Tiana (Starkis Family #3) (28 page)

“There he is.” I heard my father’s booming voice as soon as I opened the door. “He was the one who called this family meeting. You would think he would at least have the good sense to show up on time.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, rounding the corner into the formal living room. I would have preferred a less formal room, so as not to intimidate Dalia and Andra, but my mother had always insisted on entertaining guests in the most impressive room in the house. “I know I kept you all waiting.” I smiled at my brother and his new bride. “You both look wonderful. How was the honeymoon?”

Deacon’s eyes narrowed as he gave me a quick onceover. “Fine. But what’s this all about? Your message said it was important.”

“It is.” I smiled at my sister, who looked as confused as everyone else. She would be stunned when she met Dalia, who was a mirror image of Tiana at that age. I knew she would be saddened she’d missed out on so much time with her only niece, a little girl who not only looked like her but shared her passion for dance. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” Tiana reached for my hands. “Are you okay?”

Tiana and I had always been close. When the familial pressures became too much for her, I was the one she called. We would meet for a drink, and I’d let her vent about our domineering father and remind her that I would support her if she chose to cut him out of her life and forge her own path.

“Yeah.” I leaned in to kiss her forehead as I squeezed her hands. Turning to my mother, I reached for her hand and kissed it. “Thanks for arranging this, Mom.”

“You did not give me much choice,” she said, stealing a quick glance at her husband. “Please, Damon, tell us what is going on.”

With a heavy sigh, I looked around the room. My eyes finally landed on my father, who was standing against the limestone fireplace with one hand in his pocket. His casual stance didn’t fool me. I knew he was wound tighter than I was.

“I have some news.” I’d already decided I would cut right to the chase. “I found out last year, when I was in Greece, that I have a daughter.”

There was a collective gasp before everyone fired questions at me in unison.

I held up my hands, knowing that would do little to stop the barrage. “Her name is Dalia. You remember Andra Papadopoulos?”

“That girl from our village?” my father asked, frowning. “Her mother owned that little dress shop.” He snapped his fingers, obviously trying to remember the name.

“That’s her.”

The Papadopoulos family knew of my famous father—everyone in the village did—but I hadn’t expected him to remember them. He rarely wasted time with people who didn’t share his social standing. I only hoped when the time came, he would treat Andra’s beloved Baba with the respect she deserved.

“We had a brief relationship almost eight years ago,” I explained. “We were both visiting the village that summer. Andra returned to Boston for her final year of college in the fall, and I didn’t see or hear from her again... until last summer.”

“I do not understand,” my mother said, gripping the arm of the cream silk sofa. “She did not tell you she was pregnant?”

“No.” I knew they would have questions, but I wanted to honor Andra’s right to privacy as much as possible. “She assumed I wasn’t ready to be a father, and she didn’t want to burden me with a child she thought I wouldn’t want.”

“She has no right to decide that,” my father said, slicing his hand through the air. “You may be a lot of things, but I could not have raised a man who would abandon his own flesh and blood.”

Typical
. With Demi, it always came back to him. “Andra was trying to do what she thought was best for Dalia. Long story short, she returned to Boston, married her high school sweetheart, and the two of them have been raising Dalia ever since.”

“How dare she!” Demi bellowed. “That girl is a Starkis!”

“Her husband has been a good father to Dalia,” I explained. “Dalia loves him very much.”

“God,” Tiana said, shaking her head, “I can’t believe this. How did you find out?”

“I saw them in a café in Saronida.”

“You mean it was a coincidence, running into them?” Tiana asked.

“Call it a coincidence or fate,” I said, shrugging. “All I know is that it was the best thing that could have happened to me. Learning I was a father changed me.”

“That’s why you…” Deacon said, and I knew he was thinking about my therapy.

“That’s why I made some serious changes in my life,” I confirmed. “Andra wasn’t sure I was fit to be a parent. Obviously she’d been following my life in the tabloids and was concerned about the kind of influence I would be on our daughter.”

My father looked disgusted. “Foolish girl. Does she not know you cannot believe what you read in those rags?”

“We all know I haven’t been a saint,” I said, needing to defend the mother of my child. “Andra was right to be concerned.”

“But she had no right to keep your child from you,” Demi said. “That is unforgiveable.”

“But I have forgiven her,” I said, looking my father in the eye. “And I’m asking you to do the same. She’s a part of our family now, your granddaughter’s mother, and I’m asking you to treat her with respect.”

Demi took a deep breath. “As you wish, son.”

I was surprised he was willing to relent so easily. Maybe he was mellowing in his old age, as I’d suggested to Eleni.

“Dalia is here.” I smiled at the excited gasps from my family. “She’s waiting in the car with Andra. I want you all to meet her, but please remember she’s just a little girl. She’s scared and uncertain about all the changes that have taken place in her life lately. She just found out I’m her dad, and now she’s meeting all of you.”

“It’s a lot for a little girl to take in,” Mia said. “We’ll remember that.”

I looked at my sister-in-law, my smile slipping when I read the question in her eyes. She wanted to know if her best friend knew that I was a daddy.

***

I watched with pride as my family welcomed Dalia. She was demonstrating her dance moves with Tiana in the huge living room while my mother looked on, her eyes shining with pride.

“She is a beautiful girl,” Demi said, slapping my back.

“Yes, she is.” I watched Dalia. I would never tire of seeing her face light up the way it did when she giggled.

“You should be very proud of her.”

“I have no right to be proud of her.” I slipped my hand into my pocket as I leaned against a plaster pillar that extended to the thirty-foot ceiling. “I had no part in her life until very recently.”

“I hope you intend to do right by her now that you do know,” my father said, watching me carefully.

“You can count on that.”

Demi nodded, his satisfaction obvious. “I am glad to hear that. I am so happy to have my first grandchild. It is about time.”

I smirked. “Even though it’s a girl?”

“I have nothing against girls,” he said, looking affronted. “Your sister is the light of my life.”

That much was true. Tiana was daddy’s little princess, a title she now believed was more of a curse than a blessing. “But granddaughters won’t carry on the family name. Isn’t that what you’re most concerned about, your legacy?” It was time to talk to my father about my plans for the future. I’d spoken to Blake a few times, and we now had a clear sense of how our partnership would work.

“My legacy.” He sighed. “I hate to think of myself as a mere mortal, but I suppose it is true I must go sometime.”

I chuckled. “You’ll never be forgotten, Dad. No matter what, no one will forget what you contributed to this world, especially your family.”

He blinked repeatedly, as though he was trying to get his emotions in check. “I appreciate that. I know I was a hard-ass at times—”

I choked on a mouthful of scotch. The sound of an obscenity coming from my refined father was so unexpected. Holding my hand over my mouth, I cleared my throat until I could speak. “You were tough, but I understand why. That’s the way you were raised. It’s the only way you knew.”

“I hope you and your brother and sister have learned a better way. I don’t want your children to fear you the way mine feared me.”

We
had
all feared my father’s take on corporal punishment growing up. I put my arm around his shoulders. “I’ve learned a lot from you over the years, what to do and what not to do.”

“I guess I’ll take that.” His lips curled into a reluctant smile. “You could have said worse.”

“But the best lesson of all you taught me was how to be my own man.”

“I’m glad.”

“You may not be when you hear what I have planned.” I wasn’t sure if this was the right time or place, in the midst of a family celebration, but I couldn’t carry this weight around any longer.

Demi turned to face me. “What do you mean? What do you have planned?”

“I’m going into business with Blake.”

His eyes hardened, the muscle in his jaw jumping. “Blake? You can’t be serious. You know how I feel about him.”

“I know you hate him,” I said, thinking that was an understatement. “But you can’t deny he’s a brilliant businessman.” Before my father could argue, I continued. “He’s been an angel investor for a few years, and he’s made a lot of money. His strategy has been to invest in medium-sized companies that need an influx of cash to take them to the next level. But our strategy will be different. We’ll invest in start-ups and guide them through the growth and development stage, taking a percentage of the equity in exchange for our expertise and money.”

“And what about your job at Starkis Inc.?”

I’d known that would be his first question. “Obviously, I can’t do it all. But I would like to remain on in some capacity so I can have a say in the vision for the company.”

He sighed. “I want to say I’m angry, but I knew it would come to this. You’re a free spirit. You were destined to do your own thing, make your own mark in the world.”

I breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Then you’re not mad?”

He smirked. “You’re not the only one capable of change, my boy. I just want you to be happy. It may have seemed that all I wanted was for you to follow the path that I set out for you, but I only wanted you to have some direction in your life. If you believe this is what will make you happy, you have my blessing.”

I hugged him for the first time in what seemed like forever. “Thank you.”

“But couldn’t you have chosen another partner?” He shook his head. “Blake? Really?”

I was still laughing as my father walked away, but my amusement died when Mia approached me.

“Your daughter is lovely,” Mia said, touching my arm.

“Thank you.”

“Does El know about her?”

“No.”

She sighed. “God, Damon, how could you keep something like this from her?”

Mia had every right to be outraged on her best friend’s behalf, but that didn’t lessen the sting. “I wanted to tell her, believe me. But I guess I was scared. I know how she feels about kids.”

Mia scowled before bringing a glass of water to her lips. “She’s not a monster, you know. If you’re worried about how she would treat Dalia, don’t be.”

The last thing I wanted was to argue with my sister-in-law, and I certainly hadn’t intended to call Eleni’s character into question. “I know how wonderful she is,” I said, hoping to defuse the situation. “I’m crazy about her.”

“If that’s true, how could you keep this from her? Aren’t relationships supposed to be about honesty and trust?” The question obviously prompted her to remember her own experience with Deacon. “I’m sorry, Damon. I don’t mean to judge you. I just feel really protective of El. She’s never really had anyone to look out for her, and I’ve always kind of felt like I’m the only family she has.”

I couldn’t help but think of Eleni’s father, lying in a hospice and waiting to die. “What do you know about her family?” Eleni had told me she hadn’t shared the entire story with her best friend, but that didn’t mean Mia couldn’t give me some insight into the man I was planning to meet with later.

“Not a lot. We didn’t become friends until after her mother died. I knew her parents had split and her mother left them.” Mia sighed. “It was kind of weird. As close as we were, I never even went to her house. She always came to mine, or we’d meet somewhere.”

“Huh.” I was sure there was a reason for that—hopefully one George Litras would share with me. I had mixed feelings about listening to the man’s story, especially since I didn’t think he could be trusted, but I still loved Eleni. If there was anything I could do to help her put her past to rest, I would.

“She doesn’t like to talk about her parents,” Mia added. “And I don’t push. I know how hard she’s worked to build a new life for herself. At least I had my parents when I moved to the city. She had no one to support her.”

I hated to think of Eleni all alone in a new city, trying to figure out how to make it on her own.

“Of course, she stayed with my family until she was old enough to live alone, but she insisted on paying room and board. I know she always felt like more of a tenant than family.”

Looking around the room, surrounded by the people I loved, I realized the only person missing was Eleni. I wanted her to be a part of this, to experience the love of a real family, even if it was a dysfunctional family like mine.

Eleni

Making my way up to Damon’s penthouse, I cursed myself for not calling first. I missed him. So much. I’d come under the guise of recovering my lost earring, but in truth, I was dying to see him, to tell him that I’d made a mistake and wanted to try to figure things out. I didn’t know how, since it seemed we wanted different things, but maybe, just maybe, there was a way. There had to be since I didn’t think I could go on without him.

A part of me was curious about his houseguest. Was she still staying with him? If so, I intended to put her on notice, as I should have done from the beginning. Damon may not have been my boyfriend anymore, but I wanted that woman to know how I felt about him, how important he was to me. I held my breath as I knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer.