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‘Do you think so?’ Marit couldn’t help but ask.
‘You don’t?’ she asked with a smile.
As if drawn once again by that invisible thread, she felt the tug as he approached the table, the shadows in his eyes masked by the softness in his gaze as it focused on Katy and he pressed a kiss to the baby’s cheek once he reached the table. Marit was surprised when his hand reached out to her shoulder and she couldn’t have stopped herself from anchoring it there with her own. Summer’s eyes took in the small gesture and smiled. Marit looked up at Lykos as he turned to her, the question in her eyes answered by his. They would talk later.
‘Ah, there you are,’ Theron said. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’
‘Really, Theron. You are old enough to go to the toilet by yourself these days,’ Lykos teased.
‘Well, it’s just that I might need your help to hold—’
Marit coughed as air got caught in her throat and Summer cried her outrage, slapping her husband and drawing curious gazes from the guests.
‘When will you two behave?’ Summer demanded.
‘Never,’ they both replied, before breaking into wide genuine grins. For the first time since arriving, Marit felt something ease in her chest and she took in the powerful bond between the three. It was full of love, affection and trust and for a moment she allowed herself to feel a tendril of grief that she would never be able to be a part of that. No. Her future lay in Svardia with another man and another set of duties.
The rest of the afternoon passed in easy conversation and delicious food. Lykos spent a long while followed around by a group of children. One clung to his leg, one to his arm and another tried desperately to climb onto his back. Not surprised in the least, it warmed Marit’s heart to see him so gentle and patient with them. She saw him whisper to a girl who looked about sixteen, who ran off eagerly to do his bidding, but Theron took the chair beside her and distracted her.
Eventually Lykos relaxed enough to exchange a civil conversation with Kyros—bringing so much happiness to Summer that Marit knew exactly why both men were trying so hard to fix something that had caused so much pain. Lykos might tease and taunt, might charm and flirt his way through his exchanges, but now that she had seen through the mask, seen the truth that he hid from the world, she would never be able to not see it.
The mask was a shadow, a mirage, protecting a man who had so much love to give but had never been allowed to. His father had abused it, his mother had refused it, Kyros had betrayed it and Theron had rejected it,beforetheir reunion.
‘What is it,agápi mou?’
‘Mm?’ Marit asked, leaning into the palm of his hand.
‘What has you looking so sad?’
She couldn’t tell him. Because the answer had surprised her so much it had stopped her tongue. Instead, she forced a smile to her lips and simply said that she was tired.
‘I will make our goodbyes. But, before we do, I have something for you.’
His eyes twinkled irresistibly, their silver sparks drawing her gaze rather than what he held in his hand. Finally she looked down and when she realised what it was she gasped.
‘A tattoo!’ she cried.
‘Atemporaryone,’ he clarified, referring to the silver transfer in an ornate pattern.
The detail was beautiful and that he’d thought, even now, of the list she’d written back in Milan—a list that she’d never thought he’d take seriously—it meant so much to her. She put the temporary tattoo into her bag, realising that she would never use it. It would, instead, be locked away with her most prized possessions, as a reminder of the kindness she’d once been given by a Greek billionaire.
Within ten minutes Lykos had extricated them from the throng at Theron and Summer’s party with Marit having had her cheeks pinched only a few times. Lykos fared worse, or at least seemed to. There was a lot of shouting in Greek and gestures that ranged from warm to aggressively affectionate. A handshake between him and Kyros was more than anyone had expected and it was clearly a sign of hope to so many.
‘Are you really tired? Or were you just ready to leave?’ he asked as they closed the door to Theron and Summer’s gorgeous villa.
She bit her lip and turned to him.
‘Thank you,’ he mouthed exaggeratedly and pressed a swift kiss to her lips that seemed to take them both by surprise. Lykos cleared his throat and Marit turned away to hide her smile. ‘Are you happy to walk?’ he asked. When she nodded, he threw his jacket to the driver and dismissed him for the rest of the day.
They turned onto a street but Marit couldn’t have described it, instead her attention was caught by the way Lykos removed his cufflinks, putting them in his pocket before rolling up his sleeves. She thought at first what had caught her attention was the sight of his powerful forearms, but after a while she realised what it was; she had never seen him so relaxed. Only with them gone did she realise how many times she’d seen him pull on his cufflinks as if in the habit of checking everything was ‘just so’.
She tucked the thought away the moment Lykos took her hand in his and instead, with the constant awareness of how little time they had left, she chose to enjoy the moment, finding something peaceful in walking beside him. Even more when he let go of her hand and drew her beneath his arm, tucking her into his side as if they both wished that she could stay there.
A shuddering sigh vibrated through his body. ‘He apologised.’
‘Kyros?’ she asked, though she was sure that was the answer.
Lykos nodded. ‘I don’t... I don’t know what to do with it.’
