Apollo entered the kitchen and inhaled the most delightful aroma. “The coffee smells wonderful.”
“Help yourself. The cups are in the cabinet right above the coffeemaker.”
He liked that she didn’t stand on formalities and instead believed in a feel-at-home approach. He grabbed a cup and then glanced over his shoulder. “Can I get you a cup?”
She shook her head. “I can’t have any. You know, being pregnant and all.”
She’d made this pot of coffee just for him? It was just a simple act, but it got to him. It’d been quite a while since someone went out of their way for him. Usually when people figured out that he was “that Drakos,” they wanted something from him—access to his brother, money to invest in some get-rich scheme and the list went on. But Popi didn’t seem to want anything from him.
His gaze dipped to her baby bump. “I didn’t know you couldn’t drink coffee.” And then he felt guilty. “I can dump it out.”
Again, she shook her head. “Why should you go without? I’m the one that’s pregnant. Pour yourself a cup and enjoy it for the both of us.”
He arched a brow. She gestured for him to get on with it. And so he poured himself a cup. He’d learned a long time ago that milk was hard to come by out on the trail and sugar attracted all sorts of insects, so he’d learned to drink his coffee black.
The timer went off and Popi moved past him. She added eggs to the tomatoes simmering on the stove. As she continued to work in the kitchen, he moved to a stool at the small kitchen island, where he was out of her way.
“Whatever you’re making, it smells good. Real good.” His stomach rumbled in agreement.
“It’s Peloponnesian scrambled eggs with fresh tomatoes and herbs. And it’s almost done, if you’d like some.”
“I’d love some.”
Popi used a spatula to stir the contents of the pan. “My mother used to make them for me. But it’s been a while. I don’t get home to visit my parents as much as I’d like.”
“Our housekeeper used to have these prepared for me on special mornings.” He sent Popi a smile, hoping today would be a new start for them. “Looks like you’re serving up a bit of nostalgia for both of us.”
“I must admit that nothing I try makes the eggs as good as the ones from my childhood.”
“I think sometimes our memories deceive us—makes the good things so much better than they truly were.”
Popi lowered her gaze to the counter. “And the bad things?”
“I don’t know.” Because he tried to keep his bad memories locked up in the back of his mind. He didn’t like to share them with anyone—including his late brother.
After adding some freshly chopped herbs and feta to the dish, she served it up. “Let’s see how I did.”
They ate quietly for a bit. He noticed that Popi was doing a good job at clearing her plate. He glanced down at his almost-full plate. The food was good but he was distracted by the change in Popi’s mood. First the blanket and then being nice to him this morning. What was up with that?
He knew not to let his guard down because that’s when people took advantage of you. It’d happened to him in the past—once by a vivacious blonde and another time by a fellow hiker that Apollo had come to think of as a close friend. Both turned out to be more interested in what he could do for them than being friends.
Is that what prompted Popi’s change of mood toward him? Was she worried he’d take the heir to the Drakos fortune away from her? Because honestly, in the beginning, that had been his plan. He already had his team of attorneys working to quash her application for adoption. But now he wasn’t sure that was the right approach. If they could handle this outside the courts, it’d be best for everyone.
Unable to take the curiosity any longer, Apollo asked, “Popi, why—”
Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
Popi held up a finger. “Hang on. I have to get this.”
As she talked on the phone with more yeses and nos than anything else, he cleared the empty breakfast dishes. He stacked them in the sink as he would do if he were at home and there was a staff to finish cleaning up. But this wasn’t his home. This was Popi’s place. And this place didn’t have a staff. There was just a very pregnant woman that for some reason was giving him a second chance.