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“I did mourn Lukos for a long time. He had been such an important part of my life. But I’m moving on now.” And then she wondered if she should share her thoughts with Roberto. She wanted to tell someone—someone who wasn’t her brother, who thought he had all the answers where she was concerned.
“Do you really think you can do that? Move on, that is?” Roberto’s gaze searched hers as though he could see the truth reflected in her eyes.
“Lukos will always have a place in my heart, but he made me promise him that I would move on. That I would have a life and all it entails. And that’s what I’m trying to do. It hasn’t been easy and there were days when I really regretted making him that promise because all I wanted to do at that point was to wrap myself up in his memories and stay there. But now, well, I’m feeling a little more confident and I know I have to move on, for the promise I made and most of all for myself.”
Roberto reached out to her. His fingers gently stroked her cheek. “You are the strongest person I know.”
His kind words made her heart swell. “Thank you. But I’m not anything special.”
“You are to me.”
Her pulse raced and she longed to lean forward and press her lips to his. But perhaps she was reading this moment all wrong. And she didn’t want to mess up this special friendship.
After an awkward moment of silence, Roberto said, “I need to get ready for our last day in Venice.”
“I... I should go.” She moved toward the door.
“You can wait here.” He grabbed some clothes from the bed and headed to the shower. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Stasia felt guilty for dragging Roberto away from his work. It was so evident last night that his grandfather was looking forward to Roberto’s findings. She remembered her own grandfather and the close link she’d shared with him. She would do anything to have him in her life again. She missed him dearly.
Stasia’s gaze turned to the table with the stack of papers and Roberto’s laptop. She felt guilty for coming between him and his bond to his grandfather. She moved to the table and sat down. She had to admit she was curious to unravel the mystery.
Her gaze moved to the bathroom door. It was closed and the sound of running water could be heard. Would Roberto mind if she took another look? She didn’t think so.
She opened his laptop and one of the files she’d worked on the other day appeared on the screen. In fact, she noticed that Roberto hadn’t gotten much further. She set to work. Maybe, just maybe, she could uncover something more than a transposed number.
“What are you doing?”
Stasia’s head jerked up. Her gaze met Roberto’s questioning stare with his arched brow. A guilty smile pulled at her lips. She felt like she was back in primary school reaching for a second cookie when only offered one.
“I was bored. I thought I’d look at the spreadsheet some more.” As their gazes continued to connect, she said, “You really care, don’t you?”
His eyes widened. The color drained from his face. As time passed without him saying a word, she realized how her words might have sounded.
“I meant you care about the company.”
The worry lines on his handsome face smoothed. He shrugged, just like he’d done when they’d had a similar conversation. “I’ve tried to tell myself that I don’t care, but the more I work on this project, the more I realize how much I enjoy this business.”
“Maybe it’s time you went back.”
He shook his head as he slipped on his socks and shoes. “I offered to help, but I couldn’t work for my grandfather again. We disagree too much.”
“Maybe it’ll be different this time.” She was hoping during the cruise that the two men would repair their relationship—maybe it was too much to hope. “Show me what needs to be done.”
“You don’t have to do that. I told you I would take care of it.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” She thought about mentioning how it would please his grandfather to finish this project early, but then she decided to tell him the honest truth. “The thing is, I’m curious. There has to be something here that we’re not seeing.”
