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CHAPTER 55
CASSIE
Cassie made omelets for dinner, and afterward, they curled up on the couch together. She wore nothing but a blue silk robe, and Leo wore a pair of athletic shorts.
The farmhouse walls were bare now, and only a few pieces of furniture remained. Irini had shipped all the things the Somerville family had requested. The rest belonged to Cassie. In time, she would change things, but there was no rush. She liked having a few reminders of Beatrice around.
“I have something I want to show you,” Leo said.
“What is it?”
“Wait right here.” Leo left her side and searched through his satchel by the door. “Here it is.” He returned to her and handed her a book.
She looked up at him in disbelief. “You ordered a copy of my dissertation?”
“I not only ordered it—I read it.”
“You read the whole thing?” she asked, deeply moved he read something only a handful of people had. A dissertation wasn’t exactly a page-turning experience.
“Cover to cover.” He kissed the top of her head.
“What did you think?”
“I’d forgotten how Eros abandoned Psyche and all the tasks she had to perform for Venus to try and win him back. Psyche is a lot stronger than I recall. I also got a little lost in all the deep theory.” He took the book from her and thumbed through it. “Here’s my favorite part. The footnote on how inThe Iliad,Homer described Eros as the lust that drives men and gods to have sex.” He looked up at her with a huge grin. “I’m honored to be called Eros.”
She threw her head back with a big laugh. “You have absolutely no shame.”
He took her face in his hands. “I’m so proud of you. That was an incredible amount of work, and I hope you do write a book someday.”
His supportive words meant everything to her. They meant more than winning a fellowship. Leo loved her unconditionally, and it was all she needed.
“Leo,” she blinked away a few tears. “Thank you for believing in me. And I’m going to take your advice.”
He raised a brow.
“I am going to write a book. In fact, I’ve already started it.”
Leo’s eyes lit up. “What made you change your mind?”
“Beatrice named this estate Meraki for its inspiration. She wanted it to be a place where she did the work that mattered the most to her. I feel the same way.”
“It is beautiful here. I’m sure it would help with creativity.”
“I want to write my book here,” she said with care. “It’s important to me.”
“Not in London?” he asked, his voice heavy with disappointment as if they were breaking up all over again.
“I’m not moving here, but I want to carve out some time to write. I’m going to reduce my hours at work to focus on my book. I’ll begin after Beatrice’s estate is settled and I have full ownership.” Like all things new, it felt a little awkward at first, but she was finally stating what she wanted.
Leo didn’t argue or plead with her to change her mind. Instead, he held her gaze and whispered, “Okay.”
She studied Leo’s eyes for any hesitancy but saw none.
“We’ll arrange visitation.” He smiled. “I’m swamped with work at Rose Village, but I reserve the right to come and visit you.” He brushed her hair over her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “I want you to have whatever you need to do your best work, but I can’t go long without seeing you.”
“I’ll need to see you too.” She filled with relief. He really was prepared to support her goals.
He ran his fingers through her hair. “I keep thinking how close I came to missing you.”
