She spoke to the baby. “Look who’s here—your favorite uncles!”
He was witnessing another kind of miracle, one of communication despite the fact that Fran didn’t understand Greek, nor did the baby comprehend English.
Nik and his brothers took turns kissing her, but the baby clung to Fran. The nurse came in with a bag of diapers and enough formula to satisfy the baby until they reached home. Fran changed her and put on the new pink outfit, then looked around. “Who wants to feed her?”
Sandro took Demi from her arms, but the baby wanted none of it. “Well, that settles it.” He kissed her curls before returning her to Fran’s arms. “I’m afraid you’re stuck, Kyria Myers.”
“Call me Fran, and I don’t mind at all.”
The nurse handed her a bottle. Soon Demi had settled down to drink, content for the moment. She eventually burped a couple of times, announcing she’d drained it. More chuckles ensued from everyone. Despite the sadness ahead when they returned to Mykonos, Demi was the bright light that kept them all from sinking right now.
Nik walked over to Fran. “We’re ready to go. I’ll carry Demi to the helicopter. After we’re onboard the plane, we’ll eat breakfast.” He relieved her of the baby and wrapped her in the quilt.
“Come on, Demitza. We’re going for a ride.”
Fran followed him from the room with his brothers. Once they rode the elevator to the roof, they helped her into the helicopter while he climbed in with Demi. He handed her over to Cosimo who strapped her in the infant seat next to Fran. His brothers sat on the opposite side.
When everyone was settled in, Nik noticed Fran reach for Demi’s little hand before he took his place in the copilot’s seat. The gesture touched him and told him even more about the compassionate woman who’d put her vacation plans aside to make Demi secure. Again he wondered how many other women he’d known would have done that.
In a few minutes they lifted off and made a beeline for the airport. He heard his brothers talking to Fran. “We want to thank you again for all your help so far. Demi hasn’t been around other people besides family, so it’s a real surprise that she’s taken to you.”
“I’m sure it’s because I was the one who found her in the garden. She’d been lying there helpless all night.”
“I think it’s more than that,” Sandro confided. “You have a loving way with her like our sister.”
“Well, thank you. It’s been my pleasure to stay with her, believe me.”
“How long will you be in Greece?”
“I fly home in less than two weeks.”
Maybe not, Nik mused. Before he introduced Fran to his parents, he needed to have a private talk with her. The best place to do that would be aboard the jet in the compartment he used for his office.
“I guess you know our parents would like you to stay with us on Mykonos for part of the time.”
“That’s kind of them, Cosimo, but it’s really up to my friend Kellie Petralia who invited me here. She’d planned this time for us to be together.”
“She and her husband are welcome to stay with us, too,” Sandro chimed in.
“Your parents told me as much on the phone.”
“That’s because we’re all grateful to you.”
* * *
Grateful didn’t exactly cover Fran’s deepest feelings. She’d been empty for too long. To suddenly be taking care of a baby who was content to be in her arms made her feel whole for the first time in years. Even though she would have to relinquish Demi tomorrow, she would savor this sweet time with her today and tonight.
In her teens she’d been told she couldn’t have children. It had been like a light going out, but over the years she’d come around to the idea of adoption.
During the short flight to Thessalonika, Fran looked out the helicopter window at the sparkling blue Aegean below, wishing she could concentrate on the spectacular panorama. Instead she found herself reliving the painful moment when Rob had shattered her dreams of being a mother.
Even if it were possible to love another man again, the idea of meeting one who said he’d be willing to adopt wasn’t an option for her. Maybe one day she might meet and fall in love with a widower who had a child or children. At least then she could take over the mother role to help fill that empty space in her heart.
She simply couldn’t see it happening, but Kellie wouldn’t let her think that way. Dear Kellie... Her friend was in turmoil right now.
Her eyes strayed to Demi who was wide awake for the trip. She made sounds and was growing restless at being confined. In order to placate her, Fran got out another bottle of formula to keep her happy. Demi held it and mostly played with it, only sucking on the nipple without absorbing a lot of liquid. Her two bottom teeth had come in, helping her to tug on it.
Fran was amused to see the funny behavior coming from this child who could win the most beautiful baby of the year award. That was because she had the classic features of her mother and glossy black hair like Nik’s...and his brothers, Fran hastened to remind herself.
But Nik possessed an unconscious sensuality and sophistication that stood out from his siblings. She put her head back for a minute and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t keep staring at the back of his head where a few tendrils of black hair lay curled against his neck. Once in a while he turned to say something to his brothers and she glimpsed his striking male profile and chiseled jaw.
Dressed in the light brown sport shirt and dark trousers he’d changed into at the hotel last night, there was no man to match him. The celebrated bachelor’s appeal went far beyond the physical. He was warm and generous. She doubted he had a selfish bone in his body. Nik was so different from Rob....
Before long the helicopter landed, and they were driven to the Angelis Corporation jet, the size of a 727, waiting on the tarmac. While Sandro and Cosimo helped her and Demi onboard, Nik excused himself to talk to the people who’d taken care of putting his family’s bodies in the cargo area.
A few minutes later he walked down the aisle toward her. After speaking to his brothers on the way, he came to sit on the other side of her and Demi. His half smile turned her heart over.
“The flight to Mykonos won’t take too long. Then it’s just another short helicopter ride to the villa. After we reach cruising speed, we’ll eat breakfast, then I’d like to have a private talk with you in the compartment behind the galley. My brothers will entertain Demi.”
She nodded, but couldn’t help but wonder what was on his mind. He’d said something about a position in front of the doctor. What exactly had he meant?
She strapped herself in, and the jet took off. Like clockwork, the minute the Fasten Seat Belt light went off, the steward started serving their food. Fran needed a good meal, if only to brace herself for their talk.
Once the steward removed their trays, she undid Demi long enough to change her diaper. Nik got up from his seat and reached for another bottle in the hospital diaper bag. Once Demi was strapped in again, he kissed her and gave her the bottle to keep her occupied.
Touching Fran’s elbow he whispered, “Follow me.”
She did his bidding, but it was but a few seconds before they could hear Demi cry. Fran felt like the biggest meanie on earth, but she kept going. Once inside the compartment set up as a den with a computer, Nik closed the door and invited her to sit in one of the club seats opposite him. They could still hear Demi’s cries though they sounded fainter. Fran knew the baby’s uncles would
take care of her, but the sound of her distress tugged at her.
Nik sat back in his club chair with that unconscious aura of a CEO at home in his world. His dark eyes seemed to scrutinize her as if he were looking for secrets she might be hiding. Her pulse quickened in response.
“Before we reach Mykonos, I wonder if you’d answer some personal questions for me.”
Personal? “If I can.”
“Are you a full-time employee at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
He cocked his head. “What would happen if you needed more time off? Would they give it to you without it causing you problems?”
“I think so, but it would have to be because of an emergency.”
“Of course. One more question. Are you involved with another man right now?”
She blinked. He obviously had a reason for all this probing. “No.”
“And your friend Kellie. Would it disappoint her terribly if you didn’t spend your vacation with her?”
“Yes,” Fran answered honestly. “Why?”
Her question caused him to lean forward with his hands clasped. His intelligent dark eyes fused with hers. “Because I have a great favor to ask of you. I know I don’t have the right, but Demi’s needs are going to be top priority for my family in the days ahead.”
“I can understand that.”
“Judging by her behavior around you in the hospital, and including the fact that she started crying the minute we walked away from her a few moments ago, it’s clear Demi has formed a strong attachment to you. I dread what things are going to be like when you leave on your vacation with Kellie. She’ll not only be looking for her parents, but for you. That’s what’s got me worried.”
Fran had been worried about it, too, but she would never have brought it up. “Surely when she’s surrounded by your family again, she’ll get through the transition.”
He inhaled sharply. “I would have thought her seeing me and my brothers would have been all she needed. We’re a close family and get together often. But this experience has traumatized her in some way we don’t understand. If she isn’t clinging to us, then I don’t expect she’ll want anyone else, not even the staff who are familiar to her.”
“What about your parents? Your mother? Does she look like Melina?”
“They shared certain traits.” His eyes stared into Fran’s. “But I don’t know if Demi would cling to them the way she does to you. I’m very interested to see what happens when she’s with them again. Something tells me it won’t be enough to make the baby feel secure.”
“You’ll have to give Demi time.”
“That goes without saying. Nevertheless, I plan to consult a child psychiatrist after the funeral is over. Depending on what he or she says, I’ll go from there. But for the time being, I’d like to hire you to take care of Demi until you have to get back to Philadelphia. By then I’ll have some idea of how to proceed.”
Fran stirred in the chair. While trembling with excitement at the prospect of loving that little girl for a while longer, she knew how painful it would be when she had to say a final goodbye. She’d known a lot of pain in her life. First the death of her brother, then the death of a dream that had ended in divorce. She might not have lost Rob in death, but it felt like one.
No brother, no husband, no child of her own after three years of marriage. Fran knew herself too well. Another twenty-four hours taking care of that precious baby would be hard enough. But ten more days? She couldn’t risk the inevitable pain. It would come and she wouldn’t be able to stop it.
“When she’s been with your parents, or one of your brothers’ families, she’ll eventually adapt.”
One black brow dipped. “I don’t know. It’s too soon to work all that out and I want a doctor’s opinion first. The one thing I do know is that Demi wants you. If you could bring yourself to help us out here, you’ll be handsomely compensated. Anything you want.”
She shook her head. “That’s very generous, Nik, but I wouldn’t do it for the money.”
He sat back again. “If Kellie doesn’t mind a change in your plans, would you consider it? You’ll stay in an apartment at the villa. There’s a guest room and another smaller room we’ll set up as a nursery. Kellie is welcome to be with you any time you want. But I guess I haven’t asked the most important question. Is this something you wouldn’t mind doing?”
Mind? If he had any idea... Demi had climbed into her heart where she would always stay. Discovering the baby in that garden was as if providence had set the baby down in those bushes at the precise moment for Fran to find her.
But the flags had gone up, warning her that if she told him she wouldn’t mind at all, she could plan for rivers of anguish down the road when she had to tear herself away from that baby. It was a trauma she’d never get over.
“Fran?” he prodded. His smoky-sounding tone defeated her.
Although the youngest, Nik clearly carried the weight of the Angelis family on his shoulders. She had noticed how his brothers looked to him. This was a problem none of them had faced before. At the moment she recognized he needed a different kind of help and wanted Fran’s.
But for her own self-preservation, she needed to remain firm. “It isn’t a case of minding. It’s just that I know what Kellie’s answer will be when I ask her. We’ve been planning this trip for a long time. It will upset her too much and I can’t disappoint her. I’m sorry. But until the funeral is over, I’ll be happy to help out.”
“Then I’m grateful for that much.” He got to his feet. “Shall we get back to Demi before my frantic brothers come bursting in here with her?”
Fran had hated disappointing him, but her first priority had to be to herself.
CHAPTER FOUR
AT THREE the next afternoon, Nik left Fran holding the baby while he walked out to meet Leandros and his wife at the helicopter pad behind the villa. They’d been paying their respects to the other family, the ones who had lost their parents in the tornado and who couldn’t get away before now.
“Fran will be relieved you’re here now. It’s all that matters.” He led them out to the patio of the Angelis family villa where everyone had congregated to talk and eat. More tears ensued while Leandros and Kellie commiserated with his family.
Incredibly, the pain of losing Melina and Stavros was softened by the joy of having found Demi alive, a blessing no one had expected. Nik was heartened to see his family’s spirits had lifted despite their loss.
“It’s all over the news,” Sandro spoke up. “Demi is known as the Miracle Baby. Did you know the hotel in Leminos has become famous overnight?”
“So has the hospital,” Cosimo declared. “They even interviewed Demi’s doctor on the noon news.”
Though the whole family was eager to hold her, Demi clung to Fran just as Nik had suspected she would. The only time she didn’t cry was when his parents held her. But after a few minutes, Demi was looking for Fran and making sounds that indicated she didn’t want to be with anyone else.
Nik knew his parents were hurt, but they hid it well. When they had issued her an invitation over the phone to be their guest for as long as she wanted, they had had no idea they would need her on hand to keep Demi happy. He smiled to himself. Though Fran had turned him down about staying on, she didn’t know this story wasn’t over yet.
His father eyed Fran who was holding Demi against her shoulder. The baby looked around chewing on her teething ring. “Tell us what you
thought when you found her. We want details,” he beseeched her.
Fran broke into a tender smile. Once more she repeated her amazing tale. “The hotel is situated on a corner of the street. My first thought was that her mother or father had been walking her in a stroller on the other side of the hotel when those gale-force winds drove Kellie and me to run inside for shelter.
“It seemed more than possible she’d been blown into the garden at the rear of the building. But if that were true, then where were her parents? I was in shock to think she’d been exposed to the elements all night. Honestly, she looked like she’d been dropped from the sky.”
Nik’s sisters-in-law made moaning sounds to think such a thing had happened.
Kellie sat forward. “I came around back and saw Fran holding a limp baby who was wearing only a torn shirt. I thought I was hallucinating.”
“You weren’t the only one,” Fran added. “When neither the police or the hospital staff had heard of anyone looking for their baby, I began to think that’s exactly what had happened, that she’d been carried by the wind and deposited in a cushion of bushes.”
“But twelve miles—” Nik’s mother cried out and put her hands to her mouth. “God wanted her to live.” His father nodded his silver head and wept.
“Nik?” Fran eyed him from her place on the swing. “Has your family seen the pictures you took with your camera?”
He’d been planning to show them later. “Let’s do it right now,” he said, but he had difficulty talking because of the lump in his throat. After pulling out his phone, he clicked on to the picture gallery and handed it to his parents. “Slide your thumb across to see all of them. I took a few pictures in the hospital, too.” He’d made certain he’d gotten some shots of Fran.
Baby out of the Blue Page 6
