“I guess I’m a little afraid.”
“Of what?” He refused to be put off by her despairing tone. “The fact that you’re in my arms?”
“I didn’t know you were in the pool. I suppose this was inevitable, but we’re not the same people and can’t pick up where we left off.”
“Agreed, but we’re still on fire for each other. So why don’t we talk about our future.”
“Be serious,” she begged him.
Nico wrapped his arm around her waist, determined to make her listen. “I’m deadly serious.”
“What are you saying?”
He held her tighter. “My wife and unborn baby died, depriving me of the chance of becoming a father. Monika Gataki prevented me from raising our baby. You have no idea what it did to me to watch those videos of you in the hospital with Dimitra that I was no part of.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Nico. I was afraid you might be hurt by watching them, and I was right.”
He nestled her closer. “What it did was make me want to have another baby with you.”
She trembled. “That’s impossible, Nico.”
“Of course it isn’t. You’re free. So am I. We’re both still young enough to have another baby and raise it together. There’s no Monika to interfere this time.”
“That’s true, but—”
“But nothing,” he broke in on her. “That’s past history. I want a baby and you’re the only woman on earth who can give me what I want.”
Alexa whirled around still locked in his arms. “There are other women out there who’d give anything to be your wife.”
“But they can’t give me another child as perfect as Dimitra. Only you can make that happen again. She needs a sibling. Don’t you understand? I want to do what we’d planned long ago and get married, raise a family.
“Nothing has changed the chemistry between us. It’s there, stronger than ever and you know it. We’ve missed the first nineteen years and aren’t getting any younger. There’s nothing to prevent our marriage now.”
“Except that I killed something inside of you, Nico. I saw it in your eyes when I told you Dimitra was our daughter. Deny it all you want, but that pure love you felt for me before you left to go in the military isn’t there anymore. It’ll never come back.”
“You don’t know all that’s going on inside of me.”
“I know this much. I don’t want anything to damage your relationship with Dimitra. Now that she’s found you, she adores you. To ruin that would be the greatest tragedy of all.”
He frowned. “What do you mean ruin?”
“Don’t you see? If I started spending time with you, Dimitra would have to compete for your attention. She’d learn to resent me. I kept her to myself for eighteen years. But all that has changed now that she’s found you.” She broke into tears. “I refuse to stand in the way of the happiness you two bring to each other. I could never do that to either of you.”
Alexa broke free of his arms and climbed out of the pool. Nico had no choice but to let her go for the moment. He did another ten laps to think about what she’d said. Her guilt was much worse than he’d imagined. Nico had his work cut out to free her of it.
A few minutes later Dimitra came out to the pool in her swimming suit, filled with excitement. Nico didn’t imagine he’d ever get used to the joy of having a daughter, let alone one as satisfying in every way as Dimitra. She dropped a towel on a chair and dove in. When she emerged she said, “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Baba.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You offered to help Kristos with a job if worse came to worse. Irena thought it over and has given him her blessing for our marriage to take place. We’ve tentatively settled on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of August. Mama says that date is fine for her. Will that work for you? I know how busy you are.”
“Not too busy for anything as important as your wedding.” Relief swept through Nico that Irena had capitulated. It fit in with a plan that had been forming in his mind. “That gives you seven weeks to arrange everything.”
“After Papoú is in bed, let’s find Mama and start planning. We might as well do it now while you’re not at the office.”
Contrary to what Alexa imagined in her mind, Dimitra showed no resentment of her mother and wanted both parents involved all the way. Nothing could have suited Nico better. The sooner Dimitra’s wedding happened, the sooner A
lexa wouldn’t have an excuse.