Because he couldn’t watch her with someone else. He couldn’t forgive himself for waiting too long to tell her how he felt. Distance was the only answer.
No, he couldn’t tell her any of that.
“I mean that if you hadn’t been snooping around Knossos, Vautour never would have even known you existed,” he said, instead. “And if you hadn’t gotten caught, I wouldn’t have had to pretend you’re my fiancée to keep you safe.”
“Oh, so this is my fault?” she asked, now turning her finger inward. “Need I remind you, Theo, that you were the one who came looking formeat the museum, not the other way around,” she said, pressing her finger into her chest, giving him yet another reason to look at her breasts.
Gutterbrain. Snap out of it.
“Bullshit, Juicy,” he said, not giving a shit about calling her Daniela anymore. “You mean to tell me that you saw me at Knossos and weren’t going to do anything about it? You never let anything go. You know you would have gone looking for me. Admit it.”
“I…I…”
For once, she was speechless.
It shouldn’t have been as satisfying as it was. He smiled. He’d finally gotten to her.
But given the scowl starting to form on her face, it didn’t seem like she liked it very much.
“Of course I was going to look for you! I thought you were dead! But the only reason I wanted to find you was so I could tell you off, you pendejo! Did you really expect me to see you at Knossos and be like, ‘Oh, there he is. Alive and well. Mystery solved. Time to move on,’ ” she said, brushing her hands in adonemotion, “you selfish asshole?!”
Her voice started to quiver.Shit.Things were going off the rails now.
“Dani, I’m sor—” he said, bringing his hand up to comfort her, but she backed away.
“I swear, being around you…if I’m going to be stuck with a brother, I’d rather be with Eddie. At least Eddie knows better than to meddle in my dating life,” she said before retreating from the room.
If she only knew.
* * *
Once Theo took a fewdeep breaths, he finally left the room to join the others in the living room. There were about half a dozen other people who’d come over. Theo’s hackles went up until Christos explained that they were trustworthy—other cousins and his girlfriend Phoebe’s friends from work. Theo searched the room for Dani. There she was with Phoebe in the kitchen helping pour drinks. She was laughing and having fun.
It reminded him of being at one of their families’ gatherings.So often during those parties, his mother would humblebrag about her cooking, while her mother would overtly boast. Theo and Dani would always find each other from across the room and roll their eyes at their mothers’ ridiculousness. He loved how Dani always seemed to be thinking of him at the exact same time that he was thinking about her. It was like their little secret when their gazes would connect. Sometimes it felt like there was no one else in the room as they spoke only through their eyes. God, he missed those parties.
Now, when she caught him looking over and glared back, the only thing her eyes said wasFuck. Off.
Theo walked over to the patio doors, staring out at the spectacular view of Athens with the Acropolis far in the distance. The sight of it towering above the city always gave him a rush of adrenaline, picturing the gods looking down on the ancient Greeks, delivering their commands and wielding their powers over the lands. He was lost in a daydream when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Andreas.
“I’d like to show you something,” he said, motioning for Theo to join him as he walked down the hall, away from the buzz of the party.
Theo glanced over his shoulder, checking on Dani one more time, and then he followed Andreas.
They entered a room, an office with various paintings and pictures depicting Greek life hanging on the wall. And on a desk in the center of the room was a box full of books, maps, and drawings.
“What’s this?” Theo asked, looking into the box.
“I brought this from home—my life’s work on the eye of the Minotaur.”
Theo shot a curious glance at him.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot earlier. Maybe showing you this will show that you can trust me. I have absolutely nothing to gain by helping you.”
Fuck.Now Theo felt like an asshole.
“Look, I’m sorry about earlier—” he started, but Andreas put his hand up to stop him.
“You don’t have to explain. Daniela helped me to understand,” Andreas said with a dreaminess to his eyes.
