When the Cypress Whispers by Corporon Yvette Manessis

Author:Corporon, Yvette Manessis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Daphne ran into Stephen’s arms the moment he emerged from the crowd of suntanned tourists at the Corfu Airport. As soon as she laid eyes on him, with his perfectly tailored pants and striped polo shirt, Daphne had anticipated feeling a sense of relief. Stephen had always had a calming and quieting effect on Daphne; it was the one thing that always stood out in her mind about her fiancé. When Stephen was nearby, it seemed that everything would always somehow be all right—every problem would have a solution, every minute detail would be taken care of.

There, in the middle of the hot, dusty airport terminal, as he greeted her with, “Hello gorgeous,” he scooped her up into his arms and bent down to kiss her lips. But even Stephen’s presence, his strong hands, the pull of his fingers stroking her hair, the anesthetic timbre of his voice, could not dull the lingering ache that Yianni’s story had left. This time, even Stephen was powerless to fix what had happened. Even Stephen couldn’t dull the impact of Yianni’s words, nor the impact of his eyes. As she leaned into Stephen’s body, Daphne felt as if there were no strength left in her own, as if the trip across the Ionian Sea that morning had drained her too, leaving her as dry and empty as the black sea urchin shells that she and Yianni had left bobbing on the sea in their wake.

But Daphne knew this wasn’t the time nor the place to tell Stephen what had happened, what she had learned. In the process of convincing him to move the wedding here, Daphne had painted a vision of an island paradise, a beautiful place filled with nothing but love and laughter. For her entire life, Daphne had believed this to be true. Only earlier in the day, onboard a simple kaiki, had a bearded fisherman shattered her fantasy.

“Honey, are you all right? What’s wrong?” Stephen asked.

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m just so happy to see you. I guess I’m just . . .” She paused, making certain to choose her words carefully. “I guess I’m just overwhelmed.”

And she was. As much as she had loved having Evie and Yia-yia to herself for so many days, she’d also been anxious to move forward, to begin her new life. But something had changed for Daphne that morning in the terminal. When she laid eyes on Stephen, instead of sensing relief, Daphne was overcome with something else, something she’d never expected. When Daphne spotted Stephen as he emerged from the plane, she didn’t stop to think how lucky she was to be with a man who had all the answers. Instead, Daphne realized that she, herself, had none.

Yes, she had success, she now had money, she even had the highest accolades; but it was all due to Stephen’s help. She could never have done it without him. All these years, Daphne had imagined herself so advanced, so independent, so very modern and evolved from

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