Page 23 of Footprints in the Sand (Coleman #13)

Chapter Twenty

B y the time the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel in downtown Naxos, Eva was crying tears of relief.

She paid the driver what he was owed and thanked him in both Greek and English, then climbed out onto the stone walkway and hurried into the hotel.

The woman at the front desk greeted her in Greek, then asked immediately in English, “Are you all right?” Eva told her she was fine and hurried upstairs.

Outside of Jean-Paul’s door, she paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell Jean-Paul what happened.

But at her core, she felt foolish and silly, and she really didn’t want to tell Jean-Paul that she’d kissed Nico.

Her excuse of “I actually wanted to kiss you, but I didn’t think you were interested” felt pretty weak in this case.

She also didn’t want Jean-Paul to think of her as a silly little girl.

He was her employer, for goodness’ sake.

That night, Eva slept fitfully. When she woke up at six thirty, she forced herself through a yoga workout, drank some coffee, and went downstairs to prepare for a full day of all things marble.

By the time Jean-Paul sat beside her with his own coffee, she was immersed in social media strategy, working for both Jean-Paul and Dimitra, doing her best to make their careers shine.

She showed Jean-Paul a few reels she’d made and smiled when he said, “I don’t know what that is, but it looks pretty cool. ”

That night, after a tireless day of selling marble sculptures and arranging Jean-Paul’s creative life, Jean-Paul invited Eva out for a thank-you dinner.

They ate moussaka, watched the sunset, and walked along the edge of town, watching tourists as they ate ice cream cones, held hands, and kissed.

Maybe because Eva felt so out of sorts after last night, she heard herself ask Jean-Paul, “Have you ever been in a relationship?”

Jean-Paul was thoughtful as ever. His answering nod wasn’t a surprise. But then he continued, “If I ever have another relationship, I need it to be soft and compassionate and empathetic. I need it to have its own language. Does that make sense?”

Eva said she thought he understood what he meant.

“You don’t want to have to explain everything,” she offered.

“I need someone to understand me to my core,” he agreed. “And I want to be able to understand them.”

Eva stopped walking and gazed at the horizon. “What if your partner doesn’t understand themselves?”

At this point, she knew she was plainly talking about herself. She guessed Jean-Paul got that, too.

Jean-Paul tucked a curl behind her ear. It felt like the most romantic gesture Eva had ever experienced in her life. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

“We are in a constant battle to understand ourselves,” Jean-Paul said quietly. “Some say that’s the most interesting and most difficult battle of all. I guess I need my partner to understand that, too.”

Eva’s eyes flickered over to his. She felt like she was about to swoon.

But right before she thought he was going to kiss her, right before she felt the tides turning, he stepped away from her, motioning for her to follow him toward a little rock bar off the beaten path.

“You’ll love it,” he said. “All they play is The Doors.”

When they returned to Paros Island the following late morning, Eva helped Jean-Paul store everything that needed to be stored and put the trailer away.

After that, he offered to drive her back to Aliki, but she said she wanted to take the bus.

“You have things to do,” she reminded him, thinking of his workshop scheduled for later that afternoon.

“I’ll have another payment for you soon,” Jean-Paul said. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.”

Eva walked slowly back to the bus stop down the road, where she waited in the ninety-degree heat for a bus to steam to a halt.

When it did, she paid in coins and sat in the air-conditioning in the far back.

The drive to Aliki took fifteen minutes, give or take, and when she arrived, she stopped at the grocery store for supplies and then slumped her way back to Dimitra’s place.

How long had she been here? A little more than a month?

And how long were they planning on conducting this little experiment again? Had her heart already had enough?

But when she reached Dimitra’s place, she found Aphrodite waiting on the front stoop, scowling. “Hi! Why aren’t you answering my texts?” she demanded.

Eva panged with dread. To avoid texts from Finn and Nico, she’d turned off her phone. She hadn’t thought once about Aphrodite.

“I told you I was in Naxos,” Eva said, sort of annoyed that Aphrodite was being so possessive. She unlocked the door and left it open so that Aphrodite could follow her in.

“You went with Jean-Paul, didn’t you?” Aphrodite said. They were in the kitchen so that Eva could put the groceries away.

“I work for him,” Eva said.

“You’re in love with him,” Aphrodite said. “Or you’re just avoiding the rest of us because of what Nico did to you?”

Eva felt jagged. “Excuse me?”

Aphrodite’s shoulders slumped. “Don’t play dumb. I know you had a little fling with Nico, and I know he rejected you.”

“I’m sorry? Nico rejected me? That’s news!” Eva cried, suddenly irate.

Aphrodite flared her nostrils. “It’s what he always does. He leads girls on, and then he breaks their hearts. But don’t be angry with me for what Nico did! You knew what he was like when you got into it!”

Eva was flabbergasted. She opened the fridge, removed a bottle of chilled white wine, and poured herself a glass.

Realizing what she had to reveal, she reached for another glass and poured it for Aphrodite.

Softly, she said, “I don’t want to be with your brother.

I want to be with Jean-Paul. I have from the beginning. ”

Aphrodite took her glass and squinted at her suspiciously.

“Sure, I kissed Nico.” Eva shrugged. “But it was more like an experiment. I got caught up in emotion. I wanted to learn to date and enjoy my life the way other younger women do. I’ve always been so serious, so monogamous.

I wanted to figure out what Nico knew about dating.

I wanted to try to be more like my brother. But I don’t have it in me.”

Aphrodite remained quiet.

Eva sat down at the table and gazed into her glass of wine. “I saw Nico on Naxos.”

“You met up with him?” Aphrodite asked, surprised.

“No. It wasn’t planned.” Eva swallowed and explained as delicately as she could. “I met up with these American girls. They were horrible. They didn’t tell me they were ordering drugs. I realized before it was too late that it was Nico coming with the order.”

Aphrodite’s jaw was slack. “I’m sorry?”

Eva nodded. She had no way of knowing if Aphrodite would believe her. Maybe Aphrodite would ruin her after this. Maybe she’d get kicked out of Dimitra’s.

“He came with a big suitcase of drugs,” Eva said. “I managed to hide before he saw me. He stayed with the girls and partied for a little while.”

“I mean, I know he parties sometimes,” Aphrodite said. “But he doesn’t deal. He has tons of odd jobs.”

“He told me he does ‘this and that,’” Eva said. “Doesn’t that sound suspicious to you?”

Aphrodite was on her feet, pacing the kitchen.

Her face echoed shock. But Eva knew that somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Aphrodite was coming to terms with something she probably already knew.

“He’s been sneaking around for a while, I guess,” Aphrodite muttered.

“He was always whispering at family parties. Always running off with Kostos.”

The name “Kostos” felt like a brick thrown into Eva’s chest.

“What did you say?” she asked.

Aphrodite sat back down but shook so violently that the chair beneath her quaked.

“He and Dimitra’s husband were really close.

There were always issues with money and Kostos, things my mother mentions.

I never really knew what was going on. They kept me out of it, mostly.

But some people say that Kostos was bad news. ”

Eva swallowed. “Jean-Paul said he was.”

“I’m not surprised,” Aphrodite said.

Eva leaped to her feet. Feeling frantic, she flew down the hall and into the bedroom that Dimitra and Kostos had once shared. She had a hunch, and all she could do was pray it was wrong.

“What are you doing?” Aphrodite called.

This time, Eva didn’t hesitate to pick up a framed photograph of Kostos and Dimitra. There he was. The man with black curls and black eyes. He was every bit the man she’d seen at the Naxos market just two days ago. There was no denying it.

Aphrodite appeared in the shadows of the bedroom, gasping for air. “What’s going on?”

“I think Kostos is still alive,” Eva said firmly. “I think I saw him on Naxos.”

“That’s insane,” Aphrodite said. “Plenty of guys look like Kostos with black hair and black eyes and so on. Come on, don’t make up stories like this.”

But Eva had taken a photograph of the mystery man.

She turned back on her phone to show Aphrodite what she’d found and was immediately drowning in messages from Jean-Paul, her mother, Theo, her best friend Rainey, Finn, and, of course, Nico, who’d written her three heart emoji and: when do you want to see me again?

Eva kept those messages from Aphrodite. She didn’t want to complicate things.

Eva pulled up the photograph she’d taken of Kostos and showed it to Aphrodite. It was blurry, but it was every bit the man in the pictures in this very bedroom. Aphrodite gaped at it for a long time, as though she were trying to find a way to dismiss Eva’s claims.

“I think he was involved in something bad,” Eva muttered. “Maybe it had to do with the drugs Nico’s selling or something. Perhaps it got so bad that he had to hide himself, fake his own death.”

“But why would he just go to Naxos?” Aphrodite asked. “It’s just an hour away!”

But Eva had a history in something like this. Her own grandfather had built a second life on Martha’s Vineyard, just a stone’s throw away from Nantucket Island.

“If men want to make a mockery out of the women they love, if they want to start over, they always find a way to do it,” Eva said softly.

“Your brother talked about dark family secrets that need to be kept in the dark. But in my experience, you have to bring those secrets to the light in order to finally, finally heal.”

Aphrodite’s hands were shaking. She passed the phone over to Eva and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say.” And then she added, “But Kostos’s body was never found. And he was a seasoned sailor and fisherman. It never really made sense.”

“It’s too perfect, isn’t it?” Eva said.

Aphrodite’s face was green. “I need a drink of water.”

Eva followed Aphrodite back into the kitchen. “I know this is your family I’m talking about. I know it’s delicate and complicated. I know, too, that it could destroy Dimitra to learn this.”

Aphrodite was steely. “If Kostos really faked his own death to get away from her, she has to know. Maybe then she can finally move on. Perhaps she can finally free herself from that love.”