Chapter 7 #2
She’d given birth to his grandchild, but apparently that wasn’t enough for the older man to cut her any slack.
She wondered if he knew the truth of what had happened in the past or just the tabloid version of everything that had transpired between her and Christos and Stavros.
As observant as Ari was, she couldn’t imagine he would have missed the fact that Stavros had been having an affair and that it wasn’t with her.
She heard a rustling behind her a split second before she was hit in the back with an icy spray of water. She turned on her assailants, scooping her son up in her arms and wresting the squirt gun from him. She hit Christos in the face with the spray and then turned and ran for the car.
Theo’s laughter filled the air and she felt something ease in her soul.
No matter how much Ari might disapprove of her, this was exactly where she belonged.
Christos captured them both, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
She felt his warm body press against her.
She tipped her head back on his shoulder.
“What did my father say to you?” he asked.
“Nothing important. Can you still take us out on your yacht?”
“Yes,” he said. She could tell he wanted to ask her more questions, but she shook her head and set Theo down.
“Let’s go!” Theo said, climbing into the car and fastening his seatbelt.
Christos tried to keep his mind on driving to the marina and off the wet shirt that clung to Ava’s curves but it was hard…and that wasn’t the only thing in that condition.
His mobile phone rang and he ignored it.
He’d had it with his interfering father, friends and business associates.
He needed this clear, bright, sunshiny day for himself and his family.
Ava wrapped her arm around her waist and shivered a little as the breeze blew through the car.
Keeping his eyes on the road, Christos reached behind him into the bag she’d stowed in the back seat and pulled out her sweater.
“Thanks,” she said when he handed it to her. “Did you take care of all your business this morning?”
“Business?” he asked, wondering how she knew about it.
She shrugged. “Ari said you had a call. And last night you mentioned that there was a lot of stuff on your plate at work.”
“Stuff? Is that what you think I do?” he teased.
He didn’t want to talk about business today or think about the heavy load he’d have to deal with tomorrow.
Each day there was a new complication at the office.
For just today, he wanted to feel…free. The way he used to when Stavros was still the one charged with carrying on the Theakis traditions.
“Meetings, conference calls, I don’t know. What do you do?”
“Stuff,” he said, unable to stop smiling over at her.
She playfully punched him in the arm. “You’re in a good mood today.”
“Am I not usually?” he asked, not wanting to assign too much significance to the fact that he was happy just to spend time with Theo and Ava. That wasn’t like him. He didn’t like to depend too heavily on someone else for his happiness. That was a road that led straight to disaster.
“Sometimes you are. You look very tense when you get home.”
He turned into the parking lot at the marina and saw that Captain Platakis had his yacht ready to go. “Transition periods are always difficult in a business situation.”
“In a personal one, too,” Ava added.
“Indeed. Too bad that I can’t map out a plan for our relationship the way I can for Theakis Shipping.”
“Am I complicating your life?”
“In ways you can’t even fathom.”
“Oh, I think I can.”
“What does fathom mean?” Theo asked from the back seat, reminding Christos that the boy was listening in on their conversation.
“Understand,” Ava said.
“Oh. Why can’t you understand?” Theo asked.
Christos reached around and ruffled the boy’s hair. He was way too young to have to learn that women had secrets a man could never unravel. “It’s a man-woman thing.”
“A love thing?”
Ava flushed. “Probably, sweetie. Are you ready to go out on the boat?”
“Wait a minute,” Christos said, putting his hand on Ava’s thigh to keep her from opening her door. He turned to Theo. “What’s a love thing?”
“You know, Baba, when a man and a woman start to love each other.”
Theo undid his seatbelt and climbed into the front seat, sitting on Ava’s lap. She stroked her son’s hair. “He asked a lot of questions about why you and I weren’t together.”
Christos wasn’t sure what that meant. Did she think she had loved him?
He opened his door and climbed out of the car, needing distance.
The happiness he’d felt earlier dimmed a little.
What exactly was happening between him and Ava?
Lust he could handle. Love…he didn’t believe it existed.
Sure, he cared for his father and Theo and couldn’t even think of what he’d felt for Stavros.
But love? Romantic love? He’d never experienced anything that made him believe it was real.
Not even with Ava.
“Christos?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re glaring at the car.”
“The sun’s in my eyes,” he said. “Theo, please run down to Captain Platakis and tell him we’ll be ready in five minutes.”
The boy hesitated and glanced at Ava. She stepped in front of him and turned toward Christos.
“He’s afraid of water.”
“What?”
She gave him a look that said she wasn’t repeating it. He’d forgotten she’d mentioned that the boy didn’t like water. “Theo, come here. Ava, will you go tell the captain we’re here?”
She hesitated. And he gave her a hard look. He was to be Theo’s father by marriage if not biologically, and that meant he had rights where the boy was concerned. Meant there were times when Ava was going to have to let go.
She sighed and he wondered a little more about the love thing she’d talked to Theo about. He was glad to have this very real problem to solve for his son. Fear of water he could help the boy get over. Understanding women…not so much.