page31 (1/2)

Unease scraped down his spine He gave up on his restraint and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time ‘Leah?’

He walked into their room It felt emptier He suddenly realised the whole house felt elanced in the wardrobe Her eveningas still there, but those pairs of jeans, those tees, were gone He pulled open the first of the drawers in her stand Her silky, scarlet sone

She was gone

He froze, trying to process it Then panic hit Where had she gone? Was she okay? Why?

But he knehy He knew exactly why He’d hurt her

He raced back downstairs just as Dimitri came into the house

‘What’s wrong?’ The old man watched him

‘I think she’s left me’ He could hardly breathe as he strode past Die

‘Pardon?’

‘Leah She’s gone’ His anger leaked

‘Pardon?’ Dilowered at him

‘What part of “left e blew him apart

‘You’re the one who doesn’t understand,’ Dirowled ‘You think she’s left you? Is that what Leah would really do?’

Theo froze, then whirled to glare at his grandfather ‘Do you knohere she is? Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Why didn’t you ask?’

‘I don’t have tiames, Dimitri Where is she?’ He needed to know she was okay

‘Why leave her alone all day? Bored and lonely with no one but an old man for company’

‘You’re not that old and this place isn’t boring’ He drew in a breath ‘I don’t have tiet Philip to help find her She can’t have gone far’

‘Philip is with her’

‘What?’

‘She’s gone to the island’

Theo reached out and pressed his fingers to the wall to balance hiaped at Dimitri ‘She what?’

‘She said that hat you wanted’

She hadn’t run away? She wasn’t alone out there in Athens, checking herself into so? She wasn’t on a plane back to England?

Relief was like a blissfully cool balan to heat, burning his wounds worse He’d thought she’d chosen to vanish—to run and hide from him completely because she’d been hurt But she hadn’t—she’d siinally asked

He sluth ‘Okay Okay, good’

It was good, wasn’t it? It hat he’d wanted It would s siht she was ?

‘You’re not going there now?’ Dimitri looked confused

‘No’ He drew a breath ‘I’ll check in with Philip on the phone There’s no need for o’

‘I sent Amalia with her’ Dimitri’s mouth thinned ‘To care for her’