What The Greek's Wife Needs - Dani Collins Page 0,23
Crown later this year.” He let the threat of that rug being pulled hang in the balance.
“That’s more than generous compensation for my time,” Dr. Kyrkos said, giving his wife’s phone a stern nod. “Delete the photo, Cammy.”
“If you insist, Kiki.” She pouted and tapped her phone. Thankfully, they departed moments later.
Tanja tried to go back to sleep, but when an hour had passed and Leon hadn’t returned with Illi, she rose grumpily and put on a robe to go looking for them.
She got lost twice, mostly because there were two dining rooms and she confused them on the map. When she bumped into a steward, he made a call, then offered to make her a fruit smoothie before giving her directions up one deck and forward.
She sipped as she walked to the music salon, contemplating suitably cutting remarks about the yacht having a live concert stage for pop stars. She walked in to find Leon with Illi on his lap, sitting on the bench before the grand piano.
“You have to push harder,” he coaxed. “Can you do it?” He stuck his finger against the key she slapped, depressing it enough to make a soft plink. “Hear that? You try.”
Both of Tanja’s ovaries burst into song, throwing sunshine and confetti into the air while her bones softened in a giant, melting, Awww.
“They said you were giving her piano lessons.” Her rueful voice wasn’t quite as nonchalant as she was striving for. “I didn’t believe it.”
Leon glanced up, looking tired, but he’d cleaned up around his beard and wore a fresh shirt. “She was losing at roulette. I had to get her out of the casino.”
“You do not have a casino.” As she said it, she silently went all in that he did.
“I’d show you, but it’s black-tie.” He gave her robe a flickering once-over, gaze lingering an extra second on her bare ankles, just long enough to make her very aware that she wore only his T-shirt beneath the warm velour.
And that he’d always been a fan of her long legs.
Illi squawked with excitement at the sight of Tanja, little arms waving, making Tanja smile.
“That’s quite a greeting.” She set aside her smoothie and came forward to take her.
Her robe loosened and gaped. She fiddled with it before she gathered her daughter and nuzzled Illi’s cheek, using the baby as a shield against whatever vibes Leon was throwing off that she was picking up so acutely.
Seriously, any virile man with a baby was going to be a straight shot of pair-bonding chemicals to a woman’s inner cave girl. She shouldn’t let this affect her so deeply.
“You’re wearing fresh clothes,” she noted of Illi’s onesie. “Who changed you?” She glanced at Leon, expecting him to mention a maid or the doctor’s wife.
“I did.”
“Really? Why?”
“Her diaper blew out.”
“You changed her diaper?”
“Why is that so astonishing?” He looked affronted.
“I didn’t think you would know how.”
“I called the chief engineer to walk me through it.”
“Oh. Does she have kids?”
“I was being sarcastic,” he said with exasperation. “He’s an unmarried man who probably hasn’t seen a kid since he was one. No, Tanja, I managed it all by myself. It’s not rocket science. Take off the dirty one, swab the deck, put on a clean one. Her pajama thing was stained so I changed that, too. What did I miss?”
Diaper cream, but they’d run out ages ago. Thankfully, Illi’s rash hadn’t been too bad lately.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a natural is all,” Tanja said, mildly defensive since he was taking to caring for a baby like it was the easiest thing in the world. She and Brahim had had quite a few misadventures in the early days.
“It’s all online,” Leon muttered, then abruptly changed the subject with a nod toward her smoothie. “Were you hungry? You didn’t have to leave the room. Dial zero for anything you need.”
“When you didn’t bring her back, I wanted to know where she was.” She craned her neck to avoid Illi’s grab for her nose.
He narrowed his eyes. “What did you think? That I gave her to the doctor to leave on a church doorstep or something? Didn’t you trust me?”
She pinched her lips, wondering why that was so astonishing. “Can you blame me?”
She sank into a chair, still very weak, especially with Illi so energetic and wiggly. She was happily bouncing her legs in frog kicks while twisting and grabbing for anything she could touch.
“But I’m her father, Tanja.” Leon’s tone was so serrated, he