Damon (Starkis Family #2)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “But that wasn’t the only reason her husband walked out on her, was it?” I narrowed my eyes when he refused to respond. “Of course it wasn’t. He walked out on her because of you.” It was all becoming crystal clear. “Are you sleeping with her?” I didn’t even know why I asked. Even if he denied it, I didn’t think I could believe him.

  “No.” There was no trace of vehemence when he hung his head, covering his eyes with both hands. “I know you probably don’t believe me, but I swear to you I haven’t been with that woman in years.”

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that I have to get out of here.” The last thing I wanted was to meet his former lover. “Now.”

  He reached for my wrist. “I love you, Eleni. I meant every word I said last night. You have to believe that.”

  “How can I believe anything you say? You’re Deacon’s brother, which means you’re a part of my life whether I like it or not, but I can’t be with a man I can’t trust.”

  “You can trust me.”

  He couldn’t even say it with conviction, which confirmed I was making the right decision to leave him before I lost myself.

  “I would never cheat on you.” He wrapped his hands around my wrists as though that would somehow prevent me from leaving. “No matter what you think, there’s no other woman for me. You’re it.”

  Part of me that wanted to pretend I could believe him, but no one had ever accused me of being gullible. I had an uncanny ability to cut through lies. I leaned in close enough to touch my former lover’s lips. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. You won’t shame me. Better men than you have tried.” My heart was breaking. I was crying on the inside, begging him to say something that would make me want to stay, but on the outside, I remained stoic. “Let go of me.”

  He uncurled his hands from around my wrists slowly. “They won’t be here more than a few weeks—”

  “They wouldn’t be here at all if you didn’t want them here. You’re Damon-freakin’-Starkis. Your father probably owns at least one hotel in the city. Even if he doesn’t, you could buy your ex a new house by noon if you wanted to. There’s only one reason she’s coming here: because you want to spend time with her.” I poked him in the chest. “So don’t insult my intelligence by trying to convince me otherwise.”

  He covered his mouth with one hand, as though he feared what might come out if he didn’t. Knowing there was nothing more either of us could say, I got the last word in by tearing off his T-shirt and throwing it in his face as I sauntered down the hall naked. Let the bastard get a good long look at what he’s throwing away.

  ***

  Damon

  I was still reeling from my argument with Eleni when I sat down to share a pizza with Dalia and Andra that night. I couldn’t believe she’d walked out like that. Yes, I could. I would have done the same thing had she told me her ex-boyfriend and his kid were moving in with her. What I couldn’t believe was that I’d been stupid enough to let her leave.

  “I can’t believe how big this place is,” Dalia said, looking around the penthouse apartment, wide-eyed. “You could fit our house in here, plus, like, four of our neighbors’ houses.”

  In spite of my bad mood, I smiled at her enthusiasm. She’d been gushing over every little detail of my home since she’d arrived. Her mother said she was obsessed with decorating, often making pretty things to embellish her room with and asking to rearrange her furniture.

  “So, Dalia,” I said, leaning in to let her know she had my full attention, “your mom tells me you’re an interior designer in the making. Is that what you want to be when you grow up?”

  She thought about it for half a second before tilting her head. “I don’t know for sure. I love to dance. Maybe I’ll be a dancer.” Her expression was solemn when she added, “I used to wanna be a vet ‘cause I love dogs, but cats kinda scare me.” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s ‘cause my friend’s cat scratched me once.” She extended her arm, turning it over so I could see her wrist. “See?” She pointed at a faint white line. “I just wanted to play with him, but Jenny said he was old and cranky and didn’t wanna play.”

  I bit my lip, trying not to smile, as I studied her arm. “You might be right. Being an interior designer might be the safest bet.”

  She looked at the crystal chandelier hanging overhead. “Did you have a designer help you with this place?”

  “I did.”

  She nodded. “That’s what I thought. Boys aren’t very good at decorating. At least that’s what my daddy says.”

  Andra caught my eye from across the table. I was sure I wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding that fact that it felt like a dagger in the chest every time I heard my daughter call another man daddy while she treated me like a polite stranger.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” I said, trying to keep Dalia engaged in the conversation. “I’ve known some very talented interior designers who were men.” I smiled when she appeared to consider my input. “Tell me about your dancing. Jazz? Tap, ballet…?”

  Her eyes lit with enthusiasm. “I love all kinds of dance, but I really love ballet.”

  “So you take lessons?” From the research I’d done, I knew she did.

  “Yeah.”

  “My friend owns a dance studio,” Andra explained. “I help her out there, and she lets Dalia take lessons for free.”

  “That’s nice.” I thought about my sister’s love of dance and imagined how she would feel about having a niece who shared her passion. I was still struck by how much Dalia looked like Tiana at that age.

  I realized I was studying her too closely when Dalia wriggled in her seat and asked, “What?”

  “Nothing.” I grinned as I tweaked her nose. “I just let my mind wander for a minute. Sorry, didn’t mean to stare.”

  “I hope you’ll excuse me,” Andra said, pushing her chair back. “This is the night I usually call my mother, and she worries if she doesn’t hear from me.” She collected our plates and glasses. “I won’t be long.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said when she stacked my plate on top of theirs.

  She blushed. “Don’t be silly. It’s the least I can do. You were so kind, giving us a place to stay and all.”

  Dalia waited until her mother had loaded the dishwasher and headed down the hall before she asked, “Were you my mommy’s boyfriend?”

  I sputtered on the water I’d been drinking, forcing me to cover my mouth as I swallowed. I coughed before clearing my throat. “What makes you think that?”

  She shrugged as though it were obvious. “Why else would you let us stay here when the bank kicked us out of our house?”

  I hated that she had to go through this. It was enough that her parents were having trouble, but she had to deal with the fear of being homeless and living with a stranger too. “Your mom’s a friend.” I would rather have told her the whole truth, but I couldn’t. “We’re both from Saronida. Do you like spending time in the village?”

  “It’s okay, I guess.” She tossed her napkin on the table. “There’s not a lot to do though.”

  “Have you been back since your dedo passed away?” Since Andra’s parents was Greek-Macedonian, I knew Dalia called them Baba and Dedo.

  “No.” She looked at the table, her expression reflecting her sadness. “My baba misses us a lot, but Mommy says it costs too much to fly.”

  I hated to think of all the things Dalia had missed out on because I hadn’t been a part of her life. “Your daddy is a mechanic, right?” I realized a little too late that mentioning her father probably wasn’t the best way to raise her spirits.

  “Yeah, but he lost his job a few months ago. He hasn’t been able to find work, so the bank kicked us out of our house.”

  “I see.” There was so much I wanted to say, but I had to weigh my words carefully when dealing with a smart, perceptive kid like Dalia. “Do you like where you live?”

  “It’s okay.”
Looking thoughtful, she said, “I like my school, and I have lots of friends, but mommy says the neighborhood isn’t really safe.”

  After my visit there, I had to concur. “I’m sure there are other, nicer neighborhoods in the same school district, right?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. We’ve never lived anywhere else.”

  As much as I would have loved to have Dalia closer to me, I couldn’t ask her to leave her friends and school behind. I’d already decided to call my residential real estate agent in the morning and have him find several houses that would be good options for Dalia and Andra, then they could choose the one they preferred. The private jet made it easy for me to travel back and forth to visit, providing Andra and I could work out an arrangement.

  “It must be hard leaving the only home you’ve ever known, huh?” I thought of that pseudo-castle I’d grown up in. Most people would say it looked more like a museum than a house, but I still thought of it as home.

  She blinked as though she was trying to fight back tears. “I had to leave all my stuff behind. The only thing I could bring in the suitcase was Petunia.”

  I glanced at the worn pink pig she’d left on the couch. “Don’t worry about that. I called some movers, and they’re going to pack up all your stuff and put it in storage, so when we find you another house, you can have it all back.” I would have preferred to buy them a fully furnished house, or at least furnish their new house, but I didn’t want to push my luck. For all I knew, Nic would come to his senses and return to his family. I had no doubt he would hate that I’d been able to provide for his family in a way he never could.

  “Do you love my mommy?”

  I’d thought I’d dodged that bullet, but apparently my daughter was as tenacious as she was cute. “No, Dalia.” I smiled, thinking I’d love nothing more than to tell her she was the one who’d captured my heart. “Like I said, I’m just helping a friend. I’d do the same for any of my friends who’d fallen on hard times.” Of course, most of my friends were celebrities and trust fund babies, so the odds of their coffers running low were slim to none.

  “You’re a nice man,” she said, eyeing me speculatively. “Mommy said you were, but I wasn’t too sure. You’re not friends with my daddy, are you?”

  Obviously the tension in the room had been even thicker than I’d realized the day I’d visited Dalia’s home. “Um, no. I just met your dad through your mom.”

  “Do you know why he left us?” A tear spilled down her cheek. “Did I do something to make him mad? I didn’t want to have a bath before bed last night. Maybe that’s why he—”

  I pulled my chair closer and put my arm around her shoulders. “Sssh.” I kissed the top of her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetheart. Your mom and dad just have to work some things out. It has nothing to do with you.” Of course, it had everything to do with her, but I hoped she would never know that.

  She sniffled before reaching for the paper napkin to dry her eyes. “I miss him. I wish he weren’t so far away.”

  “I know, honey. But I’m sure you’ll see him again real soon.” I saw how much Dalia meant to Nic. Even if he did decide to divorce Andra, I couldn’t believe he would walk away from the child he’d helped raise. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I felt my heart swell with love for the angelic little girl. I brushed my lips over her silky curls.

  “I hope you’re right, Damon.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Damon

  Andra had tucked Dalia in a couple of hours ago, and we were sitting on the sofa, the volume low on the TV while we surfed the net, she on her tablet, I on my laptop.

  “Does your girlfriend know we’re staying here?” Andra asked.

  I considered how to respond, knowing how she felt about Eleni. It was time to clear the air, to try to paint Eleni in a favorable light so my relationship with her wouldn’t hurt my chances of spending time with my daughter. Even though Eleni had walked out on me, I had no intention of letting her go without a fight. “You couldn’t be more wrong about Eleni, you know. Sure, she’s a lingerie model, and she likes to have a good time, but that doesn’t make her a bad person.”

  Andra seemed to consider that. “Maybe not, but it also doesn’t make her an ideal prospect as a stepmother.”

  Since I wasn’t sure the day would ever come when Eleni would agree to be my wife, I thought it was a moot point. “What do you think constitutes an ideal stepmother?”

  “Someone who’s kind and gentle.”

  I couldn’t claim Eleni was gentle, but she had a softer side that few people got to see. “Someone who’s fun?”

  She smiled. “Dalia does love to have fun, like most kids, so yeah, I guess that’s an important quality.”

  I thought of all the crazy things I’d done with Eleni since we’d met. There was that day we’d decided to take Rosie to the zoo or the time we’d gone to Six Flags because we were bored. I laughed when I thought of the time we’d run into a mime on the street and she’d mirrored his actions as though she’d been doing it her whole life. She was fun and fearless and every damn thing I’d ever wanted in a partner.

  “What’s so funny?” Andra asked, setting her tablet on the table as she tucked her legs under her.

  “I was just thinking about some of the crazy things Eleni has done.”

  “Such as?” Andra asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “There was this time we were walking down the street, and a dog walker asked Eleni if she would watch her brood while she slipped into Starbucks to use the restroom. By the time the lady came back, Eleni was on the ground with the dogs, laughing like a kid and letting them lick her face and climb all over her.”

  Andra smiled. “She likes dogs?”

  I thought of her affection for Mia’s little furball. “Loves them.”

  “I guess she and Dalia have that in common.”

  “The press paints a picture of people, but that’s usually just one facet of their personality.”

  “I know,” she said, sighing. “You taught me that. You were nothing at all like I expected you to be.”

  “How so?”

  Leaning her head back on the sofa, a small smile tugged at her lips. “You were sweet and affectionate and fun. I remember you used to give all the kids playing on the street money for drinks and snacks.”

  It had just been pocket change, but the way those kids’ faces had lit up when I gave them a few bucks had made me feel like a hero. “Growing up with my old man taught me the importance of giving back when you’re as blessed as we are.”

  “I didn’t realize your father was such a philanthropist.”

  I chuckled, thinking about the motives behind my father’s compulsion to give back. “Only when his donation benefits him in some way.”

  “What do you mean?” Andra asked, looking confused.

  “He wants to be immortalized, so he loves giving donations when he’s publicly acknowledged for his contributions. Hospitals, churches, museums…” I shook my head. “Anywhere where he’ll get an engraved plaque or wall etching bearing his name.”

  “Interesting. It sounds like most of what I’ve heard about him is true. I don’t have to tell you he’s earned god-like status in our village. His brother too.”

  My father’s younger brother had traveled to the States several years after my father, claiming his big brother had paved the way for him, but my uncle had made his own fortune in the restaurant business. He now employed thousands of people around the world.

  I didn’t want Andra to think my father didn’t have his good qualities. After all, he was my daughter’s grandfather, and I wanted them to have a relationship. “Demi’s a hard-ass, no doubt about that, but he loves his kids.” I wanted to claim he adored my mother as well, but I’d seen little evidence of that over the years. “And he’s dying to be a grandfather.”

  She propped her elbow on the couch, resting her head in her hand. “You haven’t told him about Dalia, have you?”

  I shook my he
ad, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. “I knew if I did, he’d camp out on your doorstep, demanding to see his granddaughter.”

  “He’ll hate me for keeping her from all of you for so many years.” She closed her eyes. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m scared of what he might do when he finds out. He’s a rich and powerful man, Damon. I don’t have the resources to fight him if he tries to take my daughter.” She lowered her head. “I can’t lose her. My kids are the only things I have left. They mean everything to me.”

  I thought of how hard being separated from her son must be for her, especially with the fate of her marriage hanging in the balance. I reached for her hand. “Hey, I would never let my father come after you. You’ve got to believe that.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered. “After everything I’ve done, you should hate me.”

  I couldn’t hate the mother of my child, whether she deserved it or not. “You’re clearly a good mother, and I know you were just trying to protect Dalia.”

  “I was thinking about myself too,” she admitted. “The thought of being a single mother terrified me. I didn’t think I could do it alone.”

  “Nic must have loved you a lot to raise another man’s child as his own.” If Eleni had come to me and announced she was pregnant with another man’s child, a child she’d conceived while we were broken up, would I have married her and raised that child as my own? Yes. That was how much I loved her.

  “I love him too, so much.” A tear slipped down her cheek as she bit her lip. “I can’t lose my family. Nic has always been my rock. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

  “Maybe if I talked to him, I could help him understand why you did what you did back then?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, frowning.

  “You had valid reasons for keeping Dalia from me. I know that.” It killed me to admit it, but I couldn’t demonize Andra without accepting responsibility for my part in this mess. “I wish things had gone down differently. Lord knows I have my share of regrets. I’ve missed out on so much, but I’m not the same man I was then. I need you to see that. I don’t want to miss out on any more of my daughter’s life.” I breathed deeply, staring at the TV, though I had no idea what I was watching. “I want to be there for the important things: the graduations and—”