Kellie’s eyelids prickled with salty tears. “This would be a perfect place, but I’m sure your family would have something to say about it.”
Leandros grasped her upper arms, bringing her close to his hard-muscled body. “Dozens of people with a lot of money have coveted this villa, sitting on the most prime property of the island. My father and uncles have had dozens of offers to buy it, for many times what it’s worth. But they haven’t wanted anyone who wasn’t family to live here on the estate.”
“I can understand that.”
“They’d rejoice if your aunt and uncle made this their home. You’re family, after all. My extended family will celebrate, anyway, when they hear we’re expecting twins.”
“You’re g-generous beyond belief, Leandros.” Her voice caught. “I’ve never known anyone like you.”
She felt his gaze narrow on her mouth, but he held back from kissing her. For once she wished he would devour her the way he used to do, but she’d changed all the rules when she’d asked for a divorce. He was much more careful now. Kellie sensed he was waiting for her to initiate any intimacy between them, because he didn’t want to make more mistakes.
Neither did she.
Afraid she’d killed something inside him, she turned away with an ache in her heart, and started for the door. On the way back to the villa, he suggested they drive to one of the other villages to eat dinner. He said it so airily, the tension-filled moment in the kitchen, when she’d wanted to pull his head down to hers and give in to her desire, might never have happened.
On impulse, she said, “I have another idea. Why don’t you start up the grill on the patio and I’ll make us some lamb kabobs.” He loved them. “I’ll be able to marinate them for only a few minutes, but they’ll still taste good. We’ll finish off the salad and rolls, too.”
“You really want to cook tonight?” He sounded eager, yet once again she noticed he was careful not to ask her if she was too tired. What had she done to him?
“Absolutely.”
I want to do something for you.
Kellie hadn’t made a meal for him in over two months. A Greek man loved his food. Leandros had always liked finding her in the kitchen while she cooked up a storm. When he’d claimed in front of Olympia that he’d loved coming home to Kellie after work, she knew he hadn’t been lying about that. Because of therapy, she realized he’d never lied to her about anything.
“Make a lot of them,” he called out before disappearing into the house.
She smiled, remembering the dozens of times he’d said the same thing to her when he’d phoned her from work, telling her he was coming home.
After washing her hands, she got busy. As she assembled the ingredients, it occurred to her she hadn’t ever been this happy before. This was her kitchen. She was making dinner for her husband. They were pregnant with twin babies. He’d just told her they would move her aunt and uncle to the estate. Except for news about Karmela’s next move still hanging over them, Kellie had more joy than any one woman deserved or could hope for in this life.
She was in the middle of her preparations when Leandros came back into the kitchen with his phone in hand. Judging by the lines bracketing his eyes and mouth, the news was bad.
“Who just called you?”
“The private detective.”
“Did Karmela elude him and get to the press, anyway?”
Leandros inhaled sharply. “No. She managed to fix it so they got to her.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s even more devious than I realized. After overdosing on some pills at the hotel, for the sake of theatrics, she called the police so they’d be certain to find her before she could do any real damage. The private detective was out in the hall when the paramedics arrived. He followed them to the hospital, where her stomach was pumped.
“He spoke to one of the officers who heard her statement. She said I ended our affair after finding out she was pregnant with our baby, and fired her from the Petralia Corporation. The news will leak out. It always does.”
Somehow Kellie wasn’t surprised. “Even if it makes the ten o’clock news, it won’t matter,” she declared. “Anyone who knows you will realize she’s a very sick girl who needs a psychiatrist. Let’s get to the hospital. Call your parents so they can fly to Athens with us. It’ll be better if we’re all together when we talk to her parents. I’ll phone Frato. He’ll want to meet us there.”
Leandros’s eyes pierced hers. “You’re willing to come with me?” he asked in a grating voice.
She knew what he was asking. Besides everything else, they might have to face a barrage of reporters. If ever they needed to present a united front, it was now. “Yes. I’m your wife. We do everything together.”
“Kellie...” For once he forgot the rules and crushed her in his arms. She clung to him before he was forced to let her go and alert Stefon to get the helicopter ready. While Leandros changed clothes and made the call to his parents, she phoned Frato. To her relief, he picked up fast.
“Kellie?”
“Yes. Please listen. Where are you?”
“I’m at the penthouse.”
“Then you don’t know about Karmela yet.”
“What’s happened?”
Once she’d explained, he said, “I’ll phone Father, then head on over to the hospital and meet you there.”
“Good. If we’re all together, it’ll be the best statement we could make.”
“Agreed.”
After they hung up, she made a couple of sandwiches for them to eat on the helicopter and put the uncooked food in the fridge. Leandros appeared in the kitchen wearing a gray suit and tie. “Ready?”
“Almost.” She wrapped the sandwiches. “Here, take these.” While he found a sack and added some apples, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. Moments later they hurried out of the villa. She didn’t worry about the coals in the grill. They would burn down.
Her thoughts were on a real fire burning out of control at the hospital in Athens. Kellie loved her husband desperately, but never more than at this moment, when his life and reputation were at the mercy of Karmela.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LEANDROS TOLD STEFON to land at the hotel. From there, he drove the four of them to the hospital. There was a delivery entrance on the south side of the building. Hoping to avoid
the paparazzi, he called for permission to park there, and a security guard allowed them to enter the building.
Frato had just phoned and told Leandros to go to the psychiatric unit on the third floor, west wing. He’d be waiting for them in the lounge off the hallway. To his knowledge, the police had notified Karmela’s parents, who were still inside the locked area with the doctor.
Kellie held on to Leandros’s arm, the way she’d done in the early days of their marriage. He hardly recognized her as the same woman he’d brought to this hospital five weeks ago, after she’d fainted. That woman wouldn’t let him touch her.
He wanted to believe she was aching for the intimacy they’d once shared, and that’s why she was clinging to him. If this show of solidarity in front of everyone didn’t extend beyond this hour of crisis, he didn’t think he could bear it.
“Leandros...”
Frato’s parents had just appeared, but he’d been too deep in his torturous thoughts to realize it. Kellie got up first to greet them. Soon Leandros’s parents had gathered around. While they were huddled together discussing Karmela’s sorry state, the door opened and her parents emerged, white-faced. Leandros thought they’d aged ten years.
Kellie was right with him as they walked over to embrace them. “How is she, Leda?”
“Sedated. We can’t see her again until tomorrow morning.” Karmela’s mother lifted tear-filled eyes to him. “She’s always been crazy about you, Leandros, but we hoped and prayed she’d get over it after you married Kellie. If anything, it made her worse, but we had no idea she would try to kill herself.”
Leandros’s heart went o
ut to them. “Just remember one thing. She called the police so they’d be sure to find her in time.”
Nestor nodded. “The doctor said it was a call for help. She didn’t want to die. She did it to get your attention. We’re so sorry for the grief she has caused you and Kellie...and Frato.” He eyed Leandros’s cousin with compassion before looking at Leandros again. “Are you two back together?”
He sucked in his breath. “We’re working on it. I can tell you with conviction that with enough love and therapy, she’ll get through this.”
“You really believe that?” Leda’s voice trembled.
“We do,” Kellie interjected. “We’re going to counseling right now. It’s been a liberating experience for both of us. I’m sure it will be for Karmela, too.”
Leda hugged Kellie. “You deserve all the happiness in the world.”
“So does Karmela.”
“You can say that after everything’s she’s done? What we heard her tell the doctor horrified us. But a pregnancy test was done. She’s not pregnant.”
“We didn’t think she was. From what I’ve learned, she’s been in pain for years, Leda. The doctor will help her understand that pain, and then she’ll get well.”
“Bless you.” Leda hugged Kellie again.
Nestor eyed all of them. “The second the police called, I asked them to do all they could to prevent this from leaking to the press.”
Leandros patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. If there’s fallout, we can handle it. One thing you could do is put the record straight to Dionne and Zera. They love Karmela. She’ll need their friendship more than ever now.”
Leda nodded. “We’ll call them before we go to bed.”
In an automatic move, Leandros put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Since there’s nothing more we can do here, we’ll go. Keep in close touch with us. You know we’ll do whatever we can to help.”
After more hugs, they said good-night to Frato and his parents, then the four of them left and drove back to the hotel. It was decided his parents would stay the night. Tomorrow they’d fly back to Andros.
Once ensconced in the suite, Kellie made coffee and ordered more food from the kitchen. They all needed time to settle down and relax before they could think about bed. It was better this way.
Leandros was on fire for his wife, but until she showed him she wanted him, body and soul, he wasn’t about to push anything. In fact, this would be a good time to broach the subject foremost on his mind, now that Karmela was finally getting the help she needed.
He sat back in the chair, eyeing his parents over the rim of his coffee cup. “Kellie and I have been doing a lot of talking. Since our wedding, she’s suffered over missing her aunt and uncle. We’ve flown to Philadelphia when we could, but traveling there every few months hasn’t been enough. It’s been harder for them to come here, because he’s in a wheelchair.
“Yesterday, while we were out walking, I made a decision.” Kellie’s head jerked toward him in surprise. “If we agree to stay together, it will depend on her aunt and uncle where we live permanently.”
The room went perfectly still.
“Kellie has been worried, with good reason, about uprooting them to live in Greece. They’ve built a lifetime of memories and friends in Philadelphia, and the move might be too hard on them. This last month she put down earnest money on a house big enough for them and our children. We would all live there.”
His mother shook her head in consternation. “But what would you do?”
“I could still work for the corporation long distance. Naturally, I’d step down as CEO.”
“And then you’d come and visit us every few months....” His mother’s mournful voice trailed off.
“Nothing’s written in stone yet, Mana. If Kellie and I decide to stay together, and if by some miracle they’d be willing to move here, then we’d live on Andros permanently.”
“Permanently?” A squeal of joy escaped his mother’s lips before she got up from the couch. “Then we’ll make that miracle happen! Your aunt and uncle will be so welcome here, they won’t have time to miss people. Think how busy we’ll all be when the children are born!”
She flew across the expanse to hug him. “I hated it when you moved to that penthouse in Athens.”
“I did it for Petra.”
“We know you did, but nothing’s been the same since.” She moved to Kellie, seated in the other chair. “You really want to live on Andros?”
“It’s my favorite place in the world. The children will thrive there.” Kellie’s heartfelt response made its way inside his heart and convinced his parents. His mother squeezed her.
“Did you hear that, Vlassius?”
His father’s eyes had glazed over with happy tears. “I heard. I’m still trying to take it all in.”
“So what can we do to get your aunt and uncle to come, Kellie?”
Leandros sat forward. “On our way up from the beach yesterday, we stopped to look at Uncle Manny’s villa. How do you think the family would fee—”
“It would be perfect for them!” his mother cried out, before he could finish his thought.
His father nodded. “I go fishing every morning on the boat. Jim will come with me.”
“And Sybil will come shopping with me!” his mother exclaimed.
“Family should be together and that place shouldn’t go empty any longer,” his father declared. “With twins on the way, I think it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“You’re the most generous people on earth,” Kellie declared in a tremulous voice. “I guess you realize your son takes after you.”
Leandros liked the sound of that. “Though it seems like a perfect arrangement to us, everyone in the family would have to be in agreement. The villa needs work. I’d want to make improvements to the bathroom.”
“I can tell you right now the family will welcome the idea without reservation.”
“Thanks, Papa. However, if there is a problem, then there’s still room on my piece of the property to build a new villa for them. But until Kellie talks to them about moving to Greece, it’s a moot point, considering we’re still in the middle of therapy.”
His father stood up. “Come on, Thea. Let’s go to bed and plot.”
Kellie laughed out loud. It was the full-
bodied kind he’d missed hearing all these months.
He eyed his parents. “That’s a good idea. I’m suddenly exhausted and crave sleep. Everything you need should be in the guest bedroom. We’ll see you at breakfast.”
Taking a leaf out of their book, he got up and walked over to Kellie. “Get a good night’s sleep.” He kissed her on the cheek. “See you in the morning.”
His heart leaped to see the look of disappointment in those chocolate eyes before he headed for his room. But he was doing better at disciplining himself where his wife was concerned. He wanted her to come to him, day or night, of her own free will. No holding back.
* * *
The apartment had gone quiet. Feeling wide-awake, Kellie carried the coffee mugs to the kitchen. She was still in shock that Leandros had gone to bed so fast. After what had happened today, there was so much she wanted to talk to him about, but by leaving the living room with his parents, he’d made any more conversation tonight impossible.
She knew she could always go to his room, but he would take that to mean she wanted to be with him in every sense of the word. Of course, she wanted that more than anything in the world. But when the moment came that they decided to recommit to each other, she preferred to be strictly alone with him on Andros.
Since arriving in Greece, Kellie had done so much sharing with her husband, she hardly recognized the person she’d become. Without him being available, her normal impulse would have been to phone Fran and talk to her about everything, disregarding the lateness of the hour. But that was before the therapy sessions. The revelations they’d uncovered had changed Kellie’s life. She was turning into a differe
nt person.
When she really thought about it, her only real concern at this point was her aunt and uncle. If they could have seen and heard the reaction of Leandros’s parents tonight, it would have warmed their hearts to know how much they wanted them to move to Greece.
Kellie checked her watch. It would be afternoon in Philadelphia. Now would be the best time to call them and have a long talk. After getting ready for bed, she climbed under the covers and picked up the receiver on the bedside table.
“Aunt Sybil?”
“Honey...”
“Have I caught you at an inconvenient time?”
“Heavens, no! I’m just putting the raspberry jam I made into the freezer. You know how much Jim loves it. We were just talking about you at lunch, wondering how the therapy is coming along. Are you still suffering nausea?”
“No. The medicine Dr. Creer prescribed has really helped. Listen, there’s something very important I need to talk to you about.”
There was a small silence before she said, “You sound excited.”
“It’s more than that, Aunt Sybil. Could you get Uncle Jim to pick up the extension in your bedroom?” They were one couple she knew who didn’t use cell phones.
“Just a minute. He’s out on the terrace. I’ll wheel him into the bedroom. Hold on.”
Kellie’s heart was pounding so hard, she feared it couldn’t be good for her, but there wasn’t anything she could do to slow it down.
“Is that you, Tink?” Her loving uncle had called her his golden Tinker Bell from her childhood. “How’s the therapy going? Are you making any progress with this Mrs. Lasko?”
Tears filled Kellie’s eyes. She loved them so much. “To make a long story short, Leandros and I are finding our way back to each other.”
Sounds of pure joy reached her ears.
“I’m going to tell you everything that’s happened. Then I need to ask you a question, and you have to answer it honestly, because I love you more than anything in the world and want you to be as happy as you’ve made me all these years.”
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