Chapter 15

15

" A pollo!" She buried her face in his chest as one of his arms closed around her waist and held her tight .

"Who the fuck are you?!" Tom spat out .

"I just told you—I'm her husband. And if I ever see your hands on her again, I'll tear you apart ."

"You and what army?" Tom snarled, suddenly full of bravado .

Someone moved from behind Apollo, a tall guy with a bald head and the biggest hands Paige had ever seen. She blinked, lifting her head slightly to stare .

"The name's Michael Laughlin," the big man said to Paige, winking and smiling down at her. He glanced at Tom. "Also known as the army that's going to kick your punk-ass if you don't get the hell out of here ."

Tom's face was red and he was sputtering, but he moved into the open elevator doors. "You'll be sorry, Paige! You and Raegan both will be sorry! Mark my words—when these Neanderthals leave you high and dry, don't come running to me !"

"I won't," she whispered, shaking her head. "Believe me ."

As the elevator doors closed, she sagged against Apollo in relief .

"Hi," he said gently, looking down at her .

"Hi." She blinked away tears. "You…you're here ."

He smiled. "Wasn't that the plan ?"

"I don't…how did you know where to find me ?"

"I knew Raegan's name, and figured she could only be at a handful of hospitals. I made calls before I left and we came straight here from the airport ."

Tears started to fall as she buried her face in his chest. "I don't know what's wrong with him," she sobbed. "He was just boring—he was never mean or crazy like this! He was a nice guy, just not you—when did he change? What just happened ?"

"Guys do dumb things when their hearts are broken," Mick spoke quietly .

"I'm sorry." Paige struggled to wipe her face and Mick presented her with a handkerchief .

She blinked, staring at it. "You have a handkerchief ?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. Weird, right? Something my grandfather instilled in me ."

"And he's been getting laid because of it since college!" Apollo grunted. "So keep your sex-fueled hanky away from my wife ."

Paige gave a half-hearted giggle, snatching it from Mick's hand while nodding shyly. "Thank you ."

"You're welcome." He winked .

"Are you okay, koukla mou ?" Apollo asked after she'd wiped her face and blown her nose, holding her close to him .

"I am now that you're here," she admitted. "I don't know what's wrong with Tom—he's never behaved like that before ."

"It doesn't matter. I'll make sure he doesn't come near you again ."

She swallowed hard. "I'm really glad you're here, but we have to talk," she said softly .

"Yes." He kissed the top of her head. "But we'll do it later, when we're alone. Right now, we should go check on Raegan and see what we can do for her ."

"You don't have to do anything!" she protested. "That's my responsibility and — "

"Anything that's your responsibility is also my responsibility." He wrapped his fingers around hers, his green eyes boring into hers intently. "We have to talk, absolutely, but everything can wait until we've settled things with Raegan. Tell me how she is ."

Paige updated him on her friend's condition and he nodded. "So she'll need care ."

"Yeah, but…" She sighed. "It's a long, complicated story ."

"Then you'll catch me up later. Let's go talk to Raegan and then I desperately need some sleep ."

"Crap—Raegan's mom is staying at our apartment !"

"I can get a hotel," Mick said immediately, nodding. "Don't worry about me ."

"We're married," Apollo reminded Paige when she hesitated. "And I'll be damned if I sleep at a hotel a few miles away from my wife. Raegan's mom is going to have to get over it ."

She nodded quickly. "You're right, of course. I'm being silly. Come on." She slid her hand into his and tugged him towards Raegan's room. She was still reeling at the fact that he was here and she felt like there was so much they needed to say. She also had a lot to say to Raegan and now she was a little overwhelmed. When she glanced at Apollo, he just gave her a reassuring smile and leaned over to kiss her cheek .

"Whatever's going on, don't worry—we'll handle it together ."

She smiled, a slight flush turning her cheeks pink. "I feel bad about the way I left, but you …"

"We'll talk later," he repeated firmly .

They walked into Raegan's room and she was sitting up, her eyes wide as she looked at Paige. "What's going on?! I just got the craziest text from Tom ."

"You slept with him?" Paige demanded, shaking her head .

"I tried to tell you …"

" When ?"

"Before! But you kept interrupting and telling me to rest and my mom was here and the pain meds and…" She burst into tears .

"Oh, Raegan ."

"Who did she sleep with?" Mick asked, confused since he'd come in a few seconds behind them .

Apollo shot him a look but Raegan's eyes widened and she swiped at her face. "Who are they?" she finally whispered .

Paige smiled and pulled Apollo forward. "Don't you remember Apollo? From spring break ?"

Raegan managed a faint smile. "You've filled out ."

He arched a brow. "That's good, right ?"

" Yeah ."

"This is my closest friend in the world. Three years ago he decided to go to the Bahamas for spring break and I came here." Apollo glanced at his friend. "So, Mick, this is Paige and Raegan. Ladies, this is the one and only Michael Laughlin…otherwise known as Mick ."

Mick shook both of their hands and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with what could easily be construed as perpetual mischief. "So...who'd you sleep with?" he asked Raegan, cocking his head .

Apollo bit back a laugh but Raegan merely sighed, closing her eyes. "Tom—but it was a moment of weakness," she whispered .

"Yeah, but—why?" Paige looked baffled. "He's boring and…I've told you he wasn't very good ."

"He wasn't bad," Raegan bit her lip. "He just doesn't have any imagination—about anything ."

"You still didn't tell me why ."

"Because you called me from Greece and said you were falling in love with your husband, thinking about staying—which meant that I was going to be here alone and he was there. With a house and money and the answer to all my problems ."

"I told you I wouldn't leave you high and dry!" Paige protested. "And do you really want to sell your soul to Tom for some money ?"

"It's not just money," Raegan said quietly. "It's security. I've never had that, Paige. Remember how I grew up—I've never had safety, security, money or even love. My mother loves me as much as she's able with her mental health issues, but my father is an evil man. Something that guarantees I never have to ask him for anything is worth selling my soul for ."

"So that's what you're going to do?" Paige asked, frowning. "You're going to start dating Tom? Do you know what he just said to me? I mean, he showed a side I've never seen before ."

"He was pretty aggressive," Apollo said. "I know this is really none of my business, but I would think twice about getting involved with a guy like him. I'm glad we showed up when we did ."

"He asked me to suck him off, right there in the elevator bay," Paige told her. "Is that what you have to look forward to ?"

"I don't know," Raegan said sadly. "But I can't work, Paige. I can't pay my share of the rent. My credit cards are maxed out and — "

"We'd paid all but one of them off!" Paige said in exasperation. "Did you seriously max them out in two weeks ?"

"The transmission blew on the car!" Raegan said. "And the brakes were gone. It was over a thousand dollars !"

"And the other four thousand?" Paige asked dryly .

"You know I don't cook, so I was eating out every night. I got the other job and needed new shoes—really sexy but comfortable enough for me to dance in. And new clothes ."

Paige made a face. "Yeah, we need to talk about your new job ."

"I didn't want you to have to bail me out again so I got a job dancing, just two nights a week. They said I could make 300-400 a night on weekends and I worked the rest of the week at the casino. I figured I could pay off the credit card in a couple of months and stop working there but now …"

"Now you have to decide what you want," Paige said firmly. "I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to help you, but if you choose Tom …"

"I would never choose Tom over you!" she cried. "But this is a huge burden for you. You've been taking care of me—one way or another—since we met. It might be time for me to take care of myself ."

"Letting Tom buy you is how you take care of yourself?" Paige shook her head .

"Can we talk alone for a minute?" Raegan asked softly. She glanced at Apollo and Mick apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I need a few minutes. Some of this is personal and I can't…I don't really know you guys ."

"No problem." Apollo leaned over to kiss Paige's cheek. "We'll go get a cup of coffee and give you guys about 20 minutes, okay ?"

"Thank you." Paige felt an overwhelming urge to run after him and ask him to stay; the last thing she wanted was for him to run screaming from so much drama. He hadn't come 7,000 miles to run away, though; she knew him well enough to know that. She was torn in several directions right now and wanted to handle all of them at once. Since that wasn't possible, she decided to take care of Raegan first. They'd been there for each other since they were 17—but Raegan had a decision to make .

"I can't believe you slept with Tom!" was all she managed to say once they were alone .

Raegan looked away. "Me either ."

"Wasn't it spectacularly disappointing ?"

Raegan nodded sadly. "Kinda. And then I felt guilty, like I was cheating on you ."

Paige burst out laughing. "I don't think it works that way ."

Raegan smiled wanly. "I know. I was drowning, Paige. And now I'm basically underwater. I don't know how you're going to help me. Especially now that Apollo's here. It's obvious he loves you and you're going to — "

"If he loves me, he'll want to help you too. But you have to decide, girlfriend. Really. I hate being the kind of person who demands you take sides, but after the way he behaved earlier, I don't want anything to do with him ."

"I don't want to be with him either. After we went out a couple of times, I realized what you were talking about—he's really self-absorbed and boring. All he talks about is work, his house and golf. The sex was okay…it wasn't terrible, but there was no chemistry. I was really dumb. Please don't be mad at me ."

"I'm not mad—I'm just worried about you. Your judgement lately, your issues with money, your relationship with your mom…at some point, Raegan, you have to take control of your life ."

"I know." She looked down sadly. "I just don't know how ."

"Look, I really, really need to talk to Apollo. I left without a word—I just told his sister to tell him I had an emergency and left. I overheard something that made me doubt our future, and we have to talk it out or this is never gonna work. Can you promise me you won't say or do anything until I come back in the morning ?"

"Can we ask the nurses to keep Tom out of here?" Raegan looked like a scared little girl. "Whenever I'm around him, he's like a whirlwind. Money, solutions to everything, even the sex—it's like he mesmerizes me with his plans until I can't think straight ."

"I'll talk to them. All you have to do is rest, okay ?"

" Okay ."

"If Tom shows up, text me. Is your phone charged ?"

" Yes ."

"Can you handle your mother if she gets here before I get back in the morning ?"

"I think so. Yes ."

"I'm going to find Apollo, so we can talk. Then I'm going to get some sleep and I'll be back in the morning. If Tom bothers you at all, though, text or call me ."

" Okay ."

" Promise ?"

" Promise ."

Paige hugged her, gathered her things and headed out to find Apollo. Luckily, he was just stepping off the elevator and she walked right into his arms. Burying her face in his chest she whispered, "I'm sorry ."

" For ?"

"Leaving like that. It was a shitty thing to do but I was so worried about Raegan and then I heard you …"

"That's my cue!" Mick leaned over to kiss Paige's cheek. "I'm glad we got to meet but I'm going to get some sleep. I assume you two have a lot to discuss and, to be honest, I've been on too many planes, in too many time zones, in too short of a time!" He slapped Apollo on the back, got in the elevator and disappeared .

"He seems like a good guy," she said when they were alone .

"The best." He looked down into her eyes. "You look exhausted ."

"You too." She slid her arms up and around his neck .

"I'm actually hungrier than I am tired," he admitted. "Can we go eat ?"

"Sure. What do you feel like ?"

His eyes crinkled into a deep smile. "A burger. A thick, juicy American burger with cheddar and bacon and BBQ sauce ."

She raised her eyebrows. "No cheddar, bacon or BBQ sauce in Greece, huh ?"

"Not even close ."

"Let's go." She moved against him as they stepped into the elevator .

T here was a local restaurant nearby that had great burgers so she drove them there, hands linked between them on the center console of her car. They didn't talk, somehow content to just be together. They got out of the car, clasping hands again immediately, and sat on the same side of the table when the hostess led them to a booth. Finally, after they'd ordered and had drinks, Apollo shifted next to her and used his hand to cup her cheek .

"I don't know what you heard or how much of a mess I made of things, but let me tell you this before anything else: I love you. I'm in love with you. My chest was so tight when Melina told me you'd left, I thought I might get sick. The thought of losing you again…it was more than I could stand ."

"It'll take a lot more than a muffled conversation that I overheard by accident for you to lose me this time," she said softly. "I heard you talking about sort of lying to me about moving to the U.S. and I couldn't deal with it right that second. I was scared for Raegan and trying to get on that next flight… I knew if I stopped to find out what you were talking about I'd probably miss the flight and I couldn't. And maybe…" She bit her lip .

"Maybe what?" His green eyes bore into hers .

"Maybe I wanted you to chase me." She couldn't break their gaze. "You walked away last time and never even gave me your number—just a business card. This time, I think subconsciously I didn't want to make it that easy…you needed to want this as much as I do ."

"I do." He pressed his cheek to hers and pulled her against him. "God, I do. If you want me to come to the U.S., like we talked about, I will. I can do everything we talked about—put out feelers, get a job, work in the shipping industry a few years. I just don't know if I could live here forever ."

"I love the States and I was starting to really love Greece too." She moved her head so her lips were just millimeters from his. "But I love you more than both. I love you more than anything . I'd follow you to the ends of the earth. I'm scared to move to another country, but the idea of being without you is a hell of a lot scarier ."

He crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with three years' worth of pent-up frustration, longing and passion. Yes, they'd had a lot of sex in Greece, but hearing her say she would follow him anywhere brought sex to a whole other level .

"If my stomach wasn't literally growling and making me a bit nauseous," he rumbled against her lips, "I would skip the burger and take you home ."

She chuckled. "I'm kind of hungry too—food at the hospital has been less than satisfying. Especially after the food in Greece ."

"Now that we've settled our feelings, let me explain what Mick and I were talking about." He paused, though he kept her close to his side. "When I was in college I loved living here. By the time I got to my senior year, I didn't want to leave. I was trying to convince my father that I needed my MBA too, and I'd applied for a job as a teaching assistant to offset the cost. That's when you and I met—spring break of my senior year and my father still hadn't agreed to let me stay. I was in a hurry to get back to school so I could make sure I got that TA position to use as leverage. My parents were coming for graduation and then…" He paused. "Look, there's a whole lot of family drama in this part of the story, but let's skip that for now and just focus on us ."

" Okay ."

"At graduation, my father was still on the fence about letting me stay because Sophia had had a baby during the school year and she and Giorgios were getting married ."

"Wait—what?" Paige looked confused .

He nodded. "I know, that's the family drama I mentioned, but right now, I just want to talk about us ."

"She was still here in the U.S.? But she's…like four years older than you, isn't she? Wouldn't she have been done with college by the time you were a senior ?"

"My parents didn't want her coming to the U.S. alone, so she did some classes online while she waited for Melina to graduate high school. They came together, got an apartment, all that." He gave her a brief history. "Anyway, I was being pulled in a bunch of directions at that point… Sophia's wedding, a new nephew, Lena suddenly keeping her distance. I didn't know what to do, but it felt like my family needed me. So we compromised. I stayed through the summer and took a full course load, worked as a TA and got my master's in just over a year. I had two classes left at the end of the next school year and purposely left the ones I could take online so I could take them from Greece .

"There just wasn't any way for me to see you again, to figure out if things could work between us and at that point I knew I couldn't stay in the U.S. It didn't make sense that you would come to Greece after spending three days together, and to be honest, I let it go because it was easier. Had things in the family not gone crazy, I might have looked you up, maybe made plans to spend more time together, but I didn't have control of my life and you were just another casualty of me having to leave my life in the U.S. behind ."

"What does this have to do with what I overheard?" she asked softly .

He sighed. "It's been three years but I still waffle between loving the States and loving Greece. When my father pissed me off with that deal, it was like everything fell into place. I'd get back at him and teach him a lesson. I'd get to come back to the U.S., something I'd wanted to do since before I left college. And I'd get you ."

"But you already — "

He put a finger over her lips. "You weren't there yet. You were scared and apprehensive, and I get it. It seemed like the stars were aligning for me for once ."

"But?" She squinted slightly, looking into his troubled face .

"But I'm not a 22-year-old college student anymore. I'll be 26 this fall and I love Lakkas, International. I've spent the last two years truly making it mine, in spite of my father's meddling. I love Greece six months of the year and like it a lot the other six months. My family is big and crazy, but really close and loving and fun. My grandmother is getting older and I hate the thought of something happening to her while I'm living far away …"

"So you don't really want to leave," she said softly .

"Not completely." He swallowed. "But if the choice is you or Greece, I pick you. I'd love for you to give Greece a chance, but it doesn't matter. If it takes a year, or five years, or never, I still choose you ."

She felt emotion coursing through her veins, a wave of love mingled with pain that made her a little light-headed. She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to breathe, struggling to articulate the disparate thoughts racing through her mind. She wanted to go with him, but she was unsure. Staying married wasn't optional, but how could she force him to choose? It was too much to process, making her a little nauseous. The indecision was overwhelming and she suddenly just squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could before whispering, "You don't have to move here for me ."

"Oh, but I do." He kissed the top of her head, noting she was shivering. "Just thinking about the situation is making you shake—hey, look at me." He tilted her chin up so their eyes locked. "I was telling Mick about all these things going on in my head, the same ones you seem to be struggling with right now, and how I didn't know what to do. He's my closest friend and he was helping me talk it out, probably the way you and Raegan do, except in guy language. I didn't actually lie to you, or even purposely mislead you—I was just trying to figure out how to have it all. But once you left, there wasn't any doubt about what I had to do ."

"I don't want you to give anything up for me ."

"Isn't that what love is, though?" He frowned, fingers trailing her damp cheek. "Aw, baby, don't cry ."

"It just seems like you'd have to give up so much more than I would," she whispered. "I don't know why it feels that way—because I love my family and my friends—but I want you to be okay with whatever we decide ."

"I'm here, aren't I?" He brushed his lips across hers. "I love you. That's all there is. We'll figure out the details ."

"Really?" Her breath sped up a little, still surprised at the way a simple touch from him affected her .

"Really." He was leaning in to kiss her just as their food arrived and he reluctantly pulled away. "But right now, the only detail on my mind is this burger—you mind sharing me for a few minutes ?"

She grinned. "Just this once ."

He picked up the burger and took a big bite, moaning with satisfaction. "As soon as I'm done, I'm going to show you how grateful I am ."