The Kristallis Baby

She knew she should have stayed longer—to find out exactly how serious Nikos Kristallis was about taking Danny. But right now all she wanted was to be as far away from him as possible.

Nik watched the bus labouring through the heavy traffic. He knew that Carrie was aware of him, standing there, but she was looking forward, refusing to acknowledge his presence.

It was only a couple of hours since he’d met her, but already Carrie Thomas had become strangely significant in his life. She had known Leonidas while he’d been lost to Nik. She’d even met his father. And now she had his nephew.

Nik saw that Danny had spotted him standing there. He had no hesitation at all in staring right back at Nik. His bright button eyes were fixed on him, and he turned his head and leant forward to keep him in view as long as possible when the bus finally moved off into the stream of traffic.

That baby boy was all that was left of Leonidas. Carrie Thomas could take the child home tonight, but it wouldn’t be long before he was taking him home to Greece.

CHAPTER THREE

C ARRIE hurried along the street towards Danny’s nursery. It had been an exhausting day, and all she could think about was collecting Danny and taking him safely back to the refuge of her flat. Normally she loved her work, but she was so tired and stressed, after a sleepless night worrying about what Nikos Kristallis meant to do, that the day had seemed endless.

She told herself that Nik didn’t really mean to take Danny away from her. After all, if he was genuinely interested in Danny, surely he would have made an appearance before now? And even if he really did want Danny, he couldn’t just take him. He might be rich and powerful, but he would still have to make arrangements through the proper channels—otherwise it would be kidnapping.

She was starting to regret leaving the previous evening before anything had been resolved. Not knowing Nik’s intentions was killing her, and she’d been on edge all day, half expecting Nik to contact her at any moment. Every time the phone had rung she’d nearly jumped out of her skin. Her thoughts had kept turning to Danny, and how much she loved him, and by the end of the afternoon her nerves had been in shreds. Now, as she made her way quickly through the crowds of commuters hurrying along the street, she was desperate to reach Danny and wrap him safely in her arms.

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. She stared across the wide London street, momentarily unable to believe what she saw.

Nikos Kristallis was standing on the doorstep of Danny’s nursery, leaning forward slightly as if he was talking into the intercom.

Buses and taxis flashed across her line of vision, making it hard to see clearly. She couldn’t be right. She was so stressed her eyes were playing tricks on her.

No, it was real. The heavy door was swinging closed behind Nikos Kristallis, but just before it slammed shut she saw him heading swiftly up the stairs. He was going to take Danny!

Carrie’s heart thudded in her chest and she broke into a run, weaving in and out of people as she sprinted along the pavement towards the crossing. The lights were just changing from red to amber, and four lanes of traffic started revving up as the last pedestrians cleared the road. She dashed out anyway, ignoring the angry shouts and blaring horns as she focussed on the nursery door. If Nik came back out carrying Danny she had to reach him quickly. She could not lose him in the crowd.

She skidded to a halt at the doorway and pressed impatiently on the buzzer, panting for breath.

‘It’s Carrie Thomas!’ she gasped. ‘Please let me in.’

She was already leaning heavily on the door, and the instant the lock released she was through, bounding up the stairs two at a time. She couldn’t let Nikos Kristallis get to Danny.

She burst through the door at the top of the stairs and dashed along the corridor to the baby room. Danny was there on the play mat—safe and sound.

She called his name and he looked round, but the moment his eyes found her his little face crumpled into tears.

‘Up you come, poppet,’ the young nursery assistant said, picking him up before Carrie was able to unlatch the child safety gate and get into the room. ‘He hasn’t been himself today,’ she continued, speaking to Carrie. ‘Been a bit grizzly all day. I think he might be teething.’

‘Poor little thing,’ Carrie said, holding out her arms to take Danny from the young woman. She hugged him tightly, feeling some of her anxiety ease as she pressed her face against his hair. Then she held him away from her and looked at him carefully. His cheeks were flushed, but he had already stopped crying.

Voices coming along the corridor suddenly caught her attention, and she remembered with a sick feeling that Nikos Kristallis was in the building.

‘And this is our baby unit,’ she heard Mrs Plewman saying right behind her. ‘It has excellent facilities, and most importantly one member of staff for every two babies.’

Carrie turned on the spot and found herself staring up into the face of Nikos Kristallis. He looked completely indifferent to the fact that she had discovered him at the nursery—a place he had no reasonable reason to be—and her concern over his presence suddenly switched to anger. He was so arrogant that he thought normal rules didn’t apply to him.

‘What are you doing here?’ She rounded on him. ‘You have no right to be anywhere near Danny!’

‘Mrs Plewman has been kind enough to give me a tour of the nursery,’ he replied smoothly, throwing the nursery manager a charming smile.

‘I don’t want this man anywhere near Danny.’ She spoke urgently to Mrs Plewman. ‘I don’t trust him—he wants to take Danny away, back to Greece with him.’

‘I have a right to see where my nephew is being cared for,’ Nik replied.

‘But that’s not why you’re here,’ Carrie said, hugging Danny protectively and glaring up at him.

‘Your nephew?’ Mrs Plewman said. Her deferential manner indicated that up until that point she had been impressed by Nik, but now Carrie’s reaction had given her pause for thought.

‘Yes, Danny is my nephew,’ Nik confirmed, but his sharp blue eyes were fixed on Carrie. ‘What other reason have I got to come here?’

‘To take Danny,’ Carrie said. ‘To get your hands on him when I’m not around.’

‘You really are overreacting,’ Nik said with infuriating blandness. ‘As Mrs Plewman will tell you, unauthorised people are not permitted to collect the children left in her care. And, quite apart from that, if that was my intention why would I choose to come at the exact time you are due to arrive?’

‘So that the staff see us together? To make yourself seem familiar? To give you credibility?’ Carrie rattled off the first things that came into her mind.

‘Being seen with you would give me credibility ?’ Nik repeated. His eyes swept across her disparagingly, and his disdainful expression made it all too clear what he thought of that idea.

‘I’m taking Danny home now,’ Carrie said stiffly. ‘And just to be sure you understand—you are not to come here again. In fact, I don’t want you bothering us at all.’

Carrie didn’t wait for a reply. She knew she ought to talk to Mrs Plewman properly, to make it absolutely clear that no one but her should ever collect Danny. But at that moment she simply had to get away.

She let the door swing shut as she walked through and bent to pull the buggy out of the cupboard. Suddenly Nik was beside her again, taking it out of her hand.

‘Let me,’ he said. ‘It’s rather dangerous to carry so much on the stairs at once.’

‘I’ve got it, thank you,’ Carrie snapped, reaching out for the buggy.

‘I’m here, and I can help,’ Nik said firmly. ‘What’s the point of needlessly risking your neck, and more importantly my nephew’s neck, when you don’t have to?’

‘I’m not risking anyone’s neck,’ Carrie said, but she turned and started down the stairs. The sooner she got outside, the sooner she could catch the bus home.

‘I’ll give you a lift home,’ Nik said, once they’d stepped out onto the street.

‘Are you mad?’ Carrie gasped, pulling the buggy out of his grasp and flicking it open with an angry gesture that revealed all her pent-up emotions. ‘I’m not going anywhere with you!’

‘We still have to talk,’ Nik replied. ‘You ran off before we’d finished yesterday. I know when you collect Danny, and it seemed an appropriate time and place to meet.’

‘You had no right to go into his nursery.’ Carrie hugged the one-year-old protectively. ‘And Mrs Plewman had no business letting you in!’ She knew that wasn’t exactly fair to the nursery manager. But even as she tried to reassure herself that Mrs Plewman would never have let a stranger take Danny a shiver ran down her spine. Nik had clearly been doing an excellent job of charming her. There was no way to tell what would have happened if Carrie hadn’t arrived when she had.

‘My nephew has no business being in that appalling place,’ Nik replied. ‘I wanted to see for myself what kind of care he’s been receiving, and frankly I was not impressed. He will certainly not be spending any more time in that dreadful environment. That is not the way a Kristallis child is cared for.’

‘His name may be Kristallis,’ Carrie said, bristling at his harsh judgement of the nursery she had so carefully chosen for Danny. ‘But Sophie and Leonidas didn’t want him brought up like a Kristallis.’

‘His parents are dead. He is my responsibility now,’ Nik stated, his expression hard and unreadable.

‘Now? He’s nearly one!’ Carrie exclaimed. ‘How very responsible of you to miss the first year of his life!’

She knew she had hit a nerve the second the words were out of her mouth.

A change came over Nik so profound it made her blood suddenly run cold.

‘I don’t intend to miss any more of his life,’ Nik grated. ‘Now, we need to find somewhere to talk.’

‘Danny needs to go home.’ Carrie looked at his flushed face and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. It felt uncomfortably warm. ‘It’s not fair to keep him out if he’s feeling under the weather.’

‘Then I’ll give you a lift home.’ Nik indicated a sleek black limousine that was just pulling up next to the pavement. ‘When the child is settled, we can talk.’

‘I don’t need a lift, thank you,’ Carrie said. ‘We’ll be perfectly all right on the bus, just the same as every other day.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Nik said. ‘Just because you seem to have taken an irrational dislike to me, it doesn’t mean my nephew has to suffer the unnecessary discomfort of a public bus.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with buses. Not everyone has a private limo, you know.’ She glanced down and caught sight of her reflection in the tinted window of the long black car.

Suddenly she remembered seeing Nik going in to the nursery. If he had taken Danny and put him into that car she might never have seen him again. They could have driven right past her and she’d never have known Danny was hidden from view behind that sinister dark glass. ‘I’m not getting into a car with you. I hardly know you.’

‘The child doesn’t look well,’ Nik said. ‘Don’t let your pride and petty dislike of me make you ignore what is best for Danny.’

‘He’s not sick.’ Carrie bit her lip as she studied Danny and pressed her hand against his face again. ‘Teething can make babies hot and bothered, but it doesn’t mean he’s sick.’

Just at that moment the heavens opened, and it began to pour with rain. Danny howled as the first huge drops started to splash his face, and Carrie looked around in dismay. Rush hour was in full swing, and the thought of a crowded bus or tube train full of disgruntled commuters with dripping umbrellas, jostling her and tripping over Danny’s buggy, was simply awful.

But she couldn’t accept a lift with Nik. It was true that she hardly knew him, and she was still suspicious as to his motives for going into the nursery. Then Danny began to cry more loudly, and when she touched his cheek to soothe him it felt even hotter. She really ought to get him home quickly.

‘I’m giving you a lift home whether you like it or not. Tell my driver where you live.’

Despite her protestations Nik swept Danny out of her arms and stooped to secure him in a child’s car seat, which was already in position in the back of the limousine. Carrie bit her lip, wondering what to do. It was pouring with rain and Danny needed to get home. She’d be with him all the time in the limousine, and it would be a lot quicker than the bus.

The driver had the buggy and was struggling to fold it. Carrie took it from him and collapsed it down with a couple of swift and practised gestures. She didn’t want the driver to pinch his fingers. Though if it had been Nik trying to fold it that would have been a different matter.

A minute later she was riding in comfort in the back of the luxury limousine with Nik. Danny was crying at the top of his lungs, and nothing she did seemed to make him feel any better.

The nursery staff had thought Danny was teething. They had years of experience with babies and always seemed to know what they were talking about. But Carrie was beginning to worry that Danny might be ill. He really didn’t look right. But then it had probably been unsettling for him to see her arguing with Nik.

‘You shouldn’t have gone into the nursery.’ Carrie spoke suddenly. ‘You should have waited for me. You knew I’d only be a couple of minutes.’

‘You wouldn’t have taken me inside,’ Nik replied. ‘I didn’t like seeing him in that place, being cared for by strangers,’ he added. ‘He should be looked after by family.’

‘Those people aren’t strangers to Danny,’ Carrie said, pulling a toy out of her bag and trying in vain to cheer the baby up. ‘The nursery might be a bit old and shabby, but I chose it because you can tell that the staff really love the children. Also, they have a fantastic ratio of staff to children—much better than any of the other places I looked at.’

‘It’s not the same as being with his family,’ Nik insisted.

‘You may be a blood relation to Danny,’ Carrie said, ‘but you’re the stranger to him—not the nursery ladies.’

‘That’s something that’s going to change,’ Nik said.

Carrie looked at him sharply. Something in his tone of voice made her nervous. The nursery didn’t seem such a safe place any more—how could she know it was safe to leave Danny there when she had to work?

Suddenly Danny upped the volume of his wailing, and all her attention flipped back to him. Poor child. She couldn’t bear to think of him sick. And if he was poorly, rather than teething, she wouldn’t be able to travel with him to Spain tomorrow with a client. She hated letting anyone down, especially a valued friend and client like Elaine, but Danny was more important than anything else.

‘Here.’ Nik picked up a bag of baby toys and handed them to Carrie.

She took the bag and pulled out a colourful rattle that seemed to be battery operated, with flashing lights and music. Danny usually enjoyed noisy toys.

To Carrie’s relief, after a last couple of sobs he fell silent, reached out a chubby little hand and took the rattle. She pushed the ‘on’ button, starting the flashing and music.

Danny began howling instantly.

‘Maybe not the best choice of toy.’ A patronising edge to Nik’s voice set Carrie’s nerves on edge. ‘I don’t imagine all that noise and flashing is very good if he has a headache.’

Carrie gritted her teeth and leant forward to switch off the wretched device. Danny wasn’t the only one with a headache. She could feel the tension starting to clamp round her head and shoulders like a steel vice.

‘There’s no “off” switch!’ she said in exasperation. ‘Oh! I hate noisy toys you can’t stop once they’ve started.’

‘I’m sure he’ll enjoy it when he’s feeling better.’ Nik was infuriatingly calm as he bent forward and studied Danny.

His face was only a few inches away from Danny’s and although he wasn’t doing anything but looking intently at the baby he seemed to catch his attention. The baby stopped crying, and while he didn’t look exactly happy, he wasn’t getting himself into a frenzy any more.

Carrie tried to ignore the feeling of foreboding that crept over her as she watched Nik and Danny staring at each other. The sudden silence as the musical rattle finally reached the end of its song seemed horribly ominous.

‘Danny can’t go back to that place.’ Nik spoke without turning to look at her, but that didn’t weaken the impact of his words.

‘He has to—so I can go to work.’ Carrie had to earn a living. It was as simple as that. She straightened her shoulders, refusing to let herself be intimidated by Nikos Kristallis and his self-important attitude.

‘What happened to the rest of your family?’ he asked.

The question caught her off-guard. For some reason she had assumed he knew all about how she had ended up alone with Danny.

‘My mother died when I was very young.’ She spoke steadily, knowing it was best to be open with him, but she was determined not to let any emotion show in her voice. She didn’t need to lay her heartfelt feelings out for him to scrutinise.

‘And your father?’ he prompted.

‘My father couldn’t cope.’ She thought unhappily how he hadn’t even managed to come to the funeral six months ago. ‘He left me with my aunt and uncle and their daughter, Sophie.’

‘And you grew up as part of their family?’

‘Sophie was like a sister to me.’ Tears suddenly pricked in Carrie’s eyes and she dropped her gaze slightly, determined not to let Nik see. Her relationship with her aunt and uncle had never been warm. Somehow the infrequent but unsettling appearances of her father bringing them money for her upkeep had seen to that. But she had loved Sophie.

‘You lost a great deal in that car accident.’

Something in Nik’s voice made her look up. Their eyes met and a tremor ran through her. For a long moment she couldn’t look away, despite the knowledge that he’d seen the tears swimming in her eyes.

Then Danny made a sound, and suddenly the spell was broken.

She looked back at the baby, and the love she felt for him welled up inside her. She wouldn’t let Nik take him from her. She couldn’t be parted from Danny now.

She’d loved him from the moment she saw him, and had revelled in their time together since then—even though hardly anyone had been truly supportive about her decision to take on an orphaned baby. Sometimes it felt as if they were all watching her, waiting to see how she would perform.

Her friends from the small town where she had grown up kept telling her to return home, where there were people who could help her out if she needed it. They told her it was irresponsible to try bringing up a baby alone in the city, especially as she had no experience and no one to help her. But Carrie had worked very hard to escape her painful roots, and she’d do almost anything to avoid going back.

She’d made a very different life for herself in London. She had been enjoying her new lifestyle, and found a real sense of achievement from her increasingly successful career as a personal trainer. Her London friends knew nothing about her childhood, and that was how she wanted it, but it meant they had no way to understand why looking after her orphaned cousin was so important to her.

Danny looked a bit better now. His cheeks were still flushed, and his wispy brown fringe was sticking damply to his forehead, but for the moment he was all right. They’d be home very soon, and she had to admit—to herself, anyway—that this way of travelling was better for a grizzly child than crowded, unreliable public transport.

Looking at Danny, comfy and secure in the car seat, she suddenly wondered why Nik had a car seat in his limousine. The thought that he might be married with children made her stomach lurch. Surely a family man wanting to adopt his nephew would have a better chance in court than a bachelor businessman?

‘Do you and your wife have children?’ Carrie asked abruptly.

‘Why do you ask?’ Nik said, the expression on his face telling Carrie he had misinterpreted her interest.

‘You have a car seat,’ she said flatly. She had no intention of letting him see how much the meaningful gleam in his eyes had suddenly made her heart beat faster. No doubt Nikos Kristallis was used to women throwing themselves at him—but she had more to think about than just herself.

He might be the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen, and there was no question that she had found him overwhelmingly attractive at first, but that had been before she’d learned his identity. That kiss in Darren’s study had been extraordinary for her—she was inexperienced and had had no idea a kiss could affect her so profoundly—but at that point she hadn’t discovered the threat he posed to her and Danny.

‘I am not married, and do not at present have children.’ Nik spoke smoothly, but his deep blue eyes were narrowed and fixed on her altogether too sharply. ‘However, we can continue our discussion about my marital status later.’

‘I thought the discussion was already finished.’ The last thing Carrie wanted was for Nikos Kristallis to start getting ideas. Or, even worse, to think that she was getting ideas! ‘Your marital status is of no interest to me,’ she added quickly.

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