A Place in the Sun(57)

I laughed—it sounded tight and awkward—and then I brushed past him to trot down the stairs.

“Georgie?”

“Yeah?” I called over my shoulder, trying to keep my features neutral.

“Do you need some of my clothes to wear? Your dress is still wet. I don’t want you catching a cold.”

I was drowning there, trying to keep it together and breathe and pretend he and I were okay.

“No thanks. Actually, I’m going to skip out on breakfast. I feel like heading down to do a few things at the B&B. We’ve only got a few weeks before Taylor arrives.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No! No,” I repeated myself again, trying for a calmer tone.

If he thought my answer was strange, he didn’t say anything as I continued down the stairs, putting distance between us. The living room was full of people. Everyone from the party was still there and they called out to me when I slipped into the room. I plastered on a fake smile and skirted behind the couch to snatch my shoes. They were still stashed by the door in the kitchen, muddy and soggy, but that didn’t matter. I’d clean them at home.

Katerina tried to catch hold of my arm as I ran for the door.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You sleep late then don’t stay for breakfast?”

“She has work to do,” Gianluca answered for me with a cold tone.

I nodded and forced one more massive grin. It felt more genuine than any of the others had that morning and I figured it was because I was so close to freedom, so close to fresh air.

Katerina promised to bring round a bottle of wine later. I offered up a sort of noncommittal nod then pulled the front door open and made a run for it. In the end, I wasn’t even very angry with Gianluca. No. Witnessing his love for Allie was a good thing because it made me realize what I wanted: for someone to love me the way he still loved her.





ALLIE HAD BEEN right and I didn’t think it was possible. A few days before she died, we were lying in bed and I was reading aloud to her from a book of short stories by David Sedaris. I was just getting to the good part when she moved her hand to block the words from my view and turned her face to me.

“Promise me you’ll get married again one day.”

She said it just like that, totally out of the blue, and it felt like a punch to the chest.

“Allie, I don’t want to talk about—”

“Swear to me,” she insisted, her voice never wavering.

I brushed her hand from the page and tried to continue reading.

“I’m scared to die, Gianluca, but even more than that, I’m scared that this cancer is going to kill both of us. From the moment we met, you’ve loved me so fiercely that I worry you’ll never recover.”

“I won’t.”

“You have to! I’m making it my final wish. You have to live and grow and fall in love again.”

I shook my head and stared at the words starting to blur on the page. “No.”

Her small hand clutched mine, so weak by that point. “I promise that by the time you’re twenty-eight, you’ll be happy again. You’ll have moved on and I’ll be nothing but a distant memory.”

I disagreed. That was only three years. Even if I lived for another lifetime, I’d never get over her.

“Twenty-nine then,” she countered.

“Never.”

“Fine. Thirty. By the time you’re thirty, you’ll be happy again and madly in love. I promise. I’ll work some kind of cosmic magic to make it happen, just you wait and see.”

At the time, I’d insisted she was crazy, but now, a few weeks before my thirtieth birthday, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

I followed Georgie down the hill that morning. She’d acted so strangely, running off as soon as she woke up. I’d given up trying to decipher the meanings of most of Georgie’s words and actions, but she’d run out of there like a bat out of hell and I wanted to know why. The door to the bed and breakfast was locked by the time I arrived. I pulled out my keys, unlocked it, and flipped the light switch in the common room.

Georgie was in her bedroom with the door closed. I could see a small shaft of light spilling out from the beneath the door. I leaned forward and knocked gently.

“Georgie?”

“Oh bloody hell,” she cursed under her breath.

“Are you okay?”

“No! Feeling a bit ill actually, better stay away so you don’t get it.”

“Stop being ridiculous and let me in.”

I heard footsteps moving toward the door and then she spoke again, louder this time. “Now isn’t a good time, Gianluca! I think I’ve come down with that cold you were talking about earlier.”

I rolled my eyes and turned the door handle. At first she tried to hold it closed, but she eventually gave in and stepped back. The door flung open and Georgie stood on the other side with a red nose and puffy eyes and a sad frown tugging at my heartstrings.

I wanted to step forward and comfort her, but she took a step back, keeping a healthy distance between us.

“What’s the matter? Why did you run off like that?”

“Please could we talk about this another time? I’m really tired and I just want to sleep for a little bit.”

“I just want to know what’s going on. Is this about last night?”