jealousy that reared its ugly head deep inside him.
You don’t have any claim on her now.
“Oh...?”
“Yes,” she said noncommittally, not taking the bait and elaborating. “So, I’ll see you later, back at the clinic?”
“Yeah. Enjoy your lunch date.”
“Oh, I will,” she chirped.
Follow her. Find out who he is.
Only, he wasn’t going to do that. He wasn’t going to let that jealous, foolish part of him take over. It had been way too many years since he’d gotten into any kind of a brawl over a girl, and he couldn’t afford to have his hands out of commission now. Not when he had to get Stavros over to Athens as soon as possible and get that tumor out of him.
Theo was in the hall, waiting for the computer when he left.
“You done?” Theo asked.
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
No. But he didn’t say that out loud. He’d never told his friends about Naomi and he wasn’t going to elaborate on that secret shame now.
“I just need a nap. Babies are bad for sleep,” Chris teased. “You’ll see soon enough.”
“Great. I can’t wait.” Theo grinned.
“Hey, is Stavros coming in again today?” Chris asked.
“No, he’s working.” Theo frowned. “Is this about those scans?”
“He has a very aggressive brain tumor. I have to get him to Athens and do a very expensive surgery.”
“He’s not going to like that,” Theo commented. “He never leaves his taverna. He’s not going to agree to surgery unless it can be done here on the island and he can be back to work in an hour or less.”
Chris laughed at that. “Well, none of that’s going to happen.”
“The surgery could happen here if necessary.”
“Theo, I’d need a surgical team that’s used to operating on grade three anaplastic oligodendrogliomas. I also think he’s going to need some chemotherapy afterward. And I’ll need more scans to see if the cancer has progressed.”
“I can tell you now—Stavros won’t leave Mythelios. You’re going to have to work a miracle,” Theo announced, ducking into the office and leaving Chris cursing under his breath.
Why did the men on this island feel they needed to be pigheaded and stubborn to the point at which it cost them everything? Stavros with his brain cancer...his father driving his mother away...and him doing exactly the same thing to Naomi because he’d taken the New York job without consulting her. He’d just upped and left.
Maybe he was cursed?
On days like today it didn’t feel as if he had any kind of blessing from the gods smiling down on him. Not that the patron saint of Mythelios had smiled on him in a long time.
What about Evangelos?
Chris’s bad attitude melted away.
Yeah, there was Evan. Chris might not have the love of a woman, but he had his son to brighten his life.
And that was all he needed.
“I’m headed for lunch, Theo,” Chris called over his shoulder.
“See you,” Theo called back.
Chris ducked out the back door and headed along the faster route, through the winding streets to his yia-yia’s home. He’d just slipped off his shoes when there was a knock at the front door.
Lisa came down the stairs. “That’s my cousin. I’m meeting her for lunch. I’m just finishing feeding Evan and then I’ll be there.”
Chris nodded. “Take your time. I’ll let her know.”
Lisa nodded and headed back upstairs to where Evangelos was hollering for strained peas—quite loudly.
Chris opened the door.
“Sorry I’m late, I got lost,” the woman outside began breathlessly. “I—Chris?”
“Hi, Naomi. So you’re Lisa’s cousin.”
He mentally rolled his eyes at the gods, who were surely laughing at him now.
* * *
Just. Great. What’s he doing here? Can’t I get away from him?
“This is where my cousin works. I thought you were...” Then she trailed off as she realized. “This is your home?”
He nodded. “It is. You’d better come in.”
Naomi stepped over the threshold and he shut the wooden door to help keep the heat out of the house. She’d seen this house when she’d first arrived on Mythelios. It was on the topmost part of the hill and it overlooked the sea. It was brilliant white, surrounded by the bright colors of the other houses. It had a huge balcony, and she’d imagined what it would be like to live there. To always see the sea.
She’d wondered about the family who lived there. Her cousin hadn’t said much about the people she worked for. Only that it was a family with money and that her charge was a young baby.
Baby? But Chris lives here.
Of course he’d found someone else. Of course he was married now. His heart hadn’t been broken when things had ended between them.
She remembered hearing about all the women he’d been with. He was a playboy in Manhattan, regularly seen out and about with a variety of famous women. And he had money, so of course he would be married.
“My cousin is a nanny,” she stated, feeling foolish.
“Yes. I’m aware of that,” he said, and his mouth quirked up in a half smile—the one that had always made her melt in the past. “It’s my son she cares for when I’m working.”
“Your son?”
“Yes,” he said. “My son, Evangelos. He’s eight months old now.”
“What about his mother?” Naomi asked.
“My, you’re full of questions today,” he teased.
“I’m sorry. I just... You were always very clear that you never wanted a wife or kids. You didn’t want a family.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t I come to New York with you?”
“You don’t have a position there.”
“So? I want to be with you.”
His muscles had tensed and she’d seen a look that had made her stomach churn.
“You knew this wasn’t long-term. I don’t want marriage. I don’t want a wife or kids. Don’t follow me, Naomi. Don’t waste your life pursuing me when I can’t give you what you want.”
“Circumstances changed,” he said now.
Yes, because I wasn’t the right woman for you.
And her heart ached as she thought about the baby—their baby—the one she had lost. She would have loved that child. She’d always wanted children.
So Chris had got that too.
“Well, I’m happy for you and your wife.”
“I’m not married, Naomi. Not much has changed on that score. I have a son, yes, but no wife. Evan was the result of a one-night stand with a woman who just wanted me