The Millionaire's True Worth

by Rebecca Winters

  “You’ve said a lot of things and I heard you out. Now it’s my turn.”

  “You don’t get a turn. Please leave me alone.”

  He smiled despite his pain. “I can’t do that. You’re going to have to listen to me even if you don’t want to. Trying to peel away the layers of misunderstanding is going to take some time. But before we start over, there’s one matter I need to clear up right now.

  “Whatever secret you asked Chloe to keep, I swear to you she kept it so well that Theo never breathed a word of anything to me. Furthermore I didn’t know of your existence until I arrived at Nora and Socus’s house. They told me the beautiful woman with the sprained ankle I was looking for was Chloe’s friend from America and that you were going to stay with them for a while.”

  He waited for a response. When it didn’t come he said, “Did you hear what I just said? You’ll have to take my word for it that everything going on with you and me was purely accidental.”

  In a surprise move she rolled onto her back with a tear-blotched face, forcing his hand to slide from her hair. “If that’s true, then when did your brother manage to tell you all about my life?”

  “Not until the next night when Vasso phoned about the downed power grid. He told me he’d left some papers for me at the penthouse I should look at before I left on vacation. But he didn’t explain the nature of them. I had to leave you when it was the last thing I wanted to do.

  “You have to understand he’s the older brother and has always had this thing about looking out for me. After I told him I’d met this amazing woman, it made him nervous because I’ve never been this taken with a woman in my life. He realized how important you were to me already. When he connected the Maywood name with our helicopter purchase, he searched the internet and wanted me to see what he’d found.”

  She groaned. “I can’t get away from the notoriety no matter what I do.”

  “You did with me. What thrilled me was that you didn’t know anything about me, either.

  “In a world that worships money, Vasso and I are constantly stalked by the press. Their voracious hunger to pry into our lives has been a nightmare.

  “Don’t you see, Raina? For once in our lives, you and I were simply two ordinary people who met by accident and were seized by an attraction we couldn’t control or dismiss.”

  Raina gazed at him in the semidarkness with her soul in those violet eyes. “To be fair, I discovered who you were in a roundabout way. When I called the lab to tell them I was going to prolong my vacation, I inadvertently informed Larry that I’d just ridden in our newest model helicopter and that it performed beautifully.

  “That’s when he told me that the famous rags-to-riches billionaire Giannopoulos brothers were the first from Greece to purchase them. Suddenly everything made sense...the Giannopoulos Complex and penthouse, this house set on property only people with great wealth can afford, a state-of-the-art cabin cruiser.”

  He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You never said a word,” he murmured against her lips.

  “Neither did you.”

  “I didn’t want anything to ruin our relationship.”

  “Neither did I.”

  He cupped her face in his hands. “Except for the last few minutes in the living room, I’ve never been happier in my life.”

  “Akis—” She moaned his name before he couldn’t stand it any longer and plundered her mouth over and over again. She met him with an avid eagerness he could only dream about. For the next while they communed in the most primal way. Time passed as they bestowed kiss after kiss on each other until he was held in the thrall of ecstasy.

  “You’re my heart’s desire, Raina,” he murmured into the curve of her neck. “But I don’t want to make a wrong move with you. No one needs to tell me you’re not just any woman. I knew it the second we met.”

  Out of breath, she lifted her head and rolled away from him. Sitting on the edge of the bed she said, “When I came to Greece, I never imagined something like this happening. I was ready to leave the reception when you asked me to dance. It seemed like some trickery of magic that the best man found his way to my table. I’d watched you all evening.

  “But even with all these emotions, I still feel like my happiness is going to be taken from me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t know if your feelings are as intense as mine, that they’ll last...”

  He got to his feet. “Don’t you know I suffer from the same fear? We’ve both been taken by surprise. I don’t want to do anything to ruin it. Before this goes any further, there’s something I need to tell you about me that could alter your feelings where I’m concerned.”

  “In what way?”

  “You told me you were hoping to have children after you got married, but children weren’t part of your husband’s plan.”

  Exasperated, she stood up. “What does that have to do with our situation? We’re not contemplating marriage.”

  “You have no idea what’s on my mind.” Did that mean he’d entertained the thought? Her heart skipped a beat because tonight she’d wished he’d been her husband and they were on their honeymoon. “Even so, you deserve to know the truth about me.”

  She felt a moment of panic. “What truth?”

  “I’m simply trying to say that if we were to become intimate, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting pregnant.”

  She hugged her arms to her waist. “Because you wouldn’t want children whether in or out of wedlock?”

  “I didn’t say that. While I was in the military, I came down with mumps. I’m one of the thirteen percent of men who developed mumps-related orchitis. It rendered me sterile.”

  A quiet gasp escaped. “You weren’t vaccinated?”

  “Afraid not.”

  “But that was ten years ago. Today there are any number of specialists in that field. Have you been to one recently?”

  “No. I’ve never had a reason to be worried about it. But after you told me the history with your husband, I know having children means everything to you.”

  And no doubt to him.

  Her heart bled for him. “I’m so sorry, Akis. Have you had this conversation with the other women in your life?”

  “There’ve only been a few, but the answer is no.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because no woman ever made me want to carry her off where I could get her alone to myself for the duration.”

  His admission just described her condition, causing her body to quiver in reaction. “I’m touched that you would reveal something so personal to me.”

  She had to assume that the only reason he’d told her these things was so she wouldn’t be expecting a marriage proposal at the end of their vacation. There was always adoption, but he wouldn’t want to hear that from her. The painful conversation had gone in a different direction. Needing to change the subject she said, “Where are we going to go exploring tomorrow?”

  His head jerked upward. “You’ve changed your mind about going back to Chloe’s?”

  “You know why I said it, but if you’d rather I did...”

  In the next breath he grasped her upper arms and drew her to him. “You know damn well I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can until you have to go back to California.”

  “That’s what I want, too.” Without conscious thought she pressed her mouth to his, wanting him to know her feelings for him ran deeper than he knew.

  He kissed her long and hard before lifting his head. “I’m going to let you go to sleep. Tomorrow over breakfast we’ll come up with an itinerary. If there’s something you want to do, we’ll do it.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  IF THERE’S SOMETHING you want to do, we’ll do it.

  Akis’s words went round and round
in Raina’s head for the rest of the night. He was a conflicted man. On the one hand he didn’t want to make love to her because she was the kind of a woman you married first.

  On the other hand, Akis seemed convinced that her desire for a baby prevented him from entertaining marriage to her or any woman for that matter. He’d set up an impossible situation where Raina couldn’t win.

  He’d all but broken down and told her he was in love with her. Every sign was there. If she could penetrate that part of his psyche and make him realize his sterility didn’t matter to her in the way he thought...

  She would reason with him. Marriage was a risk. How many women got married and then found out that they had a problem that would prevent them from getting pregnant? Those situations happened to thousands of couples.

  After moving restlessly for most of the night, an idea came to her and she was able to fall asleep. The next morning she awakened with a firm plan in mind. She freshened up and dressed in shorts and a small print blouse.

  Before she’d left California she’d packed a pair of sneakers, but hadn’t used them while she’d been here. Glad she was prepared, she put them on, eager to give them a workout today.

  As usual, Akis had gotten up ahead of her and had breakfast waiting on the patio. He got up from the chair where he was drinking coffee. “Good morning, thespinis.” His eyes played over as he helped her to be seated.

  “It’s another beautiful morning. Does it ever get cloudy here?”

  He smiled. Akis was so attractive, her heart literally jumped. “It rarely rains in June. You’ve come at the perfect time.”

  “I’m so lucky, and this looks delicious, as always.” She started with eggs and a roll covered with marmalade. “No wonder Chloe chose this month to be married. Where are they going to live? Do you know?”

  “They’ve bought a home in the northwest area of Athens called Marousi.”

  “I’ll bet Chloe is so excited to set up her own house. She has a real eye for decor.” Even back in high school her friend had dreamed of being married and having children, but Raina stayed away from that subject.

  Akis flicked her a glance. “Have you decided where you’d like to visit today?”

  “I have. I’d like us to take the cruiser to Paxos. When we went there before, I had to use crutches. Today I feel like walking and would like to visit all your old haunts like your first home, the school where you went when you had time. How about the home where your mother grew up? Could we visit the church where your parents were married?”

  He averted his eyes. “None of it is that exciting.”

  “Maybe not to you, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do more. Unless it brings back painful memories. Does it?” she asked quietly.

  “Not at all, but I supposed you wanted to see some of the other islands like Kefallonia.”

  “Maybe tomorrow, or another time.”

  Akis seemed engrossed in thought. While he finished his coffee, she cleared the table, anxious to get underway. This could be the most important day of her life if all went well.

  In a few minutes he announced he was ready to leave. She grabbed her purse and left the house with him. “I love this old truck, Akis.”

  “It has seen a lot of wear transporting baskets of olives to town over the years.”

  “How did you come by it?”

  “I bought it off a farmer who was happy for the money.”

  She eyed him intently. “Knowing you I bet you paid him ten times what it was worth.”

  A tiny nerve throbbed at the side of his temple. “What makes you think that?”

  “You’re a generous person by nature.”

  “You don’t know any such thing.”

  Why couldn’t he accept a compliment? “The way you treat me tells me the important things about you.”

  He lapsed into silence while they drove to the harbor to take out the boat. Maybe she shouldn’t have suggested they travel to Loggos.

  Once they reached the dock, she fastened her life jacket and sat across from him. He started the engine and they were on their way. “Akis? We don’t have to go to Paxos if you don’t want to.”

  “It’s fine,” he said without looking at her.

  No, it wasn’t, but he was determined to take her there. Raina made up her mind to enjoy this journey back in time with him. She ached to know all the private little things about him that made him the marvelous man he was.

  The few framed photos in his house showed his parents, a young, attractive man and woman. There were two baby photos of him and Vasso. Adorable. Her heart pained for the circumstances that had taken their mother’s life early. Her eyes filled with tears.

  What a great father they’d had. One who’d worked night and day for them and had taught them how to be men. Though she couldn’t meet his parents, she yearned to picture their life together. How proud they would be of their sons.

  “Raina? Are you all right?”

  “Of course.”

  “I can see tears.”

  “The sun got in my eyes.”

  The trip to Loggos didn’t take long. This part of the famous island looked like a crown of dark green with jewels studding its base. Akis pulled into a slip to moor the cruiser. She discarded the life jacket and got out to help him tie the ropes to the dock.

  She looked up at him, trying not to feast her eyes on him dressed in tan chinos and a dusky-blue crew neck. “Where should we start?”

  He’d been studying her features through veiled eyes. “The old hut is on this side of the village, but it’s a brief walk by trail. We might as well go there first.”

  Excitement built up inside her to be exploring his backyard, so to speak. They walked through the lush grove of olive trees interspersed with cypress trees. He’d grown up here, played here. At least he had to have played here a little until he was put to work at five years of age.

  Before long they came to a clearing where a vineyard sprawled on the steep hillside before her eyes. She took a deep breath before following him along a path through the grape vines to the hut made of stone. It was even smaller than she had imagined.

  Akis! He’d been born right here!

  A man working the vineyard called out to him. Akis said something in Greek and a conversation ensued. He turned to Raina. “The owner says we’re welcome to go inside.”

  She was too moved to say words. He opened the wood door and they walked into a stone house with windows and a wood floor. Twenty by thirty feet? There were no partitions, only a lot of vintner equipment and stakes. A counter with a sink was in the other corner.

  “This is it, Raina. Our living room was over in that corner, our beds on the other side. That door over there leads to a bathroom of sorts. We had to pump water to fill the old bathtub. The best way for me and Vasso to get clean was to bathe in the sea.”

  “Were you able to keep any furniture?”

  “It wasn’t worth it. When the owner took over, he must have gotten rid of it.”

  A lump lodged in her throat. “Grandpa always said home is where love is. You can’t get rid of that.”

  Akis turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He squeezed them, but didn’t say anything. They stayed like that until he gave her the sweetest kiss on the mouth. Then he grasped her hand and they went outside.

  “We’ll climb up the hillside and along the ridge. The church is perched at the top. Because of the foliage you can’t see it from here.”

  He let go of her as they walked through the rest of the vineyard and came to the trail. Pretty soon she saw the glistening white Greek church ahead of them standing alone, small and elegant. Raina looked back to the sea with a sweep of forest-green olive groves running toward it. She’d never seen such scenery.

  “What’s that white complex in the dist
ance near the water?”

  “The Center Vasso and I had built. It’s a hospital and convalescent center for people with lymphoma who can’t afford that kind of care. All in honor of our father.”

  “He raised such wonderful sons, he deserves the recognition. Did you go to church all the time?”

  “Papa took us when he could.”

  “When was the last time you came here?”

  “Vasso and I come every year and visit our parents’ graves on their wedding anniversary in July. They’re buried in the cemetery behind the church.”

  “If I’d known I would have brought flowers.”

  “We don’t have to worry about that. See all those yellow flowers growing wild beneath the olive trees? The broom is in bloom. We’ll pick an armful.”

  Akis left the path. She followed him and within a minute they’d picked a huge bunch. She buried her face in them. “They smell like vanilla.”

  He flashed her a white smile. “One of my favorite scents.”

  Soon they reached the church and walked around to the back. He stopped in front of his parents’ headstone filled with Greek writing and dates. There was an empty can left in the center. Akis reached for her flowers and put them with his before lowering their stems into the can. “There’s no water, but they’ll stay beautiful until tomorrow.”

  She stood still while he remained hunkered down for a minute. Then he got up and they walked around to the front of the church. After the dazzling white outside, Raina had to take a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darker interior. It smelled of incense. Akis cupped her elbow and they moved toward the ornate shrine.

  “There’s no one here.”

  “The priest lives close by on the outskirts of the village. He’ll come toward evening to conduct mass for the workers.”

  “This church is so lovely and quiet. While you sit, do you mind if I walk around to look at the wall icons?”

  He slanted her a glance. “I’ll come with you.” To her delight he gave her a short history of each one before they walked outside the doors into the sunlight. The rays were so bright, she reached in her purse for her sunglasses.