Page 44 of Deceptive Vows
“The vase in the hallway,” I confessed, my voice small.
“Oh, Abigail,” Lisbet cupped my face in her hands. “We told you. You’re worth far more than that silly vase.”
Pa moved from around his desk, drawing closer. “Is that what you thought we wanted to tell you?”
I nodded, unable to meet his eyes.
“Oh no.” She pulled me to her again and squeezed me. "No."
Pa joined us, squatting next to me. “Our home would feel incomplete without you. No, we want to adopt you,” Pa said softly.
It took a moment for his words to register. What did he say? “Adopt me? Like...”
Lisbet held me out, her eyes meeting mine. “Your last name would change from Stewart to Kalantzis, but it’d be official. You’d be ours. Permanent. Forever. We don’t have to?—”
I could barely believe what I was hearing. Theywantedme? Permanently? Forever? I lunged for her, wrapping my arms around her neck, and nodding. “Yes! Yes, I want that.”
More than anything I’d ever wanted.
In six months, Ma and Pa, Lucas, Dimitris, Ari, Lex, and Gianna had become family to me. My life with my mom had begun to feel like a different lifetime. They’d surrounded me with so much kindness and care. I still loved my mom, but this love, the love Ma and Pa showed me. It was the kind of love I’d wished for and wanted my whole life.
Andros’s hand found my back. “Then that settles it.”
I pulled away from Lizbet and hugged him. “But I don’t want to be Abigail anymore.”
Lisbet gasped.
Andros took me by my arms. “Abigail, you have a beautiful name.” His hands came to my face as his eyes searched mine. “You don’t need to change it.”
Sniffing, my lips trembled as I replied, “But Lucas, Ari, Alexander, and Gianna have Greek names. I want to be Greek too.”
His smile softened as he looked at me. “They do, but you don’t need to have a Greek name to be part of our family.”
I covered his hands with mine. “But I want to…”
For a long moment, his eyes searched mine. Then his lips broke out into a massive grin. “Thea. My Thea.”
Tilting my head, my eyebrows scrunched together.
“It means ‘gift from God,’ and you are just that. A wonderful, divine gift.”
Before I could catch the tear streaking down my cheek, the rough pad of Nazar’s thumb brushed it away. He didn’t add words to the tender gesture, just pulled me closer, setting his cheek against mine.
It was a comfort that reached so deep into my heart and soul that for a moment, I was paralyzed.
“I should get up,” I said when I finallyfound my voice.
He pulled back, pressing his lips to my forehead.
“Nazar…”
His fingers found my chin and lifted it until our eyes met. His gaze held mine, steady and open, echoing the careful touch of his thumb against my skin. Briefly, we simply existed in that fragile space between night and morning.
“Were you dreaming?” he asked softly, his voice rough with sleep.
I shook my head slightly. “Remembering.” The word came out before I could catch it. I’d meant to say something flippant, something protective, but my head and heart were in a war that I didn’t know how to win.
His eyes searched mine, patient and undemanding. How could a man with such lethal capabilities also possess such gentleness? He didn’t press for details, just waited, giving me the space to share or keep my memories private.
