nearly. After we walk the perimeter, I want to explore that curious building in the center.”
“Probably where the troops slept. The view is the same from all sides.”
“No, it’s not. If you are tired of showing me around, feel free to leave. I’m sure I can get a cab back to town.” Sara was surprised with Nikos’s attitude change. He suddenly seemed to close off and distance himself. Had she said something to offend him? Trying to remember every word she’d just said, she couldn’t find anything wrong.
“No, I brought you, I’ll stay.”
“Gee, what enthusiasm. Go. I’ll be fine.” Now she felt like an unwelcome burden.
She walked to the far parapet and looked at the view, not seeing a thing. A flare of anger burst forth. She’d been having fun. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to have fun with the keeper of the key, as she thought of Nikos Konstantinos. He was the only way to get in to see her grandmother. She needed to remember that.
“Rome lies in that direction,” his deep voice said in her left ear. She turned and almost bumped noses with Nikos.
“I used to wonder if soldiers longed for home or were satisfied serving the emperor wherever he sent them. Even in antiquity, this was a small island, isolated from all the grandeur of Rome, from the excitement the big city held. Were they lonely?” he continued.
“Probably—and missing families and all.”
She felt him move away. Aha, families was definitely the key.
Sara turned. Nikos hadn’t moved that far. Her shoulder brushed his chest. “Don’t you like families?” she asked bluntly.
“I have nothing against families,” he said evenly.
“You’re lucky, you still have your parents and grandparents. I have no one. That’s why when I marry, I will fall madly in love with the man. I want us to have lots of children. I want to marry into a large family so my children will have huge celebrations at holidays and birthdays. Lots of cousins, aunts and uncles and loads of love.”
“Not everyone is cut out to marry and start a family. Though most do it from duty.”
“I agree not everyone is cut out to be a parent, but I think life is enriched by children. For most people anyway,” she said, thinking of her own father. He’d abandoned her mother when Sara had been two months old. He couldn’t take the interrupted nights of a newborn baby. He resented not having his friends over whenever he wanted. He hadn’t liked being a father. And the consequences were ones Sara and her mother had lived with for the rest of her mother’s life. Had he ever regretted leaving? She’d never know. She didn’t even know if he was still living.
“Families aren’t always like you imagine. I often wonder why my parents had a child,” Nikos said.
“So, no brothers or sisters?”
He shook his head. “Probably a good thing in the face of things. There were no other children to be ignored and brought out only on occasion to show off.” He shook off the memories from his youth. He’d made his way in the business he wanted. As an adult, he could far better understand his parents.
“You’re young to be alone in the world. No other relatives?” he asked.
She shrugged. “No one I know. So it’s just me, until I find that special man to fall in love with and marry.”
“I wonder if marriage is for me,” he said.
Nikos took a breath. He usually had more finesse when warning a woman off who might have any matrimonial intentions. Not that he thought Sara was contemplating such a move. She had shown none of the flirting that he was used to. He was thinking of Gina. The trip was proving more important than he’d anticipated. The more he was around Gina, the more doubts crept in.
He knew his duty to his family was to provide heirs. He would need to hand down his grandfather and father’s shipping business. Maybe he’d have several children and they could each decide what to do with their lives. He would not force any along career paths they disliked. But was Gina the right woman?
“Everyone has to decide that for himself. If you fall in love one day, you might change your mind,” she said.
If she only knew.
“On the other hand, I suspect love is overrated. Good for some, disastrous for others,” she added, nodding.
Nikos suddenly wanted to know why she said that. Had she fallen in love and been hurt as he had? If so, she had rebounded with optimism.
“It does work for some,” he admitted reluctantly. “My grandfather and Eleani are a perfect example.”
“Oh?” she said.
“They married about ten years ago and are blissfully happy together. In fact, my father wishes me to check up on them soon.” He frowned, studying the horizon, and wondered why he’d thought to bring that up. He hadn’t even told Gina.
“Is there a problem?”
“No. But my grandfather has a crazy idea that my father wants me to talk him out of. If you ever saw my father and grandfather together, you’d understand why I act as a buffer between them. But it gets tiresome.” He stopped talking. It was not like him to share any family business with a stranger. Much less an employee. He didn’t know what kind of gossip Sara might be.
Sara looked at him oddly, then turned away.
“I know a path that leads to one of the beach villages if you’re up for such an adventure,” he said. She had no interest in his family situation. The sun was high overhead, and despite the breeze, the air was growing uncomfortably warm with the heat reflected from the stones. They could enjoy the walk and then find a taxi to return to the dock.
“It’s mostly shady,” he added. “Or I can arrange for the taxi to return here to pick us up.”
“Sounds more like an adventure to walk back down. Do you want some water before we start? I brought a couple of bottles,” she said, rummaging in the small tote she’d slung over her shoulder. She handed him a bottle and opened the second one, taking a long drink.
“Warm but wet,” she said with a grin.
Nikos drank the entire bottle, wondering what Gina would have made of the situation. She would have complained the ground wasn’t suitable for her shoes. The water was warm and not cool. The sun was too glaring.
But he was not interested in taking her to ruins. Yet, as he watched the children running and shouting and obviously having the time of their lives, he knew he’d want to bring his own children if he ever had any. He’d want them to know and love their country’s history as he did.
Try as he might, he couldn’t picture Gina with them.
Sara, yes.
The thought startled him. Sara still had that starry-eyed wonder as she took in everything. She’d urge the children on and demand to know every aspect of the history of a place to share with them. And probably make up stories about where the men had been from, or what they had left behind.
The
