still catching up. Are you hungry?”
“I am, if you can believe it. I just took another pill to make sure I stay feeling good.”
“It seems to be working. Come all the way in and join me.”
He’d already set the galley table with fresh fruit and rolls, plus apple juice and water for her. After serving the salad, he poured himself coffee and sat down opposite her. She reached for the water first and drank a full glass before eating a roll.
“The hot weather this time of year will get to you if you don’t stay hydrated.”
“So I’ve noticed. I’ll start carrying a bottle around with me. Thank you for fixing dinner, but I hope you know I don’t expect to be waited on.”
“I enjoyed fixing our prenuptial meal.”
She ate some of her salad, then rested her fork on the plate. “Speaking of our wedding, I’d like to explain about today. I didn’t want to leave the impression that the white sundress wasn’t good enough to wear at the church.”
“You owe me no explanation.”
“Yes, I do.” She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “The clerk at the boutique mirrored my surprise, but she shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It’s fortunate she did. As I understand it, the wedding day is for the bride.”
Defeated by his attitude, she said, “You’re right. Women are hopeless romantics in that department, but for me it’s more than that. I know you wanted to keep the marriage simple, and I would have been perfectly happy with that if I wasn’t pregnant, and our situation was different.”
“What do you mean, different?” His question came out sounding like ripping silk, alarming her.
“We’re not marrying for the normal reason and I’ve been thinking about the baby. When it’s old enough, our child will want to see pictures of the wedding. Blame it on me for wanting to give it everything I was denied.
“I’m sure there are wedding pictures at your parents’ home, of them in their finery. A child wants to see what its mother and father looked like on that special day, the way they wore their hair, what they were wearing. The moment I opened the closet in the extra bedroom, I could envision you in the navy blue uniform.”
She leaned toward him excitedly. “Think what it would mean to our child to see you in it on your wedding day. He or she will know about your injury and why you had to leave the service earlier than you’d planned. It’ll be preserving a piece of history.
“I have no history from my father, but you can leave some for our child. That’s why I chose the dress in the bridal shop with the long lace veil. I know it was expensive, but the sundress wouldn’t do justice to your uniform. There’s nothing like a handsome man in his dress blues. Any woman would tell you the same thing.”
“Stephanie—”
She took a quick breath. “Don’t deny it. You are exceptional, Nikos. My friends on the island never did get over you. The girl in the bridal shop couldn’t take her eyes off you, either. Our son or daughter will be so proud of you and the honorable way you served your country.”
Nikos jumped up from the table, too full of conflicting emotions to sit there any longer. He’d leaped to the wrong conclusion after she’d chosen the most expensive gown in the shop. How easily his trust had worn thin. But he’d been remembering the conversation with his father.
You’ve never looked at Natasa or any woman the way you’re looking at this female viper. I admit she’s devilishly ravishing in that American way, but she’s a mercenary viper nonetheless, one who knows your monetary worth and has come to trap you.
“Don’t make me out to be a hero, Stephanie.”
“Any man or woman who serves in the military is a hero, Nikos. I’ll make two albums to preserve our wedding day. One for our child and one for your parents. Maybe Yannis will take pictures for us.” After a pause, she added, “And perhaps the day will come when you’ll tell me what they did to you that was so terrible you don’t want them at the wedding.”
Without looking at her he said, “My reasons run fathoms deep, but they have nothing to do with you.” He doubted he could ever talk about it.
“Still, they are your parents and our baby’s grandparents. I know an album of our wedding day will mean everything to them, too. Please tell me you’ll wear the uniform.”
“I’ll think about it,” he muttered. “I have to go ashore again. When I leave, I’ll set the security system. If it goes off, the harbor police will be alerted and a signal will be sent to my cell phone. You’ll be perfectly safe while I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?”
“If you must know, to visit a friend.”
“Tassos? Have you told him about the baby?”
“No one knows except Yannis. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He left the boat and took off for the cemetery. It would be his first visit to Kon’s grave. Nikos had been in the hospital when his buddy had been buried in the Gregerov family plot. They’d always talked over everything important....
* * *
At three-thirty the next afternoon, Nikos waited at the car, ready to take pictures that he knew were so essential to Stephanie’s happiness. After breakfast he’d gone into town to purchase her ring. When he returned, he’d discussed the details of the wedding ritual with her. Now it was time to go.
In a moment she stepped off the yacht. With Yannis’s help she started walking along the dock in her wedding dress. He doubted there’d ever been a sight like her before, and he started clicking frame after frame.
The few people around the port watching her would think they were seeing a heavenly vision of femininity in flowing white silk. Angel hair glinted silver and gold through the lace in the late afternoon sun. His throat swelled with emotion to realize this bride was going to be his.
In his gut he wanted the child she was carrying to be his. If it wasn’t...
After seeing those jeans lying on the floor at the side of her bed last evening, he was convinced she was pregnant. He couldn’t let any more doubts ruin today, which would never come again.
Stephanie’s urgent plea had gotten to him and he’d put on his dress blue uniform. With nothing more than a few clues, she’d come all the way from Florida to find him, so he would know he was going to be a father. The least he could do was accede to her desires on this issue. He’d told Kon as much.
Nikos had been thinking a lot about Stephanie’s father. Maybe he could be found through the help of a good private investigator. It was worth looking into, but that would have to wait until another day.
Yannis, acting in the place of her father, who would probably have given her away if he’d known of her existence, had worn his best white suit for the occasion. Nikos suspected the older seaman was enjoying this. He and Stephanie seemed to be getting along well already. Yannis was an old softie beneath his gruff looking exterior.
