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“I’d love to,” Bobby responded.
Of course he would, Loucas thought with a mutinous glower. Any chance to get his hands on Mikey.
God, he thought he must have been making it up. But she was just as totally delectable as he’d been remembering. Her sweet figure, so soft and begging to be touched, her face, a study in innocence and gentleness. The thought of this big, brash, tank top wearing American getting his hands on her filled him with disgust.
A week away from her had proven to be a form of torture. He had intended to stay away longer, but in the end, seven sleepless nights in a row had shown him that he needed to do something to fix his situation. Whenever he had finally drifted into sleep, he’d been tormented by one dream, running over and over through his mind. She was in his bedroom, but he couldn’t quite reach her. She was there, but his hand passed through her whenever he tried to connect.
Frustration didn’t even come close to explaining his mindset. In the end, he’d packed up his laptop, his files, and his long-suffering assistant, and decided he’d be better served working from Nisi Ourano for the near future.
Only to see her flinging herself into Tank Top’s arms.
“Theios!” A small cry caught the attention of all three adults.
Mikey whipped around, her face pinched, as she scanned the room. Then, saw Loucas.
It was as if everyone disappeared, except them. A tunnel seemed to form between them, and she was being drawn to him. She ran her eyes hungrily over his frame, wishing away the staid business suit he wore, to the spectacular body beneath. Her blood thrummed noisily in her body, her fingers tingled with remembered sensations, her knees were weak. She was glad for Bobby’s support. Guiltily, she turned back to Bobby, and immediately stepped out of his arms.
It felt like it took forever, but in actuality, it was only seconds between Andrew’s small cry and Loucas’s reaction. A smile plastered on his face, he crouched onto his haunches, his eyes wide. “Hello, Andrew.”
“Theios.” Like a tiny cannon, Andrew pitched himself into Loucas’s arms and put his head on his chest. “Where did you go?”
Loucas looked over Andrew’s head, locking his direct stare with Mikey. “I had to go to my Athens office for something very important. If I could have avoided it, I would have. But they needed me. I came back as soon as I could.”
“I missed you.”
Loucas felt emotions swamping him. Emotions he didn’t know how to process, and that were too new and difficult to understand. He lifted Andrew and held him against his chest. “Mikey says we’re going for a walk.”
“You’re coming too?” Andrew asked, his face excited.
“You bet I am.” His gaze moved to Mikey once more. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Bobby’s pleasure had completely given way to petulance. “Great,” he drawled sarcastically.
Mikey was disappointed that Andrew’s moment of triumph – indeed, the moment belonged to everyone who had been with him since the accident, too- had been overshadowed by the very adult undercurrents and tensions that flowed between the three of them.
“Okay. Andrew, you get to choose where we go. Which way?”
He pointed straight ahead, earning a shared look of amusement from Mikey and Bobby.
“The beach?” She teased. “How did I know?”
His grin was heart stoppingly adorable. “I like the beach.”
“I know you do, sweetie.” Tears threatened her eyes again so she looked steadfastly away. “Hats on, let’s go.”
To say the walk was awkward would have been like saying the sun was warm, or the ocean was wet. Every step they took from the villa was filled with a squeamish silence. Only Andrew provided relief from the sheer discomfort, with his now never ending stream of conversation. Several words were mispronounced. He needed practice to remember how to shape the sounds properly, but he was speaking, and they were listening.
There was sadness there, too, though. When Loucas pointed out a large ship on the horizon, an Aleksandros freighter, Andrew’s lower lip had quivered. “Mommy told me all about your boats. She even showed me pictures on her computer. And said she’d bring me to see them one day.”
Loucas barely reacted. Mikey, who had become a world expert on Loucas Aleksandros’s body, saw the way his hand clenched into a white, tight fist, though. “She did, did she?”
“Uh huh. When the coast was clear.” He repeated, in the style of a child stating something he’d heard, verbatim. “Is it clear now? Is that what this is?”
Loucas’s eyes lifted to Mikey’s. The pity he saw there made him angrier with himself, and he looked back down at Andrew. “It’s a clear day,” he hedged. “Perfect for spotting boats. Let’s keep walking and see how many more we see. I remember you’re very good at counting numbers, Andrew. Why don’t you count the boats as we go.”
“Okay,” Andrew shrugged, pleased to be asked to show off his skills.
“You count in Greek and English,” Mikey heard him prompt, as they moved ahead.
