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His expression hardened. “And what about us?”
“There is no us.” The words tore at her heart, but she knew in the long run that it was for the best. Roberto was not a man to be tied down. “We got caught up in the charade. It’s over now. We have to go back to reality. Alone. It’s the only way.”
His eyes grew darker as a muscle in his cheek twitched. He surely couldn’t be mad that she’d beat him to the punch. He couldn’t actually think they’d last. Did he?
“I should go.” And with that, he stormed out the door, closing it with a solid thud.
DAY SIXTEEN
Athens, Greece
TODAY WAS THE end of their cruise.
The end of their engagement. The end of seeing her every single day.
He’d been up all night. Every time he’d closed his eyes, Stasia’s image came to mind. And he couldn’t forget her final words to him. They’d been sharp and had cut right through him.
Early that morning, he’d meandered to the deck, where he’d watched the sun rise. Though it should have filled him with some sort of joy, it had done nothing for him. The brilliant colors of the sunrise were like a taunt to his gray mood.
“Roberto?”
He inwardly groaned. The last person he wanted to talk to was his grandmother.
“Roberto, what are you doing out here?” His grandmother stopped at his table and looked at him with confusion reflected in her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be packing?”
“I already did it.” He didn’t want to talk. He just wanted to sit here alone with his thoughts.
Yaya glanced around. “Where’s Stasia?”
He shrugged, looking down at his lap, where he was holding the engagement ring. “I don’t know.”
She sat down. “Roberto, what’s wrong?”
He sighed. “It’s over. It’s all over.”
“What is? I don’t understand.”
He started at the beginning, telling his grandmother about the charade and how it somehow became real—or at least he thought it had turned into a real relationship. Obviously, he’d been mistaken.
He handed her the engagement ring. “You need to take this back.”
Yaya accepted the ring. She stared at it a moment. “Are you sure about this?”
“Positive. She dumped me.” The acknowledgment was like an arrow through his heart.
“And that’s it? You’re just going to let her walk away?”
He frowned at his grandmother. “You want me to go back so she can do it again?”
Yaya shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. “I know that this isn’t the first time you’ve been dumped. That was the exact word you used when your parents left you with us—”
“I don’t want to talk about them. This has nothing to do with them.”
“But I think it does. What your parents did was wrong and they hurt you deeply. You learned how to protect yourself by keeping others out. And you stopped telling people how you feel.”
He turned to her. “What are you saying? That I’m the reason Stasia dumped me?”
“I just want you to think about it. Did you give her a reason to stay? Did you tell her that you love her—really love her?” His grandmother looked at the ring and then placed it back in his hand. “You hang on to this a while longer. I have a feeling you might need it.” His grandmother stood. “Now I’m off to find some more bags. I’ve bought more things than I thought. Your grandfather is having a fit because there’s no room in the luggage.”
Roberto didn’t hear his grandmother leave. He was too busy considering what she’d told him. Was she right? Had he been holding himself back?
Would Stasia feel different about him if he told her the truth? Just the thought of baring his deepest feelings to her with the chance that she’d reject him—much like his parents had rejected him when he’d begged them not to leave—left him feeling more vulnerable than he ever had in his whole life. Could he do it?
* * *
Ending things with Roberto was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do.
Stasia had cried herself to sleep. And now in the morning light, her face was still puffy and her head hurt, but not as much as her heart.
