Giannina ignored him and ran down the steps to the road. It led to the beach. She could hear him coming behind her. The sand felt hot beneath her feet. She tossed her beach towel and plunged into the sublime blue water of the Aegean.
He caught up to her and pulled her against him. “Before we do anything else, I need this.”
The next thing she knew, he’d covered her mouth with his own, igniting her in ways she didn’t know were possible. The feel of his hands and mouth created such ecstasy, she forgot everything as white-hot heat consumed her. This was Philip and Alex all rolled into one, making her feel immortal.
They clung, not able to get enough of each other. She moaned when he eventually carried her back to the sand. After spreading the beach towel, he pulled her down and gathered her into his arms. Their legs entwined and he began devouring her.
“Agapa mou,” he cried over and over again. She hadn’t heard those words for so long. Those were words she would have died to hear three years ago. “Will you marry me, Giannina? Tell me you love me and want to be my wife. Otherwise my life makes no sense.”
She couldn’t think. She loved both men, but one would be become king of Hellenia. It was an inescapable fact. He could pretend that it didn’t matter, but the day would come when love for his country would take over all else.
Giannina knew in her heart of hearts he’d make a great king. But she couldn’t imagine herself being his wife because the life of a royal was anathema to her. He needed a wife who would make a superb queen. The thought of Giannina being that person was laughable.
He was waiting for an answer. She had to give him one, but it wouldn’t satisfy him. On a groan, she tore her lips from his and got shakily to her feet. He stared up at her. “Where did you go?”
She sucked in her breath, trying to keep it. “Back to reality. I couldn’t marry you and call you Mr. Pisistratus like any normal man who comes home from work at five. You wouldn’t last five minutes, and I couldn’t handle the guilt I’d feel that you’d given up the throne for me.”
He got to his feet. His jaw had tautened. “You can’t be positive about that.”
“Yes. I can. I’m also positive that I could never marry you and be your queen. I’m not cut out to be a royal. It isn’t in me, Alex. There’s a certain logic in royals marrying each other. From birth they’re taught their destiny and know what’s expected.”
“You’re a remarkable woman who can handle anything and don’t need to be afraid of anything.”
“Except for one thing,” she challenged him.
“Which is?”
“To hurt you.”
His eyes had narrowed. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s not what, but who. I’ve heard the tragic story of the fourteen-year-old boy who has had to make his way through this life carrying a weight no child should ever have to carry. By some miracle and Zikos’s love, you’ve made it this far. So help me but I don’t want to be the one person who brings any more sorrow to your heart and soul by being a disappointing queen.”
She reached for the towel and started across the sand to the road.
Within seconds he gripped her hips and turned her around. “I refuse to lose you, Giannina,” came the fierce avowal. “There’s a third possibility in all this. The news isn’t out to the public that the prince is alive. My existence can remain a secret. Life will go on in Hellenia with Zikos’s guidance.”
“It wouldn’t work,” she insisted.
“Of course it would. We’d be free to do what we wanted. You could resign from the newspaper. We could fly to a different country where no one knows us and get married. I have plenty of money so we could set up a business.
“Do you remember that we talked about how fun it would be to run a restaurant with the kinds of food we loved? We’d build a chalet that serves cheese fondue, the kind they make in Switzerland with Kirsch and gruyere cheese. We’d be the proprietors and even dress the part. It’s the food for lovers and would be a total success.”
“Stop, Alex,” she begged him, not wanting to revisit that month in London where she’d loved him so much anything was possible. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
He gripped her arms. “I’m fighting for our lives and our love, Giannina. Can you understand that?” He shook her gently, then let go of her. “Maybe I’ve been wrong, and you have never felt the way I feel. I was so sure of your love, I believed we could overcome anything. I didn’t know you could be this afraid.” A haunted look crossed over his striking features before he turned and ran back in the ocean.
Giannina stood there devastated as she watched his powerful body swim out to open water. He was right. She was afraid.
So deep was her misery, she didn’t realize that a phone had been ringing. His phone. For how long she didn’t know. It came from his shirt pocket lying on the sand. She ran over and pulled it out, assuming it was Zikos, but the ringing had stopped.
She knew it had to be important and called out to Alex, waving her hands. When he didn’t acknowledge her, she dropped the towel and ran in the water to catch up to him.
At some point he saw her and started swimming toward her. Within touching distance now, he pulled her against him and kissed her long and hard. “Giannina, darling. I need you more than life itself. Are you ready to tell me that you’ll at least consider what I’ve said?”
He’d misunderstood her actions in swimming out to him. She pressed her hands against his chest. “I’m still thinking about everything, but I swam out here to tell you a phone call came through for you just now. I imagine it’s an important one.”
His face registered frustration before he released her and swam toward the beach. She tried to keep up with him. He raced for his phone and began speaking in Croatian.
She reached for the beach towel and waited for him. When he finally hung up, he grabbed his shirt and put it on.
“What’s happened?”
He turned to her with a grim countenance. “Zikos returned to Croatia. I’ve been summoned there, but nothing has been settled between you and me. Now I have to leave. Zikos has sent a helicopter to take me to the airport, where the jet is waiting. It should be here within a few minutes.”
Her heart lurched. She couldn’t bear the reality of his leaving, but she couldn’t tell him what he was desperate to hear. She loved and trusted him with all her heart and soul, but to be his queen...
The second Giannina stepped away from him, he strode swiftly toward the road leading to the villa. She hurried to catch up to him, but he was faster. When they entered the villa, he disappeared into the guest bedroom. Soon he came out with his suitcase wearing the same outfit he’d worn yesterday. The Alex who’d laid his heart at her feet moments ago was nowhere to be found.
“You’re free to run the story in your paper anytime now. If you want a picture, better grab your camera. During the flight I’ll call your brother to thank him for his hospitality and everything else he’s done. It goes without saying that I owe you a great deal for your part in all of this.”
She was in so much pain she could hardly function, yet she managed to run to her bedroom and pull the camera out of the case. At the same time, she heard a helicopter landing.
With no time to lose, Giannina flew out the back of the villa to the pad. The helicopter seemed to float down, but the rotors kept going, creating a breeze. A man appeared in the opening and took the suitcase from Alex. They talked for a moment.
“Alex?” she called to him. He turned in time for her to snap his picture as he climbed inside. She kept taking shots until the door closed. Her heart plunged to the ground as the helicopter rose in the air.
Alex, Alex.
Dying inside, she raced back to the villa and phoned Nico.
“Giannina? How are things going?”
“Before I answer any questions, could you s
end the helicopter for me right now? Ask the pilot to take me directly to the newspaper.”
“Of course. Hold on.”
She didn’t have to wait long before he came back on the line. “Where’s Alex?”
“He just left on a helicopter his uncle Zikos sent for him.”
“Finally Hellenia has a king again.”
“Yes, Nico.” Her voice shook. “I have his story and a picture. As soon as I get back to the office, I’ll arrange for this to be the breaking news for tomorrow morning.”
“It’ll be the most amazing headline anywhere in the world.”
“I know,” she muttered.
“Hey—are you all right?”
“No, and I never will be again.”
“Obviously something’s wrong. I’ll meet you at your office.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I think I do. See you soon.”
He hung up before she did. Since the helicopter would be here shortly, she rang Anna on the house phone to tell her Alex had gone and she would be leaving. She thanked the older woman for her help and hurried to the bedroom to pack her things.
The story she’d printed off lay on the kitchen counter. She’d keep it as a souvenir of her time with Alex and put it in her purse. When she heard the sound of the helicopter, she hurried out to the pad carrying her suitcase.
“Thanks for coming, Charon.” She knew Nico’s pilot well.
“Happy to oblige, Giannina.” He made certain she was strapped in before they took off and headed back to Salonica.
“The boss says you have a deadline.”
She nodded. “You’ll read what it’s all about when you see the newspaper in the morning.”
He smiled. “Now you’ve got me real curious. Bad news, or good?”
“Good. The best there could be.”
“It’s about time.”
“Agreed.”
The short flight got her back to the city in time for her to say good-night to Khloe before she left for the night.
“Welcome home,” her assistant cried. “I’ve missed you. Can’t wait to hear what you’ve been doing.”
“Come in my office and I’ll give you a brief version.”
“Whoa,” Khloe cried out minutes later and rolled her eyes.
Giannina smiled. “Whoa is right. Now tell me how everything is around here.”
She chuckled. “Chaotic as usual.”
Giannina nodded. “Of course.”
“I’ve left notes on your desk.”
“Thank you. You’re the best and deserve a bonus. I appreciate your taking over at a moment’s notice. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once back at her desk, she called the guys putting out tomorrow’s paper and asked them to come up to her office. When they arrived, she said, “You’ll have to scrap the front page. We have a new one that takes precedence. I want the layout to be up style, with a noble feel that will stand the test of time. Don’t let me down.”
The guys stared at her in surprise.
“You’re all sworn to secrecy until tomorrow morning when the paper comes out. I’ve downloaded the story and the picture that goes with it. This is so important it has to be perfect!”
No sooner had they left her office to get started than Nico swept inside. She jumped up to hug him. “Thank you for sending the helicopter. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Her voice wobbled.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Oh, Nico. That’s such a loaded question.”
“You’re a newspaper woman. Just give me the nuts and bolts.”
“It’s complicated.”
* * *
Alex flew to Dubrovnik to debrief. Zikos had arrived from Loria earlier in the day. The two of them talked into the night.
When morning came, Marko brought them breakfast and several copies of the Halkidiki News.
Alex sat there sipping his coffee while Zikos reached for one and read it. “This story was underplayed and an absolute masterpiece. So is the picture.”
“All of it was Gianinna’s idea. She wanted action.”
“Her excellent taste tells me a great deal more about her. She’ll make you an exceptional queen.”
On that note Alex got up from the dining chair, so restless he couldn’t sit still. “She doesn’t want to be my queen.”
Zikos’s brows lifted. “But you’ve already asked her to marry you.”
He threw his head back. “I did. She agreed to marry Philip but that man no longer exists.”
Zikos lowered his head, no doubt disturbed by everything he’d told him.
“I’m sorry, son. You have to be in terrible pain. This is one time when I feel inadequate and am at a complete loss what to say to you.”
Alex took a deep breath and turned to him. “The fact that you’ve always been here for me and are listening to me now makes me the luckiest of men. As for Giannina, I can’t imagine loving another woman and will have to find a way to live with the pain.”
He picked up the other copy of the newspaper and looked at the photo she’d taken as he’d climbed in the helicopter. Their conversation on the phone that night would stay with him forever.
Zikos stood up. “Now that the news is out, it’ll be all over the media and we’re going to be overrun with people. I suggest we pack and drive to the airport. From there we’ll fly to Loria and take the royal helicopter directly to the palace. There’s a whole staff and government officials loyal to your family waiting to welcome you home. They’ll be overjoyed to see you back.”
“You’re right. Let’s do it, Uncle.”
Three hours later they landed on the pad to the east of the royal palace. Alex hadn’t touched down on Hellenian soil for fourteen years. His emotions were running rampant when he saw a crowd of people waiting to greet him.
Some faces he recognized. The moment became surreal as he jumped down and was besieged with well-wishers shouting in Greek, “Long live Prince Alexandros!”
The hugging went on and on. On his way in to the palace, a man probably Alex’s age drew his attention. “You probably don’t remember me. I’m Evander, the gardener’s son.”
Alex nodded. “Of course I do. You and I used to play together.”
The other man beamed. “On the day you disappeared, I saw your dog, Achilles, running around outside, barking. He couldn’t find you and was upset. I took him home with me and kept him until he died nine years later. We became best friends, but he always looked for you.”
For a moment Alex couldn’t speak. He put a hand on Evander’s shoulder. “You have no idea how grateful and relieved I am to hear this news. All these years I’ve missed him and wondered what happened to him. Are you a gardener too?”
“I still help my father.”
“I remember you were an expert with cars and wanted to work on them one day.”
He shook his head. “I’ve dreamed of working in a body shop, but the general wouldn’t allow me to leave the estate.”
Alex gritted his teeth. “Are you married?”
“Yes. We have a son.”
“Lucky you. I’m indebted to you, Evander, and you’ll be rewarded for what you’ve done.”
“That’s not important. When you’re not busy, I’ll be happy to show you where I buried Achilles. The general never knew what I did.”
Alex fought not to break down. “Does your father still work here?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll seek him out and get word to you.”
“Welcome home, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Evander.” He hugged him extra hard. The loyal gardener’s son had just given Alex an idea, one he wanted to discuss with Giannina if she would talk to him. “You’ve made this a homecoming I’ll never forget.”
CHAPTER EIGH
T
GIANNINA WENT TO her parents’ home the morning that the newspaper came out. They and her aunt Olga were overjoyed with the news that the prince had been found. Nico and his wife, Alexa, joined them. They brought her grandfather Gavril with them. He’d been a former diplomat for Greece who’d admired the royal family.
Throughout the day they talked about everything, turning it into a celebration, but Giannina was in pain the entire time. She wondered where Alex was now and what he was doing. For once, playing with little Nico didn’t help. She envied her brother and his wife for being able to marry and produce such an adorable baby. Alex wanted a family and would make the most wonderful father.
Near the end of the evening she and Nico took their aunt aside and told her about Ari’s involvement. Her brother had waited so he and Giannina could tell her together. They needed to do it now because of the leaks and wanted their aunt to hear the news first before the article was run. She handled it amazingly well knowing he’d been arrested.
She grasped their hands and said, “My love for Ari died years ago. He had a great flaw that grew worse with time. God will punish him. You don’t have to worry about me. Thank you for telling me the truth.”
At nine that night Giannina kissed everyone good-night and drove her car back to her apartment. After being with her loving family, the thought of Alex not being there was too much. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t imagine how she would get through the rest of her life never seeing him again.
He’d suggested they find a new country and set up their lives there. Intoxicating as that sounded, she knew he’d been desperate to suggest anything so ludicrous. Giannina felt desperate too, and irrational. If she knew where to find him right now, she’d fly to him and beg him to make love to her. If she could lie in his arms forever, she would.
On her way up in the elevator, her cell rang. Alex? Her heart jumped as she pulled it out of her purse and checked the caller ID.
Nico.
She called him back immediately. “What’s wrong?”
Harlequin Romance April 2021 Box Set Page 10
