Claiming the Drakos Heir

“I guess that’s how Nile must have felt about me too. I was always ditching events to go off on a new adventure.”

“But you had a legitimate excuse.”

Apollo shrugged. “But was that reason enough to leave my brother to deal with everything from the family business to dealing with my very difficult father?”

“Your brother loved you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he never said a bad word about you and he wouldn’t let anyone else speak ill of you.”

Apollo’s eyes widened. “Really?”

She nodded. “When he spoke of you, it was always positive.”

“Even though I didn’t deserve it.” Apollo blinked away the moisture in his eyes. “Thanks for telling me. It means a lot.”

“He’d tell you himself how much you meant to him...if he was still here. If that day had never happened.”

“So, you and your sister were arguing. I still don’t see how that has anything to do with the accident.”

“Because I threatened my sister. I told her if she didn’t go check out the private island for my parents to have their second honeymoon after the party that she would no longer be my sister. I had drawn a line in the sand—at the time, I was perfectly serious. And she knew it.” Tears stung the back of Popi’s eyes and she blinked repeatedly. “Why did I do it? Why did I have to give her that ultimatum?”

“Surely she knew you would forgive her. Is that what has you all upset? That you argued with her before she died?”

“No. It’s that I forced her on the boat ride that killed her and your brother. Don’t you see—if I hadn’t made that threat, they wouldn’t have been on that boat when it had a malfunction and blew up? It’s all my fault.”

Apollo got to his feet and knelt down in front of her. He reached up and swiped away a tear that streaked down her cheek. “It’s no more your fault than it is mine.”

She lifted her head. “How could it possibly be your fault? You weren’t even here when it happened.”

“Exactly. Maybe if I’d have been around, it would have changed the course of events. Maybe they wouldn’t have been so distracted and would have researched the island sooner. Maybe your sister was so busy trying to keep up with my overworked brother and that was the reason she let so much work fall on your shoulders. Maybe in the end, the blame is mine.”

“No. Don’t say that. It isn’t true. It’s not your fault.”

“Neither is it yours. I believe that when someone’s time on earth is up, it doesn’t matter where they are. It was the end of their time and there’s nothing you or I could have done to change it. We both have to learn to accept it. The only thing we can do for them is to raise that little boy to the best of our ability and tell Seb about his biological parents. That’s what they’d want us to do.”

Popi blinked repeatedly. “Is that what you truly believe?”

“It is. And you deserve as much happiness as you can find in this world.”

Without thinking, she asked, “With you?”

“I was hoping you’d want that.” He reached up, his hand drawing her face to his. And then he kissed her. It was a kiss full of promise of all sorts of delights yet to come.

All too soon, he pulled back.

“Why did you stop?” she asked.

“I thought we’d have dessert up at the house.”

“Dessert?”

A wicked smile lit up his face. “Dessert in bed. What do you think?”

“It doesn’t get any better than that. Lead the way.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

HE HADN’T SLEPT much the night before.

It was the best sleepless night of his life.

As the sun glowed brightly in the morning sky, Apollo was filled with energy and a sense of purpose. He’d slipped out of bed quietly to let Popi sleep. He’d fed Seb his breakfast, taken him for a stroll in the gardens and now Seb was back down for a midmorning nap.

Apollo sat down in the sunroom to drink some coffee and peruse the morning news. He’d been rolling around the idea of stepping up and running the family business for Seb. Now it was time to put his thoughts into action.