The Greek's Baby Bargain (16 page)

Rubbing his face with his hand, he turned away from the doorway to the bathroom. Looking out the window, he barely even acknowledged the stunning view of the azure blue sea laid out in front of him. His mind was working through the details and facts, trying to push the anger out of the way and see things in a different light.

Four years ago, he’d thought they were happy. There had been no indication of any problems between the two of them. Each time he’d come home from traveling, she’d been excited to see him. He’d discussed her appointments with her body guards after he’d learned of who she was living with back in London and at no point had they indicated she’d even met another man. Thinking about her sleepy admission last night, he considered the facts from different angles. How could she have run to another man when she hadn’t known anyone outside of their circle of friends? Each time she’d gone out without him, she’d been with his mother. Basically, at no time during their marriage had she found the time to meet secretly with another man.

That left the idea that she’d met someone before meeting him. But she’d been a virgin that night in London. He didn’t doubt that in any way. She’d been too unskilled at just about everything and no woman could be that much of an actress.

So who was this man? What was he missing?

Frustrated, he heard the shower shut off and snapped out of his contemplation of their past. Walking out of the bedroom, he made his way to his office in the other side of the house. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number and waited for an answer. “James, I need some information,” he said quickly, ignoring the niceties in order to get down to business. “I need you to pull up the old reports on my wife when she reached London. Who was the man? I need all the details on him you can get. I think she’s still calling him so check her cell phone records and find out what his number is, then check it against phone calls she made four years ago.” He waited while the man on the other end of the line spoke. “Yes, I know you told me to dig into this issue the last time and I said to drop it. So I’m accepting that you were right. So find out the information and get back to me,” he snapped. “I need this urgently,” he finished and hung up the phone.

Digging through the papers on his desk, he pushed thoughts of his wife and all the strange things that just didn’t seem to add up anymore out of his mind. Until he had answers, he didn’t want to assume anything.

After reading the same paragraph four times and still not understanding anything, Emma gave up and let the book drop to her lap. Staring out at the sea, she wondered how she would get her life back in order once the six months was over. She had two more months with Dmitri. The past four had been almost magical although lately, she’d wondered at some of the looks he had been giving her. It was as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle. She just hoped it was business related and not the mysteries she’d been hiding from him for so long.

She shuddered at the memories of how her father had treated Brian before he’d left the house. Initially, it had been yelling and screaming at him to try harder. And since Brian had been just a small boy, it had been too painful to watch. One afternoon, Emma could no longer watch while her small brother had sobbed at his father’s harsh words. Edward had been berating Brian because he wasn’t trying harder to stand on his own. The man had believed that everything just took determination and things would work out perfectly.

Well, he was right. Emma had been determined to help Brian and now things were working out well. Brian’s surgery had been a success, he now just needed physical therapy to ensure that the muscles learned new ways of adapting to the bones. So far, she’d received glowing reports from the doctors and nurses and Brian was the hardest patient the therapist had ever seen.

Emma was so proud of him. Would Dmitri think less of Brian for being handicapped for most of his life? She hated to think of Dmitri being like her father but she just couldn’t take the chance of the two ever meeting.

It was a mute point anyway, she told herself, her hand fluttering to her stomach. There was no reason for the two to meet and in two months, Emma would fly back to London and Dmitri would find a woman who could give him the children he wanted and needed. That thought was so painful, tears instantly formed in her eyes and she had to blink them away for fear of someone seeing her like that. They would instantly report her tears to Dmitri who would demand an explanation. One she couldn’t give him.

“You’re not concentrating,” an amused voice behind her said.

Emma’s spine stiffened and she whipped around. Her mind told her that it was Brian’s voice but that was impossible. She’d just spoken to him earlier today and he was in London. How could he be here in Greece? Could her mind have conjured him up since she’d been thinking about him so much lately?

She looked across the vast expanse of the sitting room, her eyes narrowing as she saw a tall man standing against the door frame. His dark hair was like Brian’s and his face looked like his, but was more relaxed. He was…smiling?

“Brian?” she said softly, sure that her eyes were tricking her. She blinked and refocused, then blinked again when the image didn’t disappear.

 

“One and the same!” he teased.

Emma stood up, the book forgotten as it fell to the floor with a loud thump that she didn’t even hear. “Is that really you?” she asked, still not sure since he was standing up. The only time Brian had been standing was when he was bent over his crutches and more often, he was in a wheel chair. How could this tall, confident man be her brother?

“Of course it’s me,” he grinned. When she started to walk toward him, he held up and hand. “But stay there,” he said and pushed against the door frame. Slowly, Brian took the first step toward her and Emma almost rushed to him to help. “No, stay there. I’m going to show you something,” he said with more emphasis.

Emma stopped, her hands clasped in worry and uncertainty as his hand gripped the door frame and one leg moved forward slowly. The next step was a little faster but still slower than a normal person’s walk. Step by step, Brian walked toward her. Emma could tell that the walking was difficult and almost painful but he kept moving slowly despite the sweat that broke out on his forehead.

When he reached the sofa she’d been sitting on, he stopped and leaned down, his breathing heavy. “Okay, you can come the rest of the way,” he finally said, grinning like a silly guy who had just done something crazy. But for Brian, walking across a room without assistance was previously unheard of. Previously un-thought of!

Emma didn’t hesitate nor did she realize that tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Oh, Brian! How wonderful!” she said and threw herself into his arms. He caught her easily, his arms always having been strong since he’d carried most of his weight on them for almost his entire life. They tumbled back against the sofa but Emma was too excited to see him to care about being the perfect Greek wife. Decorum be banned, she thought as she fell onto the cushions of the sofa. She hugged her brother as she cried out her happiness on his shoulder.

Brian pulled her up onto his lap, his broad, strong shoulders hiding her face and his arms wrapped around her back. “It’s good Em. Why are you crying?” he asked, concern written all over his face. “I thought you’d be happy about all the progress I’ve made.”

“I know it’s good. I’m just so happy for you. I’m thrilled that the surgery was such a success. I’ve been calling the doctors and nurses every day and they’ve been telling me that you’re doing well, but actually seeing you, watching you walk across the room without crutches, well, it’s a miracle,” she said, her shoulders shuddering as another wave of happiness and tears took over.

“I think he has an appointment with the therapist, Emma,” another deep voice said. “You’re going to have to let him up and let him get to his work.”

 

Emma’s face came out of Brian’s shoulder and she glanced up nervously at Dmitri who was now standing over the two of them beside the sofa.

 

She pushed away from Brian and stood up quickly. “This isn’t what you think, Dmitri.”

His eyebrow raised in amusement as he looked down at his wife. “That’s the second time you’ve doubted my powers of perception, dear wife. I thought you were hugging your brother in excitement. Are you telling me I was incorrect in that assumption?” he asked, pulling her aside so Brian could lift himself off the sofa.

Emma moved, her eyes flitting from Brian’s efforts to her husband, confused. “Well, yes. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing. But how did you know…?” she stopped.

“I decided to find out what happened four years ago,” Dmitri said. “By the way, your brother is staying here while he recuperates. I’ve flown out his physical therapist to move things along more quickly. She’ll be working on his legs more often now that he’s her only patient.”

Emma looked across the room at a pretty blond woman who was standing in the doorway. Her smile and look of admiration was apparent to everyone, including Brian who winked at her. Emma was even more surprised when the lovely woman blushed.

She heard Dmitri’s chuckle at the same time that she realized that there was more than a patient-therapist relationship between her brother and the woman.

When the two were gone and the doors to the sitting room closed by a servant, Emma turned to Dmitri. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at the handsome man who was her husband. The love she felt for him was so overwhelming, she had to look away for fear that he would see it in her eyes and expression. “Thank you very much for bringing Brian here,” she said. “And for arranging a private therapist for him. That was very generous.”

“You should have told me about his legs, Emma.”

His voice wasn’t angry, but nor was it happy. She had to look back at him to figure out what he was thinking. But her eyes couldn’t decipher any emotion. “I couldn’t,” she said.

“Why?”

 

Taking the chance, she decided to be honest with him. He deserved it, and so much more, she realized. “Because of my father.”

 

Dmitri waited patiently but had to encourage her in the end. “What about your father would force you not to trust me with your brother’s predicament?”

 

Emma was grateful he didn’t say handicap. Brian hated that word and she’d used it on several occasions, making him feel like someone different.

Taking a deep breath, she explained, “When we were growing up, my father hated Brian because of his legs. My father was strong and determined and thought that he could fix anything. So when he couldn’t fix Brian’s legs and make him into the perfect son, he would ridicule Brian and push him harder, which only made the pain worse for Brian. My father thought Brian was only being weak and just needed to exert himself more. He called my brother lazy and yelled, horrible things, ridiculing Brian for not being able to walk. It was horrible to watch and to hear, day in and day out. When my mother died, it just got worse.
wanted him out of his sight.
I understood that my father hated Brian so much that he

That’s when Brian was banished to boarding school. I missed him so much during those years.”

Dimitri pulled her closer, sensing her pain and lonliness. He rubbed her back, rubbing her shoulders in an effort to ease the tension she was feeling as she told the story. “I can imagine. I wouldn’t want any of my sisters to be sent away,” he said, watching her closely.

“It was difficult.” She wasn’t sure what else to say but she wrapped her arms around her waist, feeling wonderful but also confused. “How did you find out about him?” she asked.

“He’s the man you ran to when you left me. Isn’t he?” Dmitri asked, his voice above her head as he continued to hold her.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for the words she had to say. “All my life, I’ve protected Brian from my father’s wrath and the world’s pity. When I met you, you were so strong, so dynamic. I couldn’t take the chance that you might treat Brian the way my father treated him. I had to protect him from everyone. He’d been hurt too much.” She clutched at his shoulders as the tears continued to fall. Finally she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

“Do you trust me now?” he asked gently, his hand stilled over her shoulders as he waited for her answer.

Emma nodded. “Why did you look for him?” she asked, breathing a sigh of relief now that she’d admitted so much to him. It was as if the world had suddenly become a much lighter place. She wanted to jump up and dance, to laugh, anything that would shout her joy to the world. Yes, she trusted Dimitri. Brian would definitely be safe with him here. “Thank you!” she said, almost shy now.

“Too many things you’ve said over the past four months haven’t added up. So I started looking into things, without the assumptions of the past.”

Emma’s heart felt as if it had stopped. She realized she was holding her breath, but she couldn’t do anything to change that. If he’d found out about Brian, could he have found out about her condition?

“What else have you found out?” she asked, terrified of his answer.

He moved closer, one hand reaching up to touch her cheek. “Nothing yet. But there’s more isn’t there? You didn’t run to another man’s arms which I’d been thinking all these years. But now that I know it was your brother, I’m asking myself why you ran? What would make you so miserable that you would run away from me?”

His voice was soft but she could see the determination in his eyes. She tried to pull herself out of his lap but his hands stopped her. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes as the last of her secrets started to tear her open. Had it been only moments ago that she’d felt so free? So joyous? How the world had darkened, she thought. “Dmitri, just leave it,” she said desperately.

“I can’t,” he responded, moving closer to her. His hands settled on her hips. “You see, all those years ago, I thought you’d killed my love for you when you went to another man. But then you showed up in my office and, even though I told myself I felt nothing for you, I realized I still wanted your body. More than any other woman, you’ve always been able to captivate me with this body of yours,” he said, his hands sliding up her back, causing shivers to race through her. “You’re the most responsive lover I’ve ever had, how could I give that up?”