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“There are times when I feel it, others I don’t.”
“Do you see each other often?”
“We work together,” he said, gesturing towards the shoreline. She moved with him on an ankle that was slightly painful. Then again, she’d pushed it a little today, acting as though nothing was wrong.
“That’s not an answer—another gift you share with him.”
“Oh?”
“Leonidas has a talent for not answering questions.”
He grinned. “I imagine that can be quite infuriating.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re doing it again.”
“Guilty as charged.” He held back the branch of a tree for her to pass beneath. “We’re family,” he said, frowning, rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw.
“That doesn’t tell me very much.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
She blinked up at him, shaking her head. “None.”
“Lucky you.”
“Not really. I always wanted a bigger family. After my mother died, I felt very alone.”
He was quiet, considering that.
“Families are strange beasts,” he said finally. “We love one another. We would each of us do anything another asked. But that doesn’t mean we always like to spend too much time together.”
“And yet, you seem to get on so well.”
“We do.”
“Then why not—,”
“Has Leonidas told you about our sister?” Thanasi asked with a look of intensity that bore into Mila’s soul. She nodded slowly.
“After Val, nothing was the same. We were only children then, but the fabric of our family was shredded. Our parents changed. Everything was different. For years, we knew, though it was never discussed, that we couldn’t be happy or excited about anything. We grew up in the same environment, we understand each other uniquely, but sometimes, I think the memories of what we lost, and of what that loss cost us, make it too hard to move forward.”
Sadness cut through Mila.
“It was worst of all for Leonidas. They were twins, and very close. After Val died, my father, in particular, found it hard to be around Leo. He reminded dad too much of Val.”
Mila’s heart tightened, and then seemed to splinter. “I would have thought it would be the opposite. Surely Leo reminding everyone of her was a good thing?”
“Grief is not logical,” he said with a lift of his shoulders. “My father grieved by pretending Val had never existed. That was a lot harder to do when Leo was around.”
“That paints a pretty awful picture. I can’t imagine your mum ostracizing Leonidas.”
“No. My mother has always adored him.”
“She’s a very kind woman.”
“Yes.”
“Did your father blame himself in some way?”
