by Lucy Monroe
"They don't consider the time I spend with your brother and sister-in-law, family time, or even the visits we have always done with Chrysanthos at his university in America."
"Their skewed perception of reality is not your responsibility. Do we change our policies because those who wish to do business with us do not like the way Spironides International conducts its affairs?"
"No, of course not."
"And just because your parents, or my grandfather don't like the way we choose to conduct our marriage does not mean we are going to make concessions. When, or if, we become parents is up to us. Not anyone else."
"You've said if twice now. Are you thinking you may never want children?" She'd never even considered the possibility he might feel that way. Mostly because he was amazing with his nephews, four-year-old Theo, named for their grandfather and fifteen-month-old Philip, named for Alexandra's Dupree grandfather.
"If you ever decide you want to be a mother, I'm with you a hundred percent, but listen and believe when I tell you that our life together is all that I need. I love you, Phoebe, with my whole heart."
"And I love you." It was a miracle considering how their marriage came about, but no less true for that. For either of them.
#
Dimitri found his wife playing with their children in the pool, a vice of emotion squeezing his heart at the tableau the three people he loved most in the world made. "What is a water nymph and her two cherubs doing in my pool?" he wondered out loud.
"We aren't cherubs. We're boys," his son Theo asserted while their fifteen-month-old just squealed, "Papapapapa." Philip hadn't quite got the hang of simply saying papa and repeated the pa over and over again, though Alexandra was definitely mama.
His wife smiled up at him, her beautiful body glistening with the water in the hot Mediterranean sun.
They lived in Greece, but spent two weeks every quarter in New York with her sister and brother-in-law, as well as traveling frequently to visit Spiros and Phoebe in Paris. It worked for them and their children, though once the boys were in school, the travel schedule would have to change.
Alexandra glided through the water and lifted their wet son up to Dimitri. "You might as well take him, he's not going to stop saying pa over and over until you do."
He didn't hesitate to grab the dripping wet baby and cuddle Philip in close, regardless of his own dry clothes. "Did you have a good day today, pethi mou?"
The baby babbled back, patting Dimitri's cheeks with his chubby little hands. The strain of his recent conversation with pappous melted away as he focused on his own little family.
"Papa?" Theo called from the pool.
Dimitri looked over. "Ne?"
"Watch."
"I am watching."
Theo bobbed down under the water and stayed for about ten seconds, then exploded upward, water cascading around him. "Did you see? Did you."
"I did, my son. You are getting better and better at staying under the water."
"I can swim to mama too." Then Theo demonstrated that skill, by kicking off from the wall and swimming the few feet to his mother.
Alexandra pulled the four-year-old in for a sweet hug, before releasing him back into the water. She was such a good mother, so loving, so committed to the children and their family, but still a woman with her own interests. And opinions. His wife definitely had strong opinions on the sustainability and social responsibility of Petronides International.
Theo looked up, to make sure Dimitri had been watching.
Dimitri gave his son a thumbs up. "Well done, son."
"Are you going to join us, or should we get out?" Alexandra asked, her hazel gaze traveling over him with warm interest.
Five years, two children and the fire between them still burned hot.
"How long have you been in?" Dimitri asked, not wanting to get changed into a suit only to be exiting the pool a few minutes later because Alexandra had determined the children had spent enough time in the salt-water infinity pool.
"We just got in," Theo asserted.
But Alexandra shook her head. "I know it may feel that way, love-bug, but we've been out here for almost an hour."
"So, time to get out of the sun for a little while, hmmm?" Dimitri asked.
"Do we have to?" Theo asked, not quite whining, but clearly not enamored of the idea.
"I had hoped to play a game of Don't Break the Ice before dinner, but if you would rather swim…" Dimitri let his voice trail off, knowing his son loved the game that required knocking out blocks until the figure in the middle collapsed through.
Phillip was too young to play, but he still loved watching his big brother pound away at the white blocks.
"Oh, I want to play!" Theo swam to the side of the pool and pulled himself out, rushing forward for a hug.
"Theo, dry off first," Alexandra called. "You're going to soak your father's trousers."
Theo frowned, but stopped before throwing himself at his papa's legs. "Philip didn't dry off."
Dimitri dropped to one knee and put his hand out. "Come here, son."
Theo threw himself forward and Dimitri gave him a tight hug.
Alexandra shook her head at him, smiling as she pulled herself from the pool.
Despite holding both his children, Dimitri could not remain unmoved by the sight of his wife's lovely body in a modest bikini. She'd been a very successful model when they met, but was even more alluring now. Her body had changed with each baby delivery, her curves fuller, her hips womanly and sexy, each stretch mark a testament to her role as mother to their children.
Knowing what his smoldering gaze meant, she blew him a kiss before picking up her own towel to pat water away from damp skin. When she was done she took their oldest son from Dimitri and dried Theo off. "I don't know what to do with you boys."
Dimitri grabbed the diaper bag from beside one of the loungers, sat down with his son and proceeded to change Philip out of his swim diaper into a regular one, some shorts and a t-shirt.
"What did me and Philip do, mama?
"I'm not talking about Philip, I'm talking about you and your papa. Neither of you are showing sense getting his clothes all wet."
"They will dry, yineka mou."
She just shook her head again before giving him a searching look. "You were upset when you came out here."
He was not surprised she had noticed. His Alexandra knew him better than anyone else.
"Grandfather wanted to talk about Spiros and Phoebe," he told her.
She finger-combed her wet hair. "Are they coming for Christmas?"
"No, but you, the children and I will see them for the New Year in New York with your sister." Spiros and Phoebe had become fast friends with Alexandra's sister, Madeleine, and brother-in-law, Hunter.
Phoebe and Alexandra were now as close as, or even closer than, Spiros and Dimitri. While his brother had finally forgiven him for almost marrying the woman Spiros loved and made an amazing uncle to Dimitri's children, the women had developed a deep bond that was both special and inexplicably strong.
"Your grandfather is upset they aren't coming to Greece for the holidays?" Phoebe guessed as she helped their older son change into dry clothes.
"He's not happy about it, but he's really upset that Phoebe isn't pregnant yet."
"That's Phoebe and Spiros' decision, surely."
"You don't have to tell me, but he's a stubborn old man."
"Did he and Spiros argue?"
"Yes, and apparently my brother made it clear that he's still harboring resentment over pappous' attempt to force a marriage between me and Phoebe five years ago."
"But everything worked out."
Dimitri frowned. "Not without a lot of people getting hurt, you most of all."
"I don't know if that's true, but you're right. It wasn't one of your grandfather's smarter moves." Alexandra had never held his grandfather's efforts to force Dimitri into marriage against him.
And he loved that about her, but he underst
ood Spiros' attitude. Phoebe had been hurt too. Badly. And Dimitri understood the need to protect the woman he loved. Phoebe was still being hurt because pappous and her parents continued to treat her like her happiness and desires weren't what was important.
It was no wonder that his brother and sister-in-law kept their visits back to Greece at a minimum.
Alexandra tsked. "You'd think he would have learned his lesson about trying to emotionally blackmail his grandsons."
"He didn't." Dimitri put his arm around his wife as they walked as was his habit. "He told Spiros that all the stress of waiting for him to do his duty could bring on another heart attack."
Alexandra gasped. "No."
"Oh, yes. Then pappous said if they didn't have children right away, he might not live long enough to see those children."
The children had run ahead into the big villa that had housed his family for more than three generations, Phoebe and Dimitri following at a slower pace, so the young ears missed the French curse word his lovely wife uttered.
"At his last checkup, the doctor said he had years yet," she said with outrage. "His heart is doing great after his surgery five years ago."
"I know that. So does Spiros, but I don't imagine that makes my brother any less angry that pappous tried to pull the health card again to get what he wanted."
"Doesn't Theopolis realize the cost of his earlier attempts? How much he hurt you? Me? Phoebe and Spiros?" Her words were laced with shock and a measure of hurt that Dimitri was determined to erase. "He's always been so welcoming of me."
"Pappous adores you, but five years ago, he ultimately got what he wanted, grandchildren, the Petronides and Leonides families connected through marriage, his lifelong dream." Dimitri ticked the things important to his grandfather off on his fingers.
"But he wants more grandchildren now?"
"Apparently."
Alexandra fluttered her eyelashes up at Dimitri. "Maybe we can help him out with that."
"Are you ready for another child? Philip is just fifteen months old." But Dimitri would not pretend that the idea did not excited him.
Dimitri found great joy in being a father, thought his wife made the most estimable of mothers, and thought both of his sons would no doubt adore having another sibling. Theo was a natural big brother, nurturing, teasing, kind and keen to help his little brother learn. Phillip was social and fascinated by other babies. It was really very sweet.
"And even if I got pregnant tomorrow he'd be nearly two and half when the baby was born. I love the idea of having another baby with you."
"You aren't saying that to get Phoebe off the hook with Grandfather, because it won't work, you know."
Alexandra laughed, the sound rich and warm, going straight to his libido, despite knowing they could do nothing about it for hours and hours yet. "I love my sister-in-law as much as my own sister, Madeleine. And honestly? I adore your brother. He's very protective of me and the children, just like he is of his wife."
"He's a good man."
"He is."
"But…" She paused for effect. "I want more babies with you because I love you. Full stop. No other reasons."
"Then by all means, let us see what we can do about that."
And later that night, after the children were in bed, they skipped dinner with his grandfather to make love…and maybe make a baby.
#
Ten years after Spiros & Phoebe's wedding.
Phoebe rushed to answer the door before the bell pealed again. The doorman had called to say her brother was on the way up, but he hadn't mentioned that Chrysanthos was agitated enough to ring her bell incessantly until she opened the door.
She flung it open. "Stop leaning on my doorbell, Chrysanthos."
"Did you even look in the peephole to see who was in the hall?" he demanded, sounding a lot like her over-protective husband.
"My doorman let me know you were headed up," she responded, closing the door behind him.
"You couldn't be sure it was me at the door."
"What in the world is the matter with you, Chrysanthos?"
Before he could answer, the door opened behind her brother and Spiros stepped inside their Parisian penthouse.
His beautiful, muscular body encased in a designer suit, his golden-brown gaze was filled with curiosity and wide with surprise at the sight of Phoebe's brother. "I didn't know you were coming to visit, Chrysanthos."
Her brother's lips twisted in something between a frown and a grimace. "I didn't either, until a few hours ago."
Spiros gave Phoebe a questioning look. She shrugged. She didn't know why her brother was there.
"What prompted you to make the trip?" Spiros asked.
Chrystantho gave Phoebe a look, his dark brown eyes the same dark shade as hers, filled with an anguished anger she didn't understand. "Our father sold you."
Even ten years later, the words alluding to her father's actions sliced shallow cuts into her heart. But she didn't understand why this was coming up now. "The circumstances around our marriage were not a secret."
Well, not exactly. She'd never told her brother the details of the deal. Why would she? He'd been a teenager at the time. He didn't need the burden of that knowledge.
"I knew the company was in trouble, that your marriage to Dimitri would get Leonides Shipping out of the red, but then you married Spiros. I thought you loved each other, that somehow you'd managed to avoid our father's plans for you."
"I do love him," Phoebe said, her voice ringing with all the passion of her soul.
"I read the contract, Phoebe. You were protecting yourself, from both Spiros and Dad. I read the other one too, the one that outlined just how much money Spiros would give our company in exchange for you becoming his wife."
"I would have loaned the money, regardless, if Phoebe asked for it." Spiros put his arm around her waist, pulling her close. "I loved her then. I love her now."
Chrysanthos inclined his head, like he believed Spiros' words but wasn't particularly moved by them.
Her younger brother, now the head of Leonides Shipping, focused on Phoebe. "But would you have married him? Right out of university? If mom and dad hadn't guilted you into sacrificing your life for theirs?"
"It wasn't like that." Only hadn't it been?
"It was just like that. Father had choices."
"Not by the time I married Spiros, he didn't. We'd left it too long to go public. There was no way of saving the company without a huge infusion of capital."
"One our father had no intention of getting from a bank. You didn't leave anything too late. I remember the long hours you worked back then. It was our dad who wasn't willing to sacrifice his pride, or his control of the company to save it. Just his daughter. "
"The banks would have said no."
"He didn't even try."
"That's not the way he saw it."
"But you knew. You knew he'd made some idiotic decisions based on the same kind of archaic thinking that allowed him to sell his daughter." Chrysanthos spun away and stormed into the living room, plopping down on one of the armchairs. "That's why you insisted on a seat on the board. To protect our company."
"Our father didn't see it that way."
"Our father," Chrysanthos said with disgust and a shake of his head. "Tell me the truth, would you have married Spiros when you did if you hadn't been under pressure from our family and his?"
Phoebe opened her mouth to speak, but then let it close again, realizing she didn't have an instant answer to that.
"That's why you've waited so long to have children. You didn't want to get married." Chrysanthos shook his head, frustration rolling off of him, anger permeating the air around them.
Phoebe spoke the only truth that mattered, to her. "I love Spiros. I have always loved him."
"But that is not what I asked."
"No, it's not." Phoebe sat down, letting out a sigh as she rested her hand against her slightly protruding belly.
Of all her family, Ch
rysanthos was the only one she was still close to, the only one she cared what he thought of her and her life. He'd always supported her, believed in her. Been there for her, as a little brother, but been there all the same.
"No. I wouldn't have agreed to the marriage under those circumstances, if I'd had a choice."
Spiros sat down beside her, his expression more appropriate to a hostile board room than to their living room. He didn't say anything, simply looked between her and Chrysanthos.
"I'm sorry I dropped in on you unannounced like this."
"I'm surprised you could get away. Being CEO is a big job."
"Yeah, you pretty much did it for dad while you were waiting to get married. I always thought it was strange you didn't want to work at the company after."
Phoebe shrugged, her arm rubbing against Spiros, finding comfort in even that small contact. "I made him give me a seat on the board, but after what happened, I didn't want to work with him."
"Why would you? You didn't trust him any longer."
"No, I didn't."
"You still don't."
Phoebe grimaced, not answering.
"If you did, if you felt close to him and mom, they'd know you're pregnant."
"Don't you mean finally pregnant?"
"They've been putting pressure on you for years to get pregnant, haven't they?"
"Yes."
"Is that why you waited so long?"
"It was part of it."
"And the forced marriage?"
"That was part of it too. I needed to feel like I had a say."
"And Spiros, he never pressured you?"
"What do you think? I see my beloved wife as a brood mare? She was not having our child until she was ready, and if that time never came, then it never came." Spiros slid one arm around her waist, pulling her close, putting the other hand over the small mound of her belly.
Phoebe put her hand over Spiros' against her stomach.
Her brother sighed and then smiled at them both. "I know you love Phoebe, Spiros. It's one of the reasons I was so shocked by those contracts."
"Contracts that had no bearing on our life together from the day we said our vows," Spiros said with conviction.