His Hidden American Beauty

by Connie Cox

  When this cruise was over, so would be their relationship. Serious relationship and career choice didn’t fit in the same sentence for him. Yet Annalise was not a woman to be taken lightly.

  “You are frowning, filo mu.” Helena adjusted her hat brim against the sun.

  Filo mu. My friend. He knew for certain Helena would be his friend only until they docked and he was fine with that. Many people passed in and out of his life. Many more would come and go in the future.

  But the thought of never seeing Annalise again—that was giving him a bit of heartburn and he wasn’t sure what medicine to take that would offer relief.

  * * *

  Annalise had checked on Sophie throughout the day as often as she could. The child was resilient, as most children were. It helped that her young cousins treated her no differently than each other, even though the older family members tended to hover into the late afternoon.

  If only the other passengers were so hardy. The waves and swells had picked up that afternoon as a storm moved in. Annalise and her colleagues had been handing out motion-sickness patches as fast as they could complete the examination. The patches took a while to work, though. Too little too late for most of the passengers.

  The invitation to the captain’s table tonight didn’t surprise her. With this weather, he had probably received several cancellations.

  Annalise wondered who she would be dining with this evening. In the mood she was in, anything was better than eating alone. She was having a hard time keeping her mind off Niko and that Greek woman he’d glued himself to all afternoon.

  Jealousy, especially unjust jealousy, was an ugly lump in her stomach she had never expected to experience.

  In front of the mirror, she braced to keep from swaying with the rocking of the ship as she tried to arrange her hair. Ponytails swirled into ballerina buns were so much easier than this layered cut.

  After twenty minutes of failure, she gave up on pinning the loose strands that drifted down and let them wisp around her neckline au naturel. She swiped on another coat of lip gloss since she’d eaten off her earlier application while trying to style her hair.

  Mentally she reviewed the cases that had come through her office that day. The Christopoulos family seemed to be of robust stock, Sophie’s diabetes notwithstanding. Not one family member had come to see her for seasickness.

  A man like Niko wouldn’t let a little thing like ocean motion interfere with his game plan. When she’d taken a quick break on deck to breathe in the fresh air, she’d seen him cozied up to that Greek heiress from Texas looking like he was her personal bodyguard.

  Or maybe she had that backwards. The woman certainly looked like she wanted to guard Niko’s body, keeping it all for herself. And Niko didn’t appear to mind at all.

  Annalise thought they’d shared something special—something unique just between the two of them all those evenings on deck. Then, the second she’d had to work, Niko had found another woman to tell his soulful tales to. Would any woman do for him or had that big-bosomed Greek goddess been able to give him something more than she could?

  In the mirror, her cheeks were blotchy red. Time to take a reality check. The truth was, even though Niko had trusted her with his most precious secrets, she’d backed away whenever he’d tried to understand her. She’d shut down, just like she always did whenever anyone wanted to get close.

  Annalise added more powder to her flushed cheeks then adjusted her cleavage, plumping it up to make more of it. She might not have as much going for her as the goddess, but she would make the most of what she had. And if she happened to run into Niko tonight...

  What? What would she do if she happened to run into him? Promise not to leave so abruptly when the talk turned personal? Promise...?

  That was the kicker. She could make no promises.

  To the empty room, she said, “Who said anything about promises, Annalise? What’s wrong with a little fun? No commitment required?”

  Saying it aloud sounded bold and brave and beautiful, all the things she wanted to be, right? She would not continue to be haunted by a past that had been out of her control. She would live a normal life, a life that included a healthy relationship with a man.

  She would look for opportunities. If not with Niko then with someone else.

  That affirmation felt flat and uneasy. Try as she may, Annalise couldn’t envision anyone other than Niko in her bed.

  She looked at herself in the full-length mirror, reached up to adjust her halter-topped emerald-green dress for better coverage, then made herself drop her hand.

  She was no more exposed than any other woman. She would hold up her head and be proud.

  * * *

  Niko twitched in his tuxedo as he was seated next to Helena at the captain’s table. He’d dressed up for Yiayia but there she sat, across the room at a table for two. He would have to check out the little old man she was leaning so close to as they laughed together.

  But now he apparently had a rich Greek heiress from Texas to entertain. He’d bet his passport his grandmother had had something to do with it.

  The captain made the introductions. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who were celebrating Mrs. Smith’s seventy-fifth birthday. The ship’s entertainment director. And Helena Grubbs.

  “It’s Artino now,” she gracefully corrected him. “I’m going back to my maiden name.”

  “Helena. Always a pleasure.” Niko murmured the polite response but ignored the hopeful question in her eyes. No. He wasn’t interested.

  The twins were right. She was his type. So why wasn’t he more enamored of her when her big brown eyes freely offered so many possibilities? Because there was no spark. Only one woman on this ship held his interest. If only the feeling had been mutual.

  “We keep running into each other,” she said. “Destiny?”

  He’d thought she knew where he stood. He hadn’t been sending mixed messages, had he? Looking her straight in the eye, he made his intentions as clear as he could. “Maybe you’re the sister I never had.”

  By the dimming of her expression, he saw that she finally understood.

  “How about being my friend? A girl can’t have too many of them, can she?” Clearly disappointed, she turned away to focus her attention on Mr. Smith.

  Niko glared at his grandmother, who had put them in this awkward position, but she was too intent on the man across from her to notice.

  “Is anything wrong, Mr. Christopoulos?” the captain asked.

  “Nothing. I’ve just never seen my grandmother dine with another gentleman before.”

  “Don’t worry. He’s one of our regulars, a widower. He makes trips with us several times a year,” the entertainment director reassured him.

  Mrs. Smith nodded knowingly from across the table set for seven. “Running from loneliness.” She patted the arm of a man seated next to her. “Thankfully, I ran into the arms of a man who promises me I’ll never be lonely again.”

  Niko felt the emptiness of the unoccupied chair next to him.

  Then he saw her heading toward them. Immediately, he stood. How could he not in the presence of such beauty?

  The captain made the introductions. “Dr. Niko Christopoulos, I think you might know our ship’s doctor, Annalise Walcott.”

  “I’ve had the pleasure.” On impulse, he reached for her hand. Surprisingly, she held it out to him.

  He carried it to his lips, breathing in the scent of lavender lotion and Annalise.

  As he pulled out her chair for her he had the strongest urge to whisper in her ear and tell her how stunning she looked but he wasn’t sure how she’d take it, especially in front of the captain.

  “Sorry to be late,” she apologized to the captain and the table at large.

  “Nonsense. I know your afternoon has been busy.” The cap
tain introduced her to the couple across from her. Mr. Smith might be elderly, but he wasn’t too old to appreciate Annalise’s cleavage.

  Niko wanted to cover her with his coat or maybe the tablecloth.

  “What?” Under cover of passing the bread, Annalise asked him, “Is something wrong?”

  Rein it in, Christopoulos, he told himself. “No. Nothing.” He forced a smile that strained his jaw muscles.

  She lifted her eyebrow, not taken in by his pseudo-civility. “Where is your family?”

  “I had expected to meet them here.” He nodded toward this grandmother’s table. “Yiayia tells me that Stephen and Phoebe are dining alone in their room while the twins watch over the little ones in the family suite. My other brother and his wife had a casual supper earlier and are on the deck, counting stars.”

  The no longer lonely Mrs. Smith leaned toward them. “Such a romantic set of brothers. Does it run in the family?”

  Niko could feel himself blushing under her scrutiny.

  “Yes, it does.” Annalise answered for him. “I’ve seen him in action.”

  “And perhaps benefitted from his seductive side?” Mrs. Smith teased.

  Annalise busied herself with buttering her bread instead of answering.

  Thankfully, the captain chose that moment to make a toast—most probably to save his ship’s doctor from the awkward moment. “To those who love the sea!”

  Obediently, they all raised their glasses. The waiters followed up the toast by presenting plates of steak and stuffed crab for each guest.

  Helena, seated next to the captain, had become incredibly chatty with him, requiring no conversation from him. Besides, they’d run out of things to say early in the afternoon. Funny, thought Niko, how he and Annalise had never run out of things to talk about, even though they’d spent hours together over the last few days.

  For some reason, though, the discussions they usually shared seem too intimate to have at a table full of people. Not the subject matter, although the kind of medical discussion they had would probably bore the rest of the guests, but the conversations themselves.

  The entertainment director was gifted in small talk, keeping the Smiths amused with funny tales of previous cruises, while they countered with narratives of their grandchildren. All parties involved seemed to be pleased to have new ears to listen to their old stories.

  Conversation flowed around Niko and Annalise, leaving them in a cocoon of silence.

  Annalise seemed to be lost in thought and he respected her enough to leave her to it as she picked at her food. Was it too much to hope she felt the same way he did about their private conversations? Or had she just had a long day and needed some down time? Either way, he was content enough to sit beside her. He didn’t need any other stimulation. Not that he would turn it down if more were offered.

  As they were served dessert, the entertainment director interrupted their quiet contemplation.

  “Annalise, I hate to ask it of you, but the weather forecast doesn’t look great tomorrow. Calm seas but rain. We’ll need to have more activities below deck. Do you think you could participate in a staff talent show?”

  It was an activity Annalise had never minded helping with before. Dressing up in costume, being someone else for a little while, was always a kick. But sitting next to Niko, she felt shy.

  Taking a big bite of strawberry pie bought her some time.

  “What’s your talent, dear?” Mrs. Smith asked.

  “I sing a little.”

  “She’s got a voice that will rival any rock goddess,” the captain bragged. “We’ve got outstanding talent on this ship.”

  She wiped her mouth with her napkin. Hadn’t she learned a long time ago that the best way to face her fear was head on? “I’ll be glad to, Captain. Dr. Christopoulos used to sing in a rock band. Want to join in, Niko?”

  * * *

  Before he even thought about it, Niko agreed. What was it about Annalise that called forth in him the need to make her smile at him?

  Not only did she smile with those luscious lips, she smiled with her eyes. Sparkling in the way they were, those green eyes made him feel like he’d just fulfilled her greatest fantasy. Or maybe that’s what he read in them because that’s what he wanted to see.

  Because as soon as the spark had come, it went out, leaving her eyes smoky and obscure.

  And leaving Niko feeling chilled. What was it about this woman who blew hot and cold? Was it him?

  He turned to Helena on his other side and flashed her a questioning smile. She flashed back, reassuring him she was okay—then put her hand on his shoulder.

  “I think I’ll skip dessert. It’s not good to rumba on a full stomach and the captain has promised me he’s quite an enthusiastic dancer.”

  The captain pushed back his chair, almost knocking it over. “Ladies. Gentlemen. It was a pleasure.”

  He pulled out Helena’s chair. “Madam.”

  “It’s mademoiselle.” She took his hand and they were gone.

  What would Annalise feel like in his arms? Niko wondered. “Do you rumba?”

  “No. But thank you.” She gave him a sideways glance. “Do you?”

  He took a breath. “I’m not too bad at it. I could teach you. Or if you prefer ballroom dancing, isn’t there a big band playing somewhere?”

  Mrs. Smith nodded. “Yes, on the aft deck.”

  Annalise gave him a probing look. “You ballroom dance?”

  “One of my part-time jobs during high school and college. Classes always have more women than men. One of my grandmother’s friends owned a dance studio. She hired two of us. Quite coincidentally, the other guy became a doctor, too.”

  By her eyes, he could tell she’d gone somewhere else in her head again. Curiosity burned within him. This woman intrigued him like no other. Such complex intricacy. So many levels.

  “I’ve always wanted to learn to waltz.”

  Niko had the strongest urge to hold her in his arms right then and there. But he reached deep and found the gentleman his grandmother had instilled in him. “Dessert first?”

  She cast her eyes down. “If you want.”

  He wanted. But not food. “You’re all the dessert I need.”

  There it was again. The sparkle as Annalise looked around the table at the other guests. “If you’ll excuse us.”

  Niko tried to read the message behind the look the entertainment director gave him. He wasn’t sure what exactly the man was trying to say but he had a feeling it had something to do with being very protective of his ship’s doctor.

  The director needn’t worry. Niko would cut off his right hand before he harmed Annalise. He’d never felt like that with any other woman. Why did he feel that way now?

  He had to remember that in a few short days anything between them would have to be over.

  “Ready?” Annalise looked expectantly at him.

  Ready? He wasn’t quite sure what he was ready for. He only knew that if she was involved then yes. He was ready for anything.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “LOOK UP,” NIKO whispered in her ear.

  Annalise looked up, away from her feet, to drown in those tiger eyes. She missed a step.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Everybody has to learn.” As his breath warmed her ear, raising shivers along her nape, his big hand guided her in the right direction.

  The deck was dark enough that the few couples on the makeshift dance floor were nothing but faceless shadows. The band was good—as was all the entertainment the cruise line provided.

  The vastness of the night sky fell into the ocean, wrapping them in velvet darkness. Stars came and went overhead as clouds floated by. The moon was a gray crescent sliver overhead. The sea breeze was just enough to ma
ke Niko’s body next to hers pleasurably warm.

  She was acutely aware of his hand on her bare back as the pressure of his palm suggested a backward step.

  “One, two, three,” he counted for her. “Turn, two, three.”

  His words were like a litany that went beyond hearing, moving her body beyond her conscious control.

  She felt like quicksilver, an extension of the music, part of the night.

  “Exquisite,” he murmured.

  Annalise knew he wasn’t talking about her waltz.

  She was floating, floating with no concept of space and time. All she knew was Niko’s body next to hers, floating, floating in perfect rhythm.

  A lovely surreal mist surrounded her reality as she let her essence free.

  As the ocean’s waves and swells picked up, Niko held her closer, making their steps smaller and smaller until they were barely swaying.

  “Look up,” he murmured.

  She did.

  His mouth covered hers and she parted her lips, tasting, inhaling the scent of him, moving closer at the pressure of his hand on her back. She could read it through the energy he surrounded her with. He needed her.

  She understood. She needed him. She answered his need, giving, taking, asking, demanding until she lost herself in his kiss.

  Her world spun around her as she held onto Niko, secure in his steadiness. Right now, at this moment, he was the center of her universe, directing the moon and the stars. Directing each beat of her heart.

  Annalise gasped, realizing she’d forgotten to breathe, realizing the music was now only in her head.

  His voice rumbled through her. “Want to continue this in my suite?”

  She blinked as if coming out from under hypnosis. The part of her that had ceased to think and could only feel said, “Yes.” She sounded dreamy, drugged.

  Then panic began to thin out the haze of her fantasy world. Old panic that should have long since been put to bed.

  No. She wouldn’t let that lovely floating feeling go that easily.