Page 37 of The Nicolaides Baby

Leo didn’t react. The truth of him being Mara’s father hadn’t fully sunk in yet, but Gia didn’t need to know that.

She raised one brow. “You don’t seem surprised by that news.”

“It’s not your concern. So, again, where is she?”

“I was only trying to spare you pain,agápi_ mou.I—”

“Don’tmy darlingme.” Her eyes widened as he stalked toward her, his body tense as he fisted his hands on the back of the low couch opposite where she sat. He was done playing her games. “And if you want tospareme anything, quit wasting my fucking time!”

She jerked and then pursed her lips as she ran one finger over the rim of her glass before glancing up at him with a slight smirk. “Very well then.” She set her glass down and stood, muttering, “Anói_tos,” under her breath before grabbing a pen and paper from a nearby desk.

Yes, he’d been a fool when he’d been stupid enough to believe Gia when it came to Rowan’s whereabouts. He should have known better and had wasted weeks when his answer had been here all along. He’d have to beat himself up over that bit of idiocy later. Right now he wanted what he’d come for so he could get the hell away from her. He waited while she finished writing and then brought the paper over.

“Here,” she said, holding it out to him like it might bite her. He took it from her, his body almost sagging in relief as he read over the address.

“Tha to metanióseis.”

Leo glanced up from the paper and locked eyes with her. “I’ll regret this?” He shook his head. “The only thing I’ll ever regret is becoming involved with you in the first place.” He turned to leave and then threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door. “Stay away from my family.”

He made it down to the street and then got into his waiting limo. “Kosmos, take me to the airport.” He’d already arranged for his private jet to be fueled and readied for takeoff and had packed a few clothes when he’d stopped at this penthouse. He glanced once more at the paper he held in a death grip.

“You’d better be ready to give me some answers because I’m not leaving without them.” He relaxed back in his seat as he watched the lights of the city pass by.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

11

Rowan saton the closed toilet seat with one of her legs shaking and checked her watch for the tenth time in less than a minute.

“I thought this was a rapid test,” she muttered.

Why was she worrying? It could be a number of things—stress being the biggest. Because heaven knows she had been under enough of that in the past two months.

Disappearing from the life of the man she loved. Leaving behind a child she thought of as her own. Flying out at the crack of dawn with a crying toddler. Then ending up halfway across the world in an unfamiliar town away from everyone and everything she was familiar with.

And it wasn’t that Fort Collins wasn’t a nice place. It was. It was beautiful, in fact.

But it wasn’t Santorini. And this house wasn’t the one she should be living in right now.

Anyhow, all of that upheaval could take it out of a woman. So it was no wonder her cycle was messed up.

Right?

And since nothing else had been normal for her since making the second biggest mistake of her life—the first being keeping the truth from Leo about Mara—why should her period be any different? So, okay, she was late. And so what if it was more than just a couple of weeks? Eight didn’t necessarily mean anything.

Except that the last time she’d missed her period, Mara had been on her way.

She glanced down at the stick again. “God, what am I going to do if…”

Two blue lines appeared in the window.

“I’m pregnant.”

A slow smile spread over her face while her heart nearly pounded out of her chest in excitement mixed with terror. It was so loud, in fact, she could swear it was sounding off the walls of the small enclosed space.

Shewaspregnant.

Rowan pressed her hand low on her belly.

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