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Kostos tilted his head. “The thing is, I have a flight to go back to Greece in about a week.”
Nancy was suddenly stricken. As the rest of the table turned to one another for private conversations, she lowered her voice to whisper, “You didn’t mention that!”
“I won’t be gone forever,” Kostos said. “I have a few family matters to attend to.”
Nancy nodded. “It always comes down to family, doesn’t it?”
“I knew you’d understand that,” Kostos said, bowing his head. “Listen. A thought just came to me out of the blue. And you can say no if you want to.”
Nancy frowned, her heart thudding.
“What if we flew to Venice together? That way, I can see that gorgeous city again and meet the rest of your family before I head on to Greece?”
Nancy’s lips parted with surprise. She had not expected this. Then again, she hadn’t expected anything surrounding Kostos. He was a complete outlier.
“I know we just met each other,” Kostos hurried to add, “and I know there’s so much we haven’t discussed. But to be honest with you, Nancy, you’d be doing me a favor. I absolutely detest that transatlantic flight. When I do it by myself, I spend most of it terrified and glued to my chair.”
It was difficult for Nancy to imagine Kostos in such a state. Her heart melted at the fear that now echoed from his eyes.
“It isn’t too difficult to get over to Greece from Venice,” Kostos finished. “What do you say?”
Nancy didn’t hesitate. “I think it sounds wonderful to have company. Let’s do it.”
After all, what did she have to lose? Even if Kostos had only been a friend rather than someone she was falling for, she would have said yes in a heartbeat. Kostos had just revealed a weakness, a devastating interior flaw that often made his overnight flights unbearable. She would do anything to take that pain away. She had to.
ChapterEleven
Janine tip-toed to the kitchen a couple of mornings after their museum visit to get a glass of water, only to discover all the lights on, Alyssa’s head on the kitchen table, and library books flung open in front of her, only some of them in English. Her laptop was propped open, as well, on a translation website, where it seemed like Alyssa had been painstakingly typing passages from Italian books to get a better sense of this crazy Italian secret society. Ugh.
Janine shook Alyssa awake gently. “Alyssa? Honey?”
Alyssa’s eyes fluttered open, and then she burst awake. “Mom! What time is it?”
“It’s four-thirty,” Janine said, stifling a yawn.
“Oh. Ugh.” Alyssa rubbed her eyes as Janine bent to peer at the strange paintings in the Italian books, many of which showed the “secret rituals” the society used to orchestrate.
“You didn’t go to bed at all?” Janine asked.
“I got obsessed with learning about this stuff,” Alyssa said. “I just kept going.”
“You have to take care of yourself, sweetie.” Janine wrapped a curl around Alyssa’s ear.
“I know. Don’t tell Maggie about this, okay?” Alyssa closed her computer slowly.
“Why don’t you sleep in a little bit?” Janine urged. “There’s no rush on going to Mauricio’s house. You can sleep in and have a late breakfast. I think it’s supposed to rain all day…” Janine paused to listen for the patter of rain on the windows. Although it was inky black, she could feel the canals filling, the city slumbering beneath and above all that water. “Maybe it’s a good day to rest.”
Reluctantly, Alyssa agreed, yet demanded that the books remain open where she’d left them and that nobody touch them. Janine translated this information to Maggie a few hours later, when they’d both awoken for morning tea, watching the rain from the kitchen counter.
“Your sister doesn’t want us to touch those books.”
“Where are we supposed to eat breakfast?” Maggie asked with a laugh.
Eventually, Janine and Maggie donned raincoats and headed out into the gray morning. There beneath an awning, they ate chocolate croissants as Janine drank a small espresso and Maggie had tea, watching as tourists tried to make the best of one of their fleeting mornings in Venice, despite the downpour.
It was rare for Janine to be alone with one of her daughters, as they were often glued at the hip, the very best of friends despite their differences. It had been that way for years.
“I just got some information,” Maggie began, her voice soft and lyrical. “I don’t know what to make of it.”
