wanted to have a serious talk with me.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen him in a rage before. He swore he didn’t know Karmela would be by. The more he tried to explain his way out of it, the more I couldn’t listen to him. Suddenly I felt so sick I passed out.”
“I’m not surprised. Under the circumstances it’s a good thing we’re flying home tomorrow.”
“Please forgive me, Fran. I’m ashamed to have to confess I got you to Athens on my terms, not yours. It was horribly selfish of me when you wanted to wait until September.”
“None of that matters. You need help.”
“So do you,” came Kellie’s cryptic comment. She stared hard at Fran. “You’re back late. I don’t need to ask if you had a good time with Nik tonight.”
“I did.” It was a night she’d always remember.
“With that droopy gardenia in your hair, I can just imagine. Did he put it there before or after he kissed you?”
“There was no kiss.” Except on her forehead.
“Not yet maybe, but it’s coming. It’s the Angelis charm working like clockwork. Just be careful you don’t get completely sucked in.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He already wants to go on vacation with you!”
“Kellie—he was only flirting.”
“No. Nik Angelis is a compelling force in the corporate world, and he’s an even more compelling sensual force when it comes to women. One of the secretaries in Leandros’s office says he’s had a string of them over the years. Leandros claims that when Nik wants something, he’s relentless until he gets it. I can see where his persuasion tactics are leading where you’re concerned.”
“In what way?”
“He wouldn’t think twice about asking you to quit your job at the hospital and move to Greece in order to become his niece’s nanny.”
Fran swallowed hard. “He already has. I turned him down. When the doctor at the hospital in Leminos mentioned he’d like to hire someone like me, Nik said something about having other plans in mind for me.”
“I knew it!” Kellie muttered. “He’s going to use every trick in the book to get you to take care of Demi. His plan is to make the moves on you to ensure victory. He’s counting on a beautiful, vulnerable divorcée like you to cave. Have you told him you can’t have children?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then don’t! That piece of information would be all he needed to get you to say yes. You can’t do it, Fran, or you’ll be facing even greater heartache than with Rob. He’s got enough money to buy anyone he wants, but not you—” Her eyes pooled with moisture. “I say this because you’re the best person I’ve ever known and you’re beyond price.”
“Oh, Kellie—” She gave her friend a long, hard hug.
“Promise me you won’t let him get to you. If you do, it will mean you’ve given up on marriage altogether. You and I have talked about you falling in love again with a widower who has small children. Isn’t that what you said?”
She pulled away from Kellie and wiped her eyes. “Yes, and you know it’s what I’d like to happen.”
“Then if you really mean that, don’t get any more involved with Nik. I promise that if you do, you’ll end up being stuck in the Angelis household as nothing more than a glorified servant. I don’t care how strong your maternal feelings are for Demi. The years pass quickly. Think, Fran! One day she’ll grow up and won’t need you anymore. Then what will you do? You’ll be too old for what you really want, and you’ll live the rest of your life with a broken heart! After we’re home I’ll concentrate on helping you meet a terrific guy. There are hundreds of widowers looking for a wife online through a dating service.”
“Ugh. That sounds horrible.”
“Maybe not. You deserve to meet someone fantastic and fall in love with him. It happens to lucky couples all the time. Second marriages can be wonderful if you’re not desperate, and if you take the time to meet that one person you can’t live without.”
“I know.”
“Then remember something else. One of these days Nik’s parents will bring pressure to bear and he’ll have to get married, thus joining the ranks of his married brothers. They’ll all have families except for you. So, what then? When Demi goes to college, will you go back to the States and get another job at another hospital, only to keep taking care of other people?”
The words stung, but she knew Kellie was saying them partly from her own pain and partly to help Fran think straight.
“You need to take charge of your life and live for you. I think you should have gotten out of your marriage the first time Rob said he didn’t want to adopt. That was a year into your marriage. Look at the time you’ve wasted! I never said anything to you about it, but I wanted to.”
Fran eyed her friend in surprise. “I had no idea you felt this strongly about it.”
She bit her lip. “You don’t know half of the things I thought about Rob and his utter selfishness where you were concerned. Your situation has made me take stock of my marriage. That’s why I’m planning to separate from Leandros. I refuse to hang around another year or two while he and Karmela are involved. I don’t know if they’re actual pillow friends yet, but don’t think she isn’t lying in wait for the opportunity.
“On our drive back to Athens yesterday, it was like talking to a wall. He’s in denial over her infatuation with him, but all the signs are there. After he tires of her, he’ll want someone else yet expect me to look the other way. I knew it was too good to be true that he fell in love with me, but idiot that I am, I was so crazy about him, I left the blinders on.”
She grabbed Fran’s arms. “Don’t do what I did—don’t be charmed by Nik and his Greek-god looks. Don’t let him get to you. Above all, don’t sleep with him. He can pour it on like Leandros. It’s their gift and their curse.”
“Kellie—I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“That’s because I realize my marriage was a mistake. Karmela was in the picture from the first time I met Leandros. The warning signs were there, but I didn’t pay any heed to them.”
Fran was shaken because, despite her friend’s bitterness, she was making sense.
“When I get back home, I’m filing for a divorce through my uncle’s attorney. I’ll stay with them until I figure out what I’m going to do.”
“Do they know your marriage is in trouble?”
“Not yet.”
Fran folded her arms against her waist. She threw her head back. “Out of all the marriages I’ve seen, I thought yours was the most solid. I have to tell you I’m devastated over this.”
“I’ve been in agony since I realized Karmela was never going to go away. So don’t let Nik talk you into something that will be difficult for you to get out of. No matter how much that little girl tugs at your heart, she’s not yours! She belongs to the Angelis family. They circle their own and you won’t be an integral part of anything.”
Fran shot to her feet, not needing to hear any more. “Do you want me to come back to the apartment tonight?”
“No. That would be the last straw for Leandros. I need to show him I’m in control and can handle life on my own. He thinks I’m a pushover. Well, no longer! He should have married Karmela. I can’t imagine why he didn’t.”
She let out an anguished cry. “Tell Nik to drive you to the Cassandra. I’ve already