home stood near the top of the hill next to equally imposing ones Stephanie had seen on her first day here. The burnt-orange-tiled roofs added a certain symmetry that gave the town its charm.
He pulled the car around to the rear and parked. Both Stephanie and Natasa moved quickly, not waiting for his help. Natasa went in the rear entrance first. Stephanie handed Nikos his cane, but he put it back in the car, then reached for her hand.
“Ready?” he asked under his breath. That forbidding black glitter in his eyes had returned. It was clear he hadn’t been expecting Natasa. Stephanie suspected the other woman’s appearance had been orchestrated by Nikos’s father. Yet unseen, the older man made an adversary that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.
When she nodded with reluctance, she heard his sharp intake of breath. “Maybe this will help.” He pulled her into his arms and found her mouth, kissing her with a fierceness she wasn’t prepared for, almost as if he was expecting her to fight him.
Stephanie clung to him, helpless to do anything else, and met the hunger of his kiss with an eagerness she would find embarrassing later. At last he was giving her a husband’s kiss, hot with desire, the one she’d been denied last night. Whether he was doing this to convince himself he was glad he hadn’t married Natasa, she didn’t know. But right now she didn’t care.
The way he was kissing her took her back to that unforgettable night on the island, when they’d given each other everything with a matchless joy she couldn’t put into words. He pressed her against the doorjamb to get closer. One kiss after another made her crazy with desire. Stephanie was so in love with Nikos that nothing existed for her but to love him and be loved.
All of a sudden she heard a man’s voice delivering a volley of bitter words in Greek. It broke the spell. Gasping for breath, she put her hands against Nikos’s chest. He was much slower to react. Eventually, he let her go, with seeming reluctance.
Still staring at her, he said, “Good evening, Papa. Stephanie and I will be right in. Give us a minute more, will you?”
Another blast of angry words greeted her ears.
“She doesn’t speak Greek, Papa.”
“How dare you bring this gold digging American into our home!”
That was clear enough English for Stephanie, who was thankful Nikos was still holding her. She eyed his father covertly. Except for their height, the formidable older man with gray hair didn’t look like Nikos.
“I dare because she’s my wife. We were married in a private church service yesterday. I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“Then we’ll get it annulled,” he answered, without taking a breath.
“Not possible, Papa. Father Kerykes officiated. Naturally, I expect
you and Mother to welcome Stephanie into the family. If you don’t, then you’ll never be allowed to see your grandchild.”
Stephanie could hardly breathe. Nikos was claiming their child as his own even though he didn’t have proof?
“So you are pregnant!” his father virtually snarled at her. “I told Nikos I suspected as much when I heard you’d come to Egnoussa to track him down. Trying to pass off your baby as my son’s? There’s a word for a woman like you.”
The man had just provided part of the source for Nikos’s basic distrust of her. She eased away from him and stared at his dad without flinching. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. Vassalos. I’ve been anxious to meet the father of such a wonderful, honorable man. You’re both very lucky. I never knew my father.
“But I have to say I’m sad you’re on such bad terms. Our baby is going to want to know its grandparents. I can only hope that one day you’ll change your mind about me enough to allow us into your life. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wait in the car while Nikos spends some time with you and your wife. Kalinihta.”
Good night was one of the few words in Greek she’d picked up, from listening to Nikos and Yannis.
No sooner had she climbed in the front seat and shut the door than Nikos joined her behind the wheel. He didn’t speak the whole time they drove to the port. Stephanie knew better than to talk, but her heart was heavy for him and the tragic situation with his father.
After he pulled around to the parking area of Vassalos Shipping, Nikos left the keys on the floor of the car and they walked back to the yacht. “I want to get to know your family, Nikos, but I couldn’t possibly stay in their house, since it would cause too much stress for everyone.
“Much as I want to make things right, I can’t tolerate your father’s attitude or the way he spoke about me. Maybe in time things will get better. I could hope for that, but not right now. I trust you understand.”
Silence followed her remarks, until he helped her step on the deck. “I owe you an explanation.”
She threw her head back, catching sight of his tormented expression. “If you mean that kiss you gave me at the back door was supposed to be an in-your-face gesture for your father’s digestion, I already got the message.”
“If you think that, you couldn’t be more wrong,” Nikos grated. “Just when I thought my father had run out of tricks, there he was once again, trying to set me up with Natasa. But this time you were there. No amount of makeup could conceal the bruise on your jaw. It stood out in the moonlight, reminding me that you’d unwisely faced my demons and held me during the night, despite the consequences to you and the baby.
“Tonight I realized how very beautiful you are and how courageous to have forgotten yourself to help me. No one has ever been that self-sacrificing for me. In a rush of emotion I felt the need to show you how I felt. Since my father chose that moment to appear, then he has to live with that picture, because I refuse to apologize for something that had nothing to do with him.”
Stephanie swallowed hard. Nikos’s sincerity defeated her. “Do you think Natasa saw us?”
He gave an elegant shrug of his shoulders. “If she did, let’s hope it was cathartic.”
For the other woman’s sake, Stephanie hoped so, too, and looked away. “I would have liked to have met your mother.”
“One day I’ll introduce you to her and the whole family. They’re very nice people.”
One day. That sounded so lonely.
“Nikos...about the baby—”
The mere mention of it brought a look of anxiety to his dark eyes. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine!” she assured him, not wanting to add to his worries. “I was just surprised you told your father.”
Nikos’s hard body tautened. “Hearing the truth from my lips has put an end to his dream of my marrying Natasa in order to consolidate our families. He’s been stuck in that groove for a decade. Since I’ve refused to work in the company, he has lost his hold on me.”
Stephanie drew closer to him. “What’s he afraid of?”
Nikos studied her for a long moment. “At one time he thought I was Costor Gregerov’s son.”
It took a second for Stephanie’s brain to compute. When it did, she let out a gasp. “Your mother and Kon’s father?” Surely she’d misunderstood.
“It’s complicated. My mother and Kon’s mother were best friends growing up on Oinoussa. My parents married first and had two children before I came along. But Tiana’s eventual marriage to Costor brought a lot of grief to her family, because he’s part Turkish.
“In some corners of society, the Greeks and Turks refuse to mix. The built-in prejudice against him caused a painful division. For Tiana, it was she against the world once she’d married Costor. They had four children before Kon came along.”
As Nikos peeled back the layers, Stephanie’s anguish for his pain grew.
“My mother defended Tiana’s decision and was always sympathetic to Costor. At one point someone started a rumor that she got too close to him. It wasn’t true, and both my mother and Costor always denied it, but my father was a bigoted man. He believed it and there was an ugly falling out that never healed.”
Stephanie bit her lip. “DNA testing wasn’t available when you were born.”
“No, but it wasn’t needed. As Tiana once told me, the stamp of a Vassalos was unmistakable. Unfortunately, my parents’ marriage suffered. It’s a miracle my mother didn’t leave him, but she loves him. She remained close friends with Tiana, which threw me and Kon together, but the damage done to both families during those early years was incalculable.”
Stephanie clutched the railing. “What a tragedy.”
Nikos nodded. “My father became controlling and possessive. He tried to rule my life and choose my associates, making sure I didn’t mix with people like Kon’s family. By my teens he’d cultivated a friendship with the Lander family, laying the groundwork for the future he envisioned for me. But he went too far when I was forbidden to spend any more time with Kon, who’d become like a brother to me. Naturally, I defied my father, because Kon had done nothing wrong.”
Stephanie darted him a glance. “Except to be a constant reminder of the past.”
Nikos breathed deeply. “Everything reached a boiling point when Kon needed money for his divorce. I gave him what I’d saved from working. My father found out and threatened to disown me. I told him it wouldn’t be necessary, because Kon and I had already joined the navy and would be shipping out.”
The night breeze had sprung up, lifting the hair off Stephanie’s cheek. “You and Kon shouldn’t have had to suffer for your father’s paranoia. How long did it take him to beg your forgiveness?”
“His pride won’t allow him to beg. For my mother’s sake I visited them on leave, but things have never been the same. Underneath he’s still a bigot and distrustful.”
“Evidently he doesn’t like Americans, either,” she whispered.
“He’s predisposed to dislike anyone whom he imagines might have control over me. I invested my military pay and bought the Diomedes so I would never have to be beholden to him.”
Heartsick for Nikos, Stephanie looked at her husband through new eyes. Here she’d suffered all her life, wishing she knew anything about her father, while Nikos... Her ache for him grew worse. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
“You’ve married into a complicated family. Don’t try to sort it all out tonight. You look tired, which comes as no surprise after your wrestling match with me last night.”
Stephanie would do it again and again if he’d let her, but after this incident with his father, she sensed he was unreachable. True enough, his next words left her in no doubt.
“You go below. I’ll stay up here and wait for Yannis. As soon as he comes, we’ll leave port and head back to Oino
ussa.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
September 1
NIKOS HAD SEEN his wife in a bikini when they swam on one of the isolated beaches. Oftentimes Elianna came with them. With the growing evidence of her pregnancy, there’d been a decided change in her since April, when they’d met. But he broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the doctor spread the gel on Stephanie’s tummy to do a Doppler ultrasound.
“Ooh, that’s cold.”
“All my patients say that.”
“Are you all right?”
“Of course she is.” Dr. Panos smiled at Nikos. “Sit down, Kyrie Vassalos, and watch the screen. We’ll take a peek inside to see how your baby is progressing. This will take about ten minutes.”
Nikos couldn’t sit. More than his concern about the gender of the baby was the fear that something might show up to indicate a problem. The doctor moved the probe over her belly. Pretty soon the sound of a heartbeat filled the examination room.
“Can you hear that?” Stephanie cried in excitement.
“Your baby has a good, strong heartbeat. Keep watching the screen.”
Whether it was his baby or not, Nikos stood there mesmerized by the sight of pictures that gave evidence of the living miracle growing inside her.
The doctor nodded. “I like what I see.”
“Then it’s healthy?” Stephanie’s anxious question echoed that of Nikos.
“At this stage everything looks fine and normal. The baby could fit in the palm of your hand.”
Yet you could see it was a perfect baby. Nikos could only shake his head in awe.
“But it needs to turn for me if we’re going to find out its gender.” Dr. Panos pressed in various spots. “I know you’re uncomfortable after drinking all that water, Stephanie. Just a few more minutes, then you can use the bathroom.”
She let out a big sigh. “As long as there’s nothing wrong, I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Since the night she’d held him during a flashback, Nikos had secretly worried he might have damaged the baby in some way. At the good news, exquisite relief swamped him.
THE GREEK'S TINY MIRACLE Page 12
