LITMIR.BIZ

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a table looking out on the translucent water. The pots of flowers and an overhang of fuchsia-colored bougainvillea on the trellis gave off a subtle perfume.

      Gabi hugged her arms to her waist, hardly able to contain the rush of euphoria that swept through her. She was in that dangerous state where the lines were blurred and she was imagining something quite different than the reality of her situation.

      The beach was calling to her, so, with Lena’s assurance that she would watch over the babies, Gabi changed into her two-piece aqua-colored swimming suit. A month ago she’d wandered into a little shop in Heraklion and had bought the most modestly cut outfit she could find, but it still revealed more than she liked. A tan might have helped, but this hadn’t been a summer to relax in the sun.

      After smoothing on some sunscreen, she grabbed a large striped towel and left for the beach through the terrace exit. A person could step down to the sand where the sea was only ten yards away, no more. It shimmered like a rare aquamarine. She dropped the towel and ran out, luxuriating in the calm water whose temperature had to be in the seventies.

      Gabi swam for a while, then floated around on her back while she watched various sailboats and the occasional ferry in the distance. There were a few other people farther down the beach, but for the most part she had this area to herself. Doing a somersault, she swam underwater to examine the shallow sea floor before surfacing to reach the beach and stretch out on her towel.

      While she lay there on her stomach thinking this was pure heaven, she heard a motor that signaled a boat was approaching. When the sound was suddenly cut, she lifted her head from her arms and realized a ski boat had glided right up on the sand.

      Her double vision was back as two Greek gods in dark swimming trunks jumped down from the sides with the kind of agility any male would kill for and walked in her direction.

      “Andreas—” She sat up with a start, taking the towel with her to give herself a little protection from his all-seeing eyes. Then she remembered her manners, her gaze darting to his brother. “How are you, Leon?”

      A faint smile hovered around his lips. “More in control than I was a few nights ago. I apologize for my rude behavior.”

      She shook her head. “There’s no need.”

      “There’s every need,” he insisted, reminding her of a forceful Andreas. “I should be the one asking you how you are. You’ve been taking care of my sons all this time and I never knew.”

      Gabi smiled. “They’re my nephews so it’s no sacrifice, believe me.”

      “May I go in and see them?” He was making the effort, she’d give him that.

      “Of course. If they start to fuss, there are bottles of formula made up in the fridge. Just warm them up in some hot water. Andreas?” She flicked her gaze back to him. “Why don’t you show him their room while I go for another swim? If they wake up, it will be lovely for them to see their daddy.”

      His white smile had a domino effect that slowly melted every bone in her body. “When you surface again, climb up the back ladder into the boat and I’ll take you for a ride. While Leon gets acquainted with them, we’ll enjoy a picnic on the water.”

      “That sounds good. I’m getting hungry.” It was already three-thirty. She’d lost track of the time.

      “So am I.” His husky tone caused a ripple effect through her body.

      The second they disappeared through the front door, she hurried into the bedroom via the terrace and grabbed a loose-fitting short sundress with spaghetti straps she often wore over her suit as a cover-up.

      Their deep male voices faded as she rushed back to the beach. After shaking out the towel, she walked in the water and chucked her things in the back of the boat before climbing in. By the time Andreas emerged from the house, she was presentable enough to feel comfortable being with him.

      He ran toward her, shoving the boat back into the water, then he levered himself effortlessly over the side. His brief glance managed to take in all of her before he started the motor. “We’ll head for Kimolos.” He nodded toward an island that couldn’t be more than a mile away. “The sight of the little village of Psathi is worth the short trip.”

      Halfway across, he turned off the engine and joined her in the back so they could eat. In the hamper were sodas, fruit and homemade gyros. No food had ever tasted so good. She didn’t have to search for a reason why.

      “Thank you for a wonderful meal. In fact this whole trip.”

      Andreas stared at her while he munched on an apple. “Thank you for not giving up trying to get in to see me.”

      Gabi knew what he meant. Her mouth curved in a half-smile. “We need to thank your receptionist. Without her going out on a limb for me, that would have been the end of it.” Then a slight frown marred her brow. “But maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t had compassion on me.”

      Lines darkened his striking features. “Don’t ever say that. I don’t even want to think about it.”

      Neither did she. A world without Andreas was incomprehensible to her. She finished her cola. “What are your brother’s feelings by now?”

      Letting out a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and lay back on the padded bench to get the full effect of the sun for a moment. End to end, his toned physique with its smattering of dark hair plus his chiseled profile proved to be too much for her. She turned her head to stare anywhere but at him.

      “If the twins hadn’t tugged at Leon’s heart the first time he saw them, he wouldn’t have agreed to my plan for you to bring them here. When I told him Kris has to go in for heart surgery next month, that seemed to jar him to the reality of the situation. But he’s terrified because he loves Deline and is afraid he’ll lose her when she learns the truth.”

      “I can’t imagine being in his position.”

      After a silence, “If you were Deline, do you think you could handle it?”

      His searching question brought her head around. They looked at each other for a long time. “I don’t honestly know. She forgave him for what happened a year ago, but now that the other woman’s children are involved…”

      She bowed her head. “If I loved him desperately, it might be possible. At the time he didn’t know he’d gotten my sister pregnant, but I’m not Deline. Do they have the kind of love for each other to deal with it?”

      He jackknifed into a sitting position and put his feet on the floor of the boat. His eyes looked haunted. “After he tells her, I guess they’re going to find out how solid their marriage really is.”

      Gabi stirred restlessly. “He needs to do it soon. Every day that passes while he keeps it from her will make it harder for her to trust him.”

      “I told him that the night he saw the children at the park.”

      “Andreas—much as I’d love to go sightseeing with you this afternoon to give him more time with the twins, I think we should go back. You need to impress on him that if he waits even another day, it might be too late to convince Deline of anything.”

      “I agree,” his voice rasped.

      “Trust is everything. If Leon wants to prove his love, then he needs to approach her now.”

      He nodded. “Not only that, every day he’s away from his sons, he’s losing that vital bonding time with them.” Andreas sprang to his feet. “Let’s go.”

      With the sea so placid, they made it back to the beach in a flash, but Gabi had returned in a completely different frame of mind than when they’d headed for open water. She jumped into the shallows carrying her towel above her head and walked in the front door of the house ahead of Andreas.

      To her surprise, Leon had brought the chil-dren into the living room. It was a touching scene to see the three of them spread out on the quilt

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