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“What the—! I didn’t tell her.”
“Then what happened?”
“Nothing happened!” Then I stopped. “Okay, well, things happened. We had a great lunch and then after I took her down to a room and we—”
Leander cleared his throat and I rolled my eyes. I looked around set, as if Hope would magically appear like she had earlier back on the rooftop. But the sun was setting and if Hope had left Padua already—
What on earth could have happened between her leaving me flush-cheeked and satisfied and getting back home?
And then it hit like the bell they rang at the end of scenes. I froze where I stood. “Fucking Helena.”
“Lena?” Leander’s voice came sharp over the phone. “Lena was there?”
He said it as if it made everything make sense. Which made my hackles rise through the roof. “What did you tell that hell-bitch about our past?” I accused him.
A beat of silence, then he muttered, “Fuck. I got drunk one night after filming and admitted it wasn’t me who went to juvie.”
“You son of a bitch.” I dragged the phone down from my face and it was hard not to pitch it into the canal.
How was the mother of our children supposed to trust us when we’d lied to her? I’d meant to get around to telling her the truth… someday. Probably. But with the babies coming, well, there didn’t seem to be any real reason to dig up the past.
Some skeletons were best left dead and buried six feet deep.
“Have you tried her cell?” I asked. “Maybe if I call her and explain—”
“Can’t. She dropped her phone right outside the front door. On purpose, I think. We’ve got to get to her and explain before she leaves Italy. The closest airport is the—”
“Marco Polo,” I finished his sentence for him even though we both hated when we did that anymore. But right now I was happy if it meant I could get into action faster. Tourists who wanted to see Venice had moved enough traffic that it had warranted an international airport being built right on the mainland. So I was closer to where Hope was likely headed than Leander and Milo were. Depending on how far Hope’s taxi had gotten her, anyway.
“How long ago did she leave?” I asked. “Maybe I can head her off.”
“Now he’s getting it. She left eight minutes ago.”
“And you’re just telling me now!” I hustled past movie crew. I’d make my excuses later, after I was already in a water taxi. “I’ll get back to shore as quick as I can.”
“Good. Because, Jan”—there was a rare note of vulnerability in my brother’s voice—“we can’t lose her.”
I jogged towards where the water taxis were parked and flagged one down. “We won’t.”
I looked down at my phone. Padua was half an hour away from Venice. If I booked it, I could make it to the airport in twenty minutes. Right in time to catch Hope before she even went inside to buy a ticket
I’d explain that Lena had twisted everything up with her lies. And the part Lena hadn’t lied about… well, I could explain that too. Eventually. A lot of it wasn’t my story to tell, but if Hope just had patience with us…
I jumped on the boat and then the taxi driver and I sped off through the canals.
Hope was the mother of our children and the woman I loved.
I’d be the one on my knees this time, if that was what it took.
TWENTY-SEVEN
HOPE
Quiet tears slipped down my face as I paid the taxi driver in euros. The guy barely looked at me as he accepted the money. I was glad. I wasn’t sure I could deal with an overly friendly driver at the moment.
He drove off the second I was out of the car clutching my bag. The only possessions I had in the world were on me. It made me feel very alone suddenly.
What was I doing? Was I seriously leaving behind everything I knew? My job? My… guys?
They aren’t who you think they are. Lena’s stupid high-pitched voice echoed in my head.
She’s a liar. You know she likes to stir up trouble.
I sighed as I stood there on the sidewalk. The sun had set on the ride here. As I paused indecisively, people hurried past me on all sides as the sky cracked with thunder and it began to rain.
Because of course it did.
Well, at least it matched my mood.
I wrapped my hands low around my pregnant belly.
“Little beans, it looks like it’s just you and me,” I whispered, my voice wavering as I shivered from the sudden cool of the summer storm. I couldn’t stand out here trying to decide what to do, so I hurried inside.
The thing was, I hated this feeling. This not knowing what was going on and being punched with information like the last idiot standing. I thought I’d finally broken through and they’d let me in. One of them was the father of these twins in my belly, for God’s sake!
