Double Trouble: Newborn Twins. Rebecca Winters

A compelling smile broke out on his striking face. “I want to peek with you.”

       Andreas…

      She averted her eyes. “That’s the wrong answer.”

      “It’s the only one I have,” he answered with enviable calm.

      “You mean the only one you’re willing to offer me. Without knowing the truth, I can’t stay in Greece even if my boss were willing to give me more time away.”

      His smile faded. “I didn’t know there was more truth to tell unless it’s my guilt.”

      She blinked. “About what?”

      He eyed her intently. “About everything. It’s my fault my brother’s marriage is in trouble again. If I’d left everything alone after you walked out of my office, they wouldn’t be headed for divorce and the twins would be in Virginia leading perfectly contented lives with you.”

      “Except that I couldn’t have adopted them.”

      “They’d have still been yours, Gabi.”

      “And after they grew up and demanded to know about their father, what then? If I admitted that I’d known his name all along, they might never forgive me.”

      A strange sound came out of his throat. “You’ve just put your finger on my greatest nightmare. If I’d kept the secret of the twins over the years knowing Leon and his wife could never have children, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself for playing god with my brother’s life.”

      It was Gabi’s turn to moan.

      He reached out and grasped her hands. “The truth is, you and I are up to our necks in this mess together. Leon needs our help for a little while longer.”

      She sucked in her breath. “But you don’t really need an assistant.”

      “Actually I do. Anna’s got to get that knee operated on right away.”

      “You could hire any number of secretaries in your company to replace her.”

      “I could, but I thought one of the reasons you were leaving Crete was so your parents could get back to the lives they were leading before Thea became ill.”

      “You’re right,” she confessed quietly.

      “By the time you leave my employ, I’ll be hiring a permanent assistant.” He kissed the back of her hands before letting them go. A tingling sensation coursed through Gabi’s sensitized body and lingered for the rest of the trip to Heraklion.