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Leonidas dipped his head in silent acknowledgement.
“But doesn’t that prove how much you mean to him? And that he would want you to be happy?”
“Why do you think Mila would make me happier than I am now?” He said, wondering if his mother noticed the exasperation in his voice.
“You are relaxed around her. More than I’ve seen you in some time.”
Leonidas angled his face away; his mother was wrong. He wasn’t relaxed around Mila. Not here. He felt charged with voltage, aware that it would take very little to show how much he enjoyed being with Mila, and that his family might read too much into that.
“Benji is protective of Mila.”
“So?”
Leo gave his mother a look of impatience. “You are my mother, but surely you cannot be blind to my track record with women?”
“You haven’t yet met the right woman,” she said quietly. “Your father was also allergic to commitment until he met me.”
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
He searched his brain for an answer and simply shrugged. “You were madly in love.”
“We were,” she said quietly, but the words were thick with grief. He understood. Konstantinos’ death had been hard on all of them.
“There’s nothing like that between me and Mila.”
Her eyes bore into his; he didn’t like it. His mother was a gentle soul, but when she fixated on something, she was unstoppable.
“Mila is a kind girl. I would hate to think you’re leading her on.”
“Mila is an exceptional young lady,” he corrected with absolute honesty. “But there’s nothing between us.” He wondered why the words felt so strange to voice. After all, they’d agreed as much many times over. “She is married to her career, as I am mine.”
“But when she looks at you, I’m sure I see something more, Leonidas.”
He should have shut the conversation down, but curiosity got the better of him. “What do you see, precisely?”
“I think she cares for you, a great deal.” She frowned. “I can’t see why any woman would choose to come here at a time like this unless she had very deep feelings.”
“Her life is complicated,” Leonidas said after a beat, pushing aside his mother’s appraisal, and focusing on his denial instead. “She was in a difficult situation and I’ve agreed to help her. Helping requires her to go wherever I go.”
“Is it serious?”
“I told you, there’s nothing between us.”
“Her situation,” Maggie clarified.
“Yes.”
“And you’re helping her,” she pondered.
“For Benji’s sake,” he stressed. “Circumstances brought us together; I couldn’t walk away from her. She was in danger and I knew I could help. It felt good to help…Benji.”
“Benji,” she said with a slow nod. Then, leaning closer, “Just take care the cure isn’t worse than the disease.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That I’m afraid she might care for you very, very much. Don’t break her heart, Leo. Take it from someone who knows, broken hearts don’t easily heal, and she’s too young and sweet to have that inflicted on her.”
