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But this was his little sister. Was he really going to shut her out of his life? Now, after everything?
He’d lost Emmie, who’d been his best friend, first as his secretary, then as his wife. He figured he’d lost Nico and Honora, too. He didn’t want to hear their criticism, so he hadn’t returned their messages. He’d left them as gifts to Emmie, along with his penthouse, his cars, his fortune.
And his son. He suddenly realized he didn’t even know the boy’s name. The only way he’d survived the last two months was by avoiding knowing.
Cold. He had to stay cold.
But as he folded his arms, he was suddenly sweating in his tailored suit. “She’s better-off without me. You know what I am.”
“What are you?”
Theo stared at her bleakly.
“A murderer,” he whispered.
Sofia came forward, her eyes wide. “No.”
“She died because of me.”
“Mama made her choice. You tried to save her, youtried. But she chose him over us. Over and over.”
“I should have found a way.” His voice caught. As he sank into his desk chair, his eyes were stinging.
His sister put her hand on his shoulder. “You were only fifteen, and you saved us—both of us. Because of you, I had a good life. You sacrificed everything for me,” she said quietly. “Don’t you remember?”
“No.” The emotions he’d repressed for decades seemed to be whirling around him, making him dizzy. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He yanked off his silk tie.
“After Mama died, Mrs. Samaras wanted to take me in. But I wouldn’t go there without you. I clung to you. The social worker was going to send both of us to the orphanage instead. Then you took me aside and said I had to go with nice Mrs. Samaras. You said I’d be warm and loved with plenty to eat. You told me you had somewhere wonderful to live, too. It was only later I realized you were lying. You were alone.”
Theo stared at her. In the brutal aftermath of the fire, he’d wanted to cling to his baby sister, too. She’d been his only family left. But he’d known Sofia would have a better life if she was adopted by Eleni Samaras, a childless widow who baked fresh bread in her tidy kitchen and had a garden full of flowers and chickens.
He closed his eyes. “You were young, innocent. The fire wasn’t your fault.”
“It wasn’t yours, either. You still ended up starving on the street.” Her hand covered his. “You’ve watched out for me your whole life. Protecting me from my father. Finding me a home. Sending me to college. Even letting me butt in, when you returned to Lyra and wanted to demolish the house alone. You’ve always put me first.” She took a deep breath. “Mama taught us all the wrong things about love. But Theo...you showed me what the best of love could be.”
Theo stared at her, shocked into silence.
His sister smiled. “It’s why I’m taking you to dinner next week. To tell you about the man I’ve met.” She blushed. “It’s getting serious. He’s going to ask me to marry him. And I’m going to sayyes.”
“Sofia...”
She grinned. “So expect a phone call from me soon, with me in a fluster about my Fiat getting a flat tire. Right in front of a very nice two-star tavern in theSeptième.” Her smile faded, even as her eyes shone in the gray light of the Paris office. “Because I finally found a man who can live up to my brother. The kindest, strongest, most loving man in the world. A man who protects those he loves. At any cost.”
Theo’s heart was pounding. The way his sister described him was so different than how he saw himself. Not a monster? A hero?
He was the one who’d taught Sofia how to love?
“Love means putting the other person ahead of yourself,” he said slowly, repeating the words of his wife.
Sofia smiled through her tears. “Exactly.”
Against his will, Theo pictured Emmie, imagining her holding their child tenderly, singing a low lullaby. He could see her beautiful, luminous face.
What did their baby look like now, at two months?
Would he suddenly be thirty, and a man—turning into an adult, as Sofia had suddenly, when Theo wasn’t paying attention?
Had Emmie moved on, too, since he’d left? Had she given up on Theo and found a better man? Had she found a replacement father for their son?
