LITMIR.BIZ

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he’d wait for Monday. Escort Sara back to the mainland and wash his hands of her. Blast it!

      By lunchtime, Sara’s nerves were stretched tight. She’d spent the morning talking with her grandmother. She’d finally come to believe the woman had had no inkling of the dire straits they had sometimes lived through. She began to soften the stories, glossing over the hardships Damaris had faced, trying to put a happier note on everything. She didn’t want to cause Eleani any more distress than she already felt. Again and again she looked at the letter and then at Sara.

      By the time Marsa announced lunch, all Sara wanted to do was flee to the yacht and see if the captain would take her to the next island.

      But she rose when Eleani did, used the proffered powder room to freshen up and went bravely to the terrace where lunch was being served.

      Today she was escorted to the family table. She saw the crew’s table on the lower terrace and wished she was going there instead.

      Spiros joined them a moment later.

      “Nikos has work to do. He’s eating inside,” he explained to Eleani.

      Sara knew the truth. He couldn’t even stand to be around her for the length of a meal. She was surprised at how much that hurt. For a few magical days she’d enjoyed herself. It was time to pay the piper. She was not some glamorous socialite like the ones Nikos was used to. She’d used him to get to Eleani. But she’d lost a lot along the way.

      After an awkward lunch, Sara excused herself and headed for the boat. The first person she saw was Stefano who asked her if the rumors were true—was she Eleani Konstantinos’s granddaughter?

      “Stefano, do not listen to rumors,” she said, brushing past him and going to her cabin. She pulled on her swimsuit, covered it with shorts and a top and grabbed a towel. She wanted to be alone, to think and to swim and to find some peace.

      She approached the captain about taking the runabout.

      “Where are you going?” he asked, not saying no. He’d also probably heard the rumor.

      “Around to the cove Nikos took me to. I’ll stick close to the island and anchor on the beach.”

      “Do you know how to run the boat?”

      She nodded. She’d watched Nikos. It didn’t look hard.

      The captain inclined his head. “Take drinking water and don’t swim deeper than where you can stand.”

      Sara smiled, warmed he was concerned enough to lecture her on swimming safety. And smart enough to know she needed to be alone.

      “I’ll be careful,” she promised.

      She banged the dock twice trying to get the runabout away, but once she had it pointed in the direction she wished to go, she was set. In only moments Sara felt as alone as anyone could. There was only sky and sea and a bit of an island. And heartache.

      When she reached the cove, she nosed the boat to the beach. Holding the anchor and line, she jumped out and dragged it up on the shore. Satisfied the boat wasn’t going anywhere, she waded back for her towel. She swam first, staying close to the shore, back and forth as if swimming laps. When she was almost too tired to lift her arms again, she waded ashore and moved her towel to a spot of shade where she lay down and tried to keep her mind empty.

      But scenes from the day replayed. Nikos’s anger. His aloof stance by the window. His hard eyes. She couldn’t get any of them to vanish and wondered if she’d be doomed to repeat those scenes over and over all her life.

      Finally the soothing warmth of the breeze and the gentle lap of the sea lulled her into the welcomed oblivion of sleep.

      When Sara awoke, she was not alone. Nikos sat not five feet away. She sat up slowly, glancing around. There was no other boat.

      “You came by the path?” she asked.

      “You took the boat.”

      “I thought you had work to do.”

      “I finished and thought I’d take a swim.”

      She gestured to the water. “Have at it.”

      “You should not have gone swimming alone. It can be dangerous.”

      “As if you care,” she replied petulantly. She wished she could recapture the feelings she’d had when they’d been here before. Blinking her eyes to keep tears at bay, she stared across the sea. Why had doing the right thing for her mother ended so badly for her?

      “I do not wish an accident to befall anyone,” Nikos said. After a moment he spoke again, “Why didn’t you tell me? We talked about family. Why not say you were estranged from your grandmother?”

      “I was afraid you’d know instantly I was trying to reach Eleani and stop me.”

      “Things might have been better if left as they were.”

      “I promised my mother I would do my best to see her letter reached her mother. Would you have me renege?”

      “Your mother is dead. She would not have known.”

      “But I would have known I hadn’t kept a promise. Would you have broken a promise, Nikos?”

      He was silent for a moment. Then reluctantly he said, “No, I would have honored my promise as you did. I think there might have been a better way to handle things.”

      “I tried the normal means. I could not make contact. It seemed like an act of fate when I got the job at the resort. I was so close. And when I was chosen to work on the Cassandra, I knew it was right. I’m sorry you feel I used you. In a way I guess I did, but I never lied to you about anything.”

      He didn’t say anything, just stood and walked to the water. Sara watched as he dove in and swam away. He turned when he was some yards off shore and began to swim parallel to the beach. The cove was not wide. He swam laps. Sara watched every stroke, wishing he’d asked her to join him.

      She rose and picked up her towel, shaking off the sand. She waded to the boat and tossed in her towel, then plunged into the silken water. Keeping out of Nikos’s way, she swam hard, trying to tire herself out so she could sleep tonight. If he didn’t arrange transportation for her soon, she’d have to stay through the weekend. How awkward that would be. She’d have to explain things to the crew—not that it was any of their business, but they had befriended her when she joined on and it was the right thing to do. If it fed gossip, so be it. Better than rampant speculation.

      Sara lost track of time. She plowed through the water, growing tired but pushing on. Zoning out while swimming helped her forget everything. There was only the water and the sky. Finally almost too tired to move, she stopped to tread water for a moment. Looking around, she spotted Nikos in the boat. For a second her heart skipped a beat. Would he leave her here? She’d never find the pathway back.

      Unlikely. He sat in the boat, watching her. She began to swim slowly back. Her arms and legs felt like limp spaghetti. Her breathing was still hard. But she also felt at peace for the first time since she walked up to the house that morning.

      “Need a hand?” he asked when she reached the boat.

      She shook her head, standing in the shallow water.

      “Then push the boat off and get in. It’s time to go back.”

      She went to get the anchor. Nikos coiled the line as she brought the anchor to the boat. She pushed the bow away from the beach, facing it seaward. Then she scrambled aboard. Taking her towel, she dried her face and arms. Tying it around her, sarong fashion, she sat in the copilot’s chair. Nikos had started the engine as soon as she boarded, and once she was seated he opened the throttle until Sara felt as if they were flying.

      Before long they were tied up behind the looming back of the Cassandra.

      He turned off the engine and looked at her.

      “Now

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