So much was about to change in the next six or seven weeks. Nothing would be as it had been. And her sister would not be there for any of it. And Popi blamed herself. If it wasn’t for her making a fuss, her sister wouldn’t have been on that boat when it exploded.
Popi shoved aside the guilt and pain. She had other matters to attend to now. There was the kitten locked up in her bathroom. And there was the sexy Greek man who insisted on staying in her life until he got his way. They’d see about that.
She wasn’t just going to hand over this baby because he was a Drakos. Everyone in Athens—in Greece—knew his last name. They knew it was synonymous with old money and great power.
That wouldn’t stop Popi from fighting for what was best for this child. Apollo might be the child’s blood relation, but she was the one carrying the baby—making it possible for it to be here. And she wouldn’t stop fighting for this little bundle of joy.
Once back at the bungalow, Popi was relieved to find that Apollo hadn’t returned. But she didn’t have time to rest. She had a kitten to care for.
In the bathroom, she was amazed to find that one little kitten could wreak such havoc. The toilet paper was strewn across the floor. Her purple-and-teal bath loofah that had been sitting on the edge of the tub was now across the room, and there was a kitten attached to it. The little guy was lying on his side while holding the loofah with its front paws and kicking it with his back. Popi could only hope that he wore himself out after making such a mess.
A little while later, the bathroom was set right and there was litter in the litter box. The kitten took right to the box. Popi could only hope that litter training was truly that easy and that there weren’t any future accidents.
“Is everything okay?”
The sound of Apollo’s voice made her jump. She hadn’t heard him return. She turned in the hallway, finding him standing right behind her—so close that she could reach out and touch him. The thought was tempting—very tempting—but she resisted the urge.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He sent her a guilty grin.
When he wasn’t frowning at her, he was really quite handsome. She wondered if the baby would resemble him in some way. She hoped so.
“Relax. I’m okay. I was just focused on the kitten.” She frowned.
“What’s wrong? Is it the baby? Did you overdo it today? I told you to rest earlier today, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“It’s okay. It’s not the baby. In fact, I think he or she is sleeping right now.”
“Then why did you have that look on your face?”
“I was just thinking that I can’t keep calling the kitten ‘kitten.’ It needs a name.”
“And then you know what will happen, don’t you?”
She sent him a puzzled look, not sure what he was getting at. “What will happen?”
“A cat with a name is a cat with a home.”
She had to admit that she liked the idea. “Unless it already has a home.”
“Something tells me that it isn’t going anywhere.” He was looking behind her.
She turned to see what he was staring at. There was the kitten dragging the loofah up to her. The kitten sat next to her.
“Looks like you have a shadow,” Apollo teased.
“Shadow?” She looked at the dark gray kitten with the white neck and belly. She knelt down to pet the little guy. “What do you think? Are you a shadow?”
The kitten looked up at her with its pretty blue eyes and let out a little baby meow. Popi’s heart swelled with love for it. Unless the owner showed up, it looked like she had a baby kitten to raise too.
Then she envisioned the baby with a kitten to grow up with. Somehow that seemed right to her. Now that she had her heart set on this vision of her family, she had to hope the kitten hadn’t run away from a loving home and gotten left behind when everyone was shipped off the island for the renovations. And most of all, she had to pray that Apollo came to his senses and realized that the baby was best left here with her. Because if it came down to a court case, she had no doubt that he had the money to hire the very best army of lawyers and they would beat any defense she could muster.