He drove around the back of it. It had been built near the water’s edge. They entered a door into the kitchen area with a table and chairs. Though small like a cottage, huge windows opened everything up to turn it into a beach home, making it seem larger. No walls.
Everywhere you looked, you could see the sea. All you had to do was open the sliding doors and you could step out on a deck with several tubs of flowers and loungers. Beyond it, the sand and water were at your feet.
A circular staircase on one side of the room rose to the upper floor. It had to be a loft. The other end of the room contained the rock fireplace with a big comfy couch and chairs.
“Would you like a drink?”
She shook her head. “Nothing, thank you.”
“Let’s take a walk along the beach. The sand feels like the finest granulated sugar. I do my best thinking out there. We’ll slip off our shoes and leave them inside. You can wash your feet later at the side of the deck.”
After she did his bidding, she followed him outside. Night had descended. A soft fragrant breeze with the scent of thyme blew at her hair and skirt. She knew it was thyme because there was the same smell at the center. Yianni had explained what it was. He was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge.
She could talk to him the way she did with Father Debakis. The wonderful man had great children who looked after him, but he’d loved his wife to distraction and talked to Zoe about their life together. How heavenly to have enjoyed a marriage like Yianni’s.
When they’d walked a ways, Vasso stopped and turned to her. The time had come. Her body broke out in a cold sweat. To her shock, he cupped her face in his hands and lifted it so she had to look at him. Zoe couldn’t decipher the expression in his eyes, but his striking male features stood out in the semidarkness.
“I want to start over.”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’d like us to do what two people do who have met and would like to get to know each other better.”
After everything she’d been thinking as to what might be the reason why he’d brought her here, Zoe was incredulous. “That’s the favor?”
“I know it’s a big one. Last week you made it clear you didn’t want anything more than friendship from me, but we moved past that after your arrival in Greece. I want to spend this weekend with you and all the weekends you’re available from here on out.”
The ground shifted.
She was positive she’d misunderstood him.
“Did you hear me?” he asked in an urgent voice.
“You can’t be serious.” She grasped his wrists, but he still cradled her face in his hands.
“Why are you acting like this, Zoe?”
“Because you’re carrying your sense of responsibility to me too far.”
“Does this feel like responsibility?” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her long and hard until she melted against him. Zoe was delirious with desire after being away from him for a whole week. “Tell me the real reason you’re fighting me,” he said after lifting his head. They were both out of breath. “I know you’re attracted to me. You told me there’s no one else in your life.” The warm breath on her mouth sent a fire licking through her body.
“There isn’t, but Vasso—” she moaned his name, “I can’t be with you. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have changed my mind and stayed in New York. I would have found another place to work.”
His brows met. “You don’t mean that. You’re lying to cover up what’s really wrong.”
Making a great effort, she eased herself out of his arms. “You’re a very intelligent man. If you think hard about it, you’ll know why this won’t work. My cancer is in remission, but no one knows when it will come back.”
She heard him suck in his breath. “Guess what? Tomorrow I could go down in the helicopter and never be seen again. It could happen. But if I looked at life like that, nothing would get accomplished.”
“A possible helicopter crash one day compared to a recurrence of cancer are two different things.”
He raked his hands through his hair. “No. They’re not. No matter what, life is a risk.”
“But some risks are more risky than others, Vasso. To get close to you is like buying something you want on time. One day—much sooner than you had supposed—you’ll have no choice but to pay the balance in full. It will be too heavy a price to have to come up with all at once. I won’t let you get into that position.”
This time his hands slid up her arms. “You honestly believe you’re going to die soon? That’s what this is all about?”
“Yes. But I don’t know the timetable and neither do you. What I do know is that you watched your father die of the same disease. No one should have to live through the trauma of that experience a second time in life. You and your brother have fought too hard to come all this way, only for you to get involved with a time bomb, because that’s what I am.”
He drew her closer. “Zoe—”
“Let me finish, please? I saw the love Akis and his wife share. With a baby on the way they’re totally happy. He doesn’t have to worry that Raina is going to be stricken by the inevitable.
“Don’t you understand? I want you to have the same life they have. No clouds on the horizon. To spend time with me makes no sense for you. I’m a liability and I made Chad see that. He was smart and did the right thing for both of us.”
Vasso’s features darkened. “How was it right for you?” his voice grated.
“Because I would have been more depressed to watch his suffering over me when I could do nothing to alleviate it. Just think about what it felt like when your father was dying, and you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about. It would have been so much harder on me if Chad had been there day and night. I couldn’t have handled it.”
“I’m not Chad.” His hands slid to her shoulders. “Did you love him?”
Vasso’s question caught her off guard. “I...thought I did. There are all kinds of love.”
“No, Zoe. I’m talking about that overpowering feeling of love for another person that goes so deep into the marrow, you can’t breathe without it.”
He’d just described her feelings for him and pulled away before he read the truth in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go home.”
She turned back and hurried toward the deck where she could wash the sand off her feet. By the time he’d caught up to her, she’d gone inside and had slipped on her shoes.
“Before we go anywhere, I need to tell you something important, Zoe. Will you listen?”
They stood in the middle of the room like adversaries. Spiraling emotions had caused her to shake like a leaf. “Of course.”
“Something unprecedented happened to me when I flew to New York to interview you. I didn’t ask for it, but it happened. I haven’t been the same since. Like you with Chad, I thought I loved Sofia. She’d always been there. We’d been a couple for such a long time, it just seemed normal for us to get married.
“Luckily, she got impatient. While I was in the military, she couldn’t wait for me. Though I didn’t know it at the time, she did me the greatest service in the world because it was apparent she wasn’t the one for me.
“After surviving that hurdle, Akis and I led a bachelor existence for years. When Raina came into his life, it was as much a shock to me as to him. He’d been with other women, but she knocked him sideways without even trying, and transformed his life. I can promise you that if she’d been a recovering cancer patient, it would have made no difference to him.”
“That’s what you say because it’s what you want to believe.” She shook her head. “I can see there’s no way to get through to you on this.”
“You’re right. There’s onl
y one solution to end our impasse.”
“Exactly. By ending it now.”
“I have a better idea in mind.”
Zoe couldn’t take much more. “I need to get back to the apartment.”
“I’ll take you, but I want you to think very seriously about my next words.”
She reached for her purse and started for the kitchen. “Will you tell me in the car?”
Without waiting for him, Zoe went outside and walked along the path to his Lexus. Afraid to have contact, she quickly got in and shut the door.
Vasso went around to his side of the car and started the engine. But before he drove them to the road, he slid his arm along the seat so that his fingers touched the ends of her hair. Immediately her body responded, but she refused to look at him.
“We need to get married.”
Her gasp reverberated in the interior. “Married—”
“The sooner the better. According to your timetable, we might have five years together before everything comes to an end. I want to give you children. I’d rather take those five years and live them fully with you, than walk away from you now and leave us both in pain.”
“I won’t be in pain,” she defended in a quiet voice while her heart ran away with her at the thought of having his baby.
“Well, I will.” He tugged gently on her hair strands. “After the way you kissed me back tonight, I know for a fact you’ll be in pain, too. I don’t need an answer yet, but I’ll look for one soon.”
“No—” she whispered in agony. “You mustn’t.”
“If I’d let the nos and the mustn’ts get in the way, I wouldn’t be where I am today. You and I don’t have the usual problems that beset couples. We know who we are and exactly what we’re getting into. We’ve learned how precious life is. We’ve been made brutally aware that there are no guarantees for the future, only what we’re prepared to build together.”
She swallowed hard. “What it proves to me is how far you would go to honor the wishes of Father Debakis.”
“He has nothing to do with this!”
“Then why would you be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by marrying me and giving me a home when you know I have a very short life span.”
“Because I love you.”
“I love you, too, but I wonder if you remember the warning you gave me in New York. You said, ‘Be sure it’s what you want.’ How sad someone didn’t warn you to be sure it was what you wanted.”
“You’re putting up a defense because of your own insecurities.” He drove the car to the road and they headed for the village.
“Vasso, you don’t want to marry me. We’re both temporarily attracted to each other. You’re like any red-blooded bachelor might be, but you’re not in love with me. I refuse to be your personal project.
“I came here to work and pay you back for your generosity. Wouldn’t it be a great way to show my gratitude by becoming your wife? Then you’d be forced to take care of me for however long I have left.
“Forget children. No way would I want to leave a baby for you to raise on your own. Your father did that. I won’t allow history to repeat itself. You and Akis have been through so much, you deserve all the happiness you can find.
“Sofia Peri didn’t know what she was doing when she let the most marvelous man on earth slip through her fingers. If you’d married back then, you’d probably be a father to several darling children. I should never have come here.”
Yianni had gotten along fine before Zoe had arrived. The center would run smoothly whether she was there or not. If she flew back to New York, she could get a job as a cook. When she’d saved enough money she could finish her last semester of college. Then she could get a job teaching school and send money to the foundation every month. It was the best plan she could think of under the circumstances.
When she got back to the apartment, she’d phone Father Debakis and have a heart-to-heart with him. He was probably at dinner and could talk to her when he was through. The priest would understand her dilemma and give her the guidance she needed because heaven help her, she couldn’t make this decision without his blessing.
Vasso drove around to the back of the shop. She opened the door before he came to a stop. “Thank you for bringing me home. You made Nestor a happy man tonight.”
“And what about you?”
“You already know what I think.”
“We’re not finished, Zoe.”
“How can I convince you that this just won’t work?”
“I didn’t realize you were so stubborn.”
“Then be thankful I’m not the marrying type. You’ve dodged a bullet. Good night.”
CHAPTER NINE
FOR THE NEXT week Vasso worked like a demon, traveling from city to city to check on stores while Akis worked out of the Athens office. After the last conversation with Zoe, he knew she needed time to think about their situation without being pressured.
Now that it was Friday evening, he couldn’t stay away any longer and flew to Paxos. She would be on duty this weekend and couldn’t run away from him. After they watched a movie with some of the patients, he’d get her alone to talk until he convinced her they belonged together.
At five to six he tapped on Yiannis’s half-open door and walked in. Zoe wasn’t out in front, but he didn’t expect her to be.
He found the admiral pouring himself coffee from a carafe brought in on a cart from the kitchen. The older man was using the cup Zoe had given him. He turned to Vasso. “Ah. You’re here at last.”
By his sober demeanor Vasso sensed something was wrong. “Did I miss a call from you?”
“No, no.” He walked back to his chair. “Sit down so we can talk.”
Not liking the sound of that, he preferred to remain standing. Yiannis looked up from his desk. “I have a letter here for you. It’s from Zoe. She asked me to give it to you when you came by and not before.”
His heart plummeted. He took the envelope from him, almost afraid to ask the next question. “Where is she?”
“She flew back to New York on Tuesday.”
The breath froze in his lungs.
“On Sunday she came over, white as a sheet, and submitted her resignation. Zoe’s the best assistant I could have asked for, but the tragic expression on her face let me know she’s been suffering. She told me she was so homesick she couldn’t stay in Greece any longer. The sweet thing thought she could handle being transplanted, but apparently it was too big a leap. Kyria Lasko is helping me out again.”
His agony made it hard to talk let alone think. “I’ll find a temporary accountant from headquarters until we can find the right person to assist you,” he murmured.
“You’d better sit down, Vasso. You’ve gone quite pale.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be all right. Forgive me. I’ve got things to do, but I’ll be in touch.”
Vasso rushed out of the hospital and drove to the village at record speed. He parked the car and ran along the waterfront to the gift shop. The second Kyria Panos saw him she waved him over with an anxious expression. “If you’re looking for Thespinis Zachos, she’s left Greece.”
He felt like he was bleeding out. “I heard the news when I was at the center earlier. Let me pay her bill.”
“No, no. She paid me. Such a lovely person. Never any trouble.”
Not until now, Vasso’s heart cried out.
He thanked the older woman and drove back to his house. After making a diving leap for the couch he ripped open the envelope to read her letter. She’d only written one short paragraph.
Forgive me for accepting your offer of employment. It has caused you so much unnecessary trouble. I’m desolate over my mistake. One day I’ll be able to start paying you back in my own way.
My dear, dear Vasso, be happy
.
Blind with pain, he staggered to the storage closet and reached for his bike. He’d known pain two other times in his life. A young teen’s loss of a father. Later a young man’s loss of his childhood sweetheart. This pain was different.
Zoe thought she could spare him pain by disappearing from his life. But with her gone, he felt as if his soul had died on the spot. Vasso didn’t know how he was going to last the night, but he couldn’t stay in the house.
He took his bike out the back door and started cycling with no destination in mind. All he wanted to do was keep going until he got rid of the pain. It was near morning when he returned to his house and took himself up to bed.
The next time he had cognizance of his surroundings, he could hear Akis’s voice somewhere in the background urging him to wake up. He couldn’t figure out where he was. How had he made it upstairs to his bed?
His eyelids opened. “Akis?”
“Stay with me, Vasso. Come on. Wake up.”
He groaned with pain. “Zoe left me.”
“I know.”
“Did you see her letter?”
“That, and your bike lying on the ground at the back door.”
He rubbed his face with his hand and felt his beard. “How did you find out?”
“Yiannis called me yesterday worried about you.”
“What’s today?”
“Sunday.”
He opened his eyes again. “You mean I’ve been out of it since Friday?”
“Afraid so.” His brother looked grim. They’d been through every experience together. “You’ve given me a scare, bro. I was worried you might have driven yourself too hard and wouldn’t wake up. Don’t ever do that to me again.”
Vasso raised himself up on one elbow. “A week ago I asked her to marry me. Friday night she left her answer with Yiannis. I wanted her so badly I pushed too hard.”
“It’s early days.”
“No. She left Greece to spare me. Zoe’s convinced the disease will recur.”
A Wedding For The Greek Tycoon (Greek Billionaires Book 2) Page 12
