Conveniently Wed to the Greek

by Kandy Shepherd

  Dell was so different, in looks, personality, everything. Put both women together and Dell would be overshadowed by Mia’s tall, model-perfect looks. He couldn’t, wouldn’t compare them. Yet in his mind he could almost see Dell looking up at the other woman with a wry smile, unleashing her own vibrant beauty in acknowledging Mia’s statuesque Scandinavian looks. And Mia would smile back. Mia would have liked her, and Dell would have liked Mia. Polar opposites they might be, but they were both warm, kind people.

  Mia had connected with his wild, party animal side. Together they had worked hard and played hard. Dell... Dell was something altogether different. There was a connection with her he had never felt before, a sense of certainty, of continuity. They thought in the same way. He kept coming back to that concept of fate. It was almost as if she’d been sent to him to help redeem and heal him.

  And yet it was impossible. He could not get around the fact she was pregnant to another man. Okay, so it was a ‘test-tube baby’. He didn’t have to torture himself with images of her making love with her ex. Of the baby being a product of an intimate union rather than a laboratory procedure.

  But being in Greece only intensified an even deeper connection—the connection to his family and heritage. In a traditional Greek family like he came from, blood was everything. Even generations down the track and in Australia, thousands of miles away from the land of his ancestors, that hadn’t changed. His family had liked Mia, but he knew they would have been a whole lot happier if she too had come from a Greek migrant family.

  That deeply ingrained sense of family made the concept of taking on another man’s child seem alien to him. His attitude was something he couldn’t change—it was as much of him as the proud Mikhalis nose that went back through generations of males in his family. He had admired Jesse Morgan for accepting Lizzie’s daughter when he had married her. Jesse adored little Amy, had an amicable relationship with the little girl’s French father. But taking on another man’s child was something Alex could never see himself doing.

  He was so lost in his thoughts he started when the door to her room opened and Dell stood in the doorway. He had to force himself not to stare. She was wrapped in a white towelling bathrobe, her hair in damp tendrils around her face, cheeks flushed from the warmth of the shower. The neckline of the robe had fallen open to reveal a hint of cleavage and the smooth top curve of her breasts. Her legs were bare. Was she naked under there? He balled his hands by his sides.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ she said. ‘I’m not late, am I? I got up in plenty of time so we’d get the plane to Athens.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ he said gruffly, looking at her feet rather than letting his gaze centre on her chest. She had small, well-shaped feet with pink-painted toenails. Lovely from top to toe, came the thought from nowhere.

  She frowned. ‘It’s just I heard you pacing up and down and wondered if—’

  ‘I wasn’t pacing,’ he said.

  ‘You needed to see me,’ she said at the same time, with a small, perplexed frown.

  ‘No,’ he said.

  ‘You could have knocked on the door if you did,’ she said. ‘I’m always there if...if you need me.’ Her voice faltered away.

  For a long moment their gazes met. For the first time he saw something in her green eyes that kick-started his heart into a violent thudding. An awareness, an unspoken acknowledgement that he was not alone in his feelings. That if he were to pull her into his arms and slide that robe down her shoulders, she would not object.

  He took a step backward. Broke that connection with an abrupt turning away from her. ‘I’ll be out by the pool. Meet me there when you’re ready. We’ve got a lot to get done in Athens.’

  * * *

  The next morning, Dell looked at the computer-generated images on the screen with immense interest. She and Alex were in the architect’s studio in the old centre of Athens in a street behind Syntagma Square. From the get-go, Alex had involved her in every aspect of the resort, not just the food, which was her primary area of expertise, and she was fascinated by how the plans had developed.

  The designer was showing them on screen realistic images of how the interiors of Pevezzo Athina would look when everything was finished and ready for guests. The images were so detailed Dell could imagine herself walking through the rooms, furnished right down to the flower arrangements on the tables and the towels in the bathrooms.

  ‘Every detail and change we discussed last meeting is there, looking perfect.’ We. How easily she slipped into referring to herself and Alex as we. ‘It makes it seem so real, so close to completion.’

  She straightened up and in doing so caught Alex’s eye. They shared a quick smile of complicity and triumph. They were a team and their team was firing on all cylinders.

  Dell felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She’d mourned the loss of the easy feeling between them back at the island. Tortured herself with the thought that maybe he’d become aware of her crush on him and had backed off in discomfort. Perhaps moving in to the pavilion had been a mistake. Living in such close proximity was only making it more difficult—she had to be continually on alert.

  She thought she’d kept her feelings carefully hidden, effectively masked. Then there had been a moment yesterday morning at that post-shower encounter when she’d sworn a recognition of mutual want had flashed between them. But the shutters had come down leaving just his inscrutable expression. Had she given herself away? Had she imagined his response?

  He’d hardly spoken afterwards. On the journey she had been too busy keeping the nausea at bay to be concerned at the paucity of conversation, the silences that had been anything but comfortable.

  But from the first meeting the day before, things had started to ease. Perhaps it was because at their meetings the designers and suppliers treated them as a team they started to behave like one again. She used the word team loosely. For all the politeness, for all the acknowledgement of her role as his assistant, the deference was very much to Alex as the boss. He was the person with the money and the authority and the power—the man who owned a private island and was spending a fortune on the services these talented people were providing. While they spoke mainly in English there were times they needed to break into Greek. She listened carefully but could only identify the odd word here and there. Still, that was better than when she’d first arrived, thanks to Aunt Penelope.

  ‘Any other thoughts on the interior design?’ Alex asked her now, indicating the CGI.

  She shook her head. ‘If you’re happy, I reckon you can sign off on it.’

  ‘Done,’ he said and they again shared a smile.

  That smile warmed her. Leaving the island to fly to Athens had been a good move. It marked, she hoped, a return to the working relationship that had bonded them in the first place. In her deepest heart she longed for the impossible, but was content to have their work camaraderie back.

  Hands were shaken all round, congratulations and thanks expressed. Then she and Alex were back out of the office and into the mid-morning busy street. She looked around her avidly trying to soak in as much detail as possible—the historical buildings guarded by soldiers in fabulous traditional uniforms, the shopfronts, what people were wearing, the buzz of it all. One day she would love to spend more time here. Again that feeling of excitement swept through her that she was actually living in Greece. She needed to make the most of it before she went home to Australia. She pushed aside the feelings of sadness that looming return evoked in her. When big dreams collided there was ultimately a casualty.

  ‘That was the last meeting for today,’ Alex said. ‘Time well spent. Thank you for your contribution.’

  He really was a wonderful boss, certainly not the tyrant some had painted him in Sydney. Had his reputation sprung from a resentment of his high standards, envy even? Or had he really changed as he claimed to have done?

/>   ‘Back to the hotel?’ she asked.

  After a jam-packed afternoon of meetings, they had spent the previous night in a luxurious hotel not far from Plaka, the oldest and most historical part of Athens. Separate rooms, of course, but on the same floor.

  Alex had gone out to a fashionable bar and restaurant in Syntagma with one of his cousins. To her surprise, he had invited her too, though she suspected it was more from good manners than any real desire to have her along. Her presence would only fuel the rumours in his family that she was more than an employee.

  But she’d been too exhausted to accept. She did not want to admit to her bone-deep tiredness as she didn’t want to remind him of her pregnancy, or that it could affect her capacity to work. Rather she’d had dinner in her room, looked for a long time at the amazing view of ancient ruins lit up from below and gone to bed very early.

  Now he looked at her trim business suit and medium-heeled shoes; her stilettos had been put away until after the baby was born. ‘You might want to change before you climb the Acropolis.’

  ‘There’s still time before we have to leave for the airport?’ The meeting had run a little late.

  ‘Your expedition was built into the schedule.’

  ‘I don’t quite understand why you did that, but thank you,’ she said, looking up at him.

  He didn’t meet her eyes. ‘It pleases me that you like Greece so much, are learning the language. Visiting one of our most significant historical sites is to be encouraged.’

  Dell thought there was rather more to it than that. Remembered he had said he wanted to make amends for the past. But she didn’t want to bring up the court case again. It seemed a lifetime ago that they had been enemies.

  ‘I can’t wait,’ she said. ‘I’ve wanted to see the Parthenon since I was a kid.’

  ‘I chose the hotel for its easy access,’ he said. ‘We’ll make our way through Plaka up onto the Acropolis, right up to the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena.’

  It took a moment for the significance of what he’d said to sink in. ‘We?’ she asked, her heart suddenly pounding. ‘Are you—?’

  ‘Coming with you? Of course.’ He spoke with the confident assuredness she found so appealing.

  ‘There’s no need, you know. I’m perfectly okay by myself,’ she said. Her fingers were mentally crossed that he would not agree.

  ‘I want to come with you, Dell,’ he said. His tone, to her delight, brooked no disagreement.

  She knew her pleasure at the prospect of his company was beaming from her eyes but she didn’t care. For just this few hours she was going to pretend there were no barriers between them and enjoy every second of her time alone with him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ALEX WAS GLAD he had booked a late flight back to Preveza. This was to be no cursory trip up to the Acropolis so Dell could check off a tourist ‘must-see’. She stopped to examine and exclaim at everything on the walk up the rocky outcrop that towered over the city of Athens, the ancient citadel of the Acropolis that dated back to the fifth century BC. She was the one who filled him in on the dates and facts. Her knowledge of ancient Greek history was impressive, though when he complimented her, she demurred saying it was snippets she remembered from high school. Oh, and a little brushing up on the Internet.

  First of the ancient structures to catch her attention was the Herodes open-air amphitheatre, with its semi-circular rows of marble seating built in tiers from the stage, built in 161 AD. ‘Can you imagine how many people must have been entertained here over the centuries?’ she said as, after a long pause for thoughtful contemplation, she snapped photos with her smartphone.

  ‘And continue to do so,’ he said. ‘There are plays and concerts staged here throughout the summer.’

  Her face lit up. ‘Really? I would love to attend one. I wouldn’t care what it was, just to be here would be the most amazing experience. Please, Alex, can you help me book a performance before I go home?’

  Alex paused for a moment too long and the silence fell awkwardly between them. He knew she would have to go back to Sydney for the birth of her baby, but didn’t want to think about the gap her loss would leave in his life. Almost as if he didn’t acknowledge it, it wouldn’t happen. ‘Of course,’ he said eventually, forcing himself not to sound glum.

  As they continued the climb, glimpses of the immense marble columns of the Parthenon above them beckoned. ‘There it is!’ Dell paused, gawking above her, and tripped over the uneven paving on the pathway. ‘I wondered if I would ever get to see it.’

  ‘Careful,’ Alex said as he took her elbow to steady her. He intended to keep a grip on her but she flushed and he loosened his hold.

  ‘I’m okay,’ she said.

  ‘A woman in your condition isn’t supposed to fall,’ he said.

  ‘Condition?’ she said with a quirk of her auburn brows. ‘You make it sound like something medical. Being pregnant is something natural for a woman. Something wonderful.’

  ‘But you’ve been so ill,’ he said, remembering the day he’d seen her in Nidri, how her haggard appearance had shocked him.

  ‘That’s just the hormones, the doctor told me. All part of the process of pregnancy. Some women suffer more than others. I don’t need to be wrapped in cotton wool.’ She looked up at him with a sweet curving of her lips. ‘Although I do appreciate your concern. It’s very chivalrous of you.’

  ‘So long as you’re okay.’ Chivalrous? Alex didn’t think he’d ever been called that before. Selfish. Inconsiderate. Arrogant. That was what he’d been used to in his past. He tried on the feel of chivalrous and liked it, though he really was only doing what came naturally when he was around Dell.

  ‘I’m actually more than okay.’ She breathed deeply as she looked around her, at the steep hill wooded in parts with cypress and olive. If you looked closely there were spring flowers in the undergrowth and Alex pointed them out to her. She took a few snaps with her smartphone.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know anything about the plants here. And you never know what can make an interesting blog post.’

  ‘The ten minutes you spent reading the poster on “Vegetation and Flora of the Acropolis” must surely have helped,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Did I spend that long?’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I’m fascinated with everything about this place.’

  ‘I like that,’ he said. He was learning that Dell was never satisfied with skimming the surface, she had to dig deep, to learn. It was one of the reasons she made such a good employee and why he valued her more each day.

  ‘Being on this ancient ground, I can’t help thinking of all the people who have been here before us, all the people who are to come,’ she said. ‘I’m bearing a new life. It makes me feel connected, part of something much greater.’

  A new life? Alex had not thought of her pregnancy in that way, perhaps he hadn’t wanted to. He had seen it as an inconvenience, limiting the months she could work for him, blocking the possibility of pursuing his attraction to her. Not as the growth of a new little person who would make Dell a mother. She would be a good mother, he thought. But what about the father? What role would he play in her life? He felt a stab of discomfort at the thought of her ex. He refused to consider it could be jealousy.

  Dell placed her hand on her stomach. She was wearing a wearing a white dress of soft cotton that flowed around her body. He realised with a shock that she was probably wearing it because it was looser than what she usually wore. It tied under her breasts with a blue woven tie. He noticed a new curve to her belly. Were her breasts bigger too? A quick glance said they were. Her new curves made her even lovelier.

  She must have noticed the direction of his gaze. She smiled. ‘I’ve started to show. Now I’m letting myself really believe I’m having a baby. Did you notice me tugging at my skirt during the m
eetings today? I tried not to make it obvious, but it’s getting very tight.’

  ‘You’re happy about that?’ he said.

  ‘Really happy,’ she said without hesitation. Alex could see from the glow of her face and the joy in her eyes that she meant it. ‘The timing isn’t the most convenient, I acknowledge that. But I’ve wanted a baby for so long and this is probably my only chance.’

  ‘What will you do when you go back to Sydney?’ he asked.

  A little of the glow faded. ‘I’ll have to fling myself on the mercy of my parents.’

  He frowned. ‘Wouldn’t they be delighted they were going to be grandparents? My sisters both have children. Nothing makes my parents happier than their grandbabies.’

  He wondered if they’d given up hope for any grandchildren from him. He had been so busy turning partying into a multimillion-dollar business he hadn’t actually thought much about children. He’d always wanted to have kids but it had been filed in the ‘one day’ category—even with Mia, who had also thought of babies as something for the future.

  ‘From what I’ve heard about your family, that doesn’t surprise me,’ she said. ‘My parents are very different. They’re not really family orientated. We’re not close. They’ll be shocked at what I’ve done. I’m just hoping they won’t disapprove so much they won’t help me.’

  ‘Can’t you live on your own? Don’t you have your own apartment in Sydney?’

  She shook her head. ‘I came off the worst in the spoils of divorce. He got the apartment, I got the debts.’ Her attempt to sound flippant failed miserably.