Catching Moonlight (Man Season) Read Online Free Page B

could spend in two lifetimes! And why on Earth would you think I’d
marry you?”
    He fidgeted in his seat, turned his
face from her, his eyes flitting from Aella to
Kosmas.
    “I’ve been watching you all night,
Toby, hoping for a glimmer of attraction. I felt it very strongly back in Athens but somehow it seems to have
vanished. It is humiliating to speak of these things in company. Please, could
we go outside?”
    “I’d rather not. And if whatever
attraction I had for you is gone it’s because I’ve actually been listening to
you!” Toby huffed. “You are so full of yourself it’s pathetic! I can’t
understand now why I was attracted to you at all!”
    He stood, swept crumbs off of his
slacks, and shifted his jacket. “I see I’ve been wasting my time. Well, women
are easily replaced. And I’ll get Moonsea somehow
when it’s ready to be sold!”
    “I won’t sell it then!” Toby shot
back, infuriated. “I’ll never sell it to you! Or anyone! You see, Stephan, I
have fallen in love … not with you … but with Moonsea !”
    “Ridiculous! You’ll get tired of it
in two weeks. Remember how bored you were in Athens ?”
    “That was because of the company I
was keeping. I think you better leave now.”
    “Yes,” Kosmas added. “Leave. Now.”
    Stephan glanced at the man; saw a
fierce glint in the brown eyes. “No need for histrionics. I’m going. But you
will get tired of Moonsea , Toby, and maybe, just
maybe, you’ll come looking for me.”
    “When hell freezes over, yeah …
maybe!”
    Stephan glanced at her with stinging
wet eyes. Something was not right about the situation. He was pretending to be
suave and uncaring but inside he was in pain. Had he truly fallen in love with
her? And his arrogance couldn’t handle her rejection? He kept staring at her,
making her uncomfortable. She’d never been in a position to reject anybody,
didn’t know what to do.
    “Look, I’m sorry if we jumped all
over you but Moonsea is a beautiful, unique place, as
you said this morning. I don’t want to ruin that. I can’t understand why you
would, either. And, as for me … well, I enjoyed your company in Athens . But you never hinted that you
wanted anything more than friendship.”
    “This has all been a terrible
misunderstanding. Chalk it up to a difference in cultures and I’ll hopefully
leave as graciously as I entered.”
    “We’ll do that.”
    He reached out a hand to each one of
them. When he took Toby’s, he lingered, clasping it tightly. She felt a slight
surge but it petered out miserably. He could tell he’d lost whatever promise
there’d been between them, and it struck him like a fist.
    “Goodnight, Toby. I’ll see you soon,
I hope.”
    “Oh, I suppose you will. You live on
the far island, and I’ll go there at some point for shopping or whatever, I’m
sure.”
    “Of course. Goodnight.” He nodded to Aella and Kosmas; they acknowledged him coolly.
    “Well, that was embarrassing!” Aella sighed as she cleared away the dishes.
    Kosmas lit a pipe, sat by the hearth.
“He must be crazy, thinking he had you in his pocket.”
    “I didn’t realize … I mean, he seemed
so distant, I never thought he could be serious about me.”
    “Don’t worry, child. He’ll get over
it and move on. Greece is full of pretty girls.”
    “ Aella , you
belittle our Toby when you say that. She’s very special. Stephan will have a
hard time finding anyone like her!”
    “You’re sweet, Kosmas,” Toby smiled.
“It’s been a long day! I think I’ll go up and read for awhile. Do you two
retire early?”
    “We watch the TV in bed for a few
hours every night. The satellite has good reception but we don’t care much for
these modern programs. We mostly watch DVDs. Kosmas loves his American movies!”
    “So do I !”
Toby laughed. “We’ll have to watch some together one night.”
    “It’s a date!”
    She hurried upstairs, stared out the
window. Clouds had smothered the moon. The temple was