Chapter 29
I spot Nico talking to Anya and Mari out on the patio after they get home from whatever amazing activity they were doing without me. I stay hidden behind a large fern, feeling a little like a creeper.
Once they walk away, I figure it’s safe to come out.
“Hey.” I kept missing Nico after we talked about the tour. The B and B is short-staffed—his mom had to take someone to the airport in Naples, so he and I were left to split up the tasks for the rest of the day.
“Buona sera.” Nico grins at me, blinking behind his dark lashes. He doesn’t tell me what Mari and Anya had been saying, but he does share some other interesting information. “So, I have some good news.” A pause, a hesitation. “A room has opened up, if you want it.”
My stomach sinks. This should be good news, but it feels like the exact opposite.
I’ve loved sleeping outside. With him. Most days, I count down the hours to dusk, until we can meet out there and have an Aperol spritz or Persian tea while we watch the sky darken over the water.
It’s been a respite after a messy few days—a messy year—to talk to him about anything, everything while life passed slowly beneath the stars.
No rush, no worries, and no fear, either.
But I’m sure the last thing his mom wants is a strange American stowaway in their courtyard for all to see, and if I’m being honest with myself, I knew this wasn’t going to last forever.
I plaster on a smile and force myself to say the right thing.
“Nico, that is so kind. But I was going to tell you, I think I should probably try to talk to Anya and Mari.”
“Oh.” Nico slips the key he was holding back in his pocket, and I swear he looks disappointed. Had I missed something? “Of course. You should do that. It’s time you three make things right again.”
I swallow. It’s not actually what I want. But I can’t accept a handout from Nico, especially when I know how badly the B and B needs to book that room, and I can’t afford to pay for a second room just because I’m too prideful to apologize to my friends. “Yeah, it’s probably the right thing to do.”
“I have something else to tell you too. Look at this list.” Nico opens up his trusty leather agenda, to show me a list of ten names with six more beneath. “We already have a wait list. This could really happen.”
“I told you, Nico.” I squeeze his arm, but a pit is opening in my stomach.
One day closer to making this tour a reality means it’s also one day closer to leaving—leaving Amalfi, leaving this B and B, and most of all, leaving a boy who has become a friend, a real one.
It also means one less day to make amends with Anya and Mari.
I think about going up to the room, but the truth is that I can’t face them right now—I haven’t prepared anything to say.
So instead, I procrastinate. I tidy up behind the counter, wiping up imaginary crumbs. I find any menial task to do until it is late enough that Anya and Mari are probably asleep.
Eventually, when I’ve managed to do all I can possibly think of, I turn to Nico with a resigned smile. “Well, I’ll be headed to bed, then.”
“Yeah, I probably should too. Good night, Soraya,” Nico says, looking almost as disappointed as I feel.
“Good night, Nico.” I turn to walk toward the elevators, taking a deep breath once the doors open to bring me up to the third floor.
I stand outside our room, hand hovering over the doorknob.
As quietly as I can, I slide the key in the lock and force myself to enter.
Relief washes over me when I see the room is pitch-black and hear soft snores rumbling through the dark.
I slip under the covers without even brushing my teeth to avoid waking them.
They’re sleeping in the same bed still, despite my not being here the past few nights.
Almost like they’ve been waiting for me to come back this entire time.