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Claire grimaced. ‘She did. She went on holiday with her sister against his wishes and fell madly in love with a Greek fisherman. Eventually she married Kostas and they lived together in this house for almost fifteen years. He died at sea in a storm a few years ago and she stayed on here alone.’
Raif shrugged a broad shoulder and said gently, ‘She was still an unfaithful wife.’
Claire sighed. ‘Life isn’t that black and white.’
‘Sometimes it is,’ Raif incised in disagreement. ‘My father divorced my mother because he was bored. She did nothing wrong. She had given him three sons, and had been a good wife in every way, but he still ended their marriage. It destroyed her life. She lost almost everything that she valued and sank into depression.’
‘That must have been really tough for her and you.’ Claire looked thoughtful. ‘What about your brothers?’
‘They were almost grown at the time of the divorce and they remained with my father.’
‘So, really you had no family support with the parent you were living with,’ Claire registered in dismay on his behalf.
‘This bread is incredibly good,’ Raif remarked, reluctant to discuss his mother any further, some topics being too private. He had already shared much more than he usually did but now his reserve had kicked in.
Claire smiled. ‘It should be. I trained as a pastry chef.’
Raif tucked into the seasonal salad with appreciation. He hadn’t been that hungry but fresh, tasty food had a draw all of its own.
‘Is your mother still alive?’ she asked quietly.
‘No, she’s been gone for a few years now,’ Raif confided. ‘I can’t imagine how you must feel meetingyourmother after so long and discovering that you liked her...even though you weren’t supposed to.’
‘My father and stepmother raised me to be ashamed of her. They were very religious. That’s why it was such a shock to read those letters. My father hung onto them even though he had no intention of letting us meet,’ Claire said with distaste. ‘I pictured him gloating over those letters, enjoying his power to deny her and me. That was his revenge. He was that kind of man.’
‘You weren’t close to him.’
‘No, how could I have been? He could never see me as being a different person from my mother,’ she pointed out ruefully. ‘He had a son with my stepmother and he treated him very differently. He probably would have been happier had my mother taken me away with her. I was just the reminder of a marriage that had gone wrong and humiliated him.’
‘I’m sorry you lost your mother so soon after finding her,’ Raif murmured, pushing his empty plate away.
Claire’s eyes prickled with moisture and she blinked rapidly. ‘That’s life,’ she said with forced lightness of tone. ‘What are you doing here on Kanos?’
As she began clearing the table, Raif stood up. ‘I’ve been travelling for the last few weeks.’
‘In a suit?’
‘I had a business meeting this morning.’
Claire nodded slowly. ‘It’s been nice having company here for a change. The house feels so empty without my mother.’
‘You have to give yourself time to grieve.’
‘But I knew she was on borrowed time,’ Claire protested chokily. ‘Ishould’veadjusted better.’
Watching a tear drip down her cheek, Raif closed a hand awkwardly to her shoulder and squeezed it. ‘Preparing for a likelihood is not the same as dealing with the actual event.’
‘Don’t I know it?’ she agreed wryly.
‘I don’t want to leave you here alone,’ Raif admitted flatly.
Claire parted dry lips. ‘Thenstay... I’m not pushing you out.’
Raif sighed. ‘You want company...and I want to kiss you.’
‘Did I say kissing was off the table?’ Claire reddened, fingernails biting into her palms as she voiced that uncharacteristically bold invitation while wondering what had come over her and why it seemed so important not to let him walk away.
‘I won’t take advantage of the fact that you feel lonely and sad,’ Raif declared tautly. ‘I’m not that kind of man.’
