A Perfect Love: International Billionaires VI: The Greeks (13 page)

He’d taken her here once, mere weeks before she’d split with him. To the land of his ancestors, he’d told her. The land where his grandfather had once grown olives and grapes. They’d hiked Mount Taygetus, up past the tree line. She needed to see everything, he’d told her as she strode beside him.

Coming to the crest, they’d gazed down at the valley. Down at the entire town of Sparti. That’s when he’d laid out the blanket and they’d eaten their picnic. And he’d told her all of his plans. All of his hopes and dreams and passions. All of it wrapped around her.

“
Eláte
.” His voice came through her memories, from the past into the present.

She’d come with him through all of it, he’d stated. She’d be with him as he trained to be a doctor. She’d move with him to this town to start a practice. He wanted the small-town life, he’d said. He wanted her by his side. He wanted her to have his children.

“Tamsin?” A hint of impatience was now in his voice.

Tam opened her eyes to find, once again, a long-fingered hand in front of her. Just as before, she reached out and slipped her hand into his.

He pulled her into the Greek sunshine. Up here, in the foothills of the mountain, the air was cooler than down in the valley. However, it had been even hotter when they’d left Athens. When they’d left the rest of the Vounó clan. Well, almost every one of them.

Nephele had smiled and hugged each one of them including Tamsin. Rhachel had laughed as she ruffled the twins’ hair. The aunts and uncles and cousins had tutted and chuckled around them.

Rhouth had been absent. Along with her husband and children.

That had hurt. Not for the rejection of her, she’d come to expect this, but that it had hurt Rafe and so, it had hurt her. Tam had noticed his frequent glances toward Rhouth’s house and how he’d grimaced at the end of the farewell. Without meaning to, her arrival had caused a rift in the family. Even when this was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Come on.” He tugged at her hand now, his mouth no longer firm and tight. She wouldn’t say he smiled, but there was an ease about him now. Almost an eagerness.

To show her this dream house? Why?

She followed him to the simple stairs. Dropping her hand, he slid a key out of his pocket. An old-fashioned iron key some long ago prince would have used to open a fairy-tale castle.

“No security?”

He glanced at her as he slid the key into the door. “On the perimeters. Not here.”

Gazing back down the lane, she didn’t notice any guards or elaborate fencing. Who knew though? She was certainly not an expert on security.

The bright-red door opened and he stepped back. “Welcome.” He waved her in, his eyes still opaque and telling her nothing.

Tam tiptoed into the foyer. The open floor plan was precisely as she’d described to him that long ago day on the top of the mountain. An arch of cypress wood led into the family room. Floor to ceiling doors with white cotton drapes framed a terrace leading to the pool. Wicker chairs with cream padding mixed in with antique wooden tables laden with candles and books.

Her throat filled with tears.

Rafe sauntered into the main room, as if nothing monumental was happening. As if there was no significance in the fact that this house was her house. “The kitchen is to the left. The bedrooms are to the right.”

“I know,” she said to his back.

The muscles on his shoulders went taut. Why? He had to know. He had to remember.

“Aarōn will be glad to know he doesn’t have to share a room with his brother.” Padding to the first terrace door, he opened it. The floor-length, wispy curtains lifted in the slight breeze.

Tam forced herself to walk across to the fireplace. The red-brick hearth glowed rich in contrast to the background of whitewashed limestone. On the mantel were a smattering of pictures—Nephele holding a baby in her grasp, laughing at the camera; Rhachel and Rhouth standing by a pool, arms around each other; a picture of the entire family, sitting at the long wooden table they’d eaten at many times during the last ten days.

“Does your family come here often?”

“No.” The stark word cut through the room, his voice crisp and curt. “Never.”

Remembering Rhachel’s comment at dinner last night, she turned to look at him. He still had that damned opaque stare. “Why not?”

He shrugged. “I like it quiet here.”

Isaák popped his head around the open terrace door. “The pool is cool.”

Rafe smiled, a tight smile. “Glad you like it.”

“Tam, let’s swim.” Aarōn bumped against his brother.

She didn’t want to swim in the cool pool. What she wanted to do was swim in a sea of her tears. Because she didn’t understand what all of this meant. Confusion mixed with sorrow threatened to overwhelm her. Was he baiting her by showing her this house? Was he pressing her nose into the fact she’d walked away from her dream? Or was there something more here? Something she couldn’t quite grasp? Because he wasn’t gloating or sneering.

He stared at her suddenly, the opaque now gone from his eyes.

Still, she couldn’t understand what replaced it. Fear? Hope?

“Your sister might be tired.”

“Come on,” Aarōn scoffed. “It’s not even noon.”

“I am tired.” Exhausted. Fatigued to the bone trying to figure out this man and his mixed messages. Drained by the effort to keep these boys well, keep herself together, keep everything and everyone happy and safe.

“Then let me show you to your bedroom.”

“How long are we going to be here?” Isaák’s demand stopped his uncle from moving down the long hallway leading off from the family room.

Turning, he looked at the boys. “All summer.”

“Woot!” Aarōn crowed.

“Wow!” Isaák jumped up and down.

“What?” She froze. “But I told my new boss I’d be able to start later this month.”

“Too bad.” Rafe’s gaze frosted. “Call him and tell him you’ll have to decline the opportunity altogether.”

“Now wait a min—”

“I thought we were going to summer school,” Aarōn cut in on the beginning of her tirade. “I thought we needed to learn Greek before starting school.”

“You’ll learn Greek from me.” Propping himself on the wall, he appeared casual and nonchalant. “Much more fun.”

Isaák grinned. “Do I have to call you Teach?”

His uncle chuckled. “Rafe will do.”

“I can’t stay here all summer.” Her nails cut into her palms. “I need to work.”

“Fine.” He didn’t even look her way. Instead, he stared out at the pool, his whole demeanor one of complete disinterest. “There will be plenty of work to do around here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is no great army of servants here.” His gaze still didn’t meet hers. “I only have one woman, Aspasia, who comes in once a week to clean.”

“Totally diff compared to your other place,” Isaák chirped.

“Correct.” His uncle finally glanced at her, but gave nothing away in his expression. “So there will be plenty of work to do. Cleaning. Cooking.”

A fire of anger leapt into her blood. “So you want me to be your unpaid housekeeper?”

Rafe’s mouth curved into a sardonic smile. “You said you wanted—”

“It’s no different than what you did before with us, Tam.” Aarōn frowned in confusion. “Except there’s a big pool and other stuff to enjoy.”

Tam scowled at her brothers and then at the man who had the gall to smile even wider. She was out-flanked and overruled. Anger bit into her and she wanted to scream. Again, she was asked to take it, to make it work. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”

“Sure you have a choice.” He kept his negligent pose on the whitewashed wall as if oblivious to her bitterness and frustration. Yet there was something in his black eyes that told her different. “You could do nothing. We’d have to fend for ourselves in the kitchen, keep the place clean, and do our own laundry.”

Both Aarōn and Isaák appeared horrified.

Reality hit her. She’d babied them. Rafe was right. She’d done everything for them throughout their lives because she wanted to be needed and loved. She was sorely tempted to tell them that for once, she wasn’t going to come to the rescue, that yes, this time she was going to go on strike—

“Of course,” he mulled. “It’s not as if I haven’t done this before. I spend quite a bit of time here and manage not to starve and also have clean clothes when I need them.”

His nephews gazed at him, horror still covering their faces. “Really?” Isaák peeped.

“Sure. We could actually have fun.”

“Fun?” Aarōn murmured.

“I think your sister might need a break.” Rafe glanced at her, his eyes once again opaque. “She’s been doing quite a lot for you guys for years.”

A silence fell as the twins both turned to gape at her as if she were an entirely different person than they’d ever seen before. Abruptly, Tam felt nude, uncovered, unsure. This might be his way of making sure she wasn’t needed in the boys’ life. She wanted to plunge in immediately, say she’d take care of it, make sure everything was fine.

Yet something held her back. Perhaps it was the thick curl of anger still lodged in her gut. Or the coat of despair lining her throat. Or maybe it was the look of challenge shining in Rafe’s eyes.

So he thought she couldn’t laze around for days and do nothing? He thought she’d fold and do what everyone expected her to do? He really believed he and the boys would be able to keep this house clean and cook food which was edible without her help?

“Fantastic.” She forced a smile. “I guess I’m on vacation.”

T
he rustle
of the eucalyptus leaves above her head woke Tamsin from her nap. The sun still lay warm on her skin, yet she could tell it was late afternoon. The heat was no longer blistering.

She stretched.

Glancing over, she slid her hand around the glass of iced frappe someone had brought out for her while she slept and put on the small table beside her lounge chair. She avoided thinking it could have been Rafe. The thought of him staring at her in her swimsuit while she slept made her…oh, well. More likely it was Aspasia, the housekeeper. Who rarely did anything she wasn’t told to do.

Come on, Tam. Get real.

She sipped on the cold drink, enjoying the sugared coffee as it rolled down her throat. It was exactly as she liked it. Exactly. How Aspasia knew this information, she had no idea.

Whatever, Tam.

Ignoring her inner irritating voice, she put the glass on the cypress side table and eased back on the lounge chair. The pool water beckoned, but she didn’t want to move.

A week had gone by.

A solid week of doing absolutely nothing. Every time she was tempted to pitch in and help—whether it was sorting the boys’ clothes for laundry or opening the refrigerator to search for something to make for dinner—she got a cool, dark stare.

A challenging stare.

Did he think she was incapable of relaxing? Or did he think she thought he was incapable of taking care of the house and the twins?

Either way, it was a challenge. A challenge that made her angry enough to accept.

So she’d done nothing.

Well, she’d slept. A lot. She’d done some reading. She’d lazed around the pool. She’d played some games with the boys. One day, she’d gone on a hike, but she’d been too tired to go very far. It was as if the years of working hard had all slammed into her body at the same time and she realized she was tired. Really, really tired.

So she slept.

A frustrated grunt came from her throat as she straightened on the chair. Grabbing a magazine she’d found in the study, she started to flip the pages.

Time to get busy.

Time to remember her reluctance about living off Rafe’s money.

Time to get some direction in her life.

There were small hotels in Sparti. She could bike down there every day and work at something. Although she couldn’t promise a prospective employer she’d be around for much longer than the end of summer.

Frustration bubbled. She flipped another page and went still.

The ad proudly proclaimed the delights of getting an online degree from anywhere in the world. Her finger slid along the list of degrees offered.

Accounting

Computer Science

Human Resources

Psychology

Business

Her finger stopped at the last entry. For years, she’d never thought of anything except getting the boys and her through the next day. Sure, she’d run the hotel, but again, it had been with a survivor’s mindset, not a firm plan of where she wanted to go in her life.

Student loans available.

Something inside her trembled.

“What are you looking at so intently?” His deep voice, the voice she listened for every day, came from behind her.

She slapped the magazine shut. “Nothing.”

Rafe walked into her sight and sat on the lounge chair next to her. He was dressed as he’d been every day here. Gone were the red power ties and icy blue suits. In their place, he wore cargo shorts and plain T-shirts.

He appeared even more delectable in casual clothes than he did all decked out.

“Nothing, huh?” His mouth quirked.

“No, nothing.” Before she could drop her gaze, she caught his as he looked down.

At her body. In her bikini.

A blaze flushed across her skin.

“You’ve gotten too much sun,” he said, his accent rolling the words.

“Yes, that’s probably true.” She grabbed her coverlet and yanked it on. Was there something more than an accent rolling in his voice? Something hot? Sexy?

She didn’t know and for the millionth time, she cursed at herself because she didn’t know men better. Didn’t have any practical knowledge about what went on between a man and a woman.

Not that she wanted to do anything with Rafe.

Come on, Tam.

There was a stillness between them, something hazy and blazing and snappy. She stared at her toes and wondered if she should do anything, say anything.

“Tam!” Isaák’s excited voice shot through the stillness like an arrow.

“Look what we found!” Aarōn’s voice, for once, was just as excited as his twin.

“
Kaló
Theó
.” Rafe’s rough curse brought her head up.

She swung around to see her boys running down the hill behind the house carrying a…

Big. Black. Hairy. Thing.

Scrambling off the lounge chair, she lunged toward them. “What is it? Drop it.”

“Calm down,
kardiá
mou.
” Rafe’s voice came from behind her. “It’s only a dog.”

“A…dog?”

Isaák roared into the conversation, the big, black, hairy thing bouncing in his arms. “Isn’t he great?”

“He’s hurt though.” Aarōn jogged to his brother’s side. “Something’s wrong with his paw.”

Tam frowned into two bright, brown eyes encircled with springy black hair sticking out all over. A long pink tongue lolled from its mouth and the front paws were as big as dinner plates.

“He’s big,” she managed. Living in a London hotel, they hadn’t had the time or space for any pets. Even though the boys had begged for one many times.

“He’s a puppy.” Rafe’s voice came from right behind her shoulder.

She jumped. Not only because of the voice but because the puppy had eased forward to lap at her hand.

“How do you know?” Aarōn demanded. “He looks awfully big to me.”

Biting her tongue before she blurted out one of Rafe’s past hobbies, she made herself keep quiet. It wasn’t her information to share and she highly doubted he’d want to claim a skill he’d clearly rejected.

“I used to take care of animals. All the time.”

Surprise rippled through her. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at the puppy with eyes gleaming with interest.

“Honest?” Isaák’s face beamed. “That’s brilliant. Then you can help us figure out what’s wrong with his paw.”

“He limps,” his twin contributed.

The keen interest in Rafe’s black gaze dimmed. “I’ll call a vet.”

The memories inside her twisted into a knot.

“No way.” Isaák stared at the dog with determination and what she feared was the beginning of a lifelong love. “I’m not letting him go into some hospital.”

“He’s only got something in his paw,” Aarōn exclaimed. “I’m sure you can fix it.”

The hero worship running through his words would have made her scream a few weeks ago. Watching the boys with Rafe during the last week, though, had convinced her of the true attachment coursing between them. Rafe was going to be the father the twins never had. He might not realize it yet, but the boys did.

She looked at him as he stood there, all tense, all rejection. All confusion.

“Rafe,” she murmured, trying to find the words to reach him and pull him into his new reality. “Why don’t you—”

“I have to cook dinner.”

Both of the teenagers gaped at their uncle in shock. “This is way more important than cooking,” Aarōn finally stated.

“Way more.” Isaák nodded his head.

“I can cook dinner while you take care of the puppy.” She was ready when the challenging scowl came and met it with one of her own.

She admitted it was time to examine her life and make some changes.

Would he have the courage to do the same?

He glared at them. Then glared at the puppy. Then swung around and glared at the pool.

“Come on,” Isaák said. “This can’t be that hard.”

Apparently, it was that hard. Inside, she wept for the young man who’d lost so much of himself when he’d lost his father. “Rafe—”

“All right.” The man turned back to stare at them. “Bring the dog into the mudroom and I’ll go get the first aid kit.”

He walked away at a brisk pace as if running from the hounds of hell.

“What the heck’s wrong with him?” Aarōn stared after his uncle in bemusement. “
Giagiá
told me he liked animals.”

“She told you that, huh?” She swept a hand across his dark curls. “Maybe he’s out of practice and is worried he’ll hurt the puppy.”

“He wouldn’t hurt a dog.” Isaák shook his head in instant rejection. “He couldn’t.”

The absolute trust in her brother’s voice reaffirmed her belief in this growing relationship between her twins and Rafe. This was right, she felt it to the center of her soul. She didn’t know where she fit into the puzzle, but there was no way she was ever again going to think about breaking the three of them apart.

The puppy woofed, a sharp, excited call. She looked at the animal. His eyes shone like shiny, brown pennies.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Isaák grinned.

“He’s going to be an excellent hunting dog,” Aarōn added.

Her boys were becoming too attached too quickly. She couldn’t imagine Nephele wanting this big dog in her elegant villa and her plan to find a small apartment in Athens didn’t include housing an animal. They were going to be disappointed if she didn’t nip this in the bud. Now she suddenly wished she’d agreed with Rafe’s suggestion about bringing the puppy to a vet.

“What do you need with a hunting dog?” She forced a chuckle. “You don’t hunt.”

“Rafe said he’d take us someday.” Aarōn’s face turned mulish. “So we’ll need a good hunting dog.”

“Come on, A. We can talk about this later.” His twin clutched the panting animal closer to his chest. “We need to get the puppy to Rafe so he can fix him.”

Tam followed the boys into the back of the house. She heard Rafe’s voice greet them as they walked through the side door of the laundry. Continuing down the hallway, she entered the spacious kitchen and immediately smiled. Okay, she’d needed this past week. Needed the sleep and the time to relax. However, now, her hands itched to use the shiny steel pots and pans hanging from the walls.

Cooking in this beautiful kitchen would be pure pleasure.

She strode over and opened the gleaming fridge. There was about an hour before they traditionally sat down to eat. Consequently, it would have to be fairly simple and light.

Within a minute, she’d decided to do a
meze
. Putting together a dozen small plates of a variety of foods would be easier and faster. Plus the boys loved the meal since their sometimes finicky tastes could always find something to eat.

Tam was surprised to find herself humming as she sliced the cucumbers and tomatoes. Despite all the indecision and uncertainty in her life, there was still much to be thankful for. After a week of freedom, she felt refreshed. Even invigorated. The boys were happy. There was a bit of peace between her and Rafe.

Yes, there was much to be thankful for.

Glancing through the kitchen window, she watched as the huge golden sun slid down past the edge of the mountain, gilding the pool with sparkles of sunlight. The boys’ lighter tones mixed with Rafe’s deeper voice.

A burst of happiness deep inside blinded her, flooding into her heart. She wanted to stay here, right here, slicing vegetables, admiring nature, and listening to the voices of the men she loved.

Loved.

Loved.

“Oh, no.” She stared at her still hands. “No, you don’t. No.”

“No what?” Rafe’s presence filled the kitchen.

And her heart.

T
itus snored
. Loudly.

Bending down, Rafe patted the puppy’s head. The twins had agreed the best name for such a beast was the Greek translation
of the giants
. The naming had occurred when his checking around Sparti had delivered no owner and no trace of Titus’s roots.

“He’s ours,” one of them had stated emphatically.

“It’s meant to be,” his twin chimed in.

Somehow, neither he nor their sister had been able to refute the argument, much to Aarōn and Isaák’s delight.

The dog snuffled into his makeshift bed of old blankets and sank into his dreams once more. The bed seemed to be permanently occupying his study, although he’d initially decreed the puppy should be limited to the mudroom and kitchen.

Titus, with the twins’ help, had decided otherwise.

Rafe eased back in his office chair. Perhaps it had been because he’d foolishly done the boys’ bidding and found the burr in the dog’s paw. This could be the reason why Titus had latched on to him with a tenacious intensity. Or perhaps it was because he’d been the first to feed the damn dog, dropping pieces of Tamsin’s
meze
feast onto the floor the first night, much to the twins’ amusement.

Or maybe, it’s because you have an affinity for animals. Always have, always will.

Restless, he leaned forward and tapped on the next email. These last two weeks had been a great time with the boys. He’d bonded with them, definitely. In fact, he couldn’t imagine life without Aarōn and Isaák. Something he was going to have to figure out come fall. There was no way he was going to allow the twins to go off to boarding school, leaving him behind.

Leaving Tamsin behind.

His finger clicked through the emails, impatience and frustration making him hit the computer keys with a sharp snap.

Tamsin. Who’d arrived here, in the house she surely recognized as the one she’d burbled about so long ago, and promptly turned into a couch potato. At his insistence, of course, yet the first week, she’d been almost comatose in her behavior. Enough to get him agitated about her health. He’d been ready to call the doctor and get her checked.

Then Titus arrived, and she had shrugged off her lethargy.

In fact, she’d turned into a dynamo.

She swam every morning, in the damn green bikini which left little to his imagination. She supervised the twins like an army sergeant. She’d cornered his housekeeper and dictated terms.