Free The Greek's Long-Lost Son by Rebecca Winters Page A

for bed first. Maybe by then he would phone her.
    Ten minutes later she slid under the covers, still waiting for his call. Deciding to take the initiative, she reached in her purse for his letter and dialed his cell phone number. He picked up on the second ring.
    “Ari?” The tender excitement in his voice was a revelation in and of itself.
    “No. It’s Stella. Is it a bad time for you to talk?”
    “It’s a perfect time. I just walked into the house and was about to call you.”
    She’d thought she could do this, but now she wasn’t so sure. Too nervous to lie there, she got out of bed and began pacing.
    “This is about Ari.”
    “I presumed as much, but I live in hope the day will come when you and I can have a conversation about the future. Our future.”
    Her breath caught. “We don’t have time to talk about that right now.”
    “Why not? Did Ari get sick on all those hors d’oeuvres they ate while we were dancing?”
    “No.” She wished it were that simple. “Since he’s been with you, he’s a different boy.”
    “So am I. That’s what happens when a father and son get together.”
    “That’s my concern.” She crushed the phone in her hand. “For how long?”
    “Forever.”
    Her body started to shake. “Lots of relationships start out on a forever basis, but deteriorate with time.”
    “Our love didn’t die, Stella,” he declared in his deep male voice. “We were ambushed by a force neither of us had the power to stop at the time.”
    “You keep saying that!” she cried.
    “Because it’s true. If I thought you would take me at my word that I was torn from you, I’d never tell you another thing because I don’t want you and Ari to go through any more hurt.”
    “What hurt? After what happened, how could there possibly be any more? Look, Theo—for Ari’s sake I want to believe you because he wants to be with you, but I’m afraid my ability to trust died years ago.”
    “So, what are you saying?” His voice sounded bleak.
    “Th-that I’m going to go on sheer faith and give you free access to him.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’ve got Ari’s heart in your hands. If you do anything to disappoint him…” She couldn’t talk for a minute.
    “I’m here to stay, Stella. My life is totally tied up in him.”
    This was hard. So hard when those were the things she’d wanted him to say to her years ago.
    “I pray you’re telling the truth, because tonight he asked if we could cut our vacation short and go back to Athens in the morning. He wants to be available to you.”
    “What did you tell him?”
    “That we’d talk about it in the morning.”
    “I’m sure that’s the last thing you want to do when you love being with your family. They still don’t know I’ve been seeing Ari?”
    “No. It’s my business. I’ve preferred keeping things private. They’ll find out soon enough. I’ll be driving back home in the morning with the boys.”
    “In that case I’d like to come to see him tomorrow afternoon. The three of us can talk over plans then.”
    “He’ll be thrilled,” she murmured.
    “Even with all our history, it’ll be the first time for me to make it inside your home, Stella.”
    She realized that. Years ago they’d had to be careful when he brought her back from an outing on his brother’s motor scooter. He’d leave her a block away, then wait for her call when he got back home to make sure she was all right. Theo had never failed her. That’s why his unprecedented behavior on that horrific night had been too much for her psyche to handle.
    “Ari will be overjoyed.” But nothing else has been resolved.
    “No more than I. Thank you. This means more than you will ever know.” His voice sounded thick-toned.
    Get off the phone, Stella. “Good night.”
    “Good night. Drive home safely.” She heard the concern in his tone before hanging up. The rest of the night she tossed and turned, hoping she’d made the right decision.
    The second Ari