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He crossed the room and gave her a kiss. “Efharisto. It feels good.” He waved a hand at the prototypes as he released her. “What’s this?”
“My first ten designs,” she said proudly. “I’m about to ship them off to a manufacturer to get samples made.”
“That’s exciting.”
“It is. I think we should celebrate.”
He subjected her to a lazy inspection that bumped her pulse up a notch. “A personal celebration in our rooms later, to be sure, agapimeni, plus I thought I’d take you out to dinner. I have something I want to show you.”
She loved that idea. “Give me a few minutes to change.”
* * *
They dined at a tiny local seafood restaurant along the coast that was known to serve the best food on the island. Then they got back into Nik’s car and drove another few miles to the rugged, most scenic east coast of the island, where the highest peaks of Akathinia dropped in a sheer cliff to the rocky shore below.
Sofi´a stepped from the car, her eyes widening as she took in the dramatic view and the remnants of the old fortress scattered along the edge of the cliff.
“What is this?”
Nik took her hand by way of answer and led her through the disintegrating ruins out to the edge of the cliff. “Carnelia,” he said, pointing to a dark mass in the distance, lit by the dying rays of the sun. “This is where my great-grandfather King Damokles defeated the Catharian navy to secure Akathinia’s independence. When they attacked us, the Catharians sent a smaller contingent to the harbor as a decoy knowing we would expect them to strike there, then massed most of their troops here. They bet on the fact my great-grandfather would mass his forces at the harbor to defend it, but Damokles was too smart to fall for that. He sent his best troops here, defeated the Catharians, and they retreated, never to come back.”
Sofi´a stood there quietly, taking it in. The significance of where they were standing, what it meant to Nik slid over her, giving her goose bumps.
Nik pointed at the big cannons still guarding the cliff face. “Thousands of men lost their lives defending Akathinia that day. My great-grandfather said it was the bloodiest battle he’d ever been in.”
She turned to him. “And you will never put your people through that again.”
“If I can help it, no.”
She studied the clear blue of his eyes. The strain seemed to have eased from his face with today’s announcement. “I am so proud of you, Nik. You have been carrying the weight of a nation on your shoulders. Not an easy task in normal times. I hope you can relax a bit now. Give yourself some space to breathe.”
He nodded. “It will be good to have that time. It’s been difficult to process it all. To forge a plan for the future.”
“And the responsibility that’s been handed to you? Are you feeling more at peace with it?”
“Yes.” He caught her hand in his and drew her close. “I need to thank you,” he said quietly, “for being here for me. For telling me the things I needed to hear. For taking the risks you have. You inspire me, Sofi´a, your grit and determination to survive—to succeed.”
A rush of warmth flowed through her. Her heart felt too big for her chest as she lifted a hand to his jaw. “You pushed me when I needed to be pushed. You made me realize I was living in fear. I should be thanking you for that, Nik. I of all people should know life is finite. I can’t spend my days waiting for the penny to drop. For that bolt of lightning that might never come.”
He inclined his head, his gaze softening. “We make a great team. I told you we would.”
Team. She flinched at the word. They were more than a team, dammit. He felt things for her. Things he wouldn’t address.
Nik’s gaze sharpened on her face. “I care about you, Sofi´a. You know I do.”
How much? The words vibrated from her across the crisp night air to him. They stayed there, hanging between them as both refused to break the standoff.
Was she completely deluding herself about how he felt? Would the wounds he carried only ever allow her so close?
She realized with a sickening feeling, in that moment, that she wasn’t falling in love with him. She was in love with him. Had been ever since their weekend in Evangelina. Her heart lurching, she wondered how she had ever let that happen.
Sure she had to stop living in fear, but making herself that vulnerable to Nik of all people? A man who didn’t even know what love was because he’d never been shown it? She had been bound and determined that night in New York to end it between them because she’d known this would happen. And now it had.
