Page 56 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

Her whole face changed. “The garden.”

She said it like it was the whole damn point. Maybe it was.

“It’s been neglected for years. There are old olive trees, and I think there’s a lemon tree, although I’m not completely sure it’s still alive. There are terraces down the slope and stone walls everywhere, and most of it’s completely overgrown. There’s a field behind the house too with an old shepherd’s hut. It’ll probably take me years before I get to even wondering what to do with that. I’ll start by the house.” She was talking faster now, her hands moving over the map even though what she was describing wasn’t on it.

“I don’t even know exactly what I’ll do with any of it yet. I want to live with it first. See where the sun falls, what’s already happy there, what wants to grow. It would be dreadful to arrive and start ripping everything out before I know what I have.”

Blane watched her. He’d seen her excited before, at the concert, in the museum, even wandering through Covent Garden. But this was different. “You really love it.”

She stopped. “The garden?”

“Gardening.”

For some reason, the question seemed to catch her off guard. “Yes.” Her smile came more slowly this time. “I do.”

He nodded. That was something to remember.

They stayed at the table for a while longer, Bea telling him things she’d learned about the island and things she still had no idea about. Her Greek, according to her, was currently good enough to say hello, thank you, ask for coffee, and accidentally tell someone she owned a goat.

He suspected there was a story behind that one, but she refused to tell him.

Eventually the early morning and everything that had happened since caught up with her. She tried to hide a yawn behind her hand.

“Go sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Bea.”

“There’s that tone again.”

“What tone?”

“The one that suggests you believe saying my name is a complete sentence.”

“Works pretty well.”

She gave him a look, but another yawn ruined it.

“There’s a bedroom in back,” he told her. “Go lie down.”

She glanced toward the rear of the cabin. “What about you?”

“I’m good.”

“You didn’t sleep last night either.”

He hadn’t told her that. Apparently, he didn’t need to. “I’ll sleep later.”

“You know, for someone who’s very keen on other people doing what’s good for them, you’re remarkably bad at it yourself.”

“Been told.”

“By whom?”

“Everybody.”

That made her laugh. She folded the map carefully and pushed it toward him. “Fine. You can study that while I’m gone. Try not to invade any neighboring countries.”