Chapter Nineteen #2
He turned the display slowly. Most of the keychains were cheap bits of plastic that meant nothing to him.
Then he spotted one and grinned. A little metal bee.
That was it. Bea would love it. He knew she would.
He checked, but she was still deep in conversation with the woman who was trying to sell her lace.
A lace tablecloth, by the look of it, which made no sense to him considering Katerina had just given her one.
She’d finally remembered to hang that one on the line before they left the house.
She’d completely forgotten about it when they got back yesterday, though Blane figured he had to take some responsibility for that.
He’d managed to distract her pretty damn well with the extra set of hands he’d brought to Crete.
He smiled to himself, snagged the bee keychain from the display and managed to pay for it without her noticing.
The kid behind the cash register slipped it into a plain white paper bag.
Blane looked down at it for a second, remembering the little British Museum bag Bea had handed him in London, the museum logo printed across the front.
Then she turned around, and he shoved the bag into his pocket.
He was impressed when Bea pulled off the road beside the fish taverna she’d been talking about.
She was right; it was much quieter than the places down in town.
There was nothing else around, only the small white building with a handful of cars parked outside and a few tables on a terrace overlooking the water.
He took her hand as they walked out onto the terrace.
“What do you think? Is it too warm, or should we sit out here?”
Normally, he was the kind of guy who’d sit inside in the shade, but he knew she loved a view of the water and, if he wanted to be honest about it, the view affected him too.
The turquoise sea, the little fishing boats bobbing below and the barren hillsides descending steeply around them, hiding the rest of civilization from sight, made this feel like somewhere he wanted to make the most of.
As he led her toward a table beside the balustrade over the water, he admitted to himself that what he really wanted to make the most of was these last few days with her.
He hadn’t lied when he told her that seeing her happy made him happy.
As soon as they were seated, a waiter appeared, and it struck Blane again that people here were genuinely warm and friendly.
The guy joked with them about ordering a bottle of wine and staying long enough to enjoy the sunset and the romantic view.
Even as Blane laughed with him, he snuck a glance at Bea and figured they might just do that.
It was late in the afternoon already, and he knew damn well she’d enjoy it.
She ordered their usual bottle of sparkling water for the table, and they sipped it while they waited for their food. Down in the little cove below, a family was playing at the water’s edge, the kids running in and out of the shallows.
Bea laughed as she watched them. “It’s always lovely to see families like that, don’t you think?”
“I guess.”
She turned to meet his gaze. “Family for you is just you and your sister?”
“That’s right. I should give Brooke a call at some point soon.” He looked back at the family below. “And you? There’s just you and your sister, right?”
For the first time, it occurred to him that he probably should have asked more about Bea’s family but it hadn’t felt necessary. He felt as though he knew who she was; he didn’t need to place her inside a family tree to know she was a special lady.
“That’s right.”
“And she’s older than you. Rosalind, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He frowned. “But you’re not close.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because if you were, you would’ve told me all about her.”
She laughed and swatted at his arm. “Are you saying I talk too much about the things I like?”
He caught her hand and held on to it. “All I was saying was that you would’ve told me more about your sister if the two of you were close. But now that you mention it…” He smiled. “Yeah. You talk too much.”
Her eyes widened, and he tightened his grip on her hand.
“And I love it.”
She relaxed.
“But that wasn’t the point I was making.”
“No, I know. And you’re right.” She sighed. “I wish we were closer, but I’m afraid she’s rather disapproving.”
“Of you?”
“Yes, of me. But not only of me. Of anything that doesn’t conform to the way she thinks the world ought to be.
” She lifted a shoulder. “But honestly, I’d rather not dwell on Rosalind this afternoon.
Do you want to tell me about Brooke? You said she’s much younger than you.
” She made a face at him. “And you don’t talk about her much, but that certainly doesn’t lead me to the same conclusion. I know you’re very fond of her.”
“I am. She’s an amazing person.”
The waiter returned with their food. Blane’s sea bream looked fantastic, and for a while they concentrated on eating. When he looked up again, Bea was watching him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, there’s something. Go ahead and tell me.”
She set down her fork. “I’m not sure I want to. I don’t want to offend you.”
“Don’t think you can.” He studied her. “You’re curious about something. Tell me what it is. I’ll answer if I can.” He considered that for a moment. “And I won’t if I don’t want to. How about that?”
“That sounds fair.” She hesitated. “I was wondering about Brooke. You said she’s so much younger than you, and you were in the Navy for all those years. And your parents died young…”
He sat a little straighter. It didn’t surprise him that she’d put it together. Most people didn’t think to ask, but laid out like that, it was obvious enough.
“She was still a kid when they died.”
Bea held his gaze. She didn’t ask the next question, but he could see it there. With anyone else, he might have been grateful for the silence and left it alone. But he wanted her to understand.
“I didn’t go home.”
She nodded.
“I know now that was a mistake.”
He looked out over the sea, and when Bea reached across the table and took his hand, he curled his fingers around hers.
“I should’ve gone home and been there for her. I can see that now. But it didn’t feel that way at the time. The world was crazy back then. We were on mission after mission. I dodged more than a couple bullets.”
She squeezed his hand. “Even I know enough to see that. Some of those scars tell me you didn’t dodge all of them.”
He nodded. “Nothing too major. But Brooke was devastated when our folks died. They were her whole world, and…” He stared out at the turquoise water for a moment. “I always figured I’d die out there.”
She said nothing.
“I told you there were a bunch of us guys who signed up and served together.”
She nodded. “And you’ve always seen your role as protecting them. Or at least standing guard over them.”
“Yeah. They all had something going on. Something to live for.” He frowned slightly, trying to explain something he’d understood for most of his life without ever thinking he’d have to put it into words.
“I never thought of myself the same way. I was the guy watching their backs. That made sense to me.”
He looked down at their joined hands.
“And when our parents died, the last thing I wanted was to become the person Brooke depended on and then go get myself killed.”
Bea’s expression shifted, but she still didn’t interrupt.
“I know what you’re thinking. If I’d gone home, odds are I wouldn’t have been getting shot at anymore.”
The corner of her mouth moved, but she didn’t quite smile.
“I can tell you exactly what my logic was, Bea. I just can’t tell you it was good logic.” He let out a breath. “At the time, I genuinely believed that if Brooke didn’t get used to depending on me, she wouldn’t have to lose me too. I thought keeping my distance was protecting her.”
He shook his head.
“It wasn’t. I arranged for her not to need me, and then I lived long enough to see what that cost us.”
Bea looked into his eyes and gave a small nod.
He was grateful she didn’t tell him he’d done the right thing. He hadn’t, even though he’d believed at the time that he had. And she didn’t try to make him feel better about it either. She simply kept hold of his hand.
He was grateful when the waiter came to clear their plates. The man gestured toward where the sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon.
“You will stay for the sunset?”
Blane cocked an eyebrow at Bea. She looked longingly out at the sea before turning back to the waiter.
“We’d love to, but we should probably get going.”
“Why?” Blane asked.
She let out a short laugh. “Because I’m driving, remember? And no matter how good I might get at staying on the right side of the road, my night vision isn’t wonderful, so I’d like to get back before it’s dark.”
Blane turned to the waiter. “Can you bring her a glass of your best red wine?”
The waiter chuckled, and Bea turned to Blane, looking puzzled. “I can’t, I—”
“Yeah, you can, darlin’. We’re going to stay and watch the sunset while you enjoy a glass of wine. Relax. I’m driving us home.”
“Oh, Blane.”
The waiter beamed at them. “He’s a good husband, no?”
Blane froze, but Bea reached for his hand.
“He’s a wonderful man.”
The waiter returned a few minutes later with Bea’s wine, and they sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the sky begin to change color.
After a while, Bea turned to him. “Does Brooke understand why?”
He didn’t need to ask what she meant. He shook his head slowly. “No. I figured it was better if she just thought I was a selfish bastard. Thought that’d make it easier for her.”
He sat up a little straighter, wishing he had a glass of something himself. “Crazy kid still made me the most important person in her world anyway. Even though I was never fucking there.”
“Of course she didn’t think you were selfish, Blane. No one who knows you could ever think that.”