“We’ve been here before,” she murmured.
He shut off the engine and turned to her, studying her stunning profile. The sun would be going down soon and the golden-hour light brought out the gold highlights of her hair. How many times had he kissed her and played with it, never wanting to stop. “The beach was our home. It seems natural to come
here. Let’s walk.”
Alexa removed her shoes and got out. After stepping on the sand she looked at him with a hint of anxiety. “What did you want to ask me about Dimitra?”
Damn. She was feeling uncomfortable with him. They’d never had that trouble in their past life together. “I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I’ve been worried about the coverage in the news the other night. How are you and Gavril handling it?”
“We’re fine. He’s no longer working for the government, and I won’t be working at the university until the end of August. Neither of us is in the limelight.”
“What about Dimitra?”
“If it bothered her, she hasn’t said. I know it’s because she’s so involved with Kristos. None of us has to face people the way you do on a daily basis. Before long the news will die down for us. Let’s hope for you too since you didn’t ask for any of this.” The tremor in her voice tugged on his emotions.
“Don’t worry about me.”
She finally turned to him. “How can you say that? This whole situation hasn’t been fair to you or your family.” Her eyes, like precious green gems, filmed over. “If I’d done the right thing the moment I knew I was pregnant, this would nev—”
“Stop,” he broke in on her. “We promised not to go there again. You did what you felt had to be done at the time. It’s over. I realized that while we were at the villa last weekend and I saw you in the water. It reminded me of our past. Not only were you young, you weren’t my wife when we made love. I fought it until that last night. The blame falls on me.”
She made a strange sound. “Don’t forget I was the most willing participant on earth, Nico. I had no shame. You were my whole life.”
And mine. “Love hit us hard, but make no mistake. I’m the reason for your pregnancy and take full responsibility, even if it is nineteen years too late. I should have known better than to act on my desires before our marriage could take place.” He’d been out of control. “I should have been there when you had our baby. Tell me what it was like.”
“I was terrified!” Then a smile lit her face. “The pains started early on a Thursday morning and were unreal. After they’d grown five minutes apart, my grandmother drove me to the hospital. Dimitra was born at eight thirty-two in the evening. My grandfather came to the hospital two hours before the delivery.”
Nico groaned. He reached for her hand as they walked. “You were in labor twelve hours?”
She nodded. “The doctor told me that was pretty normal. I could hear Dimitra cry while she was being delivered. It was like a gurgle at first. They put her across my chest and I’ll never forget that feeling of holding her for the first time. She was beautiful, with olive skin and dark hair like yours. I wanted you there more than anything.”
Nico could hardly breathe thinking about it. “How much did she weigh?”
“Seven pounds, two ounces and she was twenty inches long. Perfect. I stayed in the hospital two days so I could learn how to nurse her. She took to it fast. I have so many pictures and home movies. Dimitra will show all of them to you. The grandparents doted on her as much as I did.”
“I can’t wait to see everything.” Hearing about the delivery made Nico hunger for every detail of her life from the time they’d been apart.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
He stopped walking and let go of her hand. “I wondered what you would think about a weekend cruise on the yacht, just you, Dimitra, Gavril and me. We could leave on a Friday afternoon and come back Sunday. I thought we could visit the island of Samos.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You used to tell me how much you loved going there with your friends.”
Nico had the satisfaction of knowing she hadn’t forgotten all the things they’d talked about. “Dimitra will love it too. At night you could get out all those pictures and home movies to entertain us. I only have one question. Do you think our daughter could stand to be away from Kristos for two nights?”
She darted him one of those impish smiles he remembered, almost giving him a heart attack. “I’m the wrong person to ask. During those three weeks years ago, I resented every second we weren’t together. But Dimitra’s case is different. She’ll have the incentive of spending hours with her newly discovered baba. I can’t imagine anything being more wonderful for her. You wouldn’t need me with you.”
He’d been afraid she’d say that, and he refused to let the fact that he hadn’t loved Raisa as he should have get in the way now. He wanted to be with Alexa and needed to convince her. “You’re wrong. This is still new to both of us and I want her to be comfortable. That can only happen if you and Gavril are there too. One of the stewards will be happy to help him with whatever he might need so please don’t worry. If you’re in agreement, would you broach the subject with her and let me know how she feels? I can arrange for any weekend.”
“Spoken like the CEO who makes the rules,” she teased.
“My only perk.”
“Be honest. The best one.” Talking with her like this made the lost years fade for a little while.
A smile lifted at the corner of her luscious mouth. “Do you know while we were together, I never realized what kind of life was waiting for you in your father’s company. I’m embarrassed to think I didn’t have a clue what responsibilities you would inherit one day.”
Nico chuckled. “My problem was, I did know what was waiting for me, and it got in the way of my wanting to spend every second of my life with you.”