Mine Onlyy!!!

Part 38

'It can be restful,' Lisa agreed, 'but sometimes it's frustrating. When a painting doesn't come quite right, it drives me mad.'

'I'd like to learn to paint. I'd like to learn about col­our and things. Will you teach me?'

Lisa looked at the teenager in astonishment and Somi opened her eyes.

'What's the matter? You look really surprised. Did I hate painting or something?'

Aware that Jungkook was watching her through narrowed eyes, Lisa pulled herself together. 'I don't know,' she said honestly. 'We never really talked about it.'

Somi frowned and propped herself up on her el­bows. 'So what did I like doing?'

Lisa stared at her helplessly, trying to formulate a suitable reply. The truth certainly wasn't appropriate. In the end she chose to be vague. 'You were a typical teenager,' she hedged.

'You liked clothes and your friends—'

'Friends.' Somi frowned quizzically. 'Did I have a boyfriend?'

Jungkook sucked in a breath, his handsome face suddenly like a thundercloud. 'You did not have a boyfriend. I was very strict about that. Lots of your friends spent their time hanging around in nightclubs, drinking and picking up men. Fortunately for me, you never saw the attraction of spending your evenings that way.'

Lisa stared out to sea, careful to reveal nothing in her expression. The conversation had moved on to dan­gerous ground.

Somi sat up and wrapped her arms round her knees, her eyes fixed on her brother's face. 'So how did I spend my evenings?'

Jungkook shrugged. 'Studying, mostly. Sometimes you would join the family for dinner.'

Lisa kept her eyes fixed firmly on the horizon. And sometimes she had such a major teenage tantrum that she spent the evening locked in her room. And on the nights that her brother was away she 'd slipped out to a nightclub or invited friends into the house. Unsuitable friends. Friends who Jungkook had banned his sister from seeing.

His mobile phone rang and Jungkook sprang to his feet with a soft curse and cast an apologetic glance in their direction. "This is one call that I have to take. I will be back in one moment.'

He strolled further down the sand and for the first time Lisa noticed the bodyguards positioned at differ­ent ends of the beach, intent on their mission to ensure that no overeager tourist or paparazzi intruded on pri­vate land.

'So go on—' Somi reached for a bottle of water. 'Now he's gone you can tell me the truth.'

Lisa's mouth dried. 'About what?'

'Well, I may have lost my memory but something about what Jungkook just said doesn't feel right,' Somi muttered, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. 'I wish my head would stop aching. I wish this cloud in my mind would clear. It's as if the answers are all there but they're hidden away.'

'Perhaps we should go back to the villa.' Lisa sug­gested but Somi shook her head.

'The headache stays wherever I am. I might as well be here.' She glanced at the sea and breathed in deeply. 'I like it.'

Lisa looked at her, unable to hide her surprise. 'Do you? I'm glad.'

'I didn't used to like it, did I?'

Lisa hesitated and then shook her head. 'You used to say that it was boring. But you are older now. and—'

'Less of a pain?' Somi's tone was dry. 'I had boy­friends, didn't I—and he didn't know. I can tell by your face.'

Lisa froze. How was she supposed to respond to that? Was she supposed to tell Somi the truth? That it had been one of her boyfriends that Jungkook had discovered that night? That Somi had been the catalyst that had destroyed their already crumbling marriage?

No. Of course she couldn't say that. Somi was sup­posed to be shielded from shocks and, anyway, what good would telling the truth serve now? It was too late for Lisa's relationship with Jungkook. That was long since over.

All that mattered now was facilitating Somi's re­covery so that Lisa could return home to Thailand as soon as possible.

'I don't think the past is very relevant,' Lisa said finally, giving Somi a warm smile. 'I think it's the present that matters. And you need to concentrate on getting well.'

Somi stared at her for a moment and then shook her head with a groan and lay back down. 'I've got this fog around my brain. I know the answers are there some­where but they're just not clear enough for me to grab hold of.'