Chapter 3
He left her a note. When he eased out of bed carefully, she was still out for the count.
Rummaging through her side table, he found a notepad and pen. And spent a minute reading her precise notes, changes she wanted to the activities, ideas she was going to implement. Some very good ideas.
Looking over at her, he had the urge to just slide into bed and spend the day with her. He wanted to take care of her, force her hand, tie her down to a definite decision.
Finding a clean page, he started writing.
"Sorry have to leave. Meetings with associates and then breakfast at the family home. Cannot miss it, mother would hunt me down. Please don't do anything without discussing it with me first."
He paused and lifted his head to look at her. She was curled onto her side, hands clasped as if in prayer under her cheek.
"I'm all in, Leanne. I really mean that. I know it's going to be rough, but I promise to be here at all times. I will check in later and please save your breath. I'm coming back. Eat something. Please."
Tearing out the sheet, he placed it on the table within plain sight. Sitting there for a minute longer, he reluctantly rose and left the bedroom.
*****
"Uncle Chris!" The angelic-looking eight-year-old flew towards him, blonde pigtails flying. Crouching down, he caught her in mid-flight. Swinging her into the air, he laughed at her squeals of delight.
Her brother, the sober-looking ten-year-old Dimitri who had inherited the dark hair from his father's side, came forward more slowly.
"Hey buddy. How's it going?" Tucking Evangeline on his left hip, he ruffled his nephew's hair. Both children belonged to Andreas and his petite blonde wife.
"Everyone's waiting for you in the great dining room."
"I can hear the chatter from all the way outside. How's school?"
"Fine." He unbent enough to give a sheepish smile. "I aced my science project."
"That's my boy. Okay, let's go and invade the territory."
The great dining room was so named for its wide space and was only used whenever there was a party or a family gathering. A huge fireplace dominated one section of the wall and counters surrounded the room. There was a twenty-seat massive dining table but was rarely used.
Piles of food were on the counters, with the scent of rich coffee permeating the area.
The rest of his nieces and nephews were either running around and squealing and the adults were having lively discussions.
The clamor and noise level inside the room was as natural to him as breathing.
He adored the pandemonium and the informality of family gatherings.
His second brother, Alexander, had his head bent listening to something his lovely wife, Grace, was saying.
In one corner of the room, with a cup of coffee in his hand, Georgios, the brother he followed, was gesticulating a point with their father.
His mother spotted him as soon as he came into the room and bustled over. Plucking Evangeline from his arm, she shooed the child away. "Go. Eat."
Tucking her arm through his, she guided him over to the counter. "You did not call and did not pick up." Letting go of him, she efficiently fixed him a plate.
The house was a sprawling ranch-type property that stretched for several acres and had ten suites as well as cottages for the live-in help. The household staff had been given the Sunday off which meant that the women, including his mother and sisters-in-law, had done the cooking.
"We need to know what's going on." She handed him the plate and pinned him with her green gaze.
"After we finish eating and the children are elsewhere."
She gave him a concerned look.
"No," he shook his head. "It's fine. Let's just have the meal and then I tell you my news."
Without waiting for her response, he turned to Alexander's three-year-old daughter, Iris, and scooped her up. "Hey there, princess."
He had barely sat down when the others drifted over. Five-year-old Lucas, Alexander and Grace's son with his mass of dense dark hair, climbed up, begging for attention. Followed by Georgios' two, Ophelia, three years old and Theo only a year old and was just learning to walk.
Very soon he was surrounded and loving every minute of it. He enjoyed his nieces and nephews, spoiling them rotten. Now he was going to be having three (please God) of his own to spoil.
The conversations resumed, ranging from politics to religion and invariably leading back to the business. A heated discussion was going on between Andreas and Alexander about the viability of purchasing another jet for the business.
Leaving them to it, Christos was contented to be surrounded by the younger members of the family and his brothers' wives who came over to check on the children and greet him with a kiss.
*****
His mother bustled back into the dining room where the plates had been cleared and the second rounds of coffee were being poured, a purposeful look on her lovely face.
"The children are settled in the playroom, with Dimitri in charge. What's the news?"
"You get right to the meat of the matter as usual." Christos cradled the coffee cup between his palms as he smiled at her.
Looking around the room, he felt the contentment stealing over him as he took in his family. His brothers were flanking him while their wives were curled on arms of their chairs.
"We went to the Rosewood Clinic."
His father nodded. "A very good place. Your mother and sisters have been raising money for various researches."
"The doctors are very grateful."
"Why don't we get to the point?" Andreas spoke up impatiently.
Taking a deep breath, Christos rose and went to refresh his cup before turning to face them.
"We're having triplets."
The look of avid interest turned into stunned shock as they continued to stare at him.
"Triplets?" his mother was the first to recover. "As in three babies?"
"Yes." He grinned wryly. "Last I recall, that's what triplets mean."
"Oh my good Lord." Mary-Ann clapped a hand at her throat, her eyes wide. "Your grandfather."
"I know."
Suddenly the room burst into noise as everyone started talking at once.
"Quiet!" Always the commanding voice in the family, Mary-Ann issued the command that had everyone getting silent. "How's she doing? The mother."
"Not well." Putting down his still-full cup, he rubbed his hands at the back of his neck. "She cried."
"Of course she did." Lori piped up, blue eyes wide with concern. "What woman wouldn't be after that kind of news."
"It's a blessing." Her mother-in-law retorted.
"You're a born mother and a nurturer and we love you for it, but think of someone who's not accustomed to that." Lori swung her gaze back to Christos. "She's an only child, right?"
"Yes."
"There you go. It must be scary for her. We're going to have to be there for her."
"That goes without saying." Lilly nodded her immaculate sable-brown head.
"What is she saying?" His father asked quietly. "The mother."
"Her name is Leanne and she's still undecided."
"You don't think she'll..." Grace's slender hand went to her throat. "She can't mean to get rid of the..."
"That's not going to happen!" Mary-Ann sliced a hand through the air. "She would not dare!"
"It was said in the heat of the moment, but I think she's coming around." Christos felt as if he was in the middle of a whirlwind.
The exhaustion of a night with barely enough sleep and the emotions churning around the room was making it worse.
"It's going to be rough. She asked the doctor to list the risks involved for her and the babies and that did not make it any easier."
"You're the youngest and had to be the one to steal the spotlight." Alexander teased.
"It's not a competition." Christos reminded him dryly.
"If it was, you'd be the winner." Georgios threw him an irrepressible grin. "Mother has been hoping that one of us produced multiples and you had to be the one."
"Yeah, lucky me."
"Darling," Mary-Ann crossed the room to touch his arm, a look of concern on her face. "Are you regretting this?"
Mustering up a smile, he shook his head, aware that they were all watching him. "I read up on the risks and they are pretty scary."
"We believe in a God who works wonders." He was assured by his mother. "We're not going to allow negative thoughts to enter our space."
*****
"I thought I would find you here."
He didn't sigh out loud but wanted to. He had come up to the 'tower' to align his thoughts and be alone.
"I always love it here." It was an attic space that had been converted into a free-for-all room. At one point it had been a play area for him and his brother.
After they had grown out of it, it had become a sewing room for his mother and then storage.
It had been renovated over the years and became a lounging area with wide windows and a stunning view of the wooded area surrounding the lake.
It had been his go-to place for all the major milestones in his life.
His first breakup with a girl in high school, he thought he couldn't live without. When he had his first sexual encounter at fifteen and was scared spitless into thinking he had gotten her pregnant. The loss of his best friend to a motor vehicle accident and the times he aced his courses.
"She makes you unhappy. I don't like that."
He looked over at her in surprise. "That's not true."
She came over and sat next to him. Taking his face between her palms, she studied every inch of the beloved features. "You're my baby and I hate what this is doing to you. She's selfish."
"Mother..."
"No." She shook her head fiercely. "Did you force yourself on her? No. She went into the relationship willingly. What woman wouldn't? You're a very handsome young man, charming and sweet. She should be thanking her lucky stars that you even noticed her."
He had to bite back a smile at the fierceness of her expression.
"You're biased." Lifting a hand, he touched her cheek gently.
"Of course, I am. You're my baby."