The Sicilian Affair

Chapter 13 - Favour Returned

They walked a good mile in silence.

Laurie's mouth opened several times to draw in a conversation but quickly decided against it, fearing that she had gotten herself in enough trouble as it was.

So instead, she tilted her head up and and gazed at the stars that had now filled the evening sky.

"Hmmm." She sighed wholeheartedly, doubting the idea that she would ever forget how beautiful it was out here.

"Beautiful, isn't here?" Tomas muttered softly.

"Yes, it is." She admitted, a warm smile spread over her lips.

It really was. It still took her breath away at how untouched this place was from the destruction of human hands. The sand was white, sea crystal blue and the fauna flourished and sea creatures felt safe and secure enough to swim along the coast line. At night it was even more quite, tranquil. Crabs would run up and down the beach and she had been lucky enough to witness a turtle coming out of the sea to lay her eggs.

She turned around to spare him a glance, her breathing immediatelt stilled and her heart nearly stopped when she caught Tomas staring at her as if he had been it it for quite a while now and for a brief moment she wondered whether he had been talking about the stars .... or her.

Stop it Laurie!

She quickly averted her eyes from him, blushing at her very own thought that he might have called her beautiful. Which in any incase, he probably wasn't even talking about her.

And why did it even matter anyways?

"Perhaps we should rest awhile." Tomas offered.

"Of course." She nodded, "We can sit here if you like."

He gestured to the sand and Laurie was the first to sit.

The soft breeze blew across the beach, tickle at the leaves as it made it way past them. Laurie brought her arms around her, silently regretting that she had followed him without at least grabbing a cardigan.

"Where are from you Ms. Slade?" Tomas's smooth masculine voice broke through her thoughts.

A tight smile formed on her face.

"Hmmm, why do I get the feeling that you already know the answer to that?"

You're right," he smiled back at her knowingly, "I do but I thought we could talk about something less..."

"Upseting?" She interjected with a raised brow.

"You really do tend to catch on quick, don't you?"

"I guess, I do." She replied, then bent her head back down to avert that look in his eyes that made her heart leap with joy.

"Then why don't you just humour me?"

"I would but unfortunately, I don't really like to talk about myself or my family, that is." She said, mumbling on the last part.

It wasn't that she hated her parents, quite the contrary, she loved them. It was just the way that they treated her that she despised.

"Why is that?"

She shifted her eyes from soft crushing motion of the waves to Tomas. A light frown appeared on her face.

"The same reason why you are running around in circles at whatever is upseting you,  I guess."

Tomas scoffed, stretching his legs infront of him.

"Are you saying that you are running away from it all? Is that why you are here?"