Pure revelation flowed through Stella. “You recognize it, don’t you.”
Still no response.
“Is that your handwriting at the bottom that says addressee unknown?”
She shook her head violently.
“Do you know whose it is? This is important, Iola. I have to know the truth.”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I will lose my job.”
“What? That’s impossible! You’re a part of this family.” Stella reached out and hugged her. “This is your home. Who told you that?”
She kept her head bowed. “Please don’t make me tell you. I’m afraid.”
“I can see that.”
Stella put a hand over her own mouth, absolutely devastated to think Nikos had blackmailed her into keeping quiet about this. “Did more letters like this come to the house I don’t know about?”
“I don’t know,” she muttered. In the next breath she handed Stella the letter before running down the hall toward the back of the villa.
Stella slowly walked into the salon and waited for the rest of the family to arrive. She’d arranged for Ari to stay with Dax until she came for him.
In a minute she heard footsteps in the foyer. Stasio’s pained expression left nothing to the imagination as he entered the salon with Nikos, who’d gone somewhere mentally where she couldn’t reach him.
His year-round tan had turned a sickly white. He’d been Stella’s nemesis for years. Every truly unhappy moment in her life she could lay at his feet. Her own brother.
Poor Stasio. He’d been just as wounded by him, maybe more, because he was the big brother Nikos hated to love and loved to hate.
On impulse she reached for Nikos’s hand. “I have something important to tell you, Nikos. Despite what you’ve done, I know in my heart Theo doesn’t want to send you to prison. That wasn’t his focus.
“When he came back to Greece and discovered he had a son, all he wanted was to fight for him and ultimately for me.” Never had a woman had more evidence of a man’s love.
She squeezed Nikos’s hand to get a reaction from him. “Listen to me—I know he’ll drop all the charges against you provided you do something for me.”
He looked at her in torment.
“If he still wants me after this, we’re going to be married. All he would like is peace from my family. He would like to be able to come and go with me and Ari and be treated kindly and fairly. That’s all.”
Stasio’s eyes glistened with tears.
“But that’s not all I want. Once upon a time you were a sweet boy, but something happened when you grew up. You’ll have to promise me and Stasio that you’ll get psychiatric help. You’ve needed it for years. It’ll save your marriage. Renate really loves you, but she can’t do it alone.”
“It’s too late for me,” Nikos whispered in a tortured breath.
“No.” Stasio sat forward. “It’s never to late to change.”
Stella patted his hand. “Look at Theo. He’s back after six years ready to take up where we left off. He didn’t think it was too late.”
He shook his head. “I told the guys to rough him up, not kill him.”
“I believe you. So does he.”
“He has every right to hate my guts forever.”
“Theo’s not like that.” Her voice trembled. “He has so much goodness in him you can’t imagine.”
The sobs started coming. Suddenly he got up from the couch and left the room. They could hear his anguish all the way to his suite down the hall.
Stasio moved over to sit by her. He put his big arms around her and rocked her against him. “Stella…” She heard every ounce of pain and love in his heart. They’d been through it all together. “When you and Theo work everything out, I want to have a long talk with him. He’s a man like few others. No wonder no other guy ever measured up.”
“I love him so terribly.”
“I know. He’s a lucky man to be loved by you. Go to him and put him out of his misery. He deserves every bit of happiness you can find together.”
Since returning from court, Theo’s family had sequestered him above the taverna. The women got food ready while he sat at the dining room table with his father and brothers. They’d closed the taverna for the day. It was like a holiday with the kids milling around, but the last thing he felt like doing was celebrating.
He kept reliving the court scene in his mind. With each damaging piece of evidence, Stella seemed to have shrunken inside herself a little more. No matter how he went over it in his mind, there hadn’t been another way to do it.
If he’d called her on the phone after returning to Athens, and told her the truth right off, she would have hung up on him. There wouldn’t have been a discussion. He would never have been able to meet Ari.
“Theo?” Dymas poured him a little wine. “She’s going to forgive you.”
Spiro nodded. “Give it time. You said she’s always had to be careful around Nikos. When it sinks in and she realizes there wasn’t any other way for you to handle things, she’ll get in touch with you.”
He sat back in the chair with his arms crossed. “I’d like to believe you, but I saw anguish on her face today. She has loved her family a lot longer than she has loved me. You know what they say. Blood is thicker than water.” His gaze flicked to his family.
“Thank you all for being there for me today.”
“As if we’d have been anywhere else.” His father patted his arm. “You’ve suffered long enough. Today we saw justice done. I’m very proud of the great man you’ve become.”
For his father to tell Theo that was something. He’d never said those words to him before. “Thank you, Papa, but I don’t feel great. To destroy the woman I love in order to be with her and my son has brought me no joy.”
“Nikos Athas destroyed himself without anyone’s help, my boy.”
“It’s too bad the jury trial can’t be sooner so this can all be over with.”
“There isn’t going to be one, Spiro.” Theo shoved himself away from the table and got to his feet.
All three of them stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
“Tomorrow I’ll tell Nestor I’m dropping the charges.”
Dymas looked shocked. “After all you’ve done to get ready for it?”
“Yes. It’s over.”
“Nikos could still be dangerous.”
“I’ve thought about that, Dymas. Nevertheless, today’s court session is as far as I go. He’s been exposed. Enough damage was done for Stella to know the true reason for what happened.”
His father got to his feet and walked over to him. “How much does Ari know about any of this?”
“As far as I know, nothing. But today everything exploded. No doubt he’ll learn all about it and totally despise me.”
“No, Theo. You’ve won his love. He’ll figure it out. Like Spiro said, give this time.”
“You mean like another six years? Maybe then my son will be mature enough to acknowledge me again?” Theo was dying inside. “Papa? Will you tell Mama I couldn’t stay. I have to leave.”
He patted Theo’s shoulder. “I understand. Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. I need to be alone.”
“Do you want to take a drive with me?”
“No, thank you, Papa. I have to be on my own.” He felt like running until he dropped and the pain went away.
They walked to the top of the stairs. “I love you, Theo.”
“I love you, too, Papa.” He kissed his cheek before descending the steps leading to the restaurant below. He let himself out of the back of the taverna and locked the door before he started running in the direction of the beach.
Stella showered and changed into the white dress with the wide belt Theo seemed to like so much. Wherever he was, when she caught up to him she wanted to look her most beautiful for him.
After talking to Ari on the phone at Dax’s house, sh
e found out he hadn’t heard from his father all day. It was after four right now. This had to be the first time Theo hadn’t checked in with their son.
She grew even more apprehensive because they had their star-gazing class tonight. Theo could have gone anywhere after court. She wanted to believe he was with his family, but after what he’d lived through today, he was probably out of his mind in pain. Somehow she had to get through this and find him without alarming Ari.
Once she was ready, she said good-night to Stasio and slipped out the back door to her car. She’d told Ari to be waiting for her. When she eventually drove up to Dax’s house, he came flying out the front door and jumped in the car.
“Where’s Papa?”
She smothered the moan rising in her throat. “I think he’s at the taverna with his family. I thought we’d drive there for dinner before you guys leave for class.”
“He’ll be glad. Papa’s afraid you don’t like his family.”
Stella glanced at her son. “That’s not true. I like them very much.”
“He talks about you all the time and told me what you were like when he first met you. He said you were really shy. What does that mean?”
“That I didn’t speak up and kind of hung back.”
“Papa said that was his favorite thing about you. All the other girls…well, you know. They wanted to be with him, but he said that once he met you, that was it.”
She was certain there’d been other women while he’d been in New York. He was too attractive and had too much drive to live like a monk, but he’d come back for her. It proved that whatever had gone on in his past, it hadn’t kept him in the States. That was all that mattered to her.
“It’s nice to hear.”
“He wanted to know if you’d had boyfriends.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That there’d been some, but you never let any of them come up to the family room or sleep over. Papa was pretty happy to hear that.”
In spite of her fear that they wouldn’t be able to find him, she chuckled. “I’m afraid when I met him, I never really looked at another man again.”
“You love him like crazy, huh.”
Her throat practically closed up with emotion. “Yes. How can you tell?”
“Because you’re always smiling now.”
“So are you. Let’s go find him right now and surprise him.”
They’d crossed over to Salamis Island. The traffic was horrendous with tourists and people driving home from work.
Be there, Theo, she cried. But when they came in sight of the taverna, she couldn’t see his car. That didn’t necessarily have to mean anything, but it still made her stomach clench.
She pulled up in front. Ari jumped right out. “I’ll get him, Mom.”
It was just as well he went inside alone. She didn’t feel up to facing his family, not after what they’d all been through this morning in court.
Stella’s brother had been the cause of all the pain their family had suffered. Nothing she could ever say or do would make up for what they’d had to endure. Whenever her mind remembered what the doctor had said in court about Theo’s injuries, her heart broke all over again.
When Ari came back out, she had to dash the moisture off her cheeks so he wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong.
“Grandpa said he was there earlier, but he left to go home.”
“Then, that’s where we’ll go. Do you know where his house is from here? I’ve never seen it.”
“Yeah. I’ll show you how to get there. Take that road over there and follow it to the coast road.”
Once they reached the other road, everything started to look familiar to her. With each kilometer she realized Ari was directing her toward a favorite area she hadn’t seen in six years.
Before long Ari told her to turn into the driveway around the next curve. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips to see a lovely white villa on the stretch of beach where Theo used to take her in the rowboat.
“This is your father’s house?”
“Yeah. It’s so cool. It has a gym and an indoor pool. I can walk right out on the beach from my bedroom. We’ve set up the telescope on the porch and look at the stars. Dax wishes he lived here.”
“I’ll bet he does,” her voice trembled.
They both got out of the car and walked past the flowering shrubs to the front entrance. “Papa gave me a key. Come on.” He opened the door for them. She stepped inside a new, modern world of white with splashes of color on the walls and floors. So much light from the arched windows thrilled her to death.
“Papa?” he called out. “Mom and I are here! Where are you?” He raced around the house but couldn’t find him. “He’s probably gone for a walk. Let’s go find him.”
If he wasn’t here, Stella didn’t know what she would do. “That’s a great idea. I’ll take my shoes off.”
“Me, too.”
They left them inside the sliding doors off the family room. She followed him outside. Steps led down from the deck to the sand. The evening air felt like velvet. Her eyes took in the ocean not thirty feet away.
The pristine beach was just as she remembered it from years ago. “Come on, Mom. This is the way Papa took me for a walk.”
She ran to catch up to him. “There aren’t any people around.”
“This is his private beach. He said that when he was growing up, their family lived like sardines in a can.” She laughed at the metaphor. “He decided that if he ever made enough money, he’d build a place where he could walk around and be by himself.”
Her eyes smarted. “Well he certainly accomplished that here.”
“Yeah. I love it. Our house in Athens is old and full of people all the time, too.”
Stella hadn’t ever thought about it before, but he was right. Rich or poor, both her family and Theo’s had been through a lot of togetherness.
As they rounded a small headland, her feet came to a stop. This was the little cove where Theo always brought her in the rowboat. This was where they’d made passionate love for the first time. Ari had been conceived here.
She lifted wet eyes to capture the scene. In the distance she saw the man she loved hunkered down on the sand in shorts and a T-shirt, watching the ocean. This part of the coast was protected, making the water as calm as a lake.
“Papa!”
He turned his head. By the way he slowly got to his feet she could tell he was shocked to see her with Ari.
Her heart pounded so hard, it seemed to give her wings as she started running toward him. Suddenly he was galvanized into action and raced toward her as if he could outrun the wind. They met halfway and clung in euphoric rapture while he swung her around.
“Darling,” she cried breathlessly.
Theo didn’t speak words she could hear. He did it with his mouth, covering hers hungrily, letting her know how he felt while they communicated in the way they used to when they found this special spot to be together.
“Thank God you came,” he whispered at last. “I swear I—”
“Shh.” She pressed her lips to his. “We’re never going to talk about this again. We’re never going to think about the past again. Don’t look now, but I think we’ve embarrassed our son.”
When Theo lifted his dark head, the last rays of the sun gilded his features. They were more striking to her now than ever before. His black eyes devoured her before shifting to their son, who stood a little ways off watching a sailboat in the distance.
“Ari? You’ll have to forgive your mother and me. She just told me she’d marry me.”
“You did?” He shrieked for joy.
She nodded.
“That’s so awesome, Mom!” He leaped in the air, shouting like a maniac. His whole face was wet from happy tears. Her heart thrilled to see the smile that transformed him.
“‘So awesome’ is right,” Theo murmured, kissing her again. “I kind of lost control for a minute.”
Ari laughed and ran over to them.
They all hugged for a long time.
“How soon is the wedding?”
“Three weeks,” they both said at the same time. He smiled into her eyes. “That should give us enough time.”
“Why do you have to wait so long?”
She slid her arm around their son. “The wedding banns.”
“What are those?”
“An announcement that we’re getting married,” Theo explained. “It gives anyone time to object if they know a reason why we shouldn’t be married.”
“That’s crazy! Who wouldn’t want you two to get married?”
Stella’s eyes sought Theo’s. The moment was bittersweet until he said, “Nobody I know, and you’re absolutely right. It is crazy, but it’s tradition. Come on. Let’s go back to the house and plan the wedding.”
“Are you going to ask Hektor to marry you?”
“Who else?” Theo teased.
“Are you guys going to go on a honeymoon?”
That forlorn little tone had sneaked into his voice. Theo smiled at her before he said, “We’re thinking either Disneyland or Disney World. We’ll let you make the decision.”
“Disneyland!” he cried out. “Dax said it’s awesome!”
CHAPTER TEN
Eleven Months Later
“RACHEL? Would you do me a favor?” She and Stella were lying by the pool at the villa on Andros looking at baby magazines.
“What is it?”
“Don’t look now but Theo’s staring at me from the other end of the patio. My due date isn’t for another three days, but you’d think I was on the verge of giving birth right now. Tell Stasio to take him somewhere for the day. I swear if he hovers around me one more minute, I’m going to scream.”
“I know exactly how you feel. Stasio drove me crazy for the last couple of weeks before Anna was born.”
“I’m getting there fast.”
“He’s in the house changing her diaper. As soon as he comes out, I’ll ask him.”
“Thank you.”
“Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“Theo’s coming over here.”
Stella lifted the magazine higher, pretending not to see him.
“You’ve been in the sun long enough, Stella. Let’s get you inside for a little while. Too much heat isn’t good for you.”
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