But he was starting to get similar looks from Popi—looks that said he’d let down his family and she would never trust him with the baby. The looks made him uncomfortable. After all, Popi barely even knew him. But she had heard stories from his brother. He could only guess at what his brother had to say about him, most likely none of it any good. In the last year or two, he and his brother had clashed—a lot.
Yet Popi still hadn’t kicked him out. And he didn’t miss the part about the village being deserted and it just being the two of them on the island. Did that mean he’d jumped to the wrong conclusions? Was it possible she trusted him? Just a little?
If so, it was a starting point from which he could reason with her and avoid a long, drawn-out, nasty court case that would be fodder for the headlines. The whole thing would be a mess.
“You really didn’t have to stay here.” Popi’s voice drew him from his thoughts. “I’m fine on my own. And I have a phone should an emergency come up.” Then she frowned as though realizing she’d said too much. “Not that there will be an emergency or anything.”
He wasn’t going anywhere. “I just feel better being here.”
She arched a brow. “Are you saying you care?”
He suddenly felt as though there wasn’t a right answer to her question. Not wanting to complicate things any further, he knew it was time to change the subject. “What would you like for dinner?”
A small smile pulled at her lips, letting him know she’d caught on to his diversionary tactics. “I don’t know what’s in the cabinets.” She rubbed her back as a frown settled over her pretty face. “But I’m not hungry—”
Thunk. Thunk.
They both turned to the front door as it swung back and forth. The sun had set by then, leaving them in the dark. There wasn’t even any moonlight tonight.
“The wind is really kicking up,” Popi said. “I’ve been so busy with the wedding and packing that I haven’t had time to check the weather in days.”
She moved to the open front door. Another gust of wind rushed through the doorway. She pushed the door closed against the wind and secured it.
“Do you get bad weather here?” he asked.
“Once in a while. But not often.”
Apollo started opening the kitchen cabinets. “It looks like we have pasta.” He continued to name off the various food items. And then he turned to her. “What do you feel like?”
She rubbed the small of her back. “Um...nothing.”
He moved to her. “Is your back still bothering you?”
She nodded. “I guess I overdid it today.”
“You should be resting.” He noticed the lines deepening between her brows.
She shook her head. “It’ll pass. It always does.”
Apollo expelled a long sigh. “I told you not to lift anything today.”
“I didn’t.” When he arched a disbelieving brow at her, she amended her response. “Okay. But that box wasn’t heavy at all. It had paper products in it.”
“Maybe you were just on your feet too long.” He glanced around the room for a place for her to sit, but they’d emptied most of this bungalow, as well as all the other bungalows on the island.
He scanned the now empty living room. He’d tried to convince her to keep some of the furniture, but Popi had been insistent that she could manage for one night with bare bones. He wondered if she was now regretting that decision.
He walked to the master bedroom to retrieve an inflatable mattress from the closet. He returned to the living room with it, some pillows and a blanket. He put them all down in the middle of the floor.
Popi was pacing back and forth. Her hand was still pressed to the small of her back. “What are you doing?”
“You need to rest and take some strain off your back.”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look fine.”
“Well, aren’t you just full of compliments.” She sent him a teasing smile.
“I try.” At least she hadn’t lost her sense of humor. They were going to need it to get through this night.
It took a bit to pump up the full-size mattress. Once he detached the pump, he fixed the mattress up with pillows and blankets. But what he hadn’t counted on was trying to get a nine-month pregnant woman down to the floor. It took some maneuvering and cooperation, but at last Popi was off her feet.
She moved this way and that way, trying to get comfortable. And yet she continued to frown. She rolled onto her side and he placed a pillow behind her back.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“It’s good.” But the look on her face said that it was anything but good.
He knelt down beside her. “We need to get you to the mainland.”
He didn’t like taking chances where her pregnancy was concerned. He knew what could happen. His family had already sustained so many losses. He didn’t think he could bear another.
She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m good, really. You were right. I overdid it today. I should have listened to you.”
Had she just admitted that he was right about something? He smiled. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “See. The pain is already lessening.”
He studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was telling him the truth. There was no way they were staying on this island if she was going into labor. Not a chance. She needed to be in the hospital with a full, knowledgeable staff and equipment for any emergency. But in the end, even that hadn’t been enough to save his mother.
Why exactly couldn’t he have stayed gone for just a little longer? Just until the baby was born—when the beautiful surrogate mother and little one were safe and sound. He wasn’t any good at this stuff. This waiting and wondering was taking its toll. But he didn’t want Popi to see how worried he was.
“Maybe I should call your doctor.” He straightened and reached for his phone. “Just to be sure.”
“Don’t.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “I already ran to the doctor when I thought I was in premature labor last week. They assured me it was just Braxton-Hicks contractions.”
“What’s that?” He didn’t like the sound of it.
“It’s the body’s way of preparing for the birth of the baby.”
His gut was knotted up. “And you’re sure that’s what this is?”
She nodded. “We’re good.”
He still wasn’t convinced that all was well. But what did he know about pregnant women? He could only trust that what Popi was saying was the truth.
His gaze searched hers. “You’ll tell me if anything changes?”
“I will.”
He released a pent-up breath. He needed something to do besides pace. “I suppose I should find us something to eat.”
Just then Shadow emerged from whatever hiding spot he’d been cowering in since the winds started beating on the bungalow. The kitten let out a tiny cry, as though letting them know that he was hungry too.
“And I’ll get you a bowl of kitten food.” Apollo couldn’t resist running his fingers over Shadow’s downy-soft fur.
“And water. He keeps knocking his water bowl over.” Popi added just as the kitten climbed up on the mattress to be next to her.
Luckily Apollo had put down a couple of blankets to cover the mattress. Hopefully it’d protect it from the kitten’s needlelike nails.
CHAPTER NINE
COULD HE TRUST HER?
Apollo studied Popi while she fussed over the kitten. She was so stubborn and one determined lady. He worried she’d let these Braxton-Whatevers go too far. But she seemed all right for the moment.
Maybe she was right. Maybe there was nothing to worry about...for now. Besides, it wouldn’t take long to get to the mainland by boat or helicopter.
O
ne more pain and he didn’t care what she said, he was calling for help. She was better safe than sorry.
In the meantime, he turned to the kitchen. Since Popi’s newly remodeled kitchen wasn’t being renovated, she hadn’t felt the need to pack it up. That made it convenient for him. He set to work.
He needed to prepare a meal that was simple—something that was in his wheelhouse—yet it needed to be something with a bit of substance. He settled for fakés soúpa. Popi had everything on hand, from the lentils to the onion and garlic. He warmed up a pot while he diced up the vegetables. It was a very easy recipe—
“What are you making?” Popi asked.
“Fakés soúpa.” He added the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pot. “I hope that’s all right.”
“It’s fine with me. So, tell me. Where did you learn to cook?”
“Here and there. It’s a necessary skill when you’re out on your own.”
“And the soup? Was that something you made when you were hiking around the world?”
He glanced at her, finding genuine interest reflected in her eyes. “No. This is something I learned when I was a kid. When I would get in trouble with my father—which was most every day—Anna, our housekeeper, would either send me outside or if it was raining, she’d have me help in the kitchen.”
“You and your father weren’t close?”
He shook his head. “My father and I had a very strained relationship.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s ancient history. But while I was in the kitchen, the cook told me that idle hands were the devil’s workshop and so he put me to work. I actually didn’t mind cooking. As it was, the cook and the housekeeper were the only ones besides my brother to have any one-on-one time with me.”
“That sounds very lonely.”
He shrugged. “I learned how to entertain myself and how to go it alone in life.”
“And that’s why you spend so much time off in some far-off jungle or climbing some mountain? It’s all you’ve ever known.”
She was right. But how had she done that? How had she read him so easily? He’d made it a point to close himself off to others. He’d built a wall around himself so no one would ever get close enough to hurt him again. And in such a short period of time, Popi had already scaled his wall and had a glimpse inside.
He cleared his throat. “I assure you the baby will never go through something like that. I’ll make sure to give him—”
“Or her.”
“Or her all the attention they need.”
“You’re still assuming the baby will be living with you.”
It was time that she accepted reality. He placed the lid on the pot and let the soup simmer. He moved to the edge of the kitchen, where he could face her. He noticed how the kitten had curled up to Popi’s chest and fallen asleep. She kept running a finger over its back. And when Apollo listened really hard, he could hear the kitten’s purr. It sounded like the soft idling of a small engine.
“I’m waiting.” Popi’s voice drew him from his meandering thoughts.
His gaze met hers. “You have to realize that baby you’re carrying, it’s special. It’s not your baby any more than it’s mine. And it has a special place in life as the Drakos heir.”
Popi’s brows drew together. “Isn’t that you?”
He shook his head. “My father wrote me out of the family business. He said I didn’t have what it took to keep the company running. But Nile did. He was my father’s favorite.”
“But your father couldn’t just cut you out of your inheritance—out of what is rightly yours.”
“My father was powerful. No one told him what to do. He made up his own rules and expected everyone to follow them. He removed me from having anything to do with the company. While I was included in the will, it was my brother who inherited the controlling shares of the company.”
“But with him gone, who’s running it now?”
“At the moment, the board of trustees have stepped in to make sure there are no disruptions.”
“And after that?”
“Well, since the baby is too young, there will be a conservator appointed.”
“And that will be you?”
He shook his head and backed up. “It’s not going to be me.”
“Can’t you do the job?”
“I could, if I wanted to. I might finally get some use out of that expensive education that my brother convinced me to get. But I’m not going to do it.”
“You’re just going to turn your back on your legacy.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It’s not my legacy. It never was.” The memory of his father’s harsh words came rushing back to him. Worthless. Stupid. Mistake. Each hurtful word was like a nail in his heart. How could those words still have such power to hurt him after all these years?
“Apollo—”
“No, I’m done talking about my past.” His words came out more harshly than he’d intended. “We need to talk about the future. The baby needs to grow up in its home in Athens.”
Popi glared at him. “You mean the same place where you were so obviously unhappy.”
He sighed. She did have a point. “It will be different now. My father is no longer there.”
“But will you be there? What about all of your adventures?”
That was something for him to consider. After being on the go for the past ten or so years, he couldn’t imagine waking up in the same place day after day. Maybe when the baby got a bit older, he could take him...or her...on an adventure.
The outing would need to be more docile than he was used to taking. There would definitely be no thrill seeking, but something to get them out and about. He could teach the child about the world and how to care for it.
“I will deal with it.”
Popi sent him an I don’t believe you look. “Until you get bored.”
“I won’t get bored.” Would he? He hoped not. But raising his nephew or niece would be such a different sort of lifestyle than he’d become accustomed to.
Before he’d only had himself to worry about. Now he’d have a tiny human counting on him for everything. The enormity of that responsibility did not elude him.
Popi sat up straighter. “You say that now, but things will change. Babies aren’t always that easy to manage.”
And just as she was talking him out of his plan, he recalled what his brother had done for him. “I understand that, but I also remember what my brother had sacrificed after our father died. He stepped up and became my legal guardian. He didn’t have to do it. No one made him. But he said that family stuck together in good times and bad.”
“I... I didn’t know. Your brother never spoke about those times.”
Apollo rubbed the back of his neck as the memories started to flood back to him. “It wasn’t an easy time back then. There was a power grab for control of the company. They said my brother was too young and inexperienced to run such a large entity. And then the attorneys wanted me to go off to live with strangers. It was a horrible time. And I didn’t make life any easier for my brother. I was full of anger. My brother was the undeserving recipient of a lot of hostility.”
“It couldn’t have been easy for either of you. You were both so young, and to lose both of your parents...”
“Even though everything was against us, my brother didn’t give up. He fought tooth and nail to keep us together and to hold on to our father’s legacy.”
Outside, the winds continued to rage, beating upon the bungalow with force. Inside, Apollo’s feelings were just as fierce. His emotions swung between remorse, love and guilt.
He didn’t know why he was opening up to Popi like this. He’d never divulged any of this to another person. The only other person that knew of the struggles was his brother and he was no longer here to make Apollo f
eel connected to his family. That tie was gone and would soon be replaced by his brother’s offspring.
“Your brother was an amazing man,” Popi said, drawing Apollo from his thoughts.
“He definitely was.” Those were words he was certain no one had ever spoken of him. You have to earn that sort of respect.
And before, that hadn’t bothered him, but now he wanted his nephew or niece to be able to look up to him. Not because he wanted the praise, but rather because he wanted to be that kind of person—the solid, dependable person that his brother had been for him. But was that even possible?
“And he loved you.”
Apollo cleared the emotional knot in the back of his throat. “He tolerated me.”
Popi shook her head. “It was much more than that. He stuck by you. No matter what. Even at his wedding, when someone would start to say something about you not attending, he would shut them down. He would tell them that you would be there if you could.”
Apollo’s head hung low as the weight on his heart grew more intense. “I should have been there.” His voice was soft. “I wanted to be there.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Why weren’t you?” There was no tone of accusation to her question, but more a matter of wanting to understand.
Though they’d never met before now, they had shared a family. His brother, her sister. Popi had been there from the beginning of his brother’s romance, through to the wedding and beyond...to offering to carry their baby. And Apollo had missed all of it. He’d chosen to isolate himself—to protect himself. Instead his plan had backfired. He’d hurt everyone, including himself.
“I had been in the Amazon rainforest. I had all my travel plans for the wedding, but then I was stung and came down with a bad case of dengue fever. I had some complications and it prevented me from traveling.” But he should have pushed himself—he should have made it.
Claiming the Drakos Heir Page 7