Page 16 of Footprints in the Sand (Coleman #13)

“What did that Frenchman say about Kostos?” he asked darkly.

Eva realized she’d stepped in it. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t really remember.”

“You have to tell me what he said,” Nico urged, trying on a smile.

“Why?” Eva’s stomach soured.

Nico got up and walked over to where she was lying.

He wrapped his hand around her ankle and sighed.

“I don’t know what he told you. I don’t know what he knows.

But what you have to remember is, Kostos is, or was, my family.

There are family secrets that are better left secret.

And if Jean-Paul is running around, talking about my family? I need to do something about that.”

“He didn’t say anything specific,” Eva said finally, her voice tinny. “He just said that Kostos was greedy. Money-obsessed.”

“Well, Jean-Paul doesn’t think about money because he comes from money.” Nico flared his nostrils.

“He doesn’t seem to have very much money,” Eva returned, feeling protective of her friend Jean-Paul. More than that, she regretted having said anything.

“He’s from Paris. I’m sure his grandmother is rich or something.” Nico scowled. “He didn’t tell you anything else?”

Eva shook her head.

“He shouldn’t speak ill of the dead like that,” Nico said.

Eva was quiet for a moment, wondering if she’d ruined everything.

Nico said, “Dimitra doesn’t even know about all of our family secrets. It’s really best if you keep all this to yourself. Okay?”

Eva was surprised. She’d assumed Dimitra was in on all their family secrets. After all, she was related to Nico by blood—and Kostos had married in.

“Dimitra has been living in a cloud since Kostos’s accident,” Nico said, his voice softening.

“I don’t want any bad news to get back to her.

I want her to be able to remember Kostos the way he was with her.

Loving, kind, good. What good would it do to tell her otherwise?

She has to live her life without him. She shouldn’t feel haunted by everything she didn’t know. ”

Eva was surprised at how lucid Nico sounded. But the way he described Dimitra and Kostos’s relationship made her burn with still more curiosity. It was clear that many people thought Dimitra was unaware of certain aspects of Kostos. It was clear they were trying to protect her. But why?

Soon after this bump in the road, Nico and Eva found their way back to one another, kissing until the sun dimmed in the night sky and sent them back to the harbor.

After they tied up, Nico followed Eva down the main road along the coast, passing by numerous restaurants and waving hello to the servers and owners he’d grown up with.

By now, Eva knew them all by name and face as well.

She knew they would gossip about seeing Eva and Nico together.

More than that, she guessed that Nico’s mother wouldn’t be pleased.

Let them think whatever they want! Eva thought, which surprised her. When she’d been with Finn, she’d been worried about what everyone thought all the time. It had been exhausting.

She was liberated.

Nico walked Eva back to Dimitra’s place with an air that suggested he thought he would be let inside. But Eva felt she’d done enough kissing for the day. She needed to take a break and do some thinking. At the door, she kissed Nico’s cheek and thanked him for the beautiful day.

“You’re going to kill me,” Nico told her with a wry smile.

“I hope not,” Eva said. “I’d really like to see you again.”

It was like nothing she would have said in any other context. She imagined she was like a romcom heroine. Finn probably wouldn’t have recognized her.

It was as if she’d called out to him because as soon as she closed the door between herself and Nico, her phone buzzed with a text from Finn.

FINN: you’re in Greece?

Eva’s heart shattered. After the beautiful and invigorating day she’d had, the last thing she needed was to hear from Finn, to feel his judgment. What could she say to him? Yes, I needed to get away from memories of you. Yes, I needed to find a way to heal after what you did.

She didn’t respond.

But Finn wasn’t ready to drop it. More texts came in, dinging and buzzing.

FINN: I ran into Maeve the other day, and she told me. I don’t understand. I mean, I’ve already been worried since I saw the news about Gretchen Collingsworth break. But now, you’re on another continent, presumably all by yourself? Do you need anything?

Eva stared angrily at the message, willing Finn to feel her anger. But at the same time, reading it brought tears to her eyes. This was the man who’d (sort of) pledged to love and care for her for the rest of his days. Apparently, he still cared about her. He certainly still wanted to nag her.

FINN: I hate that I pushed you away. I hate myself.

It was a moment of weakness on Finn’s part, Eva knew.

Feeling out of her mind and broken, Eva left her phone and padded to Dimitra’s studio.

She found a spare canvas and set it on the easel, cracking her knuckles as she tried to imagine what she wanted to make of it.

She knew that Finn would think painting was a waste of time, especially when she needed to get back on the job market.

She knew her mother would feel the same.

But she’d come here to free herself from their expectations. She’d come to heal.

Before long, she began to mix paint on a square piece of wood, stirring with the tips of the brushes, pulling from her emotions to create an image. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. But as she worked, tears drained from her eyes and left her emotionally raw.

It was a beautiful feeling. It terrified her.