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On her side, it was agony to endure Sean’s tenderness and consideration. Her body didn’t care that she couldn’t trust him. Her skin still tingled under his fingertips. Her stomach still heated when she caught him looking at her in that way. What her body didn’t understand was that Sean was acting on his guilt. He was seeing to her every need out of a sense of duty. The only way to end this was to set him free.
Through her bedroom window, she spotted Matt and Emily on a bench in the garden. She made her way over and sat down next to her brother.
“Hey, Sis.” Matt shifted closer to Emily to make space for her. “Can I get you a drink? Cocktail?”
An uninvited memory of Sean mixing a cocktail for her drifted into her mind. She forced a smile. “If you’re sitting here, your homework must be done.”
“I still have an essay to finish this afternoon. Home schooling is cool.” He interlaced his fingers behind his head. “The flexibility works for me.”
Emily patted his knee. “I have to say, I’m proud of how hard you’re working with Kat.”
Asia tensed. She didn’t want Kat to do them any favors, at least not more than what she was already doing. “Don’t get used to it. We can’t stay here indefinitely.” She measured Matt’s reaction. “Actually, I want to talk to you about where we go from here. Are you serious about studying food science?”
His face lit up. “You mean you’d let me?”
“It’s your life, Matt. I’m not going to tell you how to live it. All I want is for you to be happy.” She looked at Emily. “What do you say, Granny?”
“I’m with you on that one,” Emily said with a wink.
Matt grinned. “Then I should start looking into the September university enlistment for Copenhagen.”
“Are you sure?”
“The weather here is nicer, but where else am I going to land the best sweet flavor internship in the world?”
His enthusiasm made her smile. “The school year is almost over in Copenhagen. It would make more sense to finish your year in Cartagena. Let’s see if the principal will agree to let you take your exams early.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Sis.”
“Ouch.” She laughed. “Careful.”
He pulled away with a frown. “Sorry. I keep forgetting.”
She turned to Emily. “What about you, Granny? Does that work? We finish another six months in Cartagena and then we move back to Copenhagen for Matt to start university?”
Emily fixed a compassionate gaze on Asia. “What about you, Asia? What do you want?”
“It sounds like a good plan to me,” she says. “The spa isn’t going to happen. I’m going back to my old job until I find something in Copenhagen. It’ll be hard, Matt,” she said with a warning, not wanting him to expect too much.
“I don’t want you to pay my way, Sis. I’m going to apply for a student loan, and I’d like to get a part-time job.”
“No,” she said firmly. “You’ll study. Maybe you can take a job during your vacations to earn some pocket money, but nothing that will keep you up late and make you too tired to concentrate.”
He saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
She should’ve felt lighter with the decision out of the way, but the weight on her shoulders didn’t lift. “I’ll arrange it then.”
Sean took his new passport from the dresser drawer and put it in his jacket pocket together with the deed that declared him the owner of Jerry’s Pub. Then he threw a few outfits in the new bag he’d bought and grabbed some toiletries from the bathroom. Nothing else in the room belonged to him. He looked around one last time, his gaze lingering on the door leading to Asia’s room. She loathed him so much she couldn’t even tell him in person she was leaving for Cartagena tomorrow. He had to hear it from Lann.
He’d failed.
The gods of the arts knew he’d tried, but his dad always said a man had to know when to surrender a fight.
He exited onto the landing, pausing for a moment in front of Asia’s door. He lifted his hand to knock, but then let it drop to his side.
It was better like this. She needed a clean break. Having to take her nightmares with her wherever she went was already too much. His only wish was that she’d be able to let go of those bad dreams one day. Even if the thought alone killed him, he hoped she’d find happiness in the arms of a man who deserved her.
He said a quick goodbye to Emily and Matthew in the library before greeting Alfonso, Kat, and Thomas at the front door. Lann drove him to the airport.
The Russian didn’t say anything when he parked in the drop-off zone, but Sean could feel the aeromancist’s strange, yellow eyes on him as he got out of the car and lifted his bag from the backseat.
