Along Came Twins...

by Rebecca Winters

  “I’m rather impressed with this older woman, Olympia Lasko.” She glanced back at him. “The notes say she’s been in practice forty-five years. That’s longer than any of the other therapists’ histories. I think it speaks quite highly of her.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Go ahead and phone her.”

  Leandros didn’t act the least upset with Kellie’s choice. If he was, he’d learned how to hide his true feelings. That ability made him the shrewd genius who’d become one of the leading business figures in Greece.

  She reached in her purse for her cell phone and made the call. It rang several times before a woman answered. “This is Olympia Lasko.”

  “Oh—” Kellie’s voice caught. “I guess I expected a receptionist.” She spoke in Greek.

  “I’ve never used one. Your name, please.”

  “Kellie Petralia.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “M-my husband and I are on the verge of getting a divorce and need marriage counseling,” she stammered. “Could I see you soon to discuss our situation, or are you too booked up?”

  “Both of you come to my house tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.”

  “Both?” Kellie had planned to talk to her first and explain things.

  “I never see you individually. It’s together or nothing.”

  “I see.” She bit her lip. “Then we’ll both be there.”

  “What’s your husband’s name?”

  “Leandros Petralia.”

  “Thank you. When you enter the driveway, keep going until you reach the side door. Just walk in.”

  The other woman rang off without making a remark about Kellie’s husband. Ninety-nine percent of the time, people couldn’t refrain from commenting on him and the famous Petralia name. Kellie sat there blinking in surprise.

  Leandros walked around to look at her. “When can she see us?”

  “Tomorrow at ten. We’re to go to her house. She must work out of her home.”

  “Would that we all could do that,” he murmured.

  “I can’t believe she had an opening this fast.”

  “My dentist always leaves the first hour free for emergencies. It sounds like she operates the same way. I’m impressed already.”

  Kellie got up from the couch, unnerved by the prospect of talking to Mrs. Lasko in front of Leandros without any private time first. “She’s very different than I’d supposed.” No chitchat of any kind.

  “Let’s keep the appointment. If we decide she’s not the one for us, then we’ll try someone else.”

  Leandros was being so supportive, just as he’d always been during their visits to the hospital, that Kellie felt like screaming. But not at him. She was frightened, and nervous of being alone with him. “I think I’m hungry now.”

  “Why don’t we drive to Chora and have an early dinner.” He was reading her mind. She needed to be around other people and he knew it. “Do you have any particular cravings at this stage in your pregnancy?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Let’s try a restaurant you haven’t been to. The Circe is on the far side of Chora. It’s cozy and the cuisine is basically traditional Andriot.” He’d probably been there with Petra. Of course he had, you fool. If the therapy didn’t work out, Kellie would have to take part of the blame, because she couldn’t rid herself of her demons. “You’ll love their seafood mezes and froutalia.”

  “I’ve forgotten what froutalia is.”

  “A sensational omelet with sausage and other kinds of meat.”

  “Oh, yes. That sounds delicious.”

  “Good. Why don’t you freshen up first. I’ll meet you at the car parked around the side of the house.”

  “I’ll hurry.”

  “There’s no need. We have all the time in the world. By the time we get back, Yannis will have arrived with your luggage. You can have an early night in the guest bedroom.”

  Her heart ached as she realized how far apart they’d grown. No sleeping in the same bed for the past two months. Most likely never again...

  When Kellie went outside a few minutes later, he was waiting for her, and helped her in the passenger side. She glanced at his striking profile as he started the engine. Whether immaculately groomed or disheveled with a five-o’clock shadow as he was now, Leandros’s male beauty stood apart from other men’s.

  Her heart thudded ferociously. A month ago she’d never dreamed she’d be on the island with him again, going to a romantic spot for dinner.

  During the six-mile drive to town, she stared out the window at the fruit trees dotting the ancient landscape. When she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, she turned to him. “Have you seen Fran and Nik?”

  He nodded. “They invited me to their apartment last week for dinner. Demi is thriving and has started to say words even I can understand.” Kellie smiled. “I’ve never seen two people so happy.”

  Guilt washed over Kellie for the part she’d played in trying to influence Fran to stay away from the gorgeous Nik Angelis, Leandros’s good friend. The press had labeled him Greece’s number one playboy. Like Leandros, Nik was the head of his family’s multimillion-dollar business and could have any woman he wanted.

  In Kellie’s zeal to protect her divorced friend’s wounded heart, she’d done everything she could to get her away from Nik. She’d been convinced he would only use Fran. But it turned out Kellie was wrong. Ultimately, he’d proved to be the perfect man for her, and had married her on the spot. Since he couldn’t give her children and she couldn’t conceive, they were adopting Demi, who’d lost her parents in a tornado. In time they planned to adopt more.

  “I’m so happy for them,” Kellie said aloud.

  “Me, too.”

  To Leandros’s credit, he didn’t rub it in about Kellie’s behavior with her best friend before they’d flown to Philadelphia on his private jet. “I’ll phone her while I’m here.”

  “She’ll be delighted. Being a mother has turned a light on inside her.”

  You mean unlike me, who’s pregnant but still wants the divorce?

  Kellie wouldn’t blame Leandros for thinking it, but again, he kept his thoughts to himself. That was the trouble between them. They were both festering in their own private way from behaviors that had driven them apart.

  The therapist would have to perform a miracle for them to put their marriage back together. How ironic that Kellie had been the one who’d brought up the idea of counseling. Yet now that Leandros had finally agreed to it, she was only going through the motions. Deep inside she had no real hope of success.

  There’d been too much damage done during those months of planning each hospital visit like clockwork. Everything had to be gauged down to the second—the temperature taking, the preparation, Leandros’s time off from work.... All of it had affected the natural rhythm of married life.

  If he suggested they skip a month of going to the hospital, and give things a rest, she was afraid he was losing interest in her. Maybe he didn’t want a baby as badly as she did. When she asked him if he would still love her if she couldn’t give him a child, he’d acted incensed, which in turn made her afraid to approach him again about it.

  There were times when she’d feared he needed a break from her, and would tell him to enjoy a night out with friends or go visit his family. If he took her up on the suggestion, she cried herself to sleep. If he insisted on staying home with her, she feared it was out of a sense of duty. The spontaneity of their lives had vanished.

  Aside from making sure she’d prepared a good meal for him at night, Kellie found herself spending more and more time playing tennis at Leandros’s club with friends, or studying Greek with the tutor he’d hired for her at the university.

  With the gulf so wide and deep between them because of what they’d gone through to have a baby, they were different people now. Her heart ached, because she couldn’t imagine how they could find their way back to the people they’d once been.

  CHAPTER THREE

>   EARLY THE NEXT MORNING Stefon flew the two of them to the Cassandra in Athens. After eating breakfast in their room, Leandros called for his car and drove them to the Pangrati neighborhood, where Olympia Lasko saw her clients.

  Silence filled the Mercedes, as it had last evening on their way home from dinner. Kellie had hardly talked to him and went straight to bed once they’d returned to the villa. If she’d gotten on the phone with Fran or her aunt and uncle, he knew nothing about it.

  To his relief she’d eaten a healthy meal this morning and shown more appetite than he had. Leandros didn’t know about Kellie, but he’d slept poorly. Not only was he concerned over the process they were about to undergo, he feared Kellie’s reaction. Though it had been her idea, this was new territory for both of them.

  After he’d dismissed the idea of counseling in the beginning, he was thankful that she was still willing to try it. When they’d reached Andros yesterday, he’d been terrified out of his mind she would tell him it was too late, and fly right back to Pennsylvania.

  Before long, he turned the corner and spotted the Lasko home. It was a moderate-size, gray-and-white two-story house, typical of the settled, comfortable looking residences along the street in the quiet neighborhood. Leandros pulled in the driveway and stopped at the side entrance.

  He eyed his wife, who, thankfully, was still his wife. He’d already contacted his attorney to get in touch with her attorney and put off the divorce. The only thing left was to follow through with counseling and pray for a breakthrough. “Shall we go in?”

  She nodded and started to get out of the car. He hurried around to help her. Together they walked beneath the portico to the porch. “Mrs. Lasko said to just go in. She must be a very trusting person,” Kellie murmured.

  “Even so, she’ll have had cameras installed, as well as an electronic lock.” He reached past her and opened the door. They stepped right into an office with a desk and several leather chairs placed in front of it. At a glance he saw shelves with family photos, grandchildren. On one wall was a large oil painting of flowers.

  As he closed the door, he heard the click. A few moments later a connecting door into the house opened. A small, attractive woman with streaks of silver in her black hair, worn in a bun, entered the room. She looked on the frail side.

  “Thank you for being on time. I’m Olympia. Please call me that. You must be Kellie.”

  “Yes. It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you for making time for us so quickly. I’d like to introduce you to my husband, Leandros.”

  “How do you do.” They all shook hands. “Please sit down.”

  While the therapist took her seat in a comfortable padded chair behind the desk, Leandros helped Kellie. With her hair falling like spun gold to her shoulders from a side part, she looked particularly stunning. She was wearing an aquamarine, two-piece summer suit with short sleeves he hadn’t seen before. He loved the color on her.

  “We’ll discuss the fee after I’ve decided I can help you. As I told you on the phone, I only counsel you as a couple, not individually.”

  “You mean you never have private sessions with your clients?” Kellie asked.

  “Never, and I never record conversations. Once you start down that road, it doesn’t work. To remove suspicion, everything must be said in front of each other in my hearing. Otherwise we’re wasting each other’s time.”

  Kellie’s face crumpled. He wasn’t too thrilled about the rules himself. This counselor drove a hard bargain, reminding him of his own business practices. But in all honesty it made the most sense, and his regard for the older woman went up several notches.

  Olympia put on her bifocals. “How long have you been married?”

  Leandros decided to let Kellie do the talking.

  “Two years and one month.”

  “Which one of you felt the need for counseling?”

  “I did,” his wife answered.

  “What matters is that you’re both here. I’ll go out of the room for a few minutes. If you’re in agreement with my method, then let me know when I come back in, and we’ll get started.” She disappeared, leaving them alone. His wife sat there, hunched over.

  “What do you think, Kellie?”

  Slowly she lifted her head and glanced at him with mournful eyes. “She’s the most direct woman I ever met. I think this could be very painful.”

  He inhaled sharply. “More painful than what we’ve already been through?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation.

  He’d had to ask the question, even though he’d known what her answer would be. Yet upon hearing it, he felt as if she’d just delivered a crippling blow to his midsection. Their problems were like the tip of an iceberg, with nine-tenths lying beneath the surface of the water. Without therapy, they’d be left unexplored, and the prognosis for a happy marriage was anything but good.

  Unfortunately, he knew that once they got into deep therapy, the things they found out about each other could bring more pain. It would be a treacherous journey, but they had to make it if they hoped for a resolution that would preserve their marriage. No matter what he’d be forced to go through, he’d do it if he could have back the adorable woman he’d married.

  “I want to do it, Kellie.”

  Her brown eyes swam with tears. “If you really mean it.”

  His temper flared, but he fought to control it. “I wouldn’t have said so otherwise.”

  Olympia came back into the room. This time Leandros spoke first. “We’d like to go ahead with the therapy. Since we’re expecting twins next March, any fee you charge will be worth it if we can fix what’s wrong.”

  Her dark eyes studied them without revealing her thoughts. “That’s courageous on both your parts.” She took her place at the desk and named her fee. “I’d prefer to see you twice a week for the first month. The sessions will last an hour. When the month is out, it might not be necessary to see you more than once a month or even at all. My only opening left is at eleven in the mornings, Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

  Leandros didn’t need to confer with Kellie. They both wanted the same thing. “We’ll be here.”

  “Good. Then let’s get started.” The older woman sat back in her chair with her palms pressed together in front of her. “We’ll begin with you, Kellie. Why did you marry your husband?”

  Bands constricted his lungs while Leandros waited for her answer.

  Kellie wouldn’t look at him. “Because I fell painfully in love with him.”

  “Why painfully?”

  “Because I didn’t want to love a man who’d been married before, let alone one who’d been madly in love. Her name was Petra. Everyone told me they had the perfect marriage.”

  Leandros stifled a groan. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

  “Who’s everyone?”

  “All the people I met before our wedding. His family and friends. I was terrified I would never measure up to the woman who’d died.”

  “Why would you want to do that? He married you.”

  Kellie looked confounded. “I—I don’t know,” she stammered.

  “Think about that and we’ll discuss it at one of your next sessions. For the moment I’d like to know if you had been in love before you met your husband.”

  “Not like that. Never like that,” she whispered.

  Her fervency thrilled Leandros.

  “But there was someone else?”

  “Yes. One of my college friends had wealthy parents who belonged to a club where there was a tennis pro named Rod Silvers. Since I’d played tennis since my junior high days, she often invited me to play with her. That’s where I met Rod, and we started dating.

  “He was from a prominent Philadelphia family. I was attracted and flattered. But after a month of seeing each other pretty constantly, he stopped calling me. When I broke down and told my friend, she said his family already had someone from the Philadelphia society register picked out for him to marry.”

  Kellie had mentione
d she’d once dated a tennis pro, but this was the first Leandros knew about his background.

  “I see,” Mrs. Lasko said. “Now I’d like hear when you first suspected all was not well in your marriage.”

  A few seconds passed before Kellie said, “At our wedding.”

  “Our wedding?” Leandros blurted. Her quiet response stunned him, because he’d noticed a difference in her after they’d gone to his villa to begin their honeymoon. But he’d never suspected she thought anything was wrong.

  “I can see this has surprised your husband, Kellie.”

  Olympia possessed an unflappable demeanor that reminded him of his maternal grandmother. While his heart thundered in his chest from his wife’s revelation, the woman went on talking to Kellie with a calm he could only envy.

  “How long did you know him before you were married?”

  “Three months.”

  “Was there an official period of engagement?”

  “No.”

  “What happened at the wedding?”

  “That’s when I became aware I had competition for my husband’s affection.”

  “You mean besides the memory of his dead wife.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did it come from another man? Or was it a woman?”

  Leandros shot out of the chair, infuriated by the question. “Neither!”

  Olympia glanced at him. “That sounded final. Did you hear him, Kellie?”

  “Yes,” she answered in a muffled voice.

  “Go on.”

  He sat down again, feeling like a ten-year-old child who’d acted out in class and had just been dismissed by his teacher.

  “It was a woman.”

  “Someone he’d known before he met you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Her name is Karmela Paulos,” Leandros broke in, completely frustrated because he’d known Kellie would bring her up. “She’s the sister of my deceased wife, Petra.”