“I don’t understand.” Roberto frowned. “Diego doesn’t know either?”
She lowered her gaze and shook her head slowly.
“Why don’t you tell him the truth?”
“It’s a long story. We realized he was different from other children a few weeks after he was born. My ex rejected him and, I quote, said, ‘A freak can’t be my son,’ before he disappeared.”
“What an asshole!” Roberto said.
“My mother didn’t want me to have to put up with people’s gossip, so we behaved as if the child were hers. It might seem crazy, but you can’t imagine how cruel people can be in a tiny place like this.”
“Do the Docampos know?”
“I’m sure they have their suspicions, but they can’t prove it. Diego and Helena were born on the mainland, a few days apart. Aunt and nephew became twins. I told you I married young.”
“What happened to your husband?”
“Nothing I feel like telling.” She shrugged. “Let’s just say that things ran their course. We’re divorced. It’s all in the past.”
“And what did you do after that?”
“I stayed on the island.” She tucked a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “My father had died in the speedboat accident, my mother was on her own with a baby girl, and Diego needed me. You’ve met him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“And your plans?”
“I had to put them on the back burner. Then things on the island changed, what with the national park and all that.” Her voice had grown quieter. “Now it’s out of the question, but we have to find a way of carrying on. That’s why I deal with the rental properties.”
Roberto digested what he had just heard. The challenges of living on the island were once more brought home to him.
“Have you never thought about leaving? Going to live somewhere else? Starting a new life from scratch?”
“Not without Diego.” She shook her head. “He needs me. And he needs a lot of extra support: specialist teachers, medical care, stuff that’s too expensive and I couldn’t afford on the mainland, even if I found a good job.”
“That’s why you hesitated when we opened the bundle and we counted the money,” Roberto ventured. “Even though you knew we shouldn’t keep it.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “For a second, I imagined that another life was possible. But you’ve seen what that damn money has led to.”
“And now here we are.”
“And now here we are,” she repeated.
They fell silent, both soaking in the feeling of intimacy. Antía leaned back against the headboard, next to Roberto, who could sense the gentle heat of her body. If it hadn’t been for the hell that was being unleashed all around them, it would have been the perfect moment. Suddenly, his gaze came to a halt on the bookcase, and he smiled.
“Looks like you already knew who I was.” He pointed to a copy ofThe Fleeting Glance. “You never said.”
Antía blushed. “I didn’t want to come across like some crazy fan the first time we met. And now I’m dying of embarrassment.”
They both laughed.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said eventually. “And you could at least tell me if you liked it.”
“I loved it.” She stole a sideways glance at him. “You write really well.”
“Now I’m the one who’s blushing.”
“You’ve had such an interesting life.” Antía turned and looked straight at him. “You’ve traveled the world, been to exotic places, seensome terrible things, sure, but also had incredible experiences. After all that, I must seem really dull and boring.”
“Not at all. It’s just that ...”
