enough to know it’s impressive, it’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I just lost my mother, who
happened to be the only parent I ever had. She disappointed me more than she ever made me proud,
and I hate that I was never lucky enough—in my entire life—to have a conversation with her not
weighted with resentment or necessity.”
He was silent for a long moment. After clearing his throat, he said, “I’m sorry to hear about your
mother.”
“Thank you.”
He sighed. “You’re a smart girl.”
“Smart enough to know that no amount of poverty or wealth erases a child’s desire for a parent’s
approval, their friendship, and love. It takes effort, and one person’s determination isn’t always
enough. Your son is one of the most resolute men I’ve ever met, but even he doesn’t have the power to
fix your relationship unless you want to fix it as well.”
Both men wore expressions of discomfort and averted their gazes. She stood. “I’m suddenly tired.
Why don’t you stay and talk with your father for a bit while I lay down, Lucian?”
“Evelyn.” Lucian’s tone was laced with warning.
She kissed him and whispered, “I never had a dad. I’d like to know what that feels like.”
His eyes narrowed and she turned away, quickly leaving the room. Her heart raced as she slid the
doors closed, waiting for him to storm after her, but he never did. She paused on the other side of the door and listened as the rumblings of words finally came. Sighing with a smile, she turned and stilled.
A woman with dark black hair and striking eyes watched her from a few feet away. She asked
something in French and Evelyn shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t speak French.”
“You are the woman who brought Lucian here?”
“Yes. I’m Evelyn.”
She held out her dainty hand. “Bonjour, Evelyn. I am Tibet.”
Ah, the mistress. She shook her hand. “Thank you for letting us stay.”
“Christos’s children are always welcome here, although they never come. It is a surprise to see
Lucian twice in only a few months. He spoke to me about you during his last visit.”
That took her by surprise. “He . . . he did?”
She gestured to a door and Evelyn followed her. It was a room completely made of glass. The
garden blooms created a whimsical splash of color on the walls. “I told him I knew he was in love.”
They settled into wicker chairs cushioned with floral pillows. “He did not deny it. I told him not to
waste time. His heart was clearly in the States.”
Was that what sent him back to Folsom before the supposed thirty days had passed? “I’m glad you
told him that.”
“I also told him we fall in love with people who resemble our parents. I asked who you were most
like, his mother or father.”
“I never met Lucian’s mother, and I only just met his father.” It was a strange comparison to make,
but she was suddenly curious of the answer.
Tibet smiled sadly. Her fingers laced over her crossed legs as her gaze drifted. “She was a lovely
woman, the kind of woman who was difficult to look at, because she was always so perfectly put
together. But most of her beauty was inside. She had a grace about her that could not be mimicked.
She was serene, angelic, and delicate.”
And this woman destroyed that woman’s family. Evelyn imagined Lucian’s mother and then looked
at Tibet. She was dark, beautiful, and quietly dangerous, reminding Evelyn of a black widow spider,
nothing like the description of Lucian’s mom. On the other hand, neither was she.
“She doesn’t sound like me.”
She smiled. “Then you are like Christos.”
Why did she have to be like either of them? “I don’t think so.”
“Really? Christos is brave. He has more fortitude in him than any person I know. No challenge is
enough to make him quit without trying. Yet he is terrified of love. He resents having people close to
him, because they become liabilities.”
She was speechless. That was her. Was that what drew Lucian to her? Was she a supplement for the
unattainable love of his father? She frowned. “I’m not all that brave.”
Tibet tilted her head and studied her, a knowing smile on her painted red lips. “The tabloids can be
quite harsh at times, but there is also some truth behind them. The media likes to paint the Patras
family as better than everyone else. I know what it feels like to come up short in their comparisons.”
She resented being put in the same category as the woman who broke up a family. “I don’t waste
my time with their assumptions.”
“Eventually you will come out with a statement.”
“Lucian says that’s up to me.”
“And what do you plan to say?”
This woman was indeed a spider. Evelyn didn’t appreciate the sticky sense of being caught in a web.
She stood. “I haven’t decided yet. You read the tabloids. You’ll have to wait with the rest of the
gossipmongers.”
Tibet stood and caught her arm. “I’ve offended you. I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”