The Storm Sister (The Seven Sisters #2) by Lucinda Riley Read Free Book Online

whispered.
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Well, if you mean it, I’m more pleased than if I’d won this year’s Fastnet Race. Now, try to sleep.’
    And surprisingly, held fast by Theo and his admission of love, I did.
     

    The following morning, as the taxi crawled through the Athens traffic, heavy even at sunrise, I saw Theo surreptitiously checking his watch. It was usually me in control of
such things, monitoring the time for others, but at that moment, I was glad he was taking charge.
    I checked in with forty minutes to spare, just as the desk was closing.
    ‘Ally, darling, tell me, are you sure you’re going to be okay?’ Theo frowned. ‘And are you positive you don’t want me to come to Geneva with you?’
    ‘Really, I’ll be fine,’ I said as I walked towards departures.
    ‘Listen, if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.’
    We’d reached the end of the queue waiting to go through security as it wove snake-like between the barriers. I turned to Theo. ‘Thank you, for everything. You’ve been
amazing.’
    ‘I really haven’t, Ally, and listen’ – he pulled me back towards him urgently – ‘just remember I love you.’
    ‘I will,’ I whispered, managing a wan smile.
    ‘And any time you don’t feel brave, just call or text me.’
    ‘I promise.’
    ‘And by the way,’ he said as he released me from his arms, ‘I’ll totally understand if you can’t sail in the regatta, given the circumstances.’
    ‘I’ll let you know as soon as possible.’
    ‘We’ll lose without you.’ He grinned suddenly. ‘You’re the best crewman I’ve got. Goodbye, my darling.’
    ‘Bye.’
    I joined the queue and was subsumed into the mass of trudging humanity. As I was about to dump my rucksack in a tray for X-ray, I turned back.
    He was still there.
    ‘I love you,’ he mouthed. And with a kiss and a wave, he left.
    As I waited in the departure lounge, and the surreal bubble of love that had encased me for the past few days burst abruptly, my stomach began to churn with dreadful trepidation at what I must
face. I pulled out my mobile and called Christian, the young skipper of our family’s speedboat, who would transport me from Geneva and along the lake to my childhood home. I left a message
asking him to collect me at ten o’clock from the pontoon. I also asked him to say nothing to Ma or my sisters about my arrival, telling him I would contact them myself.
    But as I boarded the plane and willed myself to make the call, I found that I couldn’t do it. The dreadful prospect of another few hours alone, with the truth having been confirmed over
the phone by one of my family, prohibited it. The plane began taxiing along the runway, and as we left the ground, flying up into the sunrise over Athens, I leant my hot cheek against the cool
window as panic began to assail me. To distract myself, I glanced unseeingly at the front page of an
International Herald Tribune
that I’d been handed by the cabin attendant. I was
about to put it aside when a headline caught my eye.
    ‘BILLIONAIRE TYCOON’S BODY WASHED UP ON GREEK ISLAND’
    There was a photograph of a vaguely familiar face, with a caption beneath it.
    ‘
Kreeg Eszu found dead on Aegean beach.
’
    I stared at the headline in shock. Theo had told me it was
his
boat, the
Olympus
, which had been so close to Pa Salt’s in the bay off Delos . . .
    Letting the newspaper slip to the floor, I stared miserably out of the window. I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand anything anymore . . .
    Nearly three hours later, as the plane began its descent into Geneva airport, my heart started beating so fast that I could barely catch my breath. I was going home, which normally engendered a
feeling of happiness and excitement because the person I loved most in the world would be there to welcome me with open arms into our own magical world. But this time, I knew he would not be there
to greet me. And never would be again.

4
    ‘Would you