The Sarantos Baby Bargain

Author:Olivia Gates [Gates, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Women
ISBN: 9781472049285
Google: LLDUAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00GPDSUY4
Barnesnoble: B00GPDSUY4
Goodreads: 18812508
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

“I was beginning to think you’d never come.”

Naomi winced at Selene’s brightness. She couldn’t tell her she was late because she had been debating not coming. It had taken her all morning to summon the guts to bundle up Hannah and Dora and drive to Manhattan Beach.

Not that Andreas had factored in her dread of attending the Sarantos family gathering Selene and Aristedes had invited her to. It was a “family” gathering, and he was the man who had no relations with his.

She’d ended up coming because she wanted a relationship with them, for Dora’s sake. Aristedes had said they’d all considered Petros a brother, and no matter how Naomi felt, she’d do anything to give Dora uncles and aunts who cared about her, and kids her age to grow up among.

Selene linked her arm through hers after she’d kissed and welcomed Hannah and Dora. “No more wasting time, ladies. Everybody is dying to meet you all.”

Walking into the waterfront villa was like stepping through a wormhole and landing in Crete. The Greek influences in design were prevalent throughout, even if the traditional touches were imbued with the latest in modernity. It stood to reason that would be the Sarantoses’ choice, since both Aristedes and Selene were of Greek origin.

It was sumptuous yet unpretentious, spacious yet not massive, a testament to the taste and priorities of those who’d built it. While the man of the house could afford something a hundred times more luxurious, he and his wife cared only about comfort, privacy, safety...and each other.

Naomi’s observations ended when she found the Sarantos family coming to meet them en masse. What with the four sisters, their husbands and children, and a few more people who were close friends or distant relatives, she could barely keep up with the introductions and the new faces. The only ones who stood out were Caliope, Andreas’s youngest sibling, and her Russian husband, Maksim Volkov, one of the world’s biggest steel magnates. With brothers like Aristedes and Andreas, Caliope could have fallen only for someone as overwhelming.

Suddenly, Naomi’s heart rammed the base of her throat.

Strolling in from the terrace, framed by the breathtaking vista of the Atlantic, was Andreas.

Everyone’s voices rose as he came to stand at the periphery of the gathering, ignoring everyone who scolded him for being late in welcoming Naomi and the others.

“Naomi, Hannah.” That was the sum total of his acknowledgment of their presence before he turned his gaze down to Dora, who’d left her newfound friends and was crawling toward him at high speed.

He let her reach him, pull herself up his leg, and only when she gave him the most endearing grin in history did he relent and pick her up.

Voices rose again, some laughingly claiming it had to be the end of the world, others complaining that he hadn’t given their kids that unprecedented privilege.

Andreas gave them all a serene look as Dora nuzzled his neck. “I didn’t pick Dorothea up. She compelled me. Didn’t you see that glance and grin? Ask Naomi.

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