Page 44 of Loving the Greek Billionaire

When she lost Robert and the baby, she knew her heart needed time to heal. She hadn’t given up on the idea of marriage and family. She’d simply tucked them into the back of a mental drawer that she pulled out once in a while and then replaced with a sigh.

She believed when the time was right, Robert would give her a sign that it was okay for her to move forward, be a wife and mother again. Since becoming a part of the Papadakis family, Rose’s feelings had stirred. Was that the sign?

Rose shut the suitcase and stepped to the window.

“Tell me what to do, Robert.”

Down on the beach, the children played catch with Mr. P and Stavros. All of them were smiling, with Stavros’s grin the widest.

Her heart gave a double thump at the sight of his face. Perhaps he craved companionship and a family as much as she did. He was single and childless. If he married, that could change his eligibility to remain as Mr. P’s right-hand man. She pressed her fingertips to the glass. It was smooth and cool to her touch. She wondered how Stavros’ stubble would feel under her fingers. After dinner, she’d had the impression that Stavros had fully intended to kiss her goodnight at the end of her date. Yet he held back. As she waited for sleep to take her, she mused on his reasons. After what she shared, would she have felt he’d taken advantage of her if he kissed her or that he was trying to heal her wounds? Mothers and fathers kissed their children’s booboos to take the pain away. A quality in his eyes had left no doubt in her mind that he was deeply acquainted with the grief of losing a close loved one. He’d held back to keep their first kiss from being marked by her sob story.

A little swell of gratitude hit her heart. Stavros considered her feelings, wants, and desires before his own. That fact stood out in glowing neon lights. And she fell a little bit more under his spell, and her heart made a little more room for him.

“Rose,” Stavros’s voice called from behind her.

She blinked and saw the beach was empty. She was so lost in her musings that she missed their entrance into the villa.

“In here,” she called.

Though once he appeared before her, she rethought the propriety of the situation. They were alone in a bedroom together. Granted the door was open and she could hear the voices of the children and Mr. P in the next room, but still. She hadn’t been alone in a bedroom with a man since her husband was alive.

He cocked his head. “You okay?”

She nodded and gave him a soft smile. Shutting the suitcase, she announced, “All set.”

With the car packed, they headed to the airport.

“Can I drive the plane?” Adonis asked as they walked across the tarmac.

“You can help,” Mr. P said. “You still have to wait a few years to get your license.”

Adonis scowled.

“What about me?” Nefeli asked. “Can girls be pilots too?”

“Of course they can,” Rose answered. “Haven’t you heard of Amelia Earhart?”

Nefeli shook her head.

“We’ll learn about her on the flight,” Rose said. She turned to Stavros. “I assume there’s Wi-Fi on the plane?”

“Of course.” He wore his sunglasses.

Rose decided she didn’t like them. Not that he didn’t look handsome with them, but they hid his eyes and thus his thoughts from her. She didn’t ask how long the flight was. Her itinerary told her it was a little over an hour. No time to watch an in-flight movie, so she’d work with the children on their education.

Soon they were in the air.

Rose still struggled with riding in a private plane, but the children were used to it. As far as Rose could tell, they thought this was how everyone traveled. If they only knew. Traveling for films, she’d spent plenty of flights in cramped seats, with the person in front of her fully reclining their seat with no warning or consideration for her knees.

She kept the children busy with learning activities but couldn’t stop her eyes from straying to Stavros and Mr. P, who were deep in conversation.

Every once in a while, Stavros would meet her eyes and smile, catching her in the act. She blushed and refocused her attention on the children.

Back on the ground, the heat of the day hadn’t quite set in yet. They jumped in the car.

Adonis gave a yawn.

She and the children traded Greek and French words on the drive to Knossos.

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