He dragged his eyes from her and turned to look up at the stars which were now showing, sprinkled above the lights of the village.
‘The clouds are shifting,’ he said.
The splash of the water stopped and he turned to see Augi walking out of the water. She stood beside him, looking up at the stars in the night sky.
He desperately wanted to know more about her. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her a question, but he knew one question wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to know why she kept such a distance from everyone and what had happened to create such a withdrawal from the world. What was going on in her mind, her heart. But he didn’t.
He didn’t know her well enough. Not yet. But he was determined to know her better, because he’d never met anyone like Augustini Markos in his life before. And he was drawn to her through some inexplicable force which he could no more understand than fly to the moon.
She’d completely bypassed the guards which had been his constant companion since he’d been betrayed by his fiancée and his best friend. After Washington, he’d wondered how he could ever trust anyone again. But somehow, despite everything, he knew, deep in his bones, that this woman wasn’t like his fiancée. That this woman would sooner betray herself than anyone else.
She looked away from the night sky suddenly, and turned to him, her lips open, a slight frown on her face.
‘What is it?’ he asked. He seemed so in tune with her that he thought he could tell what she was thinking.
‘I’m just wondering…’ Her eyes searched his, ‘why you haven’t returned to Washington.’
He was surprised by her question and without thinking answered directly. ‘Because I’m sick of secrets and subterfuge.’
What he wasn’t prepared for was her reaction. If he hadn’t become familiar with her face, he probably wouldn’t have noticed. But it was there in a sudden blink and straightening of her spine, before she turned away. When she looked back at him again, she shot him a short, tight smile. The previous warmth had vanished.
‘It’s getting late,’ she suddenly said. ‘We should head back.’
‘Right,’ he said, not wanting this moment to end, despite the sudden change in her. He wondered what he’d said that had got to her. Two words. He couldn’t see why she wouldn’t like them. No one liked secrets and subterfuge, surely? ‘Right,’ he repeated, more faintly now.
All the way back, as silence descended once more upon them, he tried to figure out how he could ask her out. The first time he’d done it, he’d dived straight in and asked if she’d like to meet for a coffee. She’d declined. And now, after getting to know her a little better, he realised how crass and how abrupt his invitation had been. He’d have to do better this time. The question was, how?
As they walked slowly across the sand, as if neither of them really wanted to leave the magic of the sea, he thought of half-a-dozen ways he could ask her out. Business-like, maybe — something connected to Lucy and Oliver, but he rejected them. It wasn’t business he wanted to discuss with Augi, and he instinctively knew that she’d detect any dissembling on his part. No, it had to be true to his feelings because anything else would be disrespecting her. But what were his feelings? Before he could resolve his thoughts and say anything, he found they were nearly back at the house.
At the top of the path, where the dunes opened out and the lights of the village came into view, she slowed.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘For showing me.’
He nodded. ‘Any time.’
This was it, he realised. If he didn’t ask now, he wouldn’t.
He drew a breath. ‘Augi?—’
She stepped away, and in that movement he had his answer. He closed his mouth with a sigh.
‘Could you say goodbye to Kate and everyone?’ she said. ‘I think I’ll slip away after what happened. I think Lucy might like her privacy.’
‘Sure, but, Augi, I?—’
Again she interrupted him. ‘See you around, Daniel,’ she said with a firmness which couldn’t be mistaken. She knew what he’d been about to say. God knows how, but she knew.
She smiled once, with a warmth that he felt at his centre before turning and walking away, her figure quickly swallowed by the shadows.
Dan stood there longer than necessary, listening to her footsteps fade.
See you around.
It wasn’t telling him to get lost, but it also hadn’t taken their friendship to the next level, as he’d wanted. But ‘see you around’, meant the gate was still open for friendship. He could work with that.
He let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and started back towards the cottage, the sand cool beneath his feet, the faint glow of the sea still flickering at the edge of his vision.
For the first time since he’d come home, he didn’t feel lost. And, for now, that was enough.
