Free THE GREEK'S TINY MIRACLE by Rebecca Winters Page B

“Your hair is a little longer.”
    “So’s yours.” But she refused to tell him how much she liked it.
    He appeared to drink his coffee with pleasure. “What did your doctor tell you about swimming and scuba diving in your condition?”
    The question was totally unexpected. “I can do some limited swimming, but diving during pregnancy increases the risk to the fetus, so I’m not taking any chances. Why do you ask?”
    One black brow lifted. “Your job. Now that you’re pregnant, the kind of work you do swimming with the manatees will have to be curtailed.”
    She munched on a banana. “I realize that and plan to discuss it with my boss when I get back. Which raises the question of when you’re going to take me to Chios so I can get a flight home.”
    “That all depends.” He bit into a juicy plum.
    Stephanie fought to remain cool-headed. “On what?”
    He finished it, then lounged back in the chair, eyeing her for a long moment. “I have a proposition for you.”
    “I’m not interested.”
    “Surely after all the trouble you took to find me, can’t you admit you’re a little curious?”
    “That curiosity died when I didn’t find Dev. You’re the dark side of him, a complete stranger to me with your lies and secrets. I have no desire to listen to anything you have to say, except to hear that you’ll let me go.”
    “Be that as it may, you’ve convinced me you were an innocent tourist on vacation in the Caribbean. I take full responsibility for finding you attractive and pursuing you. Since you’re pregnant, it’s only right that I take care of you and the baby you’re carrying.”
    For him to say that to her now... Pain ripped her apart. “For the last time, I don’t want your money, just my freedom.”
    His eyes narrowed on her features. “You can have it in time if it’s what you want. That’s what divorces are for.”
    Shaken by his words, she sprang from the chair. “What are you talking about?”
    “Our marriage, of course. You came all the way from Florida to let me know I’m going to be a father. But that’s not all I want. I want my name on the birth certificate along with yours. To a Greek male, it means everything.”
    “Since when?” she blurted.
    “Since learning that you’ve known nothing about your own father—not even his name. I can see how devastating that has been for you, which makes it more vital than ever that the baby growing inside you has my name so it can take its rightful place in the world.”
    Stephanie reeled in place, clinging to the back of the chair. “You don’t want to marry me.” Her tremulous words reverberated in the lounge.
    Now Nikos was on his feet. “On the contrary. It’s all I thought about during the night.”
    “Why?” she cried in torment.
    “Because this baby is already precious to me.”
    Her anger flared. “Last night you questioned if it was even yours.”
    “Last night I was in denial that a miracle had happened.”
    She shook her head. “What do you mean?”
    “A lot has occurred since we last saw each other.” He didn’t need to tell her that. Her whole world had been turned upside down. “I was in a boating accident that landed me in the hospital with a spinal injury.”
    Stephanie bit her lip, pained by the news. “I knew something was wrong,” she whispered. “Sometimes you’re a little unsteady. I noticed it wh-when you were holding me.”
    “Nothing gets past you, does it? Your unexpected presence on the Diomedes gave me away. Fortunately, I’m getting stronger every day and use the cane only when I’m tired. But I’m not the man I once was and never will be. Furthermore, the accident had certain repercussions I can’t do anything about.”
    Her mouth went dry. She was almost afraid to hear. “What are they?”
    “For one thing, my injury left me sterile.”
    Sterile?
    A slight gasp escaped her lips, for she knew that kind of news had to be soul wrenching to a man. “Surely it’s only a temporary