I waited, giving her the space to continue.
“I want to make Athens our home.”
My heart skipped. This was what I’d hoped for.
“But…” she continued, “on one condition.”
“Name it,” I said immediately.
A smile touched her lips. “We go back to Montrose frequently. I need Mama Nettie, Kandi, and my church family. The twins need to know that part of their heritage too.”
“You are certain about moving here, yes? I do not want you to feel pressured into it.”
“I’m certain,” she said. “This isn’t about pressure, Aris. It’s about what makes sense for our family. You gave me time to figure out what I wanted and what I needed. And what I need is you, this life we’re building. Greece feels like where I’m supposed to be.”
Relief and joy washed over me. “Then it is settled, yes? Greece, it will be our home.”
I brushed a kiss against her lips before continuing. “We will spend winters in Montrose, yes. Three, maybe four months of year. I need to finish working on your old car engine, and theChristakis empire, it can function without my physical presence for that long.”
“You’d do that?”
“For you? Without question.” I unbraided her braids. “Whenever you want Nettie or Kandi or anyone from Montrose here, they will be flown in. You have your own plane, after all.”
She froze. “I have my what now?”
“Your plane, yes. The Gulfstream G700. It was delivered last week.”
“You bought me a plane?” Her voice was incredulous.
“It is your push present,” I said simply. “For giving me the most beautiful children in the world and for giving me this second chance at love.”
Dede stared at me, speechless. Then she laughed. “Most women get flowers, maybe jewelry. You Christakis men really do everything on a different scale, don’t you?”
“I will take this as complaint.”
She kissed me, soft and sweet at first, but I wasn’t letting her get away that easily. I held the back of her head, deepening the kiss until she made a sound that went straight through me. When I finally let her pull back, her eyes were glazed and her breathing unsteady.
Dede shook her head, still smiling. “My own plane. What am I supposed to do with my own plane?”
I traced my thumb along her lower lip. “Use it whenever you want to see Nettie. Visit Kandi. Attend church services in Montrose.” I pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You’ll have complete freedom.”
“That’s extravagant.”
“You are moving to another country for me, Dede. The least I can do is make sure you never feel trapped here, yes? You can go home whenever you need to.”
Her expression softened, and she pulled me down for another kiss, this one slow and lingering. Her hands slid up my chest to my shoulders, and I tightened my arms around her waist.
When we broke apart this time, she was smiling against my lips. “A private jet,” she murmured. “You really are ridiculous, you know that?”
“Ridiculously in love with you,” I said, kissing her again before she could respond.
“Okay,” she finally whispered. “Okay, I’ll accept your ridiculously extravagant gift.”
“Good.” I nuzzled her neck. “It is waiting to be customized to your specifications.”
“Aris!”
I silenced her protest with another kiss. This woman had walked into my life and changed everything. She’d given me children I never thought I’d have, and a family I’d stopped believing was possible.
