“Well, I told her that the reason I couldn’t make it work with us is because I resented her for what happened to Edric. But I don’t know. I’ve had some closure with that and know it was wrong to blame her for any of it. Maybe that gave her a glimmer of hope, which isn’t what I wanted.”
Antonio gave a slight nod. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Am I twenty-three or thirty-three?” I snapped. “I can’t tell the difference anymore.” I finally paid the tab and left the table, and the two of us walked down the deserted walkway out of the heart of the village.
We parted ways on one of the roads because Antonio lived in an apartment in the center. He clapped me on the shoulder. “You’ll be all right, man.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I walked to where my Range Rover was parked and headed up the mountainside to my villa. As the crow flies, my home was actually really close to the heart of Taormina, but with the winding roads up the cliff face, it took at least twenty minutes, maybe a little less if no one else was on the road.
It was the first time I’d come home and didn’t want to be there.
The first time I didn’t want to see Aurelia.
I parked in the garage and headed through the door. The lights were still on, like she was wide awake. When I stepped into the living room, Aurelia and Medusa were asleep on the couch together, side by side, Aurelia spooning Medusa from behind.
I stopped and stared at them for a while, the smirk that moved onto my lips unstoppable. Medusa must have been dead tired if she didn’t wake up at the sound of my footsteps. I could hear her snore a little bit when I came closer.
Aurelia was wrapped in a blanket she’d pulled off the back of the couch, wearing one of my T-shirts, the TV still on but the volume off, like she’d turned it down before she fell asleep.
I took a seat by her head and gently ran my fingers through her soft hair, watching her sleep like a fucking angel.
Medusa must have smelled me, because her eyes opened, and she turned her head to look at me. Then she released an excited whine, her tail wagging and smacking Aurelia on the hip. Unable to contain her excitement, she got up and moved into my lap.
I chuckled quietly. “Oh baby girl.” I held her in my arms and gave her a rubdown while her tail continued to go crazy. “Thanks for looking after her while I was gone.”
Aurelia sighed before she got up, moving the hair out of her face. “What time is it?” she asked in a strained voice.
“After midnight.”
“Oh wow.” She moved her back against the couch and pulled her knees to her chest. “Guess that means you had fun.”
If only that were true.
I dropped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to Medusa and me, brushing a kiss to her hairline. “I love you.”
She turned into me, sliding her arm over my torso as she snuggled into me, half asleep. “I love you too.”
With both of my girls on me, I didn’t want to get up. Didn’t want to ruin the special moment by talking about someone I truly had begun to hate. So, I watched them instead, watched Medusa fall back asleep on me while Aurelia’s breaths deepened as she drifted off.
Chapter 14
Constantine
I didn’t tell Aurelia.
She got up when her alarm went off and readied herself for work like every morning. I didn’t think it was the right time to tell her that my obnoxious ex had tried to kiss me on the stairs, so I decided to tell her later.
I dropped her off at the entrance to the village, and shortly after I pulled away, a text from my mom popped up on the screen.Come to the restaurant. I want to talk to you.
“Fuck.” I already knew what this was about. I almost decided to ignore it and head home anyway. But if it was about the shit with Isabella last night, this was not how I wanted Aurelia to find out about it.
So I turned around and headed back.
I walked along the side of the building before I unlocked the glass door and stepped inside.
Aurelia was at the counter in her black T-shirt with her hair in a high ponytail. Her eyes went wide with surprise like she didn’t expect me, but once the surprise faded, she looked happy to see me, like she hadn’t just seen me a couple minutes ago. “Hey, what brings you here?”
I came to the counter and gave her a kiss as if eight hours had passed since I’d dropped her off. “Mom wants to talk to me.”
