Double Trouble: Newborn Twins: Doorstep Twins / Those Matchmaking Babies / Babies in the Bargain

Andreas helped her lift the boys out of their carry-cots and lay them down in their cribs. “I’ll bring in your things.”

“That would be wonderful.” She kissed Kris. “The babies have been awake for a long time and are getting impatient for their lunch, but first they’re going to need a diaper change.”

“Afterward I’ll help you feed them.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“What if I want to?”

His playful teasing didn’t fool her. “You’ve done more than enough, Andreas. I can just picture your exceptional receptionist wondering where on earth you’ve disappeared to.”

She watched him kiss Nikos. “Didn’t I tell you I’m on vacation? The whole family’s here for the next two weeks.”

This time her heart really did get a major workout. “As I recall, you were going to give me an appointment at three o’clock yesterday afternoon.”

“If you recall,” he murmured, coming to stand next to her, bringing his warmth and enticing male scent with him, “a life and death situation altered the scheme of our lives.”

Gabi gripped the railing of the crib tighter. Our lives was right. When she’d gone to his office in Athens on Friday, the idea that days later she’d be alone with him on Milos would have stretched the limits of her imagination. Yet here she was…

“For the time being, my first priority is to lend Leon moral support.” On that succinct note he left the bedroom.

While he was gone she gave herself another lecture about remembering why she’d been temporarily ensconced in this corner of paradise. Leon was blessed to have his brother’s backing. As Gabi’s father had said, Andreas was a good man. How good no one would ever know who hadn’t walked in her footsteps since last Friday evening when she’d first confronted him.

In a few minutes he’d returned with the diaper bag and bottles of formula already prepared. They changed the babies before going into the living room to feed them. He was as confident and efficient as any seasoned father. Whether Leon ended up raising them or not, Andreas had claimed his nephews. She had an idea he would be an intrinsic part of their lives from now on.

After they put the twins down for their nap, Andreas announced he was leaving for his villa. “I’ll be back with food before they’re awake.” He flicked her a heavy-lidded glance before disappearing from the house.

While she was taking clothes out of the suitcase to hang up and put in drawers, she heard the car drive off. He’d told her the Simonides compound was only ten minutes away by car, but already she missed him. To keep herself busy she acquainted herself with the rest of the house.

A perfect little kitchen containing snacks and a fridge stocked with drinks connected to the living room. On the other side was a hall with a bathroom separating two bedrooms. Hers had a shady terrace with loungers and 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.”