“Ariana.”
“And you build rocket ships. Sounds like you’re all successful.”
Not all of them. With the failure of his life’s work, he certainly wasn’t feeling particularly successful at the moment.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I used your computer to print out some forms I needed to sign.”
Even while on vacation the Alessandro triplets were often working on a project or a deal and having a state-of-the-art computer as well as a combination printer and scanner often came in handy.
“You figured out how to turn it on?”
As brilliant as she was when it came to learning languages or analyzing Italian literature, Brooke was technically challenged. She’d handwritten most of her first thesis until Nic had taken her to buy a laptop. He’d then lost an entire weekend to teaching her the ins and outs of the word-processing software as well as an app that enabled her to organize her research for easy reference.
“Ha-ha. I’m not as inept as you think I am.”
“That’s not saying much.”
She pulled a face at him. “You had about forty unopened emails from the team. Why haven’t you answered any of their questions?”
Nic shifted his gaze to the harbor and watched an inbound sailboat. “As I explained to you earlier, I’m done.”
“How can you walk away from your team and all the hard work they’ve put in on the project?”
Why didn’t she understand? Even if it wasn’t his duty to return to Sherdana, Nic couldn’t let go of the fact that his faulty design had destroyed the rocket and resulted in a man’s death. Besides, Glen was the heart of the project. He would carry on in Nic’s absence.
“Glen will find a new engineer,” Nic said. “Work will continue.”
The rocket’s destruction had hastened the inevitable. Nic had known he couldn’t stay in California forever. It was only a matter of time before responsibility to his country would have forced him to return home.
“But you were the brains behind the new fuel delivery system.”
And his life’s work had resulted in a complete disaster. “They have my notes.”
“But—”
“Leave it alone.” He kept his voice low, but the sharp snap of the words silenced her. An uneasy tension descended between them. “Are you hungry? If you like eggplant, the moussaka is very good.”
She pressed her lips together, but Nic could see she wanted to argue with him further. Instead, she asked, “So, what are you going to do?”
“My family is going through a hard time right now. I’m going home.”
“For how long?”
“For good.”
“Wow.”
The shaky breath she released was a punch to his gut. A week ago he’d left California as soon as the initial investigation of the accident concluded. He hadn’t spoken to her before getting on a plane. His emotions were too raw. And he’d had no idea how to say goodbye.
“I wish I could make you understand, but I can’t.”
“You’re afraid.”
Nic eyed Brooke. Her perceptiveness where he was concerned had always made him wary of letting her get too close. Maybe telling her the truth would be a mistake. Giving her access to his life would increase his connection to her, and keeping his distance would become that much harder.
“Of hurting more people, yes.”
She would assume he meant another scientist like Walter Parry, the man who’d died. But Nic was thinking about his family and her brother. And most of all her. When Gabriel’s engagement had been announced, Nic had felt a loosening of the ties that bound him to Sherdana. Gabriel and Olivia would get married and go on to produce the future monarchs of Sherdana, raising them with Gabriel’s twin two-year-old daughters, Bethany and Karina, who’d come to live with Gabriel after their fashion model mother had died a month earlier. They were illegitimate and the only children Gabriel would ever have.
Lady Olivia’s infertility—and Gabriel’s decision to make her his wife—meant Nic and Christian were no longer free to marry whomever they wished. Or, in Christian’s case, to continue enjoying his playboy lifestyle and never marry at all.
Nic cursed the circumstances that had turned his life upside down and sucked him back into a world that couldn’t include Brooke. If he’d been a simple scientist, he wouldn’t have to resist the invitation in her eyes. Nic shoved away the traitorous thought. It was pointless to dwell on what could never be.
“I can’t believe you’re really going to give it all up,” she said. “You and my brother were excited about the future. The pair of you would get so caught up in a new discovery you wouldn’t have noticed if a tornado swept the lab away. You love being a scientist.”