“So now this whole thing hinges on what Guion does or doesn’t do.”
“In her mind yes, but her stalling tactics won’t work. The next step will be to inform her parents. That will end any problems with visitation. Once they know the truth, they’ll refuse to pay her attorney fees. But I’d rather use it as a last resort.”
None of this would be happening if Lia hadn’t seen Zoe in Athens with Andreas. If she said as much to him now, he’d tell her they’d been over this ground before. That was because all roads led back to the starting point.
But what if Guion couldn’t make decisions right now? What if it took him a month or more before Lia’s attorney heard from him? Her jealousy could hold Andreas hostage in a visitation mess that could very well destroy him.
Zoe understood that he didn’t want to tell Lia’s parents the truth because he was such an honorable man. But there was something she could do—she had to do—and she put on her beach jacket.
“Andreas? While you deal with Ari and feed him, I’m going to go in and get cleaned up. After that I’ll make us dinner.”
“I think you’ll find what you need in the fridge.”
“I’m counting on it.” She leaned over to kiss Ari’s forehead. He was just finishing the last of his banana. “See you in a few minutes, cutie pie.”
“Cutie pie?”
“Yes. With your phenomenal command of English, I’m shocked you haven’t learned that endearment.”
She heard his deep laughter while she headed for the guest bedroom to shower and wash her hair. After she put her jeans and top back on, she walked to the kitchen and found ingredients for omelets and salad.
In a minute Ari came in dressed in a playsuit and babbling in Greek. He walked over to her. Seeing someone here besides his mother had to be surprising to him. She looked down with a smile. “Yassou, Ari.”
“Yassou to you, too.” Andreas, so handsome it hurt, had just come in the kitchen wearing khaki pants and a sport shirt. He set the table and put on a loaf of the crusty Greek country bread she loved.
“Come on, Ari.” He swung him in the high chair and gave him a piece of the bread and a sippy cup with some milk. “He’ll eat what we eat.”
Dinner turned out to be a riot. His son was very talkative, but it was unintelligible to Zoe. Andreas taught her how to say ghala for milk and salata for salad so she could practice on Ari. He squirmed a lot and kept saying one expression over and over. Zoe glanced at Andreas for a translation.
“He wants to get down.”
“Ari shows all the signs of believing he’s grown up and would rather sit in a regular chair. Look what you’ve got ahead of you.”
“I am looking, and I love it.” The way he was eyeing Zoe turned her heart over. It was time for her to leave.
“Andreas, I need to get back to the apartment.”
His frown showed the first sign of tension. “I’m planning on you staying here tonight.”
She shook her head. “You know perfectly well why I can’t, so let’s not talk about it again. If you’ll send for the limo, or I can call for a taxi.”
“Not yet. Ari wants you to play with us first.”
For the next hour the three of them played hard on the floor in the nursery. Andreas got out one toy after another and they had wars until Ari laughed so hard he got the hiccups again. But he was getting tired.
“I believe he’s as worn out as I am.” Zoe stood up and started putting toys away while Andreas got his son ready for bed. Then she walked over to the crib. “Kalinikta, Ari.”
She’d been practicing a few words to add to her vocabulary. As she started to leave the room, he called her name. It brought tears to her eyes she tried to hide before hurrying to the guest room.
Zoe tidied up and gathered her things into her bag. With that done she went back to the kitchen to clean it and put the dishes in the dishwasher. A sober Andreas walked in. “The limo is outside.”
“Thank you for this wonderful day.” She didn’t dare say more. He was waiting to hear her tell him she wanted to be his wife, but she couldn’t say it. Too much of his troubled life still lay unresolved. Nothing was fair.
He drew in a deep breath. “Tomorrow morning Ari and I will be by for you in my car at eight thirty. We’ll have breakfast and drive to a great park for children. He loves going down the slides and sitting on the round top that whirls.”
“I think with you he loves anything. What a joy he is.”