The Billionaire's Elusive Lover (14 page)

She continued to weep and hold his hand, swearing over and over again that she’d never see “him” again but Alec’s mind went into gear. If Helen was upset about her father’s heart attack, he could make it right. If her father would demand that she marry, then he’d make sure Helen married him! There was no way he’d allow her to move to another man’s arms. She’d been a thorn in his side for several weeks now but she was
his
thorn. And he’d be damned if he’d let her marry some other man.

Nurses moved into the room at that moment, obviously time to take his vital statistics and Helen moved out of the way. As she moved, their eyes caught and he wouldn’t let her look away.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, looking across the horribly clinical intensive care room at the man who had been on her mind for the past several hours. She’d sworn just five seconds ago that she’d never see Alec again, but here he was, looking magnificent and gloriously strong and all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cry out her heartache for what she’d done to her father, beg him to fix everything and make it right again.

The nurse shushed them into silence. “I think you’re father is waking up,” the older one warned.

Helen tried to ignore Alec as she moved to her father’s bedside. “Papa?” she said, seeing his eyes flutter softly. “Oh, papa!” she gasped when she finally saw him try to smile. Taking his hand, she squeezed it gently and was thrilled when she felt him squeeze her back. It was barely there, but she’d felt it and her heart soared with gratitude that, at least for the moment, he was here with her.

The nurse smiled and called the doctor and for the next thirty minutes, there was a flurry of activity. Helen was asked to leave the room so they could examine her father, promising that the doctor would give her more information about his condition as soon as they were finished. Helen reluctantly left his bedside and walked across the hall to the waiting area, worry and fear tempering her mood but she was so grateful to have Alec right behind her.

Moving across the room to the linoleum chairs, she turned to face him, avoiding the temptation to fly into his arms and sob out her misery and shame. “What are you doing here?” she asked, curious at first.

“This was the phone call I received this morning.”

She was confused. “You know my father? How?”

Alec moved further into the room but since it was empty except for the two of them, he was open with her. “I have business interests with your father,” he said carefully, not wanting to reveal too much about the takeover he’d instituted several months ago which had created the pressure on the older man’s heart and created this heath crisis. He was pretty sure Helen would be furious with him at his actions and right now, he needed to figure out what was going on.

She slumped into a chair and sighed heavily. “So you and my father work together. I’m sure that’s good in some way,” she said softly. Sitting was good, she was a little more able to resist throwing herself into his arms.

“Helen, what’s wrong?” he asked and sat down next to her, taking her cold hand into his warm one. “Tell me what you were talking about with your father before the nurses came into the room.”

She immediately jumped up and moved away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head back and forth. “Please Alec, don’t come near me.”

Alec looked at her grimly. “That’s not possible, Helen. Not after last night.”

“No!” she practically shouted, then ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s because of last night that my father’s here. Last night can’t ever happen again!”

Alec raised one eyebrow. “I don’t think that’s an entirely accurate statement,” he said, thinking about the takeover he’d finalized only hours before news of her father’s heart attack had reached him but he said nothing of that at the moment, knowing that Helen wouldn’t be able to handle that news right now. “But even so, how are you going to do that?” he demanded.

Taking a deep breath, obviously struggling for patience, she sat back down again but not near him. “I told you I’d made a promise to someone, remember?”

That reminder, added to the fact that she’d just told him she’d never sleep with him again, made his temper rise dramatically. Hiding his feelings as best he could, he replied, “Yes, vividly.” His mind quickly calculated several different conversations, plus the information he’d gathered about her father and added several things together. “It was to another man but you wouldn’t explain it to me. From what I overheard in the other room, I’m guessing your father is the man to whom you made this promise?” he asked cryptically.

“Yes,” she said, nodding warily. She looked into his dark eyes, filled with intelligence but which were also hard and uncompromising. He meant everything he said and the only way he would understand her position is if she told him everything. “I promised him I wouldn’t shame the family. And I failed in my promise to him.” It was hot outside, but the fear for her father left her chilled to the bone. She walked over to the window, wrapping her arms around herself in a feeble attempt to gain some warmth.

“How did you do that?”

She turned back to face him, smiling wryly in an attempt at humor but the tears threatening to spill over her lashes defeated her endeavor. “I used to try and explain this to my boyfriends in the past but they never understood. But they weren’t Greek.” She laughed and looked out the window. “I’m not sure why I never made the connection between your last name and your heritage but I guess that’s silly of me. You’re very Greek so I’m assuming you’ll understand what I’m about to tell you.”

He could see the pain and shame in her eyes and wanted to walk to her, comfort her, pull her into his arms and tell her that he could make everything right again. But he could tell that any form of affection might break down what little control she had left. So instead, he said, “I’m Greek, yes, if that’s what you’re trying to explain.”

She nodded and looked at him as if she’d never seen him before. Now that he was here in Greece, she could definitely see the dark skin, dark hair and the noble features. She felt silly for not grasping his lineage before now. “Yes. So you’ll respect the issue a little more than the others.”

Alec took a deep breath, striving for patience. “Then explain it to me, because right now, you’re not making any sense.”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry.” She stood up and started pacing around the room once again, unable to determine if sitting or pacing helped deal with this conversation better. “You see, almost ten years ago, something happened in our family. My cousin, was beautiful and witty and vivacious and she was so much fun to be around. She was three years older than I was and at seventeen, she got pregnant. Her father was furious and the boy who was with her wouldn’t marry her. Papa had the power to destroy the boy’s family, but not the power to force him to marry his niece.” She took a deep breath and stared out the window, not really seeing anything since the view was of the parking lot, but in her mind, she was picturing the scenes in her father’s house, the awful fights, the crying from her cousin, whom Helen had idolized as a young teenager, and all the relatives arguing over what should happen. It had been a very difficult period in their family’s history. “We all knew something was wrong, but by the time she got up the nerve to tell her mother and father, my uncle had already guessed and was furious.”

Alec grimaced, having heard tales like that before. Greek fathers, especially those in the smaller villages were extremely protective of their daughters for this very reason. “It sounds bad, but not completely unheard of. It happens.”

Helen didn’t smile. “I know it happens, but at the time, I was fourteen and all I could understand was that the whole family was furious with my cousin who was too young to bear that kind of burden. My uncle lived in a small village near the coast. The villagers have very conservative values so after Amelia got pregnant, everyone found out and they scorned her. A village that had always been warm and welcoming had turned into a horrible place to visit.”

“What happened?” he asked, but he already knew.

Helen’s body shivered at the memory and she closed her eyes, wishing she could shut out the pain of the past as well as the present as easily. “Amelia lost the baby. It was stillborn. There were fights in the family during her entire pregnancy, everyone yelled at each other, everyone accusing the other, blaming anyone for what had happened. The villagers would cross the street whenever Amelia walked past, she cried a lot, her father stopped speaking to her and she came to live with us. Papa would never turn family away and his house was much bigger so it wasn’t an issue. But Amelia was so ashamed every day.”

“What happened after she lost the baby?” he asked softly, afraid of where this story was going.

“She healed physically, but as soon as she could, she left Papa’s house. She and her father still don’t speak to this day although she’s happily married with three children now. She lives in Italy and won’t come back to Greece for any reason.”

“And the promise?” he prompted.

She didn’t explain for a long moment, battling her tears. “When the fighting started, Papa pulled me into his study and sat me down. He explained all about sex and how babies were made although I’d already understood the concepts. Then he asked me to promise him that I would never have sex until I was married. He made me promise never to bring shame down on the family and create that kind of anger.” She buried her face in her hands as her shame overwhelmed her. “And I did. Last night, I broke my promise to my father, a man who has only given me everything he could. He’s so kind and generous and loving. He took Amelia in and never hurt her, never blamed her, and all he’s asked of me was to not bring shame on the family. And now I’ve not only broken my promise, but he somehow found out and I’ve almost killed him with the news!”

Helen’s body doubled over with the shame and emotion building up inside her and she couldn’t seem to stop. Even when Alec pulled her into his arms, she was too overwrought to pull away. “What have I done?” she sobbed, accepting his comfort by wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Alec let her cry, knowing she wouldn’t hear anything he said anyway. He saw the nurse indicate that they should come back into the room and he pulled away from her, handing her a handkerchief. “Come along. You’re father is asking for you.” He let her wipe away the tears, then put a finger under her chin so she was looking at him. “Everything will be fine, Helen. I’ll make it so. Come along,” he said and took her hand to lead her back into the room before she could deny him. “But you have to understand one thing,” he said and waited for her to look at him before continuing. “What we did last night did not cause your father’s heart attack. There were other circumstances, of which you’re not aware,” he said.

Alec watched, knowing that she didn’t understand. She couldn’t at this point, being too overwrought to think about anything but her guilt and trying to figure out how to make her father well again. “Come, you can see your father again. The doctor is finished,” he said, leading her down the short hallway back to her father’s room once more.

Helen followed, too eager to see her father and talk to him again to pull back from Alec. “Papa?” she said as she entered the room once again. She was relieved to see that the tube from his throat was gone and he was sitting up slightly, but still very weak. The color in his face was still horrible, but at least he was conscious. That had to be a good sign, she told herself.

He smiled at her and weakly lifted his hand to hers. “You are here. I thought I was dreaming it,” he said weakly.

Helen walked over to the side of the bed, trying to keep her eyes from all the scary monitors and their beeping, taking his hand in hers and holding it in both of hers. “Yes. I flew out here as soon as I heard the news. How are you feeling?” she asked, bringing his hand to her cheek.

He grimaced in response to her question. “I thought I dreamed that you were apologizing for something. What a silly man I am,” he smiled. His voice was weak but he shook his head as much as the wires and tubes would allow. “You would never bring shame down upon me, would you Helen? You’re a wonderful daughter and I’m glad you’re here with me. I’m just sorry it is in this way and not a happy vacation for both of us, eh?”

Helen tried to hide her surprise but thankfully, he floated off to sleep once again. The nurse explained that he would do that off and on for the next forty-eight hours and Helen shouldn’t be concerned.

“Have you eaten?” Alec asked once the nurse was gone once again.

Helen shook her head, swallowing her misery. “I’m not hungry,” she replied, her eyes never leaving her father’s face. She didn’t want to look away, afraid she’d see Alec and want things she couldn’t have anymore.

“Helen, we need to talk. Come outside again.”

She shook her head. “No Alec. I can’t do that. I’m fine right here,” she said.

The soft, feminine voice snapped both of them around to the door of the hospital room. “What’s going on in here?” Helen’s mother said, looking haggard and worried as she took in her daughter’s red, tear stained face and her husband’s gray pallor. “Helen, fill me in. I just arrived at the airport. What happened?”

“Mother!” Helen gasped, then snapped out of her horror and rushed over to hug her mother. “Goodness! I’m so sorry I didn’t call you. I just got on a plane and rushed out here.”

“I know dear,” Elisia said, hugging her daughter back fiercely. “I heard from Edna what happened. Thank goodness she made the connection between that old goat who went and had a silly heart attack and my husband,” she said, glaring at the man sleeping on the hospital bed.