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His brows rose. “Why didn’t you tell them?”
She glanced away. “Does it matter?”
His gaze narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, it’s something. Talk to me. Maybe I can help.”
She glanced at him. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because whether you want to believe it or not, I want to be your friend.”
“And not steal the island out from under me?” The hurt expression on his face made her regret her words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” Not really. “It’s just that everything in my life is changing at once and it has me uptight.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment as though considering her words. At last, he stuck out his hand. “How about we call a truce?”
She glanced down at his hand. The last thing she wanted to do in that moment was touch him. Every time their bodies connected, it was like her mind short-circuited. Still, he was trying to do the right thing. The least she could do was meet him halfway.
She reached out her hand and as their fingers and palms touched, a shiver of excitement coursed up her arm, settling in her chest. Was it just her imagination or did his fingers move ever so slowly over her palm? And there was this look in his eyes—the kind of look men gave her when she went onto the main island with Popi and they stopped in a taverna.
But then in a blink the look was gone, and after a quick shake, he withdrew his hand. Lea was left wondering if she was just seeing what she wanted to see or if Xander was actually still interested in her.
“There.” He smiled. “Now can we act like friends instead of adversaries?”
“I didn’t think I was being adversarial.”
He sighed. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
He smiled and shook his head. “So now that we’re officially friends, talk to me. Why haven’t you told your parents about the baby? Are they old-fashioned? Will they insist we get married?”
She leveled a serious stare at him. “You aren’t going to leave this alone, are you?”
He shook his head. “Not a chance. I told you I’m your friend. I’m here to help.”
Lea was surprised by how much she wanted to believe him. She’d been going it alone since she’d moved to Greece. She did have Popi, but ever since her friend had agreed to be a surrogate for her sister, Lea hadn’t felt right about sharing too much of her problems. Popi had a lot to deal with.
Lea was so proud of her friend for doing something so selfless. Lea knew what it was to have a baby grow inside her and she didn’t know if she could go through that very special relationship and then hand off the baby—even to a sibling. It took someone very strong, very loving and very special to be a surrogate.
Lea’s gaze met Xander’s. Sincerity and kindness reflected in his eyes. Maybe it was time she let go of the past and gave him a chance—a real chance. “My parents aren’t particularly old-fashioned. I think they’d be okay with me being a single parent.”
“Then what’s stopping you?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know much, let me rephrase, I don’t know anything about pregnant women, but I would think it’s a time when a woman would want her mother.”
She did want to talk to her mother and get her advice on different aspects of her pregnancy. Most of all she just wanted to share the joy.
“Under normal circumstances that would be the case,” Lea said.
“But these aren’t normal circumstances?”
Lea shook her head. She took a deep breath. If she was going to trust him, she had to continue opening up to him. “When I left Seattle and moved to Greece, there was a big blowup with my parents.” She paused. How much should she say? After all, he was just being nice. He wouldn’t want to hear the whole sordid story. “We haven’t spoken since.”
“I see.” His expression changed as though he were troubleshooting the situation. “Maybe the baby could be the bridge to bring you back together.”
Lea shook her head and placed a protective hand over her abdomen. “I won’t use my baby that way. If my parents and I work this out, it’ll be because they want to—not because it’s the only way for them to get access to their only grandchild.”
