And when was goodbye? When did he need to be someplace else, before or after I returned to London?
I blew out a breath, fatigue slamming into me with full force. It’s a lot to beonfor days on end and it wasn’t just Trudy feeling it. Perhaps it would be best if I left Aetheria first thing in the morning and returned to London – back to real life and some semblance of normality.
I just wanted to go home.
But that was ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the helicopter – or rather,twogorillas: the hot ex-husband and the hot-mess ex-husband. I couldn’t leave Aetheria without making sure Julian was okay – that would be abandoning him, and I wasn’t about to do that.
And I definitely had unfinished business with Tommy. Even if it was to say a final goodbye – a thought that sent a sharp pang ricocheting through me. I didn’t want to saygoodbyeto Tommy – especially not for good – but I also had to prepare for the worst.
I was still in knots when the helicopter landed, my mind zigzagging between twin conundrums. I looked at Tommy, whose unfocused gaze indicated he was still deep in thought, but he didn’t –wouldn’t?– meet my eye. And as soon as Christos opened the door, he jumped out and jogged off towards the staff quarters.
So much for finishing unfinished business. And what happened to the bloke I’d shared my sandwich with just now? Where wasthatTommy?
Christos offered his hand and I took it, too weary to pull the independent-woman card. Once my feet hit the ground, I looked longingly in the direction of my villa. I was desperate for a hot bath, then to fall into bed. But first, Julian.
‘You okay?’ I asked again when he joined me.
He stared into my eyes. There was so much behind them that was foreign to me and that scared the fuck out of me. Julian was Mr Confident, Mr I’ve Got This.
‘I will be,’ he said quietly.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Goodnight!’ Trudy’s jarring voice cut through the private bubble surrounding me and Julian and we both looked over.
‘Goodnight,’ we said in unison, like it had been a normal evening out.
Trudy and Dale climbed into the golf cart and Christos drove them away. Would I ever see them again? Now knowing that my friendship with Trudy had been a fabrication – or in part, at least – I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
‘Want me to wait with you – for Christos?’ asked Julian.
I shook my head. ‘I’ll walk. It’s not that far, and it’s downhill.’
He glanced at my shoes, then back up, his brows raised sceptically. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Eh, I’ll be fine.’ I slipped out of my shoes and picked them up, letting them dangle from my fingers. ‘Exhibit A,’ I said, showing Julian. ‘And you didn’t answer me. Do you want to talk about it?’
‘How much do you already know?’ he asked, a slight wobble in his voice.
‘Probably more than you think. But not everything.’
He inhaled through his nose, nodding slowly as his gaze drifted away – reluctant acceptance was my best guess.
‘So,’ he said, his eyes meeting mine again, ‘your villa or mine?’
I emitted an involuntary groan from deep within my chest. It sounded remarkably likeI’m desperate for a long, hot bubble bathwith a littleplease, kill me nowthrown in.
‘Not to worry,’ he reassured me, ‘we can talk another time.’
‘No – I’m sorry. That just came out. I’m here for you –really. Let’s go to mine, then I can kick you out when I start to get sleepy.’
‘So, five minutes from now?’ he teased.
‘I promise it will be at least ten.’
He smiled – this one reaching his eyes – then offered his arm. I took it and we headed down the path to my villa.
* * *
