“I can’t believe everyone will be here tomorrow,” I told the group. “I’m so excited to see my Sky baby.”
“I bet, it must have been really hard being away from her for so long,” Summer said, and I could tell she was already missing Tennyson.
“It was, but I knew she had a good time with Nigel’s parents. They spoiled her to death,” I said with a laugh. “And my mom called and let me talk to her when they picked her up. I just hope she’s good for my parents on the flight. It was easier when she was younger, but now that she can walk, she doesn’t like being forced to stay in one place.”
“They had three kids and grandkids, they’ll be fine,” Whitney assured me.
“I know, I’m just a worrier,” I admitted.
We were all lounging in the living room space after eating a dinner of salad, pasta, bread, and tiramisu.
“I think we should go have one final swim before the pool is overrun with kids,” Margo said, sitting up in the oversized chair she’d been lazing in.
“It’s dark,” Summer stated.
“You’ve never gone swimming in the dark?” Andi asked.
Summer shook her head.
“You haven’t lived if you haven’t jumped into a lake when it was pitch black, never knowing what it was that brushed up against your leg.”
Summer gave Andi a horrified expression, but Andi simply laughed.
“You have nothing to worry about in the pool,” Whitney assured her.
“Yeah, there are lights under the water, so even though it’s dark, you can see that it’s safe,” I added.
“Then let’s do it,” Margo said, pushing herself up out of the chair. “Last one in has to play bartender.”
When we got upstairs, I told Andi, “I’m going to go tell Damon, see if he wants to join us.”
She nodded and went to her room. Once she’d gone inside, I knocked once on Damon’s door and opened it slowly, peering around it to see if he was inside.
He was sitting on his bed, crossed legged and bent at the waist as he drew furiously.
“Hey,” I called softly, since he obviously hadn’t heard me open the door.
Damon glanced up and smiled. “Hi.”
“I wanted to invite you to come swimming with us.”
I moved slowly toward the bed and his gaze tracked my every movement.
“What are you sketching?” I asked, curious, but not wanting to intrude.
Rather than answering, he picked up the page on top and turned it so I could see. I gasped. It was the five of us when we’d been all dressed up for dinner the other night.
“Are you going to do a painting?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off the paper. He’d captured each of us perfectly.
“I will, but I want to get it perfect first.”
“It looks pretty perfect to me,” I replied, meeting his gaze with a smile.
“I’ve missed you the last few days,” he said softly.
“We’ve been together constantly,” I argued.
“You know what I mean.”
I did.
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t feel right coming by with them in the house.”
“Why? I doubt they’d care,” he said, watching me intently. “Are you ready for this to be over?”
I felt my throat burn at his question. I wasn’t ready to come to this kind of decision, not right now.
“No, I don’t want it to be over, but I don’t know where we go from here. Everyone is coming tomorrow … Sky, Luca, my parents … I don’t want to put pressure on us.”
“Do you think they wouldn’t approve?”
“I’m not sure about Luca, but I don’t want to get my parents’ hopes up. And I don’t want to confuse Sky,” I explained, hoping he could understand. “I’m not trying to shut us down; I just need time to think … to figure out if this could work.”
“But how can you know if we aren’t trying together?”
I glanced down at his sketch again, loving that he saw us as we were, saw me as I am … or, at least, who I was now. But who I was with him these last few weeks was bound to change once I was back to being a single mother again.
“Damon, these last few weeks have been perfect. But they aren’t real. They’re a fantasy. A perfectly curated version of what my life could be like if it wasn’t so chaotic and messy. Raising a toddler is hard, and exhausting, and it usually feels like I have no time for myself. My life revolves around Sky.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he argued, reaching for me. “You don’t have to do everything alone, and there can be a balance.”
“I have to put Sky first. I’m all she has. Please, just give me some time to figure things out.”
“To figure out if there’s room for me in your life?” Damon asked, and I couldn’t blame him for sounding a little bitter, even though I’d been upfront with him from the start.
“There’s always going to be room for you in my life, just like before, I’m just not sure in what capacity.”
“Okay, I’ll give you time. But I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” I leaned in to brush my lips gently against his, before pulling back and saying, “We’ll be at the pool if you want to join.”
He shook his head, his expression sad. “Not this time. I’m gonna stay here and work on this.”
I sucked my lips between my teeth and nodded, feeling a sorrow I hadn’t felt since arriving in Italy.
“I understand,” I said, then left him alone and went to put on my suit and go meet my friends.