AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course.”
“Was he responsible?”
“Only in that he bought a house with a pool,” Thanasi said, shaking his head. “Valentina, may she rest in peace, was as stubborn as anyone you’ve ever known. If she wanted to swim, heaven help anyone who told her ‘no’.”
“Nonetheless, the grief must have been quite redefining. For all of you.” She looked up at him, thinking, dispassionately, how handsome he was. And yet, he stirred no feelings within her, no sentiment, no sense of want or need. It was the complete opposite to what she felt whenever Leonidas was nearby. Even just conjuring his face in her mind made her skin lift with goosebumps.
“Are you cold?”
So, he was as observant as Leonidas as well.
“A little,” she lied, rather than admitting the truth. He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She wrapped it around her shoulders, noting the fragrance—pine and citrus. Objectively nice, but it didn’t set her pulse racing.
“I used to love coming down here as a boy.” He gestured to the beach. “For a long time, it was forbidden. After Val, our parents were terrified of any body of water, so I had to sneak out when they were asleep. I loved to swim.”
“I can see the appeal. The coastline is beautiful.”
“Yes.”
“And completely private.”
“It was one of the reasons our father bought this property.” He turned to face her, the moon cutting like a silver blade across his face. “He wasn’t as distant as I’ve made him seem,” Thanasi said after a pause. “He would take us on holidays, each year, to a little town in Italy, where we’d fish and live very simply, eating only what we’d caught or foraged. Having grown up poor, he never wanted us to become complacent with wealth. He had values he wanted to impart to us.”
“I think we’re rarely one thing or another,” she said with a lift of her shoulders. “Most humans are bundles of contradictions, good and bad, most of the time.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you are solely good, Mila?”
She lifted her brows. “That’s not possible, for anyone.”
“Are you saying you have a deeply buried mean streak?” He teased, and she laughed, because it was so absurd.
“I’m saying someone can be distant but still love you. One thing doesn’t necessarily mean the other.”
“Speaking from experience?”
She thought of her own mother, her affection and resentment, her disappointment and dejection, her love, and she nodded. “I’ve learned that by focusing on the best memories, I’m happiest. That’s not to say you should turn someone into a saint after they’ve passed, but peace comes from remembering the times that made you smile.” She turned her back on the ocean, looking towards the house. It was lit in every room, glowing golden like a lantern. It was charming and she couldn’t help but smile, even when there was a pervasive heaviness beginning to overtake her.
“You’re very wise.”
She laughed again. “I’m flattered.” Was Leonidas in the house? Or the garden? Suddenly, she ached for him, yearned to be here with him, not Thanasi. She shrugged out of his jacket and handed it back, eyes not quite meeting the older brother’s.
“Being a twin is a strange thing,” Thanasi said, unprompted. “You’re connected in a way that defies explanation.”
“You’re referring to Valentina and Leo?”
“And myself and Dimitrios. We’re twins also.”
“I didn’t know that,” she murmured, eyes wide. “The gene must be very strong in your family.”
He nodded once, his eyes on the glow of the house. “I often wonder about how Val’s death shaped Leo. It wasn’t just that they were inseparable, but also, that inexplicable connection, that was severed. Suddenly, he was adrift, even when surrounded by family.” Thanasi rubbed a hand over his jaw, a gesture she’d noticed he made when he was lost in thought. “Dimitrios doesn’t need to speak for me to know how he’s feeling—even when I do not often understand why,” he admitted gruffly. “To most people, his features are an expressionless mask, but I feel as he feels.”
Mila contemplated that. “You think losing Val changed Leo.”
“It changed us all. Him most of all.” Thanasi offered a look of puzzlement, then a tight smile. “You are extremely easy to talk to.”
She toyed with her fingers in front of her stomach. “I’m glad you’re talking to me.” But what sense could she make of it? What did any of this mean?
