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Andrew’s answer was swallowed by distance and the sound of the waves fizzling onto the sand.
“Glad he’s back?” Bobby asked, as soon as they were alone. He thrust his hands deep into his pockets, and kept his face averted.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Honestly, yes.” She put a hand on Bobby’s forearm. He flinched away from the contact. “Bobby,” she said, her tone imploring. “Even without Loucas, I wouldn’t have those feelings for you. I’m sorry.”
“But you do have feelings for him?”
She bit down on her lip, and shrugged. “Yes. But nothing’s going to happen. He’s... very different to me. We move in different worlds. So whatever I feel, is just something I have to get over.”
“Nah. I don’t think you’re being honest with yourself. The guy’s as mad about you as I am.”
“He isn’t, I assure you.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. Least of all with you!” She laughed. “Come on, let’s catch up.”
Bobby was a smart enough man to know when a war had been lost. “You go ahead, honey. I’ve got some reading to make a start on.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure.” He was already walking back to the villa, and he waved a hand in the air without turning around.
Andrew was paddling in the shallows when she caught up with them. As each wave rolled and danced its way to the shore, he squealed with delight and ran back to the safety of the sand.
Mikey smiled as she watched, remembering playing similar games when she’d been a child growing up near the beach.
“He reminds me of myself,” Loucas said, a grim set on his face as she came to stand beside him.
“I was just thinking the same thing, but about me,” Mikey responded, waving at the young boy. “Isn’t it wonderful to hear him speak?”
Loucas turned to face Mikey, and the torrent of words he needed to speak bubbled in his mind. He expelled an angry sigh. “Yes.” Then, because she was right, he tried to smile. “He didn’t stop talking the whole way down here.”
Mikey grinned. “Nanny Paxton did say he was somewhat of a chatterbox before...the accident,” she finished lamely, hating the way it brought storm clouds back to his face instantly.
“I wouldn’t know, would I?”
She ached to put an arm around him. To console him. To kiss him. “Loucas, don’t...be upset about the past. It’s a waste of energy.”
“Is it?” He stared out at the horizon, watching the boat’s seemingly turtle-like progress across the edge of the world. “What if the past keeps repeating itself?”
“You got another sister you’re es
tranged from somewhere?” She said, trying, and failing, to lighten the mood.
“That is not what I meant.”
She couldn’t resist it any longer. She reached down and caught his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. “Look at him.” With her other hand, she pointed to the boy. “He is here now, and he adores you. He wants to be in your life. Nothing will ever bring Chad and Helena back, but you can make his life a happy one.”
Loucas didn’t answer. His brain was awash with thoughts and feelings. None of which made any sense. He looked around them, seeing only empty shoreline for miles. “Where’s lover boy?”
Mikey screwed up every ounce of courage she possessed. Her voice not quite steady, she responded with apparent lightness, “I’m looking at him.”
Loucas didn’t look at her. He barely seemed to hear her. “The first thing I liked about you, Mikey Jones, was your honesty.”
“Really?” She asked, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face.
His noise of assent was a deep throaty grumble. “You are the first person who’s ever felt at liberty to put me in my place. I discovered I quite liked the sensation. At least, when my character evisceration was coming out of a mouth as... perfect... as yours.”
She blushed to the roots of her hair. “Careful, or I’ll unleash my anger at you for disappearing without so much as a goodbye.” She was using a mock stern voice, attempting to infuse some humour into her words, but the raw pain was evident.
He squeezed her hand. “I truly did have an emergency.”
