Chapter Forty-Nine
MILES
PRESENT
“I don’t want to know what had you stuck in Marina’s bedroom for so long earlier,” Leo says, coming up to me where I stand in the kitchen, pouring Marina a glass of wine, “but she's been especially quiet ever since you came back.”
My brows pull together. I thought she’d been a little bit quiet through dinner, but I didn’t think anyone else had noticed.
“And you know, usually post sex, a girl is glowing. So what did you do?”
I just shake my head. “Nothing.” Leo raises his brows in disbelief. “No, seriously. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of hers.” I’ve been too stuck in my own head to even try to decipher her thoughts.
She slipped out of the bedroom and past where I stood in the hall without even looking my way. I thought it was strange, but I couldn’t exactly hang up the phone to go and find out.
I was on the phone with Emilio Rossi, the owner of the local flight school I applied to yesterday, after my phone call with Wes.
After talking it through with him, I decided to apply for the job right then and there in the car.
So when Emilio called to tell me they want to interview me as soon as possible, I froze.
I stumbled over my words, but somehow I’ve got an interview tomorrow morning, and my stomach has been twisting with anticipation ever since I hung up the phone.
I’m taking another step, one giant step towards changing everything, and I don’t recognize the feeling in my chest. I think it might be pride.
“Okay, well, walk me through it,” Leo says. I turn to face him, my brows raised to my hairline. “Okay—like—leave out that part.” He shakes his head. “Did anything happen afterward?”
“I got a phone call.” I could elaborate more, tell him about the job, but I want to tell Marina first. She deserves that. But I don’t want to take away from the D’Angelo’s and their party. Tonight is about them.
“Like...mid?—”
“Jesus Christ, Leo. No, it was after that .”
“Okay, was it your ex-girlfriend or something? Why would she be upset? Unless you just didn’t…ya know,” he shrugs, “perform.”
“Okay, I’m not having this conversation with you,” I say as I walk out of the kitchen, heading outside to where everyone is sitting around the big wooden table.
Vanessa is engrossed in a conversation with May and Rafael, deliberating baby names as they all argue about what is tasteful versus outdated. Luca sits beside her, his attention focused on Caio as they mumble to each other in Italian.
“Here you go, princess,” I say, placing the glass of red wine on the table in front of Marina. She just smiles, not saying a word before she takes a generous sip.
I hate this energy between us. I hate not knowing what’s wrong, because then I don't know how to fix it.
I pull out the chair beside her, grabbing her hand in mine as I sit close to her. “Baby?”
“Mmm?” she mutters.
I take her chin in between my fingers, pulling her gaze to meet mine, and for the life of me, I can’t read what’s written in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She bites on the inside of her cheek, her eyes darting around my face. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
I just nod, leaning back. “Wherever you want.”
She stands, picking up her wine glass and walking us through the house, leading me to the soft leather couches in the living room.
She doesn’t let go of her glass, even as she tucks herself into the corner of the couch like she needs something to cling to, and it makes worry rise in my throat.
Things were so good earlier, at least I thought they were, so what happened in the time that I was on the phone? Or did I do something before that to upset her?
“Talk to me, princess.”
She’s still chewing on her lip, her eyes nervous as she looks up at me. “Are you leaving?”
My heart stops. “What?”
“Are you leaving, Miles?” My heart skips a beat as I sit here.
This isn’t what I was expecting, though I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting.
“On the phone…” She searches my eyes, and I’m not sure what she’s looking for.
“It sounded like you were talking to your boss, you sounded pleased, I just—” Her gaze dips, and she takes a big gulp of her wine instead of finishing her sentence.
I can’t help the small smile that I can feel tugging at the corner of my mouth. I fold my leg up onto the couch to face her fully.
“Why are you smiling?” she says, her voice sharper than it was a second ago. “Is this entertaining to you, Miles?”
My grin just spreads, and I shrug my shoulders. “I mean…I’m hoping he’ll be my boss. I might find out tomorrow around ten a.m.”
Her brows jump together. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve got an interview tomorrow morning for a job as an instructor at a flight school somewhere between here and Sorrento. ”
The look in her eyes softens immediately, but confusion still swirls behind them. “You what?” she breathes.
I take her glass from her hands, carefully placing it on the coffee table before scooting even closer to her, taking her hands in mine. “Didn’t I tell you that I’m not going anywhere?”
She just shakes her head, almost in wonder. “You applied for a job here?”
I reach up, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting my fingers fall through the curls. “I didn’t buy a house here just for the holidays, baby.”
She blinks over and over, as if trying to make sure that she’s not dreaming. “But what about your parents? What about your job with Everglades? You just made captain.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.
” I almost laugh, saying the words out loud is cathartic.
“This place made me realize that, you made me realize that. I want to live a full life, a colorful life. I want to have a place that I can call home, a place I can come back to at the end of the day that isn’t all white walls and crispy linens.
A woman who I cherish more than anything else in my life, and people around me who truly care about me, who care about my happiness,” I say. “How could I ever give all of this up?”
Her eyes are glassy as she shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“The answer is that I can’t. I’ve done it once before, and I never ever want to do it again.”
Marina lets out a small hiccup before crawling into my lap and wrapping herself around me. I don’t waste a second before hugging her tightly against me. I can feel her heart beating against mine, it’s rapid while mine is steady—I think because this feels more right than anything before.
This feels like more than just a hug, more than just a touch.
It feels like the moment where everything else falls away.
Every single wall left between us, every worry or hesitation.
It feels like when you finally figure out where two puzzle pieces fit together, and they connect so perfectly you question how you didn’t see it earlier.
She sniffles as she half laughs, half cries over my shoulder. I just smile over hers. “I haven’t even got the job yet.”
This time, she lets out a true laugh, one paired with a wide if not wobbly grin as she pulls out of my arms. But she doesn’t go far, still tucked up next to me. “You better charm their pants off, hotshot. Because now that I’ve got you back, I don’t plan on letting you go.”
“That’s the plan.”