“And I’ll get you a bowl of kitten food.” Apollo couldn’t resist running his fingers over Shadow’s downy-soft fur.
“And water. He keeps knocking his water bowl over.” Popi added just as the kitten climbed up on the mattress to be next to her.
Luckily Apollo had put down a couple of blankets to cover the mattress. Hopefully it’d protect it from the kitten’s needlelike nails.
CHAPTER NINE
COULD HE TRUST HER?
Apollo studied Popi while she fussed over the kitten. She was so stubborn and one determined lady. He worried she’d let these Braxton-Whatevers go too far. But she seemed all right for the moment.
Maybe she was right. Maybe there was nothing to worry about...for now. Besides, it wouldn’t take long to get to the mainland by boat or helicopter.
One more pain and he didn’t care what she said, he was calling for help. She was better safe than sorry.
In the meantime, he turned to the kitchen. Since Popi’s newly remodeled kitchen wasn’t being renovated, she hadn’t felt the need to pack it up. That made it convenient for him. He set to work.
He needed to prepare a meal that was simple—something that was in his wheelhouse—yet it needed to be something with a bit of substance. He settled for fakés soúpa. Popi had everything on hand, from the lentils to the onion and garlic. He warmed up a pot while he diced up the vegetables. It was a very easy recipe—
“What are you making?” Popi asked.
“Fakés soúpa.” He added the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pot. “I hope that’s all right.”
“It’s fine with me. So, tell me. Where did you learn to cook?”
“Here and there. It’s a necessary skill when you’re out on your own.”
“And the soup? Was that something you made when you were hiking around the world?”
He glanced at her, finding genuine interest reflected in her eyes. “No. This is something I learned when I was a kid. When I would get in trouble with my father—which was most every day—Anna, our housekeeper, would either send me outside or if it was raining, she’d have me help in the kitchen.”
“You and your father weren’t close?”
He shook his head. “My father and I had a very strained relationship.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s ancient history. But while I was in the kitchen, the cook told me that idle hands were the devil’s workshop and so he put me to work. I actually didn’t mind cooking. As it was, the cook and the housekeeper were the only ones besides my brother to have any one-on-one time with me.”
“That sounds very lonely.”
He shrugged. “I learned how to entertain myself and how to go it alone in life.”
“And that’s why you spend so much time off in some far-off jungle or climbing some mountain? It’s all you’ve ever known.”
She was right. But how had she done that? How had she read him so easily? He’d made it a point to close himself off to others. He’d built a wall around himself so no one would ever get close enough to hurt him again. And in such a short period of time, Popi had already scaled his wall and had a glimpse inside.
He cleared his throat. “I assure you the baby will never go through something like that. I’ll make sure to give him—”
“Or her.”
“Or her all the attention they need.”
“You’re still assuming the baby will be living with you.”
It was time that she accepted reality. He placed the lid on the pot and let the soup simmer. He moved to the edge of the kitchen, where he could face her. He noticed how the kitten had curled up to Popi’s chest and fallen asleep. She kept running a finger over its back. And when Apollo listened really hard, he could hear the kitten’s purr. It sounded like the soft idling of a small engine.
“I’m waiting.” Popi’s voice drew him from his meandering thoughts.
His gaze met hers. “You have to realize that baby you’re carrying, it’s special. It’s not your baby any more than it’s mine. And it has a special place in life as the Drakos heir.”
Popi’s brows drew together. “Isn’t that you?”