"I'm surprised you want me to travel."
"The doctors cleared you, and Dr. Henderson and a nurse will be accompanying us on the trip."
"You and your family don't do anything simple, do you?" She muttered dryly.
"Not a chance." He caught her around the waist, resting his hands possessively on her mound. "How are the babes?" he asked softly.
"Kicking up a storm and giving me indigestion."
He turned her to face him. "And how's my baby?"
"Feeling spoiled rotten. I meant to talk to you about the stuff that was delivered from Romano's. Did you buy out the entire store?" There was a slight annoyance at the end of the question. "Christos, you did not consult me."
"I happen to know how much you hate shopping." Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips, eyes twinkling. "I decided to save you the bother."
She tugged at her hand, but he only tightened his grip. "We're getting married in a few days. The least you can do is allow me to indulge you. I love doing it."
"You love having the control."
"Is that what you think, darling?" His expression turned sober. "That I want to control you?"
She was about to give him a flippant answer when she decided against it. He had shown her nothing but constant love and attention. It wasn't his fault that she was not used to any of it and should be grateful.
To his credit, he had left the naming of the babies to her, not even pressing her to follow the tradition of giving them Greek names, which she had ended up doing, much to his parents' delight, especially when she included their names as well.
"No." She sighed as she melted against him. "But I do wish you would start consulting me on things like shopping for the babies. I would have loved to have an input."
"This is just the beginning. Romano's has an excellent baby's and mothers' department. And I wasn't the one who did the majority of the shopping. All I did was give some ideas, and mother and the sisters ran with it." He rubbed his hands up and down her arms.
"You're going to have to be prepared to be overwhelmed. I happen to be the last of the Kostas sons to get married, and with the added excitement of being the first to be producing multiples, I'm asking you to bear with them."
"I sound ungrateful."
"No." He cupped her face between his palms. "You're not used to any of this, and I understand."
"I'm starting to learn." She sighed again. "I'm learning to cook."
He grinned. "I understand it's going great."
She cast him a look. "Liar. I'm lousy at it. I'm surprised Mary-Ann is still persevering. She has the patience of Job."
"She loves you." He corrected her. She felt a jolt at that. And knew it to be true. They loved her, all of them. The three men, Christos' brothers, called her sister. Petros and Mary-Ann called her daughter, and the three women were like sisters to her.
The nieces and nephews called her aunty. It was overwhelming and terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.
"Baby, are you all right?" A look of alarm covered his face as he saw her expression. "Is it the babes? What is it?"
"Nothing. I need to sit."
He quickly guided her over to one of the sleek chairs in the room designated for their daughter. Hunkering down in front of her, he took her hands, expression anxious.
"Do I need to call the doctor?"
"No." She shook her head, eyes blurry. "I just, you said Mary-Ann loved me."
A frown touched his brow. "She does. They all do."
"I never had that before." She clutched his fingers. "It's because of you. I have a family because of you. I never had one before." The weight on her chest was almost unbearable.
