“Not all family,” Theo said flatly.
“His refusal to have anything to do with you is puzzling,” Katherine observed. “He certainly could have pushed for visitation since he was paying child support, but he never did. I’m not sure why.”
Theo frowned. What kind of game was Katherine playing? His mother hadn’t received child support. Moneyor lack of itwas the only reason his mother had left him with his grandparents.
Tasia had been far from the perfect mother but she’d never have done something so…selfish. Was Katherine trying to drive a wedge between his mother and him? Or had Elias lied to his daughters, not wanting to lose their respect?
“I was there once when your mother came to see him.” Remembrance lit Helena’s eyes. “Neither of them knew I was in the house.”
“When was this?” Theo kept his tone offhand.
“A couple years ago,” Helena said. “She wanted him to publicly acknowledge you as his son and to make sure you shared in his fortune.”
“What did he say?” Theo asked.
“He told her that if you wanted a relationship with him,
you
should contact him, he was through dealing with her.” Helena’s lips quirked up in a humorless smile. “I’d never seen my father so angry. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if she’d spent all that child support money on herself, not you.”
“Though I’m sure that didn’t happen,” Katherine hastened to add. “It was just his anger talking.”
A band tightened around Theo’s chest making it difficult for him to breathe, much less speak. “What happened then?”
Helena bit her lip, suddenly appearing unsure. “She left.”
“He never mentioned you directly to us and we didn’t feel it was our place to ask,” Katherine added. “Not until this spring. He told us Mother had encouraged him to contact you but he never had.”
“So your mother knew about me?”
“That’s what he said.” Helena took another sip of her drink. “I think he wanted us to know he’d always been honest with her. And he insisted that once he met our mother, he’d never so much as looked at another woman.”
“You believe that?” Theo asked. These were sophisticated women. It was hard to accept they could be so naive.
The two women exchanged glances and nodded.
“You’d have believed it, too, if you’d seen them together,” Helena said, her eyes unnaturally bright. “They were so much in love.”
“It nearly killed him when she died,” Katherine added with a sad smile.
“That was, what…about ten years ago?” Theo seemed to remember hearing the news of her death around the time of his thirtieth birthday.
Helena nodded.
“Why do you think he waited so long to tell you about me?” Theo asked.
“I’m not sure what precipitated the father-daughter chat,” Katherine said. “Unless his recent bout of chest pain brought his mortality to the forefront.”
Theo could feel his pulse pick up. He’d never considered Elias might die before he had a chance to tell the man what he thought of him. “He has heart problems?”
“Checked out fine,” Katherine said. “Doctor said it was just stress.”
“Last month when we told him we were going to give you a call, he didn’t object.” Helena’s dark eyes softened. “We weren’t sure how receptive you’d be. After all, you didn’t want anything to do with him. But we decided we might as well ask.”
“What made you think I didn’t want anything to do with him?” Theo asked.
Helena hesitated for a long moment. “You never called him.”
Theo didn’t respond. A myriad of emotionstoo many to sift through nowwrapped their tentacles around his heart and squeezed tight. How could he tell them that he’d spent his whole life believing his mother hadn’t been able to keep him because his father had failed to pay support? And hating the man who’d refused to help her?
“Before I leave the ship I’d like you to meet my daughter,” Katherine said, apparently deciding it was time to change the subject.
“Gemma’s awesome.” Helena’s eyes filled with pride. “She’s my favorite niece.”
“She’s your
only
niece,” Katherine pointed out.
“I’m looking forward to meeting her,” Theo said.
Helena began once again to sing Gemma’s praises but Theo tuned her out. He had more to think about than a niece he’d never met. Like a mother who’d lied. And a father who’d tried to bribe him.
He’d thought meeting his sisters would give him clarity…instead he’d never been more confused.
T
HE SUN SHONE HOT
and the resulting tingle on her cheeks told Trish it was time for more sunscreen. She’d been relaxing on the Artemis deck for the past hour. Sally had occupied the chair beside her but had just left for her spa appointment.
Taking off her sunglasses, Trish reached into her bag for her bottle of SPF30. She wouldn’t stay out too much longer. Because of her fair complexion Trish had learned from an early age to limit her sun exposure.
She squirted lotion into her hand, and while she smoothed it on her cheeks, she checked out what was happening on deck. Most of the passengers were lounging in the sun or cooling themselves in the pool. It was the primo time of day to soak in the sun’s rays and the only chairs that didn’t have a person or a towel on them were in the shade.
This was the only day-at-sea in the week’s itinerary and everyone appeared to be enjoying the opportunity to kick back. When she’d been single, Trish had loved to bask in the sun with a good book. She hadn’t had much time for such relaxation since Cassidy was born.
Yet today she’d barely read five pages. Instead her mind had raced. She hadn’t been able to get Twyla and James off her mind. When she’d started her business she’d never realized the emotional burden of being responsible for an employee’s well-being. The more she thought about her staff, the more she realized that she couldn’t give up. It didn’t matter that Elias and Theo were father and son. That fact was just one more obstacle to overcome. She simply had to come up with a plan to convince Catomeris to sign the contract. Period.
She needed a strategy. The standard e-mail or phone call would get her nowhere. Trish was reminded of her mother’s favorite sayingif you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.
Well, if she harbored any hope of getting Theo to work for Liberty, she needed to think outside the box.
But being creative, she was discovering, wasn’t always easy. Not when you were a woman who’d operated a certain way all your life. She could present the pros and cons of a proposal in a professional, persuasive manner. She could negotiate a contract and have everyone leave the table feeling like a winner. But being thrust in the middle of a family feud demanded she step up her game and try something innovative.
The sound of a young girl’s laughter drew Trish’s attention. For the past half hour, children had been arriving for supervised activities in the pool.
Many of the children were close to Cassidy’s age and for a second, tears of longing had filled Trish’s eyes. She could hardly wait for tonight when she could call her daughter again and hear that sweet little voice.
She smoothed the last of the lotion on her neck and watched a man approach one of the teenage attendants. Trish gasped. Although the man had his back to her, he was built exactly like Theo Catomeristall and broad shouldered with lean hips and muscular legs. His dark curly hair brushed the top of his shirt.
But it couldn’t be himTheo had left the ship last night. Trish had asked around, knowing it would be easier to get him to change his mind if he was on board. One of the waiters had told her that Theo had left the ship shortly after the Captain announced all passengers must go ashore.
Though she wasn’t into being a voyeur, Trish couldn’t stop staring at him. She watched the man give the girl’s shoulder a squeeze and turn to leave. Trish widened her eyes. It
was
Theo and he was getting away.
Trish scrambled to her feet, knocking over the suntan lotion in her haste. She didn’t give the bottle a second glance or even take time to pull on the little skirt she wore as a cover-up over her bikini bottoms. Fearing her opportunity would be gone if she didn’t hustle, she grabbed her bag and scurried across the deck. She reached him just as he got to the automatic glass doors leading inside.
“Theo,” she called. Though she wasn’t at all winded, her breath came out in short puffs.
At the sound of his name he turned, startled, then stared appreciatively at her bikini-clad body.
Trish closed her eyes for a second. Talking to a former business associate wearing nothing but a few scraps of fabric was an unsettling experience, but Trish determinedly shoved aside her embarrassment.
“I saw you by the Mermaid Lagoonthe smaller pool.” She lifted her chin and flashed him a bright smile. “Thought I’d say hello.”
“Good afternoon.” Though Theo didn’t immediately say more, at least he didn’t walk away.
“What were you doing there anyway?” It really wasn’t Trish’s business, but she needed to keep him talking until she thought of a plan.
“Katherine’s daughter, Gemma, works with the ship’s children’s program,” he said in an offhand tone. “Katherine wanted me to meet her.”
Trish couldn’t hide her surprise. “You’ve never met her before?”
Theo’s eyes gave nothing away. “Never had the pleasure.”
How odd that he hadn’t met his teenage niece until now. Obviously the family wasn’t close. Trish filed away the information for future reference but knew better than to say more on the subject. His closed expression told her his family relationshipsor lack ofweren’t something he wanted to discuss.
“I thought you left the ship last night,” Trish said, deliberately steering the subject in a different direction.
“I did.” Theo glanced down at her chest briefly. “I came back.”
Adrenaline kicked Trish’s pulse into overdrive. She wasn’t sure what caused her intense reaction. Was it the waves of heat she felt rolling off him? Or was it because finding him on the ship gave new life to her plan to save her employees’ jobs? “Are you going to be around for the rest of the cruise?”
She held her breath and prayed.
Say yes. Say yes
.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I came back to spend time with Katherine and Helena. But Katherine informed me this morning she has to leave the ship tomorrow. I may get off in Naples, too.”
“Tomorrow?” Trish’s heart sank. That wouldn’t work at all. She needed time to come up with a plan. Time to convince him signing the contract was a good idea. “You can’t leave.”
“Excuse me?”
“You need a vacation.”
A skeptical look crossed his face. He glanced at the door as if plotting his escape from this crazy woman who was talking nonsense.
“Everyone needs a vacation,” she said, attempting to improvise and be clever and doing a horrible job of both. “Especially you.”
It wasn’t really her fault the attempt was so pathetic, maybe even a bit insulting. It was difficult to think with him standing so close.
“What do you mean,
especially me
?”
Trish offered him a mysterious smile. Obviously she was more quick-witted than she realized. She’d intrigued him and he’d finally stopped looking as if he was ready to flee.
“Come and sit in the sun with me,” Trish said. “I’ll tell you.”
She didn’t wait for his answer but turned and headed back to the chairs she and Sally had staked out by the Coral Cove, the outdoor pool.
Though she didn’t look back, she sensed his hesitation. Still, she hadn’t gone more than a foot or two before she heard his footsteps. All the way across the deck Trish was conscious of Theo behind her.
Her skin prickled and she felt flushed. She wished she’d taken time to put on the skirt. Though she was dressed no different than most of the women around the pool, she suddenly felt exposed and more than a little self-conscious. She picked Sally’s book up from the lounge chair and motioned for Theo to have a seat.
After only a second’s pause, he sat down. “Whose spot am I taking?”
“Sally’s,” Trish said. “She’s at the spa getting a massage.”
Theo glanced around looking as ill at ease as Trish felt. “Tell me what you meant.”
Think outside the box
, she told herself.
“Take off your shirt.” For her spur-of-the-moment plan to work, she needed Theo to begin to think like someone on vacation. “Sit back and relax a little.”
He looked at her suspiciously.
“None of the men have their shirts on,” Trish explained, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of the other chairs. “At least try to look like you’re having fun.”
Theo glanced around the deck then at her bikini. Slowly he pulled his T-shirt over his head.
Trish did her best not to gawk. After all, she’d been married. She’d seen naked men before. And Theo was hardly naked. But his bare chest was enough to set her heart pounding. She knew the heat flowing through her body had nothing to do with the bright Mediterranean sun and everything to do with the handsome Greek sitting only a few feet away.