Husband By Request

From the beginning, Dominique had suspected Olympia hero-worshipped Andreas. But the films revealed a definite obsession with him.

Dominique looked around at everyone, riveted to the television screen, wondering if they’d picked up on it. Whenever the pictures included Olympia with the family or friends, she completely ignored the others in order to get Andreas’s undivided attention.

One of the later videos showed pictures of them in their twenties. It was painful to watch the way Olympia threw herself at him, parading around in a minuscule bikini.

She was a breathtaking woman, one who could attract any man, but though Andreas had always responded with seemingly good humor, Dominique could tell he wasn’t interested. Never once had he initiated anything with her. It underlined his avowal that he’d always thought of her as another sister.

But it was painfully obvious Olympia had always been determined to get his attention no matter what she had to do. She displayed all the symptoms of a woman who was desperate—and in love.

Something else struck Dominique. Paul had been crazy about Maris. Clearly he’d shown an interest in her at an early age, and she’d appeared to reciprocate his feelings.

After the last video, Andreas turned on the lights. His parents wiped their eyes. They looked from their son to Dominique.

“Thank you for this gift,” Eli murmured. “Bernice and I needed to see those pictures again.”

“Yes.” She patted her chest. “It did my heart good to look at my precious Maris. I didn’t think I could stand it, but just the opposite happened. Thank you for a wonderful evening, Dominique.”

She rushed across the room to hug both of them. “We’ll do it again soon, I promise.”

“You’ll come to our house next week.”

“Yes!” Dominique cried, and gave her another squeeze.

Everyone got up to leave except Olympia. Ari had fallen asleep in her arms.

Paul came over and kissed Dominique’s cheek. They walked to the foyer together. “I had no idea Andreas and I were so obnoxious. Thanks for including me.”

“It’s evident you two have always been joined at the hip. You’re welcome here anytime, Paul. I mean it.”

“I appreciate that. Dominique—” he whispered, then stopped because the others had come up behind, forcing him to get on the elevator with them. That was the second time he’d tried to tell her something.

Andreas held Ari in his carrycot. He leaned over to nuzzle her neck. “I’ll help Olympia to her car and be right back.”

“Hurry.”

He stepped inside the elevator. But it was Paul’s troubled gaze that caught and held hers before the doors closed.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“YOU work fast. After that fabulous meal, I planned to help you with the dishes.”

Dominique turned off the kitchen light before running to Andreas. “That isn’t what I envisioned for the rest of the night.”

He rocked her in his arms, burying his face deep in her hair. “You have no idea what this evening meant to my parents.”

“We’ll have a lot more of them.”

“They left looking happier than I’ve seen them since before Maris’s accident. You’re the one who made it all happen,” he murmured, kissing the side of her neck. “Reliving memories was cathartic for them.”

“It meant a lot to me too. I feel like I know your family so much better than I did.”

“You’re an integral part of it now. I saw the way they were looking at Ari, anticipating the day when we give them a grandchild.”

“Does that mean you’d like us to try for a baby?”

“I wanted to get you pregnant when we first got married, but I was terrified to put you at risk.”

“And now?”