Читать книгу A Forever Family: Reunited By Their Baby - Rebecca Winters - Страница 11

FRAN FOLLOWED THE NURSE to an anteroom to wash her hands. She was no stranger to a hospital, having worked in one since college to follow up on patients who needed care when they first went home.

When she’d put on a gown and mask, they left through another door that opened into the ICU. She counted three incubators with sick babies. The baby she’d found in the garden was over in one corner, hooked up to an IV. She’d been fitted with nasal prongs to deliver oxygen. A cardiopulmonary monitor on her chest tracked the heartbeat on the screen.

She was glad to see this hospital had up-to-date equipment to help the baby survive, yet the second she spied the little form lying on her back, so still and helpless, she had to stifle her cry of pain. The precious child had cuts everywhere, even into her black curls, but they’d been treated. Mercifully none of them were deep or required stitches. With the dirt washed away, they stood out clearly.

The nurse pulled a chair over so Fran could sit next to the incubator. “Everyone hopes she will wake up. You can reach in and touch her arm, talk to her. I’ll be back.”

Finally alone with the baby, Fran studied the beautiful features and profile. She was perfectly formed, and to all appearances had been healthy before this terrible thing had happened to her. All the cuts and hookups couldn’t disguise her amazingly long black eyelashes or the sweetness of her sculpted lips.

With such exquisite coloring, she looked like a cherub from the famous painting done by the Italian artist Raphael, but this cherub’s eyes were closed and there was no animation.

She put her hand through the hole and touched the baby’s forearm. “Where did you come from? Did you fall out of heaven by accident? Please come back to life, little sweetheart. Open your eyes. I want to see their color.”

There was no response and that broke her heart. Even if the baby could hear her, she couldn’t understand English. “Of course you want your mommy and daddy. People are trying to find them, but until they do, will you mind if I stay with you?”

Fran caressed her skin with her fingers, careful not to touch any cuts. “I know you belong to someone else, but do you know how much I’d love to claim a baby like you for my own? You have no idea how wonderful you are.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks. “You can’t die. You just can’t—” Fran’s shoulders heaved, but it wouldn’t do for the baby to hear her sobs. By sheer strength of will she pulled herself together and sang some lullabies to her.

After a time the nurse walked over. “I’m sure you’re being a comfort to her, but you’re wanted down in the E.R. Come back whenever you want.”

Fran’s head lifted. She’d been concentrating so hard on the baby, she hadn’t realized she’d already been up here several hours. “Thank you.”

“Leave everything in the restroom on your way out.”

“I will.” With reluctance she removed her hand and stood up. “I’ll be back, sweetheart.”

A few minutes later she reached the E.R. lounge and discovered Kellie talking quietly with Leandros. Her attractive husband had arrived at last, but he looked as though he’d aged since Easter. When he’d flown to Pennsylvania with Kellie in the Petralia company jet at that time, the three of them had gone out for dinner and all had been well.

The second her friend saw her, she jumped up from the chair and ran across the room to meet her. Leandros followed. “Is the baby going to make it?” Kellie cried anxiously.

“I don’t know. She’s just lying there limp in the incubator, but she’s still breathing and has a steady heartbeat. Have the police found her parents yet?”

“There’s been no news.”

Leandros reached for her. “Fran—” he whispered with a throb in his voice. It revealed the depth of his grief. They gave each other a long, hard hug.

“It’s so good to see you again, Leandros, but I wish to heaven it were under different circumstances. I’m so sorry about everything,” she told him. “I’m sure you feel like you’ve been through a war.”

He nodded, eyeing his wife with pained eyes. Something told Fran the pain she saw wasn’t all because of the tragedy. She could feel the negative tension between Kellie and her husband. Her friend hadn’t been exaggerating. In fact, their relationship seemed to be in deeper trouble than even Fran had imagined.

“Five guests at the resort died,” he muttered morosely. “We can thank God the honeymoon couple weren’t in their suite when the tornado touched down or there would have been two more victims. Unfortunately the other two suites were occupied. Mr. Pappas, the retired president of the Hellenic Bank and his wife, were celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary.”

“How terrible for everything to end that way. What about the other couple?” Fran asked because she sensed his hesitation.

Leandros looked anguished. “The sister of my friend Nikolos Angelis and her husband had only checked in a few hours earlier with their baby.”

“A baby?” she blurted.

“Yes, but when the bodies were recovered, there was no sign of the child. The police have formed a net to search everywhere. You can imagine the anguish of the Angelis family. They’re in total shock. People are still combing the area.”

“Nik is the brilliant youngest of the Angelis brothers,” Kellie informed her. “He’s the new CEO of the multimillion-dollar mega corporation established by their family fifty years ago. He was out of the country when Leandros and I married, or he would have been at the wedding.”

“I remember seeing some pictures of him in a couple of magazines while I was on the plane flying over.” Gorgeous was the only word to come to mind.

Leandros nodded. “We’ve both put up money for volunteers to scour the region, but so far nothing. His parents are utterly devastated. They not only lost their daughter and son-in-law, but their little granddaughter.”

Granddaughter?

The mention of a baby girl jolted her as she thought of the baby upstairs fighting for her life.

“How old is the baby?”

“Seven months.”

“What color is her hair?”

“Black.”

A cry escaped her lips.

Maybe she hadn’t fallen out of heaven.

Was it possible she’d been carried in the whirlwind and dropped in the hotel garden? Stranger things had happened throughout the world during tornadoes.

“Kellie?”

“I know what you’re thinking, Fran—” Kellie cried. “So am I.” The two women stared at each other. “Remember the little girl in the midwest a few years ago who was found awake and sitting up ten miles away in a field after a tornado struck, killing her entire family? We both saw her picture on the news and couldn’t believe it.”

“Yes! She was the miracle baby who lived!”

“It would explain everything.”

Leandros’s dark brows furrowed. “What are you two talking about?”

“Quick, Kellie. While you tell him what we’re thinking, I’m going back upstairs to be with the baby. Maybe she has come to by now. After hearing from Leandros that their baby is missing, I think she could be that lost child! She has to be! There’s no other explanation. She has to live.” Those words had become Fran’s mantra.

The police had made a grid for the volunteers to follow. Nik and his brothers had been given an area to cover in the pine trees behind the resort. They’d searched for hours. Separated by several yards, they walked abreast while looking for any sign of Demi.

Debris had been scattered like confetti, but he saw nothing to identify their family’s belongings. The tornado had destroyed everything in its path, including lives. Pain stabbed him over and over.

Where in the hell was the baby? How could they go home without her body and face their parents? The grief was beyond imagining.

Each of his brothers had two children, all boys. Their wives and families, along with Stavros’s family had flown to Mykonos to join Nik’s parents. He knew Sandro and Cosimo were thanking providence that their own children hadn’t been anywhere near either tornado, but right now their hearts were so heavy with loss, none of them could talk.

Demi was the only little girl in the family, so beautiful—just like her mother. Not having married yet, Nik had a huge soft spot for his niece. She possessed a sweetness and a special appeal that had charmed him from the moment she was born.

Melina’s baby was the kind of child he would love to have if he ever settled down. But that meant finding the kind of woman who could handle what he would have to tell her about himself before they could be married.

Up to now he hadn’t met her yet and was forced to put up with the public’s false assumption about him. Throughout the last year, various tabloids had put unauthorized pictures of him on their covers with the label Greece’s New Corporate Dynamo—The Most Sought-After Playboy Bachelor of the Decade. He was sickened by the unwanted publicity. But this tragedy made the problems in his personal life fade in comparison.

Just two weeks ago he’d bought Demi a toy where you passed a ball through a tube and it came out the other end. She loved it and would wait for it to show up, then crawl on her belly after it. She could sit most of the time without help and she put everything possible in her mouth. Her smile delighted him. Never to see it—or her—again…he couldn’t bear it. None of them could.

Hot tears stung his eyes at the thought that the seven-month-old was gone, along with her parents. It was a blow he didn’t know whether he could ever get over. He and Melina had shared a special bond. She’d been there for him at the darkest point in his life. A grimace broke out on his face as he realized he couldn’t even find her baby. He felt completely helpless.

Sandro caught his arm. “We’ve finished this section.”

“Let’s move to the next grid.”

“Someone else has done it,” Cosimo muttered.

“I don’t care,” he bit out. “Let’s do it again, more thoroughly this time. Examine every tree.”

They went along with him. Maybe five minutes had gone by when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID. “It’s Petralia.”

Their heads swiveled around, as they prayed for news that some volunteer had found her body.

“Leandros?” he said after clicking on. “Any word yet?”

“Maybe. If you believe in miracles.”

Nik reeled. “What do you mean?”

“I’m with my wife at the hospital in Leminos village. It’s twelve miles south of you. Come quickly. This morning her best friend Mrs. Myers from the States, who’s staying with us for a few weeks, found a baby girl, barely alive, in a hotel garden.”

Nik’s hand tightened on the cell phone. “Did I just hear you right?”

“Yes. If you can believe this, she was lying in some bushes at the rear of the hotel. On their drive to the Persephone yesterday, the storm got so bad, they ended up staying in Leminos.”

“You mean your wife and her friend—”

“Could have been among the casualties,” he finished for him. The emotion in Leandros’s voice needed no translation. “Fran went out to the back patio to get them a table for breakfast when she heard some faint cries and walked over to investigate.”

“What?”

“It’s an absolutely incredible story. The child is cut up and bruised. All she had on was a torn undershirt. They brought her to the hospital and Fran has been staying in the infant ICU with her in order to comfort her. So far no parents have shown up yet to claim her.”

“You’ve seen her?” Nik cried out.

“Yes. She’s about seven months old, with your family’s coloring. She’s alive, but not awake yet. So far that’s good news according to the doctor who thought at first they were going to lose her. Come as fast as you can to the E.R. entrance. We’ll show you to the ICU.”

He eyed his brothers. “We’re on our way, Leandros—My gratitude knows no bounds.”

“Don’t thank me yet. This child might not be your niece.”

“I have to believe she is!”

Nik clicked off and he and his brothers started running through the forest. On the way he told them the fantastic story. Before long they reached the rental car at the police check point. Nik broke every speed record getting to Leminos while they all said silent prayers.

Once they reached the village, he followed the signs to the hospital. Leandros and his wife were waiting for them in the lounge of the E.R. His lovely wife, Kellie, was in tears over what had happened to Nik’s family. He was deeply moved by her compassion. She, in turn, introduced them to the doctor who was taking care of the baby.

“Come with me and we’ll see if she belongs to you.” On the way upstairs the doctor said, “I’m happy to report that a half hour ago, the baby opened her eyes for the first time and looked around. I think that had something to do with Kyria Myers who’s been singing to her and caressing her through the incubator. She’s the one who first heard the baby cry and found her before she lost consciousness.”

Nik couldn’t wait to see if the baby was Demi, but he understood they had to wash their hands and put on masks and gowns. It took all his self-control not to burst into the ICU. If it wasn’t their niece lying in there it would kill all three of them to have to return to Mykonos without her.

When they were ready, the nurse opened the door and beckoned them to follow her to the corner of the room. A woman gowned and masked like themselves sat next to the incubator with her hand inside the hole to touch the baby. With her back to them, he could only glimpse dark honey-blond hair tied back with a filmy scarf. She was singing to the child with the kind of love a mother might show for her own flesh and blood.

Touched by her devotion to a child she didn’t even know, Nik had a suffocating feeling in his chest as he drew closer and caught his first sight of the baby.

“Demi—”

His brothers crowded around, equally ecstatic at discovering their niece lying hooked up to machines, but squirming as if she didn’t like being trapped in there. She kept turning her head. Sounds of joy and tears escaped their lips as her name echoed through the ICU. But Demi took one look at them and started crying. With their masks on, she was frightened.

The woman caressing her limbs spoke in soothing tones and soon calmed her down. Nik could hardly believe it. Those words might be spoken in English, but Melina’s baby responded to the tender tone in which she’d said them.

After a minute, the woman pulled her hand through and stood up. Nik noticed she was of medium height. When she turned to them, he found himself staring into eyes a shade of violet-blue he’d only seen in the flowers that grew in certain pockets on Mykonos. They were glazed with tears.

“Mrs. Myers? I’m Nik Angelis,” he spoke through the mask. “These are my brothers Sandro and Cosimo. I understand you’re the person we have to thank for finding our niece before it was too late to revive her.”

“I just happened to be the first guest to walk out to the back patio of the hotel to be served,” came her muffled response. “When I heard her crying, I thought it was a kitten who’d been injured by the storm. I almost fainted when I saw her lying there face-up in the bushes.” Her eyes searched his. “What’s her name?”

“Demitra, but we call her Demi.”

“That’s a beautiful name.” He heard her take a deep breath. “There’s no way to express how sorry I am for the loss of your sister and her husband, Mr. Angelis. But I’m thankful you’ve been reunited with their daughter. She’s the most precious child I’ve ever seen,” she said with a quiver in her voice. Nik happened to agree with her. “If you could remove your masks, I’m sure it would make all the difference to her.”

“Demi doesn’t seem to have any problem with you wearing one.”

He saw a distinct flush creep above her mask. “That’s because I’ve been talking to her since we brought her here. I couldn’t stand it that she didn’t have anyone to give her love. Babies want their mothers. Her experience had to have terrified her.”

Not every woman had such a strong maternal instinct as Melina’s, but being a married woman, he had to assume Mrs. Myers had children of her own. “Leandros told me you’re here on vacation. For you to forget everything except taking care of Demi constitutes a generosity and unselfishness we appreciate more than you could ever know. She’ll be the reason our parents can go on living.”

“It’s true,” his brothers concurred before expressing their gratitude.

Nik moved closer. “I hope you realize our family owes you a debt we can never repay.”

She shook her head. “What payment could anyone want except to see that sweet little girl reunited with her family?” Her eyes still possessed a liquid sheen as they played over him. “Anyone can see she’s an Angelis from head to toe. Of course I don’t know about the noses and mouths yet.” Her husky voice disturbed his senses in ways that surprised him.

In spite of the horrendous grief of the past twenty-four hours, her comment made one side of his mouth lift. Until he’d entered the ICU and watched the loving way she was handling Melina’s daughter, he couldn’t imagine ever having a reason to smile again.

She took a step back. “Well—I’ll leave you gentlemen alone to be with your niece. When you speak to her, your voices will be blessedly familiar and will reassure her.”

Nik wasn’t so certain Demi wouldn’t start to cry the second Mrs. Myers left the room. “Where are you going?”

“Downstairs to join Kellie.”

“Don’t leave the hospital yet. We need to talk.”

“Since I’m their guest, I’m not sure what our plans are now.”

Making one of those decisions on sheer instinct in case she got away, he said, “In that case, I’ll go downstairs with you. I need to call our parents and give them the kind of news that will breathe new life into them. Above all, they’ll want to thank you.” He turned to his brothers and told them his plans before he left for the anteroom with her.

Once inside, he removed his mask and gown while she untied hers. Though she was married, he was a man who enjoyed looking at a beautiful woman and was curious to see what she looked like unwrapped.

Once she’d discarded everything, he discovered a slender figure clothed in a stunning green-and-white-print outfit. She had classic bone structure and a face that more than lived up to the beauty of her eyes. In a word, she stole his breath.

“What’s the verdict?” he asked after she’d studied him back.

Again, he saw warmth enter her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “I happened to see your picture on the cover of a magazine while I was reading on the plane.” Nik’s teeth snapped together at the mention of it. “If you want honesty, then let me say I’m glad your niece received all the feminine features of her parentage.”

He’d been expecting her to say something about his reputation. Instead her thoughts were focused on Demi. Her surprising comment lightened his mood.

“Your sister must have been a real beauty to have produced a daughter like Demi.”

Nik reached for his wallet and showed her a picture. “This was taken on Melina’s thirtieth birthday two months ago. She and Stavros had been trying for four years for a baby before one came.”

Kellie needed to hear that. Not every woman conceived as quickly as one hoped.

Fran studied it for a moment. “What a lovely family.” Her voice shook. “I see a lot of your sister in her.”

His throat swelled with raw emotion. “Yes. She’ll live on through Demi.” He opened the other door. “Shall we go downstairs?”

“I’ll ride down with you,” Dr. Xanthis said. “We’ll need confirmation of your relationship to the baby with a DNA test.”

“Of course. I’ll ask the hospital in Athens to send my information so you can run a test.”

“Excellent. I’ll tell the lab to expedite the process.”

Fran wondered what condition had been serious enough to put Nik in a hospital and to have provided a DNA match, but it was none of her business. She wished she weren’t so aware of him.

Though she’d always thought Leandros was a true hunk, Nikolos Angelis was in a class by himself. Despite the grief lines etched in his striking Greek countenance, he was easily the most attractive male she’d ever met in her life. The photos of him didn’t do him justice.

Besides his masculine appeal, he had the aura of a man in charge of his life—one who could accomplish anything. Kellie’s hope that Fran would meet some gorgeous royal on this trip and fall instantly in love was still laughable, but she had to admit Nik Angelis was a fabulous-looking man.

Standing next to him, Fran thought he must be at least six feet three of solid lean muscle. She wasn’t surprised he was still wearing soiled suit trousers and a creased blue shirt with the sleeves shoved up to the elbows. All three brothers had arrived in clothes they’d worn to work when they’d heard about the tornado. Naturally they’d dropped everything to fly to Thessalonika to search for their family. None of them had slept.

He needed a shave, but if anything, his male virility was even more potent. She noticed he wore his black wavy hair medium length. It had such a healthy gloss that it made you want to run your hands through it. Before the door opened, Fran gave him another covert glance.

Brows of the same blackness framed midnight-brown eyes with indecently long black lashes like Demi’s. Between his hard-boned features and compelling mouth, she had to force herself to stop staring. Until now, no men she’d worked around for the last year had made any kind of an impact.

To be singling him out when he’d just been hit with the loss of his sister and brother-in-law made her ashamed. She rushed from the elevator ahead of him. But just as she was about to turn toward the lounge, he grasped her elbow. A warm current passed through her body without her volition.

“Come outside with me where my cell phone will work better. My parents will want to ask you some questions.”

“All right.”

They walked through the sliding doors into the late-afternoon sun. It was quarter to five already. She watched and listened as he communicated in unintelligible Greek with his parents. During the silences, she read between the lines. Her heart went out to all of them.

After a few minutes his penetrating gaze landed on her. He handed her the phone. “They speak English and are anxious to hear anything you can tell them.”

Fran took the cell phone from him and said hello.

“We are overjoyed you found our Demitra,” his mother spoke first in a heavy Greek accent. In a voice full of tears she said, “Our son tells us you’ve been at the hospital with her the whole time.”

“Yes. She’s the sweetest little thing I ever saw. A cherub. And now that she’s awake, she seems fine.”

“Ah…That’s the news we’ve been waiting to hear,” Nik’s father broke in. “We want to meet you. I told him to bring you and the Petralias to Mykonos when Demitra is released. After the funeral, you will stay on as our guests for as long as you wish. He tells me you’ve just started your vacation. We’d like you to spend it with us. Because of you, a miracle has happened.”

“Someone else would have found her if I hadn’t, Mr. Angelis, but thank you very much for your kind words. Here’s Nik.” She handed him the phone. “I’m going to the lounge,” she whispered.

“I’ll be right there.” His deep voice curled through her as she walked back inside the building.

Once again she found Kellie and Leandros seated on one of the couches. You didn’t have to be a mind reader to guess they were having an intense conversation that wasn’t going well. Judging by Kellie’s taut body and his grim countenance, they were both in agony. But when they saw Fran, they stopped talking and stood up.

Kellie rushed over to her, as if she were glad for the interruption. “Dr. Xanthis came to talk to us a minute ago and said he’ll release the baby tomorrow once the DNA testing is done. I was just telling Leandros that since she’s been reunited with her family, you and I can continue on with our vacation while he flies back to Rhodes.”

Obviously Kellie wanted Fran to fall in with her wishes despite anything Leandros had to say. But her comment caused his firm jaw to tighten, making Fran uncomfortable. “My project supervisor can finish up the work there. I have a helicopter waiting to fly the three of us back to Athens. One of my employees will drive the car home.”

Kellie tossed her blond head. “Don’t be silly, Leandros. I don’t want to interfere with your work. Besides, Fran and I want to sightsee in places where we’ve never been before.”

“Where exactly?” he demanded quietly. Fran had never heard him so terse.

“We’re going to do some hiking, but haven’t decided all the details yet. After dinner, we’ll get out the map to plan our next destination.”

Just when Fran didn’t think she could stand the tension any longer, Nik entered the lounge and walked up to them. He darted her a searching glance. “Did you tell them about my father’s invitation?”

The girls exchanged a private look before Fran said, “I haven’t had time yet.” Kellie’s troubles with Leandros had weighted them down.

In the next breath Nik extended them all a personal invitation to fly to Mykonos in the morning and spend a few days with his family. “My parents insist.”

“I was planning to pay them a personal visit anyway, Nik. We’d be honored to come,” Leandros spoke up before Kellie could say anything. “Under the circumstances, I’ll drive us back to Athens in Kellie’s car. Tomorrow we’ll fly to your villa.”

Uh-oh. That meant a lot of hours for them to talk, but Fran decided that was a good thing. Kellie could approach him with the plan they’d talked about last night.

“Excellent.” Nik shot Fran a level glance. “I realize you came here on vacation, but if it wouldn’t inconvenience you too much, would you mind staying with me at the hospital overnight?

“Between the two of us taking turns, we ought to be able to comfort Demi while my brothers arrange for Melina’s and Stavros’s bodies to be flown home on our company plane. I’d very much like your help when we take Demi in the helicopter to Thessalonika airport in the morning. From there we’ll fly on the plane to Mykonos.”

Her heart thudded. Nik honestly wanted her help with his niece? He couldn’t know she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the adorable child. Another night to hold her thrilled Fran to pieces.

Trying to sound in control she said, “If you feel it’s necessary, I’d be glad to help.” She looked at Kellie, knowing her friend didn’t want to be left alone with her husband right now. The situation was precarious. “What do you think, Kellie? Would it be all right with you?”

Fran knew Kellie was stuck in a hard spot. She couldn’t say no to Nik who’d already lost part of his family, but that meant she’d have to face Leandros sooner than she’d expected. It was providential they’d come up with an idea last night. It had to work!

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll resume our vacation.”

If Kellie worked things out with Leandros, maybe she wouldn’t want to go on a trip after all. Fran was hoping for that outcome. “All right then.”

The news seemed to relax Leandros a little. No doubt he was thankful for this much of a reprieve so he could talk to his wife. “Fran? I’ll bring your bags in from the car.”

Nik shook his head. “Don’t bother, Leandros. I’ll come with you and put them in my rental car.” He turned to Fran. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

After the two men walked out of the lounge, Fran put an arm around Kellie’s shoulders. “I’m sorry about this. I had no idea Nik would ask me to stay on. Frankly, I didn’t know what to say.”

“Neither of us had a choice. It would have been churlish to refuse him.”

“If I stay overnight with the baby, are you going to be okay?”

Her friend took a shuddering breath. “I thought I’d have two weeks to be away from Leandros, but this situation has changed things for the moment and can’t be helped. Wish me luck broaching your suggestion to him,” she whispered in a pain-filled voice.

“Kellie, last night we talked a lot about Karmela, but I sense there’s still something you haven’t told me. What is it?”

Her head was bowed. “I was afraid to tell you. N-night before last, I told him this vacation was more than that. I wanted a separation.”

Fran groaned. “No wonder he looks shattered.” Fran was aghast that their marriage had already broken down to that extent.

Her friend’s lips tightened. “He said I wasn’t thinking clearly before he stormed out of the bedroom angrier than I’ve ever seen him. On our drive back to Athens, I’m going to do what you said. I’ll tell him that since I haven’t gotten pregnant, I need something substantial to do and want to work with him in his private office. I’ll remind him I was once a part of an advertising agency and am perfectly capable.

“But if he turns me down flat, and I’m afraid he will, then he needs to hear what I think about the sacred Karmela. Up until now I’ve been careful about saying anything negative, but no longer. I might as well get everything out in the open right now.”

Fran would have told her not to plunge in with Leandros where Karmela was concerned yet. Let the idea of his wife working with him take hold first. But both men came back in the lounge, preventing further conversation.

Leandros put his arm around his wife. “It’s going to be a long drive. We need to get going.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fran hugged her. “Tell him you love him so much, you want the opportunity to work with him,” she begged in a quiet whisper. “I don’t see how he can turn you down.”

When Kellie let her go without an answer, Leandros grasped his wife’s hand and they walked out of the lounge.

She felt Nik’s gaze on her. “We need a meal. Let’s drive to the hotel where you stayed last night and get a couple of rooms so we can shower and have dinner. By then we’ll feel much more prepared to spend the night with Demi.”

“That sounds good to me.” She would have said more, such as the fact that he hadn’t had any sleep last night, but she’d bring it up to him later.

He walked her out to the parking lot and helped her into the rental car. His dark eyes noticed every detail, and she was glad she was wearing her linen pants. Once he got in the driver’s side he said, “You’ll have to guide me to the hotel.”

“It’s on the southern end of the village near the main highway.” She gave him a few directions, not quite believing that he was taking her to the place where she’d found his niece. “There on the corner,” she said. He flipped a U-turn and pulled up close to the front entrance where people were dining. “Before we go in, I’ll show you the garden out in back.”

“Good. I want to take pictures while there’s still some light.”

She got out of the car before he could help her and they walked around the side to the rear of the hotel where more customers were enjoying their evening meal. Fran kept going until she came to the garden.

“I found her right there.” She pointed to the bushes in the corner. “There’s no indication she lay there all those hours. It’s still totally unbelievable to me. Finding her alive so far away from the Persephone is one of those inexplicable miracles.”

Their eyes met. “Finding her alive in time to save her constituted another miracle. That’s your doing,” Nik said in a deep voice full of emotion.

He hunkered down to examine the spot, fingering the bushes. After he stood up, he pulled out his cell phone and took several pictures. Before she could stop him, he took a picture of her, then turned and snapped a few more of the back of the hotel. “When Demi is old enough to understand, I’ll show her these pictures.”

“Let me get one of you standing there,” she said on impulse. “Demi will be thrilled to see her uncle in the very place she landed. She’ll always be known as the Greek version of Dorothy Gale, the girl from Kansas in The Wizard of Oz. But instead of being blown to Oz, Demi was caught up in a tornado and deposited in a Grecian garden miles away. What a ride she must have had,” her voice throbbed.

Something flickered in those black-brown depths. “Amen,” he said before handing her the phone. His fingers overlapped hers, conveying warmth. She backed away far enough to get his tall, hard-muscled frame in the picture with the garden just behind him.

As she finished and gave the phone back to him, the proprietor approached. “You’re the one who found the miracle baby!”

“Yes. And this is Nikolos Angelis, the baby’s uncle. I was just showing him where I discovered her.”

The owner stared at Nik. “You are the new head of the Angelis Corporation. I saw your picture on television.”

“That’s right,” he murmured.

Fran said, “His sister and her husband were killed in the tornado, but the baby survived and will be leaving the hospital tomorrow. I’ll ask them to return the blanket to you.”

“Not to worry about that. We are all very sorry about this tragedy, Kyrie Angelis.”

Nik shook the man’s hand. “Thank you.”

“Can we serve you dinner? It will be our pleasure.”

“We’d like that, wouldn’t we, Mrs. Myers?” The way he included her as if they’d been friends a long time seemed to come out of the blue. Her pulse raced for no good reason.

“Come through to the front desk and everything will be arranged,” the owner said.

“We’ll need two rooms to change in. Later my brothers will be arriving to stay the night.”

“Very good.”

Nik ushered her inside the rear door. His touch might be impersonal, but she felt it in every atom of her body.

Once behind the desk, the owner gave them each a key. “The rooms are on the second floor.”

“Thank you.” Nik turned to her. “Why don’t you go on up while I bring in our bags? I always keep one onboard the plane in case of an emergency. With a change of clothes and a good meal, we ought to be set to spend the night with Demi.”

She nodded and hurried up the stairs. It was hot out and she was eager for another shower. He wasn’t far behind with her suitcase. After walking into her bedroom, his gaze found hers. “I’ll meet you in the back of the hotel in half an hour. After we eat, we’ll take our bags out to the car and leave for the hospital.”

“Demi must be so frightened.”

He grimaced. “My brothers promised to stay with her until we get there. She knows and loves them. That ought to help.”

Her eyelids stung with unshed tears. “But she’ll still be looking for her mommy and daddy.”

He lounged against the doorjamb. “Of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she isn’t looking for you too. See you shortly.”

Fran averted her eyes. He was too striking.

Physical attraction was a powerful thing. Under other circumstances, she could be swept away. Thankfully she’d learned her lesson with Rob. Though he’d been conventionally handsome, she’d discovered good looks weren’t enough to hold a relationship together, let alone a marriage.

For him to have said he’d be willing to adopt and then change his mind had inflicted indescribable pain. Fran had not only lost hope of being a mother, she’d lost the ability to trust.