‘It’s just how my brain works.’ She shrugged her slender shoulders and his eyes flicked lower, taking in the hint of cleavage exposed by the silk dress she was wearing. He reached across the table, lacing their fingers together in a simple gesture of intimacy.
‘I like the way your brain works.’
She smiled, her eyes resting on their hands, hers a light gold and his a deep tan. ‘Anyway, I met Cameron, and I’ve always felt an affinity with him. He’s a very bright student, and quite sensitive. He feels things strongly, and that sometimes puts him out of step with his peers. Cynthia’s death rocked him to the core.’
‘Naturally.’
‘I guess, I’m saying that I’m glad he has you—and that you seem to realise the importance of being there for him right now.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘I want to be a good father to him but it’s not something I ever planned for. I was actually determined that I wouldn’t have children.’
‘Don’t you need to continue the family name or whatever?’
‘I have a half-brother for that.’
Surprise was evident on Amelia’s face. ‘You do?’
‘Andreo, yes. He’s married, and far more likely—or so I thought until recently—to be the one to provide the Anastakos heirs.’
‘How does he feel about Cameron?’
‘He’s surprised, but looking forward to meeting him.’
‘Does he work with you?’
‘He runs our Asia Pacific operations.’
‘You’re close?’
‘We’re...products of the same upbringing.’ He flashed a tight smile and she knew him well enough to know it foretold a subject change. She was getting close to something he didn’t want to discuss.
‘You had an unhappy childhood?’ She squeezed his hand back, drawing his gaze there.
‘You know about my childhood.’
‘Your father’s divorces.’
‘Right.’
‘And you were unhappy?’ she pushed.
‘I was ambivalent.’
She tilted her head to one side, analysing his explanation. ‘In what way?’
His sigh was a fierce expulsion of air. ‘Our home life changed dramatically, year to year. Children cannot help forming attachments to the people they live with. I would come to care for my latest “stepmother” before my father would invariably end the marriage and I’d never see her again.’
Amelia’s stomach rolled. ‘You don’t keep in touch with any of them?’
‘Andreo’s mother,’ he said quietly. ‘But not the others.’
‘God, it sounds like some kind of club: the Ex Anastakos Wives.’
‘With a costly entrance fee.’ He shook his head.
‘That’s why you’re so dead set against relationships?’
‘Yes.’ The directness of his answer surprised her. ‘In my experience, nothing good comes from fooling yourself into believing you need another person to “complete” you, or whatever it is that makes people pledge their undying love.’ His cynicism was ob