Along Came Twins...

by Rebecca Winters

  Combined with the stress Kellie had been under because she couldn’t conceive, plus her struggle with feelings of inadequacy, the situation had grown intolerable for her. After much thought and soul-searching, she’d told Leandros she wanted a separation, and had left on a trip with Fran. But because of disastrous circumstances, it came to an abrupt end, with her friend staying in Athens to be with Nik. At that point Kellie had left for Philadelphia.

  On the night before she was due to fly back, she’d had a fainting spell and Leandros had taken her to the ER. When the doctor could find nothing wrong, she was sent home with the warning to eat, so it wouldn’t happen again. They’d just returned when Karmela, whose hand was obviously recognized by the security entry, slipped into their apartment, as she’d done when Petra still lived there.

  The fact that Leandros said nothing about his sister-in-law letting herself in unannounced had led Kellie to worry that he had more than brotherly feelings for Karmela. After all, she did resemble Petra. Perhaps, as Kellie had confided to Fran earlier, Karmela had become his pillow friend?

  Evidently his brazen sister-in-law figured she had free reign with Leandros now that Kellie was leaving him. Her smiling, catlike eyes stared boldly at Kellie as she explained she’d brought some work for Leandros that needed his attention. Before she slipped out the door again, she’d wished Kellie a safe flight back to the States. No doubt she thought she’d seen the last of her. Kellie knew that her presence would knock the daylights out of Karmela, but this wasn’t about her. It was about them—Leandros and Kellie—and their babies.

  She put her palm against the glass next to the door. She suspected Karmela’s manipulative smile would falter when Kellie walked into the office and word eventually circulated about the miraculous news. Everyone close to Leandros knew he’d mourned the loss of his first wife and unborn child, who would have been a girl.

  Despite Kellie’s impending divorce from Leandros, for him to learn he was going to be a father again would come as a tremendous thrill. But it would deal a near fatal blow to his sister-in-law’s plans to have him for her own.

  Kellie knew in her heart that Karmela was waiting for her chance to provide him with a living heir. At least that’s what Frato Petralia had confided to Kellie at the wedding, after having too much to drink.

  Frato was Leandros’s good-looking first cousin and closest friend in the family. Still single, he was one of the vice presidents of the corporation, and enjoyed the company of several beautiful women, which didn’t surprise Kellie at all. That evening he’d said quite a few things she didn’t take seriously in the beginning, but over time she realized he’d spoken the truth.

  On the day Leandros mentioned in passing about hiring Karmela to work under Mrs. Kostas, she’d tried not to let it affect her. But her first impression of Petra’s sister at the wedding wouldn’t leave her alone. She’d seen the way Karmela had behaved and talked to him. Karmela was no impartial bystander. Two years later the younger woman had insinuated herself into Leandros’s office life, and who knew how much more. But it was all history now.

  The elevator door opened silently along the wall away from his desk. Leandros sat in his swivel chair, half turned from her while engaged in an intense business discussion with Frato on the speakerphone. She recognized his voice.

  At first glance she realized Leandros needed a haircut and a shave. There were wavy tendrils of dark hair, a shade away from being true black, clinging to his bronzed nape. It looked as if he’d been running his hands through it. The sleeves of the white shirt he wore had been pushed up to the elbows. Given his condition, and the accumulation of coffee cups on the desk, she could imagine he might have spent the night here.

  She’d never seen him like this before. He was thirty-four, yet he looked five years older right now. Her normally fastidious, temperate husband was nowhere to be found. Kellie had seen him truly out of control only once before. It was the night she’d told him she wanted a divorce. In a way, this was worse—different, even—because there was a savage air about him. For a second she feared she’d done the wrong thing by coming here without his knowledge. But with so much riding on this, she couldn’t run from him now. Too much was at stake.

  Finding her courage, she called out softly to him. “Leandros?”

  She knew he’d heard her voice, because his hard, lean body seemed to freeze in place before he slowly swung around to face her.

  He’d lost weight. A pronounced white ring encircled his taut mouth, testifying to his incredulity at seeing her here. It stood out almost as much as his gray eyes, which had gone black as pitch at the moment. Their color reminded her of the dark sky before the tornado had struck the Petralia resort near Thessalonika five weeks ago, killing little Demi’s parents.

  Frato was on the other end of the phone line, still talking. Leandros muttered something she couldn’t understand, before he hung up. His haunted look sent a shiver of alarm through her body. She sensed he was ready to spring from his chair.

  “Don’t get up,” she urged, and walked over to one of the chairs in front of his desk to sit down. Not only had her legs turned to mush at the sight of him, she couldn’t handle him touching her. He was still the most gorgeous man she’d ever known. In that regard, nothing had changed.

  Kellie heard his sharp intake of breath. “What in the name of all that’s holy brings you back to Greece?” His deep voice sounded so shaken, she hardly recognized it. His overarching look of disbelief sent a fresh shock wave of despair through her. The month apart had done the rest of the damage to their marriage, crushing the rubble to microscopic bits.

  Suddenly there was a tap on the door and Karmela started to enter. “Not now!” Leandros snapped. Kellie had to admit she’d never seen Leandros this upset with an employee. Maybe he hadn’t even realized it was Karmela.

  Kellie was shocked by the other woman’s sangfroid before she did Leandros’s bidding. She was tall enough to wear the attractive black-and-white dress skimming her figure. With her hair falling like a silky black curtain, she was extraordinarily beautiful and would cause a traffic jam when she walked down the street.

  Since she and Petra shared such a strong resemblance, Kellie could well imagine how his former wife had turned the sought-after bachelor into a married man. Karmela’s hourglass figure was so different from Kellie’s rounded curves.

  The younger woman closed the door, but not before she shot Kellie a venomous glance. That reaction alone vindicated Kellie’s belief that Karmela planned to win Leandros one way or another, if she hadn’t already.

  “Karmela still works for you, I see. And is still dropping in unannounced. As I recall, the last time we thought we were alone, Karmela dropped by with some papers for you. Though she didn’t find us making love, she certainly could have if we hadn’t been on the verge of divorce.”

  That was the first time Kellie had truly feared Leandros had been unfaithful to her with Karmela. Before that time, she’d only worried about the other woman’s behavior.

  “She was wrong to have done that, Kellie.”

  “It certainly was wrong, but you didn’t say so at the time. I was so hurt when you let her come to work for you, and I told you as much, but you kept her on. We’re almost divorced, yet she still works for you. As I’ve told you many times, your sister-in-law always had a habit of insinuating herself around you.

  “Even a little while ago she walked in without as much as a tap on the door, but it’s all right with you because she’s family.”

  Why did she sound so bitter? Kellie wondered. It was no longer her concern what Karmela did with Leandros. They were getting divorced. But the thought that he’d replaced her so soon hurt more than she could ever admit.

  His beautiful olive complexion darkened with lines. “It’s never been all right with me and I am going to do something about it. I’ll ask you again. Why are you here?” He seemed to have lost some color.

  Clearing her throat, she said, “I have news that demande
d I come here in person.” She was in possession of certain facts that would alter his world forever.

  His hooded gaze pierced hers. “Has something happened to your aunt or uncle?”

  Kellie could understand why he’d asked that question. He’d been wonderful to them from the moment he’d first met them. “This has nothing to do with them. They’re fine.” She moistened her lips nervously. “A week ago I was so nauseated, I went to the doctor in Philadelphia to find out what was wrong. I learned that I’m...pregnant.”

  His dark head reared back in complete shock. “What did you say?” She heard excitement exploding inside him before he’d even had time to assimilate the news. Though he’d never given up hope they would get pregnant, Kellie had stopped believing such a miracle would happen to them.

  She breathed in deeply. “I’m more amazed than you. It seems that the last artificial insemination procedure I underwent worked. Impossible as it sounds, Dr. Creer says I’m already seven weeks pregnant.”

  A triumphant cry escaped Leandros. He leaped out of his chair, charged with an energy that transformed him before her eyes. Her pulse raced, because she’d known this would be his reaction. “The doctor said it’s the reason I fainted the night before I left Athens. My periods have never been normal, so I never suspected anything.”

  Leandros came around and hunkered down in front of her, like a knight kneeling before his lady. When he grasped her hands, she could feel him trembling. Emotion had taken the blackness from his eyes, filling the gray irises with pinpoints of light. “We’re going to have a baby?” There was awe in his voice as he kissed her fingertips. The news had started to sink in, but he didn’t know all of it yet.

  “There’s more, Leandros.”

  Fear immediately marred his striking features and his hands gripped hers tighter. “Did the doctor tell you you’re a high-risk pregnancy? Is something wrong?”

  “No,” she rushed to assure him. After he’d lost his first wife and unborn child, she didn’t want to put him through such anxiety again. He didn’t deserve any more trauma in that regard.

  His expressive black brows furrowed. “Then what do you mean?”

  Averting her eyes, she said, “The doctor ordered an ultrasound.”

  “And?” His voice shook.

  “The technician detected two heartbeats.”

  “Two?” His explosion of joy reverberated off the walls of his office. “We’re going to have twins?”

  She nodded. “They’re due March 12.”

  “Kellie—”

  The next thing she knew he’d picked her up and wrapped her in his strong arms, burying his face in her neck. She felt moisture against her skin as he crushed her against him. He’d been at the hospital with her to do his part while they’d gone through procedure after procedure. Every time it turned out she hadn’t gotten pregnant, he’d been there to comfort her and promise her it would happen next time. He never gave up, and now they were going to be parents. But it was too late for them. The situation had put too much strain on both of them.

  His reaction to the news was all she could have wanted if they’d been happily married, but that was the excruciating point. Their marriage was over and had been for months.

  Soon they’d be divorced. Having his

  babies wouldn’t solve what was wrong between them. When he lifted his head to kiss her, she put her hands against his chest to separate them, but he wasn’t having any of it.

  “Don’t push me away, agapi mou. Not now,” he cried. Before she could move, he drew her back into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with startling hunger. She could taste the salt from his tears. Her mind and body reeled from the passion only he could arouse.

  For a moment she responded, because it had been so long since she’d known his touch, and because she simply couldn’t help herself. But when he moaned and deepened their kiss, she remembered why she was here.

  Since he was physically powerful, her only weapon was to refrain from kissing him back until he got the message. He went on kissing every inch of her face and hair till it slowly dawned on him she was no longer participating.

  A tremor shook his tall, hard-muscled body before he released her with reluctance. Dazed by his passion, she sank down in the chair behind her. His eyes searched her features, trying to read her. “Are you still suffering from morning sickness?”

  “No,” she answered honestly. Though she’d love to use it as an excuse, she couldn’t. From here on out, everything she told him would be the whole truth and out in the open.

  Dr. Creer was very worried about her going through a divorce right now. He’d warned her that since she didn’t want to burden her aunt and uncle with her problems, then she needed to find an outlet to deal with all her emotions. Keeping them bottled up inside was the worst thing for her at a time like this. She could tell Dr. Savakis had been worried about her, too.

  After being alone with her thoughts for the last month, she realized the doctor was right. She’d gone about things wrong in her marriage. She was sick of trying to protect herself, Leandros and everyone else. But no longer. No more mistakes if she could help it. That’s why she’d come all this way. “The doctor has given me medication for it.”

  His hands went to his hips, as if he needed to do something with them. Unfortunately, he stood too close to her, affecting her breathing. “This pregnancy puts a different slant on our impending divorce.”

  “I know. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

  “You do realize that a great deal of our pain came from trying to get pregnant without results,” he reminded her grimly.

  “So now that I’m carrying your child, you think that erases everything?”

  “No,” he murmured, “but you’ve just brought me news I’m still trying to assimilate. One moonlit night on the sailboat, after we’d been disappointed a second time, you lifted tear-filled eyes to me and asked me if it was asking too much to reach for the stars. I told you we’d keep reaching for the stars and the moon. Now you’ve just told me we’ve been given both!”

  “I remember.” She averted her eyes. “Please sit down so we can talk.”

  Studying her through veiled eyes, he hitched himself on a corner of his desk. It still wasn’t far enough away from her, but that was as much room as he was willing to give her. “I have a better idea. We’ll go to our suite at the hotel, where we won’t be disturbed.”

  He was referring to the Cassandra, the main Petralia five-star hotel in Athens, where he kept an elegant, permanent suite. It was like a small house, really, with three bedrooms, a dining and living room and kitchen facilities.

  When she’d stayed at the hotel with her aunt and uncle on their first trip to Greece, that’s where she’d met him. Some of her happiest memories of their life together were associated with the Cassandra before they were married. It would be painful to go there.

  “Why do we have to go to the hotel? Why not the apartment?”

  He moved off the corner of the desk. “We can’t go to the apartment because I sold it to Frato three weeks ago. I’m living at the hotel.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  LEANDROS HAD SOLD his fabulous penthouse to his cousin? Kellie couldn’t believe it. Stunned by the news, she said, “What’s to stop Karmela from hurrying over to the hotel with something important for you before the day is out?”

  He breathed in sharply. “It’ll never happen again.”

  Kellie blinked. “That sounded final. She must have received quite a shock to see me in here with you a few minutes ago, but no worries. I won’t be in Athens much longer.”

  In the tangible silence that followed, Kellie lowered her eyes and opened her purse. Inside was the paper her attorney had drawn up. “If you’ll please read through this and consult with your attorney, then we’ll sign it and our divorce can go through as scheduled.”

  Leandros made no move to take it. She should have known this was going to be a battle to the end. “That’s all right.
I’ll read it to you.

  “Point One. If and when one or both children are born, the mother will retain custody at her address in Parkwood, Pennsylvania.”

  “Why if?” he demanded in an anxious voice. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

  “No. My attorney simply wanted to cover every contingency.”

  Shadows darkened his features.

  “Point Two. Liberal visitation rights will be offered to the father.

  “Point Three. Both mother and father will discuss times when the mother will bring said child or children to Athens for visitation, and when the father will travel to Parkwood for visitation.

  “Point Four. The mother asks for no additional money. The father can decide what monies he will afford for the child or children’s upbringing.”

  She looked up at him. “It’s all very simple and straightforward.”

  His eyes glittered a frostbite gray. “If you think I’m going to agree to that, then you never knew me.” The words seemed to come from a cavern miles underground.

  “You’re wrong, Leandros. After being married for a while, I discovered the real you. That’s why we’ve reached this impasse.” Heartbroken, she stood up and left the paper on his desk.

  With a grimace, he immediately wadded it in his fist before pocketing it. “When did you fly in?”

  “Yesterday morning. I’m staying at the Civitel Olympic near the north park. You can reach me there after you’ve talked with your attorney.”

  Leandros moved like lightning, preventing her from leaving the room. Standing in front of the door, he talked into his cell phone and rapped out instructions. When he clicked off, he said, “You won’t be going back to the Civitel. I’ll send Yannis for your personal belongings and have him bring them to you. We’re flying to Andros right now.”