by Connie Cox
Niko knew his brother’s remark was a dig at his supposed frivolous lifestyle, which Stephen was both jealous of and proud he’d played a part in providing. Niko should have never let the misunderstanding lie between them for so long.
But so much had been happening when he’d left for his first mission. The restaurant fire, the miscarriage that had threatened his sister-in-law’s life and Sophie’s diagnosis had rocked the foundations of his very strong family.
Leaving his family at their time of need had been the hardest decision he’d ever had to make.
He wasn’t good at raw emotion. Just being there for his loved ones had made him feel trapped and helpless—made him remember too much.
He’d had to take action. Do something. Fix something. There had been nothing he could do for his family to make them any better.
But he’d had the medical dossiers of a half-dozen children in his briefcase—children who could die without his medical care. He’d decided he would only be in the way if he stayed around.
He’d reasoned that there was no sense in adding to everyone’s worries if Doctors Without Borders wasn’t for him. Now that he’d made his decision, he wouldn’t put a damper on this trip, but he would tell them at the end that working for Doctors Without Borders would be permanent.
He had already made arrangements to begin the sale of his share of the partnership as soon as he returned home. But for now he would keep pretending, for their sakes.
“Everything okay?” Annalise’s hand fluttered over his arm, as if she wanted to touch him but felt he was off limits.
Niko pasted on his brightest smile. “I’m sharing a glass of wine with a brilliant, beautiful woman. What could be better? Except maybe a bit of privacy.”
While he didn’t know her well, he read her eyes with ease. Concern turned to disappointment. It seemed that’s all he did lately, disappoint the women in his life.
But, then, Annalise wasn’t in his life, was she? She was a simple, uncomplicated diversion. In three weeks, walking out of her life would be as easy as walking off this ship.
He’d meant to be flippant, but he tempered it with truth. “I’ve got a lot going on in my head right now. I guess I haven’t quite made the transition to vacation mode yet.”
As the waiter made the rounds, Niko held out his glass after all. “To vacations.”
The rest of the family held their glasses aloft and echoed his toast before drinking.
When the server would have moved away, Yiayia stopped him, holding out her glass for a refill.
“Just leave the bottle. We’ll serve ourselves.” Phoebe grinned at the young waiter. “We’ve had practice.”
As Phoebe topped up the adults’ glasses, Marcus did the same with the tea and juice pitchers for the children.
“A toast. To my grandson the doctor.” Everyone held their glasses high then drank. Even the children downed their glasses in style. Bewildered at first, Annalise looked around and followed suit. Niko had to smile at her quick assimilation into his crazy family. If he were looking for a woman...
But who said anything about finders keepers?
He gave her a wink before saluting the table with his glass. “To my family, who put me through college and medical school.”
Annalise raised her eyebrows then drank with him as the rest of the family looked at each other, well satisfied with their sacrifice. His decision would be so much easier if they weren’t so proud of him.
“And to my brother and sister-in-law who could not be with us today.” Stephen, as second oldest, did the honors to acknowledge them.
As soon as Niko took the obligatory swallow, he leaned over and explained to Annalise, “Family tradition. We’ll finish off the bottle this way.”
As the young nephews and nieces started to droop, climbing into any available adult lap for a good cuddle, Yiayia began her bragging. “Dr. Walcott, did you know that my grandson has been on national television, on a talk show? Did you know that he operates on all the famous actors and actresses? But he won’t tell us who they are. Confidentiality issues. It’s all very mysterious. They bring them up through the hospital’s loading dock.”
“Remember that time you made your cucumber yogurt for that actress when Uncle Niko wired her jaw shut?” Phoebe turned to Annalise. “He still won’t tell us her name, even though we’ve begged. He’s very discreet is our Niko.”
Under cover of their chatter, Niko said to Annalise, “You’re very quiet. Don’t wait for a turn to talk. Just jump in anywhere.”
“I’d rather listen.” She gave him a smug smile. “I’m learning a lot about you this way.”
Niko was one part chagrined over his family’s bragging and the other part overjoyed that Annalise wanted to know more about him.
“Then it’s only fair I get to hear your life story, too.”
When Annalise looked around the full table tensely, he quickly reassured her, “When we have time to ourselves. I’ll want all your intimate details.”
Visibly, Annalise shivered. While Niko would usually regard her reaction as a positive response in anticipation of time together, the way she held herself so tightly told him he’d overstepped the mark.
To break the tension, he refilled her glass even though she’d only been taking the tiniest of sips.
She took the glass, looking into it as if searching for answers. “I’m not much on pillow talk.” Her voice was husky, hesitant and, oh, so sexy.
She was so much more intense than the women he usually dated, like the Greek goddess in the corner, laughing loudly and holding court with the ship’s captain. Annalise wasn’t his usual type at all. Whatever type she was, she’d captured his interest and he couldn’t seem to let go.
He would need to go slowly with her, pace himself. It was a novel concept when he usually got what he wanted when he wanted. His brothers would find this strain on his ego amusing. He himself found it challenging.
Marcus leaned over his mother to tell Annalise, “Some big charity wants to auction off a date with Uncle Niko. He did it last year and cameras followed him around all night, even when he kissed her.”
Phoebe pushed her son back into place without jiggling the sleeping young nephew on her lap. “It would be good if you could bring your date back to the restaurant this year, Niko. We got a lot of publicity from that and we could certainly use it again.”
He would have to tell them. No more celebrity stories. No more TV appearances. No more magazine layouts for the hottest catch in the Crescent City.
“Niko? Are you okay?” Stephen’s concern brought him out of his thoughts.
He blinked, back in the game. “Fine. Just tired.”
Yiayia was telling the good doctor about her own excitement in front of the media crew—a crew Niko had bought and paid for.
“And then this pretty little blonde girl handed me a huge check, just like on the television, and this man with a video camera asked how I felt.” Yiayia told her sweepstakes story to Annalise. “I thought I would have a heart attack right then and there. And, of course, no doctor around.”
She patted Niko on the shoulder. “My grandson is never home. Itchy feet, just like my late husband Leo. The places we would go when we were young... We travelled around the world before Leo brought me to America and that’s the place that felt like home. Travelling is a good thing to do when you’re young.” She looked around the luxurious dining room of the cruise ship and smiled. “And good to do when you get old, too,”
That smile made all the planning, all the money and all the subterfuge worth it.
As his brother reached past him for the bread basket, doubt jabbed Niko. If he stayed with his practice, he could give his family many more trips like this one. His brothers could expand the restaurant, hire more employees, spend more time with their children.
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br /> Although he tried to stop himself, he couldn’t help glancing Annalise’s way. What would she think of him giving up all his family had worked so hard for on his behalf? Would she judge him to be as ungrateful as he judged himself?
But, then, this was a woman who called a berth on a ship home. Obviously, she was following her dream.
He couldn’t help hoping she’d understand.
* * *
After escaping from the enthusiastic Christopoulos family, and one dynamic Christopoulos male in particular, Annalise took some time to recover.
Although she wasn’t sure there was enough time in the universe for her to recover from the emotions Niko Christopoulos set off inside her.
Right now, all she could say was that she liked being treated with such respect. He had been attuned to every word, every movement she made. The experience had been nerve-racking but very flattering, too.
But, then, from what she gathered from his family, all women thought the same about him. Smooth talking was not an asset in her book.
It was a lot to think about. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
With the sun still up this close to the equator, the evening was still warm so she slipped on her shorts and T-shirt from earlier in the day and took a good long stroll around the deck’s track, thinking of the love packed into those sincere family toasts. Afterwards, she ducked into one of the onboard kiosks to make herself a cup of hot decaf tea with the hope of swallowing down her envy for a life she could never be a part of.
Now Annalise breathed in the sea air as she took the stairs up to the adults-only top foredeck, carefully carrying her hot cup of tea to keep from spilling in the roughening seas. Although the wind was picking up, the temperature was still balmy.
Pinks and yellows colored the blue sky as the sun neared the horizon. At this time of year it would hang there for a good forty or so minutes before it plunged into the ocean. Watching the sunset was her favorite way to unwind and the tiny top foredeck was the perfect place to do it.
Most passengers found this little deck too tame. There was no pool, no wet T-shirt contests, no band and no elevator access. The three flights of stairs put off most people even if the lack of entertainment didn’t.
So she was surprised to see someone sprawled out in her favorite deck chair as she rounded the platform at the top of the stairs.
And not just anyone. Niko.
She recognized him immediately, despite the dark sunglasses covering his eyes. His shirt was off as he reclined with his long legs crossed at the ankles, socks and loafers tucked underneath the deck chair.
That chest. Those pecs. If she didn’t know better, she would think he’d been airbrushed. Dr. Christopoulos obviously didn’t spend all his time in the operating room, lifting eyebrows and tightening chins. He had to spend a great deal of time at the gym as well.
This was not what she needed tonight. She turned to leave, then stopped herself.
No man was ever going to keep her from going where she wanted to go.
What was it about Niko Christopoulos that stirred up so much confusion inside her head?
When she could tear her focus away from his physique, she noticed his face. While his body looked peaceful in repose, his clenched jaw and compressed lips told a different story.
He looked like a man in internal pain.
Suddenly he half sat up, contracting those magnificent abs, and looked over the top of his sunglasses, straight at her. His features calmed, as if he pulled a mask over his emotions.
Had she made a noise? She didn’t think so but she must have.
“Want to join me?” he asked.
As he made to stand up, she swallowed down all but the simplest of emotions and quickly said, “Please, keep your seat.” The old-world manners made her feel special, even though she knew she wasn’t. She pointed to the stairs behind her. “How’s the leg?”
He shrugged. “The climb is worth it for the view.”
The way he studied her over his sunglasses, she could almost imagine he was referring to her.
She could say no and probably would have if he had come on strong. There were plenty of empty deck chairs. She could say she just needed a few minutes of alone time. He would understand. Wasn’t that what he was doing as well?
But he had invited her and she found herself moving in his direction before she could decline.
She picked out the deck chair next to his and placed her tea next to the water bottle on the table between them. “Catching some rays?”
By the deepness of his tan, she knew it wouldn’t be the first time. She couldn’t imagine him in a tanning booth. Too artificial.
Hold on there, Annalise, she told herself. This is a man who does artificial for a living. Why was she assigning him qualities when she knew nothing about him?
He propped his chair up a few notches and reset his sunglasses on the top of his head.
The intensity in those tiger eyes of his mesmerized her so that she couldn’t look away.
His voice was low, like a rumbling purr. “It’s the wind. There’s something about that unharnessed power, that cleansing force that attracts me.” He rubbed his chin. “That sounded strange, didn’t it?”
“Poetic.” She held up her book, William Cullen Bryant. “I like poetry.”
“Me, too.” He gave her a grin and a wink.
He was flirting—with her!
There was a whole ship of beautiful women and he was coming on to her. But, then, there was no other woman around, which made her convenient, right?
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Her reply was supposed to be a warning that she knew his game and wasn’t playing. Instead, it came out as a tease, as if she was taking up his challenge.
“Yup. Used to write it, too, under the guise of song lyrics.”
“So you’re a doctor and a musician? What’s next? You’re going to tell me you were a rock star in a boy band?”
“Only on my own block.” He reset his sunglasses over his eyes. “Some friends and I had a garage band all through junior high and high school.”
“Lead guitar?”
“Sometimes. Mostly drums. Some bass guitar. We switched around a lot.”
“Did you sing?”
“Sometimes.”
“I bet you had a motorcycle, too, didn’t you?”
“An old Harley. I rebuilt it myself. And a black leather jacket—a hand-me-down from one of my brothers. I was really into the vintage rebel look.” His self-deprecating laugh revealed two deep dimples.
“I’ll just bet you were.” With his dark looks she knew he’d pulled off the attitude perfectly. Surreptitiously, she glanced at his bare chest. He still did.
She winked at him. “From teenage heart throb to successful surgeon. Charmed life?”
She expected a flippant response. Instead, he thought about it for a moment then nodded slowly. “I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.”
She wished she could see behind the shades. The moment hung in time, making an uneasiness spread through her. She shifted away.
While he didn’t move a muscle, she felt him pulling back, too. Or was she only imagining it? What did she know of this man, except he was a compassionate doctor with the soul of a poet who, by the looks of things, managed his money well?
As she took a calming sip of tea, determined to treat this evening no differently than any other, he broke her concentration.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue this evening. They mean well, but they also think they know what’s best for me.”
“They’re like those made-for-TV families. Are they always so nice? So genuine?”
“Nice? My family has good company manners. Genuine? Absolutely, even when it hurts. But I can call anyon
e, anytime, my sisters-in-law as well as my brothers, and they would drop everything to be there for me.”
“And you’d do the same for them?”
He rubbed his hand over his face but failed to disguise the tightening around his eyes and mouth. “I always have in the past.”
“But not in the future?” Annalise immediately regretted her impulsive question. “I’m sorry. None of my business.”
“It’s not you. It’s me.” With a forced grin he shrugged away her apology as he spouted the classic meaningless cliché. “How about you? Judging by how quiet you were at dinner, I’m betting your family is a lot calmer than mine.”
“No family. Just me.” Her recent visit to her mother made her all too conscious of those bound together because of shared DNA. It wasn’t a bond she willingly claimed.
“Here it comes.” She pointed at the sun, resting on the horizon.
As if the big ball of flame had become too heavy to hold itself up, it plunged into the sea, taking with it all but a flat line of pinks and yellows and oranges to keep the sky separated from the water. Above that slim line of fading color, the night was dark and starry with nary a moonbeam in sight.
Around them, the deck’s automatic twinkle lights began to glow.
Under the vastness of the night Annalise felt at peace with the world. She knew the feeling would be fleeting, with the responsibilities and decisions life would bring her, but she would enjoy that feeling while it lasted.
Next to her, Niko drew in a deep breath, held it then let it out again.
Having him near made her feel less alone than she’d felt in a very long time.
That surprised her. She had expected to feel like he was intruding on her special time. Instead, he made it even more special.
The serene minutes ticked away, giving her a false sense of permanence. When the squeaking and creaking of the pool boy’s cart broke the silence, she wasn’t surprised. Only sad that the moment was gone.
That’s when she noticed the chill of the night air as it rushed over her bare legs. Reality. She’d been lucky to escape it for a few moments. To expect that kind of tranquility to last was unreasonable, wasn’t it?