Page 48 of Shining Through

The reporter smiled. “These secrets sound interesting. Rumors have been circulating about you two for months! The mountainside look-out at the base of the torch would be the perfect spot to present Tabitha with the diamond of her dreams.”

Brett’s answer was coy. “When it happens, you’ll be the first to know.”

Following the interview, there were still three hours before their flight, so Tabitha stepped outside, eager to get away from the camera people and from Brett. She crossed the street to stand beside the canal that ran through the middle of town. In the distance, the snowcapped peaks were blinding white against the late afternoon sun. She dipped her hand into her pocket. It was probably safe to look at Daniil’s picture again.

“So what does he have to say?” Brett’s voice behind her made her jump.

She tapped the photo to close it. “Just that he’s looking forward to seeing me.”

“I’m sure he won’t leave your room all weekend, which means I won’t leave mine. A damn shame, considering that Sergei is in London.” He heaved a sigh. “So close and yet so far.”

She shoved the phone back in her pocket. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

He scowled. “What way is that?”

She glanced over her shoulder, checking for TV people. No one there. “I wish we didn’t have to lie about everything. I wish we could be free to love who we wanted.”

Love. She hadn’t meant to use the word, yet there it was. And it was what she was starting to feel for Daniil.

Brett grunted. “Ironic word choice, considering you are free to love who you want.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the canal, wearing a blank unreadable expression. “Let’s take a walk before we fly out. It might be my only chance to see this place.”

They followed the embankment which ran along the River Isere. Traffic streamed by, and a line of bubble-shaped cable cars traveled above the river to a fortress perched on a hill overlooking the city.

As they walked, Brett said nothing. He wouldn’t even look at her. Things between them had changed. The loss was sharp, and painful. She had to make this right. “Hey,” she said, stopping him. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Daniil won’t say a word, and I never mentioned Sergei’s name.”

“Is that what you think this is about?”

The snappish question took her aback. “Isn’t it? You’ve been mad since we got back from Vancouver, and I told you that Daniil knows. I get it, I broke a confidence and I hate what it’s done to us. What I meant, is that I wish you didn’t have to hide any longer.”

“That’s a funny thing to say, given you’re hiding, too.”

“To protect you!”

He snapped his head toward her and folded his arms. “Sorry, Tabs. But I’m not the only one you’re protecting.”

At first, she thought he was referring to Sergei, but with a stab of cold clarity she understood. “You think I’m doing this to protect myself? That’s ridiculous!”

He stopped and turned toward her, color rising in his face. “Then why don’t you come clean about your relationship with Daniil Andreev? You just said you wished we didn’t have to lie about everything. Let’s go back in there and tell the diamond people one of their happy couples just broke up! Then you can spend the weekend frolicking all over Paris with him!”

“I can’t do that!”

“Right,” Brett said. “Because deep down you know this guy is bad news and he will break your heart.”

“No! You have it all wrong!” But her heart told her otherwise.

Though she hated to admit it, Daniil’s dicey reputation and oligarch father troubled her. As long as he stayed tied to Nikolai Andreev, he’d continue lashing out at his father and in turn, sabotaging himself. If he got into trouble again, it could ruin him. If she got too close, she risked being pulled down too.

The closer she and Daniil had become, the more she was plagued with memories of all the men she’d watched come and go throughout her life. Midnight moves to motel rooms. Her little sister weeping in plastic mouse ears. Her eyes stung as she recalled the most heart-wrenching moments from the whole wretched scrapbook.

You’ve learned to expect the worst. I want to be different.

Daniil had promised she didn’t have to be afraid anymore and that he wouldn’t let her down. Yet, she struggled to believe it was true. If she acted like Daniil’s promise meant nothing, and that she didn’t trust him, how could she expect the same from Brett?

They crossed a bridge over the river, and Tabitha paused in the middle. Overhead was the cable car line. The higher the little bubble-cars rose, the more the wind rocked them back and forth. But they still held fast, traveling along the cable until they reached the top.

In Vancouver, she’d rocked her safe existence and taken chances by stepping outside the safe and familiar. Daniil’s encouragement had helped her do it. Though he looked edgy and dangerous, he was kind and caring. Even as he pushed her to spread her wings, he understood her past hurts, and had sworn he was different. The real question was whether she could be different.

“I’m not afraid of Daniil. He’s a good man, and I trust him.” Then she added, “As much as I’m able to trust anyone.”

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