“Damn, Jodie,” Dimos said as he walked by her and stopped. “You look like hell.”
“How sweet of you to notice.” Her tone was acidic but she knew he spoke the truth. It had been another reason why she had been reluctant to show up at the Antoniou home for Christmas. She didn’t want to be remembered like this with her pallor, limp hair and constant tiredness. She had her pride and she wanted Stergios to eat his heart out. Now he was probably thinking he got a clean getaway.
Jodie forced her attention on Dimos and noticed he wasn’t looking his best, as well. He looked older with his puffy face and bloodshot eyes. “I understand you’ve been working around the clock.” Concern threaded in her voice. “Doesn’t Stergios know you’re a newlywed?”
“Let me give you a piece of advice.” Dimos swilled his drink. “Consider all of your options before you get married.”
Understanding dawned on her. Dimos was staying late at the office so he could avoid going home. “No need to give me advice. I will never marry.”
Dimos snorted. “That’s what they all say.”
“No, seriously. I have no reason to do so. There is no family or financial pressure.”
“Lucky you,” he said bitterly as he darted a glance in the direction of his wife on the other side of the room. “What about love that you used to spout on about? You had a strong romantic streak in your teen years.”
“No, that streak is long gone,” she said in a whisper. She used to think she would only marry for love but she had an idealized version of it. Now she knew that love didn’t bring her joy or happiness. It didn’t fulfill her or give her a sense of purpose. Love brought her confusion and pain. She had the ability to love but she was incapable of being loved. Marriage or a committed relationship was not in her future.
“What guy changed your mind? You’d always talked about having a family.”
“It doesn’t mean I have to marry or stay with one man.” It was what she wanted, but she had to be realistic. Once she had imagined having a loving husband and many children but she needed to modify her definition of family.
Dimos’s eyes gleamed with interest. “That’s true, monogamy is an outdated and unnatural idea.”
Jodie raised her hand. “No, that—”
“Let’s hope Zoi doesn’t hear you,” Stergios said next to Jodie.
Jodie stiffened and her skin tingled at the sound of his husky voice. She wasn’t prepared to see Stergios. To be this close without touching him. She tried to remain calm but the agony of what she had lost roiled through her stomach.
Dimos’s face turned a deep red. For a moment Jodie thought he was going to launch into a tirade. Instead he closed his mouth with a snap and marched away.
“Do you look for trouble or does it come naturally?” Stergios asked Jodie.
“I didn’t say anything about cheating or having affairs.”
Stergios looked at his cousin over his shoulder. “Then how did Dimos get that into his head?”
“I have no idea how his mind works.”
“Sure you do. He always thinks about sex when you’re around.” His mouth twisted in displeasure as he noticed how the silver dress hugged her burgeoning curves. “And you were seeing if you still have the sexual allure over him.”
“No!”
Stergios’s gaze dropped to her stomach. “Have you told him that you’re pregnant?”
Her heart stopped and she felt so light-headed she thought she was going to collapse onto the floor. She gave a ragged breath when she remembered that Stergios didn’t know the whole truth.
“Probably not,” he said with a sneer. “That would change everything. He would run in the other direction and you would have no power over him.”
“Don’t compare his reaction with yours.” She had to tell him about the baby, but how? Where did she start? He wasn’t going to believe her and she wasn’t up for a battle.
Stergios crossed his arms and studied her. “Why am I the only person you’ve told?”
She gave an awkward shrug, not sure how to answer that. It did look strange that she had confided in him. “You should be honored.”
“You haven’t told Gregory and you’re past the first trimester.”
She gave him a sharp look. “Is that why you manipulated my father into visiting me? So he would see that I was pregnant?”
“Oxi.” Surprise flickered in his dark eyes. “No, pethi mou,” he said quietly. “I had him visit you because you shouldn’t be alone at this time in your life.”
She blinked, dumbfounded, her lips parting as she watched Stergios walk away. Jodie clasped her hands in front of her as she felt the tears burn behind her eyes. She didn’t know why she was getting emotional. She was used to being alone in the world. She just wasn’t used to someone noticing her predicament. Or caring. Or reaching out. She had immediately slapped him away, thinking it was a trick.