"I'm certain you told me, so please forgive, but what was the reason you came here?" he asked.
"It's a long story," she replied, brushing at the air as if to brush away his question. "I'm in a…well, like a retreat, I guess you might say. Mister Aldrin and Miss Milton look after the place, and act as my guardians."
Kevin stopped and turned to her. "Guardians? Are you some kind of dangerous criminal?" he asked, laughing.
Tanya placed her hands on her hips. "Don't I look like a dangerous criminal?" she asked with a laugh.
"No!"
"I'm not. I just have to keep a low profile for a while, that's all."
They climbed for a while in silence. At the top of the biggest hill, they paused to admire the view. Kevin leaned against a low stone wall and looked out to the sea, his grey eyes dark. Tanya watched him, admiring his slender build. He was tall and slim. His grey eyes shaded from smoke in the sunlight to slate in the shadows. His nose had a slight tip tilt, and his dark hair was turning grey. He repeatedly pushed at a rebellious forelock.
"What do you do for a living?" Tanya asked. "Are you here on vacation, or here for work?" After all of the questions he had asked her, she felt it was her turn.
"I'm a publisher of arts books," he replied. "And I'm here to work. I own a small company called 'A Shoppe for the Arts.' My father created it, I helped it grow and brought it into the twentieth century." He laughed. "Now, I'm upgrading it into the twenty-first."
"Maybe one of my pieces will find the way to your Shoppe," Tanya said with a wistful smile. "Or maybe, better yet, in twenty years you'll see me in one of your books." She walked to his side and joined him in staring out at the sea. Never still, always changing, the sea entranced them both.
"You said you're here for work. What can you do in this corner of the world?"
"I take short trips to expositions to look for ideas, then prepare the first mock-ups in my office at the villa." He paused and brushed his forelock once more. "I do my most serious work here. It's so very quiet." He turned and looked into her eyes. For a moment, they were silent, each intent on hidden thoughts.