“Thank heaven for you, brother dear.” She reached over to hug him hard. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Nico.” Giannina wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ve only been talking about my problems. How’s Dimitra?”
“Wonderful. I’ll tell you about her later. Now I’ve got to go. If I don’t find him at the office, I’ll track him at home, then I’ll call you to let you know what happened.”
He got out of her car and walked around the building to reach his car. But before he did anything else, he needed to hear his wife’s voice and know today wasn’t a dream. Then he’d drive to the newspaper and confront their uncle.
* * *
Saturday after lunch, where more plans for the wedding were pinned down, Nico drove Alexa and Gavril back to the house. With Phyllis there, Alexa didn’t need to worry about leaving her grandfather for a few hours.
Before they left for his apartment, she heard Nico ask her grandfather some questions about the political climate in Hellenia, of all things. She wondered why. Her two favorite men had admired each other from the beginning and were more alike than they knew, a fact that thrilled Alexa.
When Nico walked her out to the car and they drove to his apartment, she asked him about it.
“I wanted to pick his brains. That man knows more about what goes on than anyone in the government.”
He kissed her senseless on the ride up in the elevator. But when they stepped into his luxurious apartment, she turned to him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Nico picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, following her down on the bed. “I promise to reveal all, but not yet. I’ve been living to be alone with you and don’t want to waste a second of it.”
After his late phone call last night to say good-night, Alexa had almost said she’d leave the house and come to him. Their wedding night had been cut short. She’d ached for him all through the rest of the night and had to suppress her feelings during lunch. But there was no holding back now.
They knew how to bring each other pleasure beyond description. He swept her away on a new tide of passion that left both of them breathless. No woman wanting to conceive had ever had a lover like Nico.
Already she knew she’d been out of her mind to put a four-month limit on their marriage. She wanted to tell him she didn’t mean it. She needed to tell him how deeply in love she was with him and always had been. Only one thing held her back.
There was no torrent of words about his love for her. She could wait, but he couldn’t say them. While he lay there asleep with his arm hugging her hip possessively, she studied his striking male features, the lines of his compelling mouth. No other man had been created so divinely. It almost hurt to look at him he was so perfect to her.
“Alexa?” Nico had awakened and brushed the tears off her cheeks. “What’s wrong?”
It was too late to hide emotions erupting inside her. “I’ve been reliving those early years when I didn’t understand why I’d never heard from you. We’d been so happy, then suddenly it was all over.”
“Tell me about it.” He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against him. “But don’t let it torture you. We’re together now.”
“We are!” She burrowed her face in his neck. More tears spilled out on his shoulder. “Do you remember that last Saturday years ago when we flew to Olympia?”
He kissed her hair. “How could I ever forget?”
“I told you how much I loved the Greek myths and you took me to the Olympia archaeological museum for a surprise. That was the first time I’d seen the statue of the life-size Hermes sculpted by the ancient sculptor Praxiteles. It had been done in that beautiful Paros marble. He was carrying the baby Dionysus to the Nysiades, the mythical nymphs of Mount Nysa.”
Nico rolled her over so he could look into her eyes. “I said you bore a strong resemblance to the painting of the young, gorgeous nymph Erato who helped take care of him.”
She nodded. Alexa never forgot anything he’d said to her. “Something happened to me when I saw that statue, but I didn’t tell you at the time.”
“What was that?” He kissed the end of her nose.
“We’d been talking about getting married and having a family. That statue reminded me of you. There was a look of such tenderness and fascination on his face as he held the baby in his arm. It was a brilliant work of art that stayed with me. I could imagine you carrying our baby like that one day, but I never dreamed that I’d be pregnant before you went away. You should have had the opportunity to raise our little Dimitra.”
“Alexa...” He ran a hand through her hair. “Why are you still agonizing over that?”
“I can’t help it. When I think of the years she missed out knowing your love and how fun you are. There’s no one more exciting than you. Didn’t you notice at lunch today how she wanted to talk to you the whole time? You light up her world. I’ve never seen her this happy in my life. I’m sure Kristos has seen a big difference in her. Irena remarked on it to me before they drove away from the restaurant.”
“I’ve never been happier either.”
“That’s the problem, Nico.”
“What do you mean?”
She couldn’t look at him. “I know you want a baby so badly and are so excited about it.”