other plans for him, remember? They took him to Disneyland. It was a surprise. That’s why he couldn’t come with us.”
“Then how come you haven’t said he can come with us this time?” He continued to look at her with those penetrating black eyes while he waited for an answer. Sometimes he could be very adult for his age. It always caught her off guard, probably because he reminded her of the Theo she had once known.
At sixteen Stella had been so shy and unsure of herself, yet he’d been tender and patient with her and he’d slowly built her confidence. When Nikos had been mean to her and made fun of her and her friends, Stella had turned to Theo, whose love and acceptance had made all the hurts go away.
Where had that man gone? After he’d disappeared from her life, she’d wanted to die.
Clearing her throat she turned to Ari and said, “Do you remember when you asked me if I knew where your father lived and I said no?”
All of a sudden she felt Ari go quiet. He nodded.
“It was the truth. I didn’t know anything about him. When I asked why you wanted to know, you said there was no reason, but I knew that wasn’t true.”
He didn’t move a muscle.
“I…I’m afraid I haven’t made it easy for you to talk about your father,” she stammered.
“Stasi said he hurt you so much you got sick.”
“He was right. You see, my mommy died before you were born. Then your father went away and I never saw him again. I was so sad I fell apart for a while.”
To make the pain even more unbearable, Nikos had been cruel and impossible to live with back then, always siding with their father that Theo came from the wrong kind of people with no background or class and no money. A marriage between them was unthinkable. She should be thankful he was out of her life.
Sensing how traumatic the situation was, how fragile her feelings were, Stasio had taken Stella to New York to have her baby. Six months later their father had suffered a fatal heart attack. After his funeral she and Ari had stayed in New York for the next four years. With Stasio there doing business half of every month, it had worked out well for all of them, and Stella had been able to get her college degree.
Thankfully at the time, Nikos went back and forth from Athens to the family’s condo in Chamonix where he skied. She rarely saw him. That was a plus.
“Because of your uncle Stasio’s love and kindness, I got better. The point is, that was a long time ago and a lot has changed since then.” She moistened her lips nervously. “I found out this afternoon that your father has been living in New York.”
His eyes rounded. “Just like we did?”
“Yes.” That had come as another shock. For four years they’d both lived in the same city and hadn’t even known it. Incredible. “However, he’s back in Athens now to stay. He…wants to see you.”
A long silence ensued. She could see him digesting what she’d just told him, but before he could ask another question, she needed to tell him the rest.
“Because it’s been six years and he’s never come near us until now, I need to know how you feel about seeing him. You don’t have to answer right now. Just think about it. If you decide you’d like to meet him, then we’ll call him up, but if you don’t feel comfortable, Ari, you just have to say so—okay?”
If he didn’t want to meet his father, then Stella would phone him when Ari wasn’t aware of it. How she would love to hear Theo’s reason for wanting to be with his child after all this time!
She couldn’t imagine what Theo could say that would absolve him of what he’d done to her—to them! Stella couldn’t comprehend a man walking away like that with no conscience, but it happened to other women all the time.
There were a lot of amoral men in the world, but she didn’t want this one to be anywhere near her son. To her horror, Theo had brought up the possibility of getting the court involved if she didn’t cooperate. She couldn’t bear the thought of it, so she didn’t dare ignore his letter.
Ari lowered his head. “I don’t want to go and live with my father. I want to stay home with you. But I’d like to see him.” He reached for her.
Waves of intense love for her son swept over her. “If that’s your decision, then we’ll tell him together.”
He squinted up at her. “Can he make me go with him? Alex always has to go with his father to his new house and he doesn’t like it.”
Alex was one of Ari’s friends. The situation in their home was very sad since his parents had divorced.
Her heart pounded with sickening intensity. The court could order visitation, but in the letter Theo had said he didn’t want to go that route. Right now she was praying he meant it. “Let’s not worry about that today.”
In an abrupt motion Ari broke away from her and got out of the car with his backpack. “I’m going to call Stasi.”
“No, Ari!”
That brought her son to a halt. He turned around, not quite believing her firmness. “Why can’t I?”
“Because he’s been forced to worry about us for too long as it is.”
“But—”
“I said no.” She cut him off before getting out of the car herself. “This isn’t his business and doesn’t involve anyone but you and me. Do you understand? After we go into the house we’ll phone Dax’s parents. Maybe they’ll let him come to Andros with us for a few days. But whatever happens, when we get to the island, I don’t want you to say a word about your father to anyone.
“Except for Iola, no one else knows he’s back in Greece. You’re not to tell the girls or Rachel or Stasio or Nikos. Can you promise me you’ll keep quiet about it?”
“Yes.” She’d thought the mention of Dax joining them might take the edge off this new worry in his life, but she was a fool to think that. After hearing his father wanted to see him, what little boy could think about anything else?
At this point Ari was horribly confused. So was she, and heartsick for him. His dark eyes filled with tears before he trudged toward the porch, leaving her devastated.
The resort Theo had built on St. Thomas in the Saronic Islands brought an influx of the elite from the major continents. The manager Theo hired said they were fast becoming the preferred vacation destination in all Greece and had the statistics to back it up.
That was always good news, but after leaving Athens to spend the night here, he’d had other things on his mind. He’d give Stella another hour to respond to his letter before phoning her. There was no telling where she was right now. Probably with her brothers while they planned a way to stop Theo cold. It would do them no good.
There was a reason for that and it lay in front of him. The velvety green of the golf course extending in two directions from the sprawling white hotel represented many lucrative investments that now ensured Theo’s wealth. It took this kind of money to be on a par with the Athas dynasty.
Theo
