CHAPTER ONE
“And all this belongs to me?” Toby
Styles asked breathlessly as she surveyed the island around her. To the west
was the impossibly blue Mediterranean Sea , sparkling like jewels in the midday sun. To the east were splendid,
lushly green mountains. And standing like a mirage right in front of her was
the house, the Thalasa Selene ,
or Moonsea , as it was known by the locals; it was an
enormous, elegant mansion, crisp white, blazing in the sunshine, with cobalt
window frames that matched the curvy roof tiles.
“Yes, Miss Styles, it is yours. Your
late father was adamant that his only child should inherit his home.”
She glanced sharply at her father’s
lawyer, Stephan Cristos . His only child – why hadn’t
her father acknowledged her while he was alive, if he had cared so much?
She thought back to the expression on
her mother’s face when the letter arrived at their New York brownstone that told of Gregory Alexandrou’s passing. Toby had to catch her and walk her to
the sofa.
“Who was he, Mom?”
“He was … oh, Toby, he was my first
love! The most beautiful boy I’d ever seen. Wild black hair,
the softest blue eyes, like yours. And that wicked smile … I can still
see it! He was a troublemaker, always getting in wrong with the police or any
other authority. But oh did I love him!”
“So why am I just hearing about him
now?” Toby wondered. She had caught her mother’s cast off phrase “like yours”
and that had started the wheels turning in her mind.
Lauren Styles drew a deep, shivering
breath, gently pulled Toby down to sit beside her.
“I should have told you years ago but
Matt … your dad, well, he didn’t want me to. He thought you might not love him anymore
if you knew he wasn’t really your father.”
Toby felt tears stinging her eyes. “I
don’t believe this! Tell me I’m dreaming!”
“No, Toby, it’s true. I met Gregory
in Athens when your grandparents took me there for my graduation
present. We fell in love immediately. I’d never known love like that before, or
since. It was frightening just how desperately he wanted and needed me.”
“Why did you leave him then?”
“Mom and Dad dragged me back to the
States, kicking and screaming. Dad even threatened to have Gregory arrested
since I was still seventeen. I hated him for that!”
“That explains a lot,” Toby sighed,
recalling how cold the air was whenever Grandpa came to visit. Her mom talked
to him politely and all but Toby could feel an undercurrent of icy disdain.
“Did you ever see Gregory again?”
“No, not once. He thought I didn’t love him enough
because I wouldn’t give up everything and run off with him. Then once I was
home I discovered I was pregnant, with you, and I accepted Matt’s marriage
proposal. He’d been my off and on again beau all through high school. He loved
me so much he was willing to accept you as his own, said no one would ever have
to know.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t!”
“Don’t be angry with me, Toby.”
“I suppose I should be but I’m not.
It’s all like some strange fantasy. Maybe it’s best to forget it, and get on
with our lives.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that
simple. The letter is from Gregory’s lawyer. Apparently he was a wealthy man;
he was a distant relation of royalty! Ha! If my father had known that how
different things might have been! He always did take great stock in people’s
ancestry. It says here that Gregory only found out about you a week before he
died of lung cancer. Some investigator noticed your resemblance to Gregory’s
mother and put two and two together. Poor darling! I wish I could have been
there for him!”
She began to sob; Toby wrapped her in
consoling arms.
“It wasn’t meant to be. Don’t you
tell me that often enough when I miss out on something?”
“True. But it seems cruel to love
someone that strongly and never be able to see them
again. I still love him, I never
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