Doorstep Twins / The Cowboy's Adopted Daughter. Rebecca Winters
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“They’re my nephews so it’s no sacrifice, believe me.”
“May I go in and see them?” He was making the effort, she’d give him that.
“Of course. If they start to fuss, there are bottles of formula made up in the fridge. Just warm them up in some hot water. Andreas?” She flicked her gaze back to him. “Why don’t you show him their room while I go for another swim? If they wake up, it will be lovely for them to see their daddy.”
His white smile had a domino effect that slowly melted every bone in her body. “When you surface again, climb up the back ladder into the boat and I’ll take you for a ride. While Leon gets acquainted with them, we’ll enjoy a picnic on the water.”
“That sounds good. I’m getting hungry.” It was already three-thirty. She’d lost track of the time.
“So am I.” His husky tone caused a ripple effect through her body.
The second they disappeared through the front door, she hurried into the bedroom via the terrace and grabbed a loose-fitting short sundress with spaghetti straps she often wore over her suit as a cover-up.
Their deep male voices faded as she rushed back to the beach. After shaking out the towel, she walked in the water and chucked her things in the back of the boat before climbing in. By the time Andreas emerged from the house, she was presentable enough to feel comfortable being with him.
He ran toward her, shoving the boat back into the water, then he levered himself effortlessly over the side. His brief glance managed to take in all of her before he started the motor. “We’ll head for Kimolos.” He nodded toward an island that couldn’t be more than a mile away. “The sight of the little village of Psathi is worth the short trip.”
Halfway across, he turned off the engine and joined her in the back so they could eat. In the hamper were sodas, fruit and homemade gyros. No food had ever tasted so good. She didn’t have to search for a reason why.
“Thank you for a wonderful meal. In fact this whole trip.”
Andreas stared at her while he munched on an apple. “Thank you for not giving up trying to get in to see me.”
Gabi knew what he meant. Her mouth curved in a half-smile. “We need to thank your receptionist. Without her going out on a limb for me, that would have been the end of it.” Then a slight frown marred her brow. “But maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t had compassion on me.”
Lines darkened his striking features. “Don’t ever say that. I don’t even want to think about it.”
Neither did she. A world without Andreas was incomprehensible to her. She finished her cola. “What are your brother’s feelings by now?”
Letting out a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and lay back on the padded bench to get the full effect of the sun for a moment. End to end, his toned physique with its smattering of dark hair plus his chiseled profile proved to be too much for her. She turned her head to stare anywhere but at him.
“If the twins hadn’t tugged at Leon’s heart the first time he saw them, he wouldn’t have agreed to my plan for you to bring them here. When I told him Kris has to go in for heart surgery next month, that seemed to jar him to the reality of the situation. But he’s terrified because he loves Deline and is afraid he’ll lose her when she learns the truth.”
“I can’t imagine being in his position.”
After a silence, “If you were Deline, do you think you could handle it?”
His searching question brought her head around. They looked at each other for a long time. “I don’t honestly know. She forgave him for what happened a year ago, but now that the other woman’s children are involved…”
She bowed her head. “If I loved him desperately, it might be possible. At the time he didn’t know he’d gotten my sister pregnant, but I’m not Deline. Do they have the kind of love for each other to deal with it?”
He jackknifed into a sitting position and put his feet on the floor of the boat. His eyes looked haunted. “After he tells her, I guess they’re going to find out how solid their marriage really is.”
Gabi stirred restlessly. “He needs to do it soon. Every day that passes while he keeps it from her will make it harder for her to trust him.”
“I told him that the night he saw the children at the park.”
“Andreas—much as I’d love to go sightseeing with you this afternoon to give him more time with the twins, I think we should go back. You need to impress on him that if he waits even another day, it might be too late to convince Deline of anything.”
“I agree,” his voice rasped.
“Trust is everything. If Leon wants to prove his love, then he needs to approach her now.”
He nodded. “Not only that, every day he’s away from his sons, he’s losing that vital bonding time with them.” Andreas sprang to his feet. “Let’s go.”
With the sea so placid, they made it back to the beach in a flash, but Gabi had returned in a completely different frame of mind than when they’d headed for open water. She jumped into the shallows carrying her towel above her head and walked in the front door of the house ahead of Andreas.
To her surprise, Leon had brought the children into the living room. It was a touching scene to see the three of them spread out on the quilt together. Nikos lay next to his daddy, who held Kris in the air, kissing his tummy to produce smiles.
Andreas’s eyes looked suspiciously bright as he darted her a glance that spoke volumes. While she held back, not wanting to interrupt, he lifted Nikos from the floor and cuddled him.
Leon stood up with Kris pressed against his shoulder. “I can’t believe they’re mine.” He spoke into the baby’s soft black hair. He was totally natural with the children now.
“I dare say you’ve produced the most beautiful sons in the entire Simonides clan.”
He eyed Andreas with a soulful look. “No matter what, I have to tell Deline today. Come with me, bro.”
What Gabi had been hoping for had come to pass, yet with those words no matter what she felt a door close on her secret dream of adopting the twins herself. It was as if her heart had just been cut out of her body.
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