Page 137 of Effortless

“Tommaso said sorry he couldn’t make the party tomorrow.”

Calisto finally stepped away from Emma, although not before giving her one more quick kiss. “Did you take him to the airport this morning?”

“Yeah, he got called back to Chicago early.”

Camilla tried to keep the sadness out of her tone, and failed miserably. It was what it was.

Emma gave Calisto a knowing look, and then turned back to her daughter. “You weren’t supposed to be coming over today. Is something on your mind that you want to chat about?”

“Actually, yeah.”

Calisto took his usual place behind her mother when Emma sat down in the chair.

“Go on,” her father said.

“I’m considering moving.”

Emma raised a single brow. “To Chicago.”

It wasn’t even a question.

A simple, understanding statement.

But not a question.

“Yeah, to Chicago,” Camilla confirmed.

“And when would you consider making this move?” Calisto asked.

Again, there was no surprise to her father’s tone. Just like her mother’s. As though they had been expecting this from Camilla for a while. Like maybe they had prepared themselves for this conversation.

“Maybe … a year?” Camilla shrugged, adding, “I could finish out this next year here, and get everything in order. Things like a new school and whatnot.”

“Okay,” her mother said.

Camilla looked to her dad even though her mother had been the one to talk. “Okay?”

Calisto smiled. “Yeah, okay, Cam.”

That was that.

Two months later …

“What are you looking at over there?” Tommaso asked from the kitchen entryway.

Camilla quickly shut down the laptop, and pushed the brochures aside. “Nothing.”

“Mmhmm.”

She heard his footsteps echo behind her, and then his fingers weaved into her hair. She tipped her head back to catch his kiss. A familiar rhythm that soothed and burned her from the inside out. At the same time. She never did figure out how he managed to do that to her.

As long as he kept doing it, she didn’t care.

“Ma’s asking when we’re heading to the mansion,” Tommaso said.

Camilla peered up at him. “My flight landed two hours ago.”

He laughed. “That makes no difference to my mother.”