May... Infinity Island, Greece
SOMETIMES SHE FELT as though there was nowhere she truly belonged.
And sometimes she enjoyed the freedom that allowed her.
Other times, like now, Stasia Marinakos wanted a clear path in life.
She’d had one not so long ago. Suddenly, that life had been brutally wrenched from her grasp. Though with each passing day, she was learning to live with the loss, allowing herself to smile again and forcing herself to remember that she was still living and breathing.
For the almost two years since her husband passed, Stasia had been focused on fulfilling his last wishes, tending to his estate and piecing together the broken pieces of her heart. But now that was complete. All of his wishes had been fulfilled, except one.
As she sat at one of the tables at the Hideaway Café, her gaze moved across the table to her brother. She knew if she opened up to him he wouldn’t understand. He would try to tell her what to do with her life and she didn’t want that. She needed to find her own answers.
Xander thought she should be cautious with her money and with her life. He wasn’t anxious for her to move on, which she found interesting considering he hadn’t liked her husband in the beginning. In fact, Xander had vehemently disapproved of him until just before Lukos found out that he was sick—
Stasia halted her thoughts. She didn’t want to go down that road. She needed to focus on the here and now. It was the only thing she could control.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
Stasia held up a cruise ship ticket while sending her big brother a puzzled look. She didn’t have time for a vacation. Now that she was on her own, with no husband and no other family besides Xander, who now had a wife and baby, she needed to pull herself together and carve out a life for herself. That had to be her priority. As it was, she’d put it off for too long.
“Use the ticket and go on vacation.” Xander frowned at her as though he was concerned about her.
She shoved the ticket back across the table. “I don’t have time—”
“Sure you do.” Xander wasn’t a man used to hearing the word no. “Now that our real-estate deal fell apart—of which I am sorry—you have all the time in the world.” He sent her a reassuring smile. “And don’t worry. By the time you get back, I’ll have a new deal lined up that we can go in on together.”
How did she tell him that she no longer wanted to be involved in a deal without hurting his feelings? After all, she was the one who had come up with the idea of them working together in the first place. He’d initially been resistant to the idea, but she’d kept after him until he’d finally given in.
Of course, she’d had some help getting him to change his mind—Roberto Carrass, her brother’s best friend, who’d recently been elevated to the role of business partner. He’d sided with her, convincing Xander to let her be a part of the business.
Stasia pulled her thoughts back to the relevant subject. “I don’t want you going into a deal because you think it’ll suit me.” When he didn’t respond, she raised her voice just enough to gain his attention. “Xander, you aren’t listening to me.”
“Sure I am. I always listen to you.”
She blatantly rolled her eyes. Her brother barely heard a word she said and they both knew it. “Please—”
“Okay. Maybe I get distracted sometimes.”
She arched a brow. “Isn’t that how you ended up with your new family?”
“Ah, but see how well that worked out.” He sent her a smile that lit up his whole face. “I saw a good thing and I went for it.”
She couldn’t help but tease him. “Is that the story you’re going with?”
He shrugged and sent her a guilty smile. “It’s how I like to remember it.”
Stasia nodded. She didn’t mind him rewriting the rocky start of his romance with his now wife, Lea. In fact, Stasia found it endearing. Who knew her brother could be romantic? She never would have guessed it till now.
And as much as she wanted to confide in her big brother about her quandary, she couldn’t find the words. She’d been visiting Infinity Island for the past few weeks, reconnecting with her brother and learning more about her sister-in-law, Lea, while playing with the baby, Lily. Stasia had volunteered to babysit while Xander and Lea were working. And though Stasia’s days were now full, she still felt as though she was missing something.
As appealing as it was to remain here on this idyllic island with its clear blue water, gentle sea breeze and charming village, she couldn’t hijack her brother’s life. She’d been here long enough. It was time to head home to Athens.
“Let’s go for a walk.” Stasia took the last sip of her iced coffee.
Xander scooped up the cruise ticket and then got to his feet. “Lead the way.”
She didn’t have any particular destination in mind. She just needed to move. “I’ve never seen you happier.”
“I am happy,” he said. “My life is complete. And...and I feel guilty.”
Stasia stopped walking and faced her brother. “Why should you feel guilty?”
“Because when you were so happy with Lukos, I was being foolish and getting in your way. And by the time I got my head on straight about your husband, he was...well...”
“He was dying.” She never thought she’d be able to say those words without breaking into a fit of tears. The memory of losing Lukos far too soon still hurt. She supposed it always would, but she was learning to live with the loss. “It’s okay, Xander. You can say he died. I won’t break into a million messy pieces.”
The look in his eyes said he wasn’t sure he believed her. “I miss him too. You do know we got to be good friends at the end.”
“I know.” The friendship between her husband and brother might not have happened as soon as she would have liked, but she was grateful they’d worked out their differences. She wasn’t sure how she’d have made it through that dark period without her brother by her side. “Lukos thought of you like a brother when he died.”
Xander