The Greek Tycoon's Lover (17 page)

Dimitri laughed and hugged Helen closer. “Nonsense. She has me eating out of her hands,” he laughed, then took her hand and led her down the hallway.

Sophia and Dimitri Theopolis were very nice, eager to meet the newest person in their son’s life. They immediately made her feel welcome and put her at her ease. Helen held a mysterious cocktail in her hand as she talked with Sophia, talking about the history of the house. “Come, I’ll show you the gardens before bedlam descends,” she said, leading Helen out of the house and down stone steps directly off the blue salon. “We’ll leave these men to discuss business for a while.”

The drink in her hands was cold and fruity and she sipped it gratefully, relieved that Dimitri’s parents had turned out to be very nice people who seemed to take Helen’s presence with equanimity. Her thoughts of the afternoon were correct, Dimitri must bring all of his girlfriends to his parents house. That realization both relaxed and hurt Helen but she realized how silly she was being and couldn’t have it both ways.

Pushing the jealousy aside, she realized that this meeting was not important and didn’t mean an end to the blissful happiness she’d been experiencing with Dimitri in her life. Helen happily followed Dimitri’s mother, asking questions about the various plants that were landscaped around the gardens, genuinely eager to learn more about the flora and fauna of Greece.

They had been gone for about fifteen minutes when the noises started. Helen wasn’t sure what it was at first, but looking back through the windows into the salon, she saw the children running. There were so many of them, Helen gasped in horror as they all threw their little bodies at Dimitri. But she should have had more faith in Dimitri’s abilities, since he easily caught all four of them in his arms, holding two of them upside down, squealing in delight as he held the other two in his arms.

Helen watched, transfixed, as the children hung onto Dimitri who was glorying in the youthful cries for mercy and then hugging all four of them at the same time.

“He loves them,” Sophia said softly beside her. “Dimitri will be a wonderful father some day.”

Helen swallowed hard, the pain coming at her from all sides. “Yes. He will.” Unfortunately, she would not be able to give him that dream.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure things will work out wonderfully,” Sophia was saying and moving along the pathway back to the house. “It is so wonderful to meet you. We’ve never met any of his ladies before. So this is a very special night,” she said, looking at Helen meaningfully.

Helen almost missed a step but caught herself quickly, thankful she didn’t humiliate herself by falling at Sophia’s feet.

Sophia didn’t know it but she had just signaled the death chime for her affair with Dimitri. He’d never brought anyone else to meet his parents? Did that mean that Dimitri was more serious than she’d realized? Her heart was so filled with love and to think that her love was returned almost blinded her with happiness. She reveled in that moment, glorying in the idea that he might feel more for her than just lust.

She looked up and Dimitri caught her eye, winking at her before bending down to laugh and pick up the children who were still rough housing with him. In that moment, she knew that she had to leave him, for his own good. If he fell in love with her, it wouldn’t be fair. She couldn’t lead him on like that.

Suddenly, gone were the heavenly feelings of joy. Helen’s heart ached. She was so in love with the man and she knew exactly what she would have to do. She would end the relationship, leave Greece, the country she’d come to love so quickly, and allow Dimitri the space to find someone who would be able to give him the children and family that he needed. He was a wealthy man. He would need someone who could give him an heir to whom he could pass on the business. Helen knew she could not give that to him. The accident had seen to that.

But how could she tell him? How could she end this relationship that had fulfilled almost every dream she’d ever had since she was a small girl? It had been so long since she’d felt feminine and loved, needed. Dimitri did that for her. He turned all her insecurities on their head and told her she was beautiful. But how could a woman be beautiful if she could not fulfill the main purpose given to her by God? It was awful to know that she was only half a woman, having all the parts, but missing the ability to use them. Not for the first time did she curse the driver of the other vehicle, the one who had run into their small car, hitting it from the side and damaging so much of her stomach and internal organs.

The evening turned into a nightmare for Helen. She sat with a smile pasted on her face while her insides churned painfully. She wished she could just hide in a room somewhere and curl up into a protective ball. She desperately wanted to give Dimitri the children he deserved and fill his house with laughter and happiness. But she’d been told almost ten years ago that the accident had damaged her reproductive organs. After several operations to fix internal problems, the doctors had explained that the accident had caused the Fallopian tubes to disconnect from the ovaries. They were already disconnected on all women, but in her case, the gap between the two was too wide. Even artificial insemination would be difficult since the egg rarely came down from her damaged ovaries into the uterus.

Helen swallowed the food but had no idea what she was eating. She said all the appropriate things to Dimitri’s sisters, brothers in law and parents, but by the end of the evening, she couldn’t remember any of the conversation. Her heart ached and her body wanted to just throw up everything she’d just put into it. Avoiding alcohol helped so she downed as much ice water as she could get, the butler refilling her glass at least four times during the meal. She noticed Dimitri looking at her oddly, but couldn’t explain to him what she was feeling.

As soon as they stepped into his penthouse, he took her hand and pulled her into his arms. She allowed it for a long moment, needing the reassurance just one more time that she was a desirable and feminine woman, not a freak of nature that couldn’t do what it was supposed to do. What was the point of a woman who could not produce a child, she sniffed angrily, holding onto his shoulders as if he were a lifeline.

With his strong arms wrapped around her, he picked her up and walked over to a large, overstuffed chair, settling her in his lap. “Hey, what’s wrong, Helen? You’re so tense you’re going to snap into two parts if you don’t relax,” he said.

Helen could no longer hold in the tears. She let them fall, sobbing loudly onto his shirt front. Whispering how sorry she was the whole time. In response, Dimitri rocked her back and forth, shushing her and running his arms reassuringly down her back. Leaning back, he handed her a handkerchief, rubbing her back as she let the sobs flow.

In the end, Helen was too worn out to talk. Her eyes were red and swollen from the emotion she’d expended and her throat was sore from the crying. Helen felt Dimitri lift her up and carry her to the bedroom and stiffened, worried about what he was going to do. But she shouldn’t have worried. He only took off her shoes and changed her into one of his tee-shirts, then gently laid her down onto the bed, holding her until she fell asleep cradled in his arms.

Chapter 9

Helen woke early the next morning, the sun not over the horizon yet. She looked down and realized that Dimitri was still asleep. This was odd since he was usually gone by this time, gently kissing her as he slipped out the door.

“Good morning,” he said, not bothering to open his eyes as he pulled her back down onto his chest.

Helen resisted and pulled herself out of bed, rushing to the bathroom and closing herself in for a long time. The stomach nausea was back with a vengeance and she sat down on the toilet, wishing the queasiness away. How was she going to face him? Today!

She’d have to end this relationship today. After seeing him with his nieces and nephews, understanding how much he loved them and what a wonderful father he would be with his own children, she could no longer go on loving him. She had to release him so he could find his own happiness. Wanting it to go on for another day, or week would be unfair to Dimitri.

She’d just have to be strong, not let her love for him show in any way. It would be her last act of love in a way. She would step out of his life, let him get on with finding someone to love, someone who is worthy of that love and could give him the family he needed and children to spoil. She couldn’t be that woman. She’d known that from the beginning but, at the time, she’d never have known how hard it would be to walk away from him. And she had never in her wildest dreams have thought that he would start to care for her.

Knowing that her stomach wouldn’t get better until she finished what she needed to do, she stood up from the toilet, grabbing the counter to steady her suddenly wobbly stance. Showering quickly, she stepped out with her hair in a towel and a large robe covering almost every square inch of her skin. She saw him standing against the bed, already showered from one of the other bathrooms and looking more handsome than any man had a right to look.

When he saw her in the mirror, he turned and faced her, his eyes showing his concern. “Would you like to talk about last night?” he asked softly.

Helen almost burst into tears at his gentle tone. Instead, she shook her head, hating the way it made her feel. She gripped the side of the dresser that contained her underwear and held on until the dizziness passed. It had been a hard night and all she wanted to do was get this confrontation over with so she could start the healing process.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I guess it’s inevitable, isn’t it?” assuming he was talking about their breakup.

Dimitri thought she was talking about their discussion of the previous night so he instantly agreed. He always thought it was better to get things out in the open rather than leaving problems to fester. “Yes. So what about my family made you so uncontrollably sad?” he demanded.

Helen cringed at his words. “It’s difficult to explain.”

“Then start at the beginning,” he advised, crossing his arms over his chest. His pose was relaxed, but Helen knew better. He was trying to hide his concern and she loved him even more for it. He had every right to be angry. She’d behaved like a lunatic last night, crying like an unruly child, and he only wanted an explanation.

Helen took a deep breath and started the lies that would tear her away from the only man she would ever love. “I realized last night that you and I have different ideas on what our relationship means,” she finally got out, not looking at him.

There was a long, tense silence behind her before he said, “I guess that might be easy to understand. I’m looking to marry you, Helen. How different is that from what you have in mind?”

Helen’s legs almost gave out on her at his words because she knew that her love for him was too deep. He deserved someone whole and she had to get out so he could find her. “That’s not what I’m looking for,” she lied painfully, her words breaking.

After a long, tension filled moment, he said, “What exactly are you looking for?”

Helen braced herself, turning away and taking the towel off her head, tossing it to the bed in what she hoped was a casual manner. “Dimitri, let’s face it, the sex is great. But I think it would be better if we stopped seeing each other.”

Dimitri swore under his breath. “I don’t believe you Helen. You’re not that type.”

Helen laughed harshly but the effort almost sent her back to the bathroom as the queasiness increased. It was difficult to appear casual but she’d have to do it. For him. “I’ve been living with you for the past two months. How can you tell me that I’m not that type, when that’s exactly what I am?”

“What are you saying?”

She took a deep breath. “Dimitri, you taught me about sex. That’s what we have

together. That’s all it can be,” she said and forced her face to smile.

“This is different,” he said. “It’s not about just the sex and you can’t convince me that’s all you’re feeling. And don’t try and convince me that’s all I’ve been interested in. I’ve known that I’ve wanted to marry you ever since our first meeting in London.”

Helen swung around and glared at him. “That’s a lie! You didn’t even notice me as a woman,” she said, her lower lip trembling as she desperately wished that his words were true.

He raised an eyebrow as his stance changed from angry to aggressive. “You think so? Want me to tell you exactly what you were wearing?” he asked, walking forward, his furious eyes not releasing hers as he said, “It was a brown suit with a cream silk shirt underneath. Your stockings were the simple tan kind and you were wearing the ugliest brown shoes that my grandmother would be ashamed to wear. But even that afternoon as you sat in my office telling me about your filing process and how you manage an office so efficiently, all I could think about was how sexy your legs were and how gorgeous you were. I wondered how long your hair was and why you didn’t wear lipstick since you had the sexiest mouth I’d ever seen in my life. From that moment on, every part of your anatomy figured very highly into my fantasy life. So don’t tell me I didn’t notice you. Not to mention all the other men in the office under the age of sixty were noticing you as well.”

Helen remembered that day well and the suit had been one she’d been very proud of. She hadn’t remembered the shoes, but she knew the ones he was talking about now that he brought them up. “You liked my mouth?” she asked, her voice small and painful.

“Hell yes!” he said. “And I’d like it a whole lot more if you’d say you’ll marry me and forget this crap about the sex. You and I both know that what we have together is more than just sex,” he said, pulling her against him and covering her lips with his own.