Let Me Be the One (The Sullivans #6)(68)

“I got a phone call. From Italy. It wasn’t Anthony,” she said quickly, before Ryan got the wrong idea. “A major museum of contemporary sculpture wants to put together an exhibition of my work.”

“That’s amazing, Vicki. Why didn’t you tell me the good news as soon as we got on the phone?”

“Because—” She could feel every single mile between them and knew how much farther away she’d be if she went to Italy. “—they don’t just want my sculptures. They want me, too. As an artist-in-residence. For at least a year.”

“Italy is a big deal, isn’t it? Bigger than San Francisco.”

She couldn’t lie to him. “Yes, it’s a big deal.”

Ryan was silent for several brutally long moments. “You know my mother was born in Italy, don’t you?”

“I do.” When Vicki had complimented Mary on her spaghetti sauce, his mother had told her about learning it from her Italian grandmother.

“And did you also know there’s an Italian national baseball team that isn’t half bad?”

Quickly putting it all together, she said, “You’re not going to play baseball in Italy, Ryan.”

“It would be fun.”

“Don’t be crazy,” she said when she realized he was serious. “You can’t give up your career for me and a year in Italy that might not mean anything at all in the long run.”

“I know you’ve never come first before, not with your family or your ex-husband, but I meant it when I said I would do anything for you. Anything.”

“But your career—”

“Has been great. And you know what? I would trade every single win to have spent those years with you.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Her eyes felt wet with the tears she was trying to hold back. “But I love you for even thinking it.”

“Yes, I would,” he countered. “And I love you, too, amore mio.”

When he called her “my love” in Italian, more tears fell.

“The museum gave me a little while to decide, so don’t quit the team just yet,” she told him in as light a voice as she could, as though the whole idea of him quitting the Hawks was utterly preposterous.

Which it was. Vicki would never in a million years force him to choose between her and baseball. Yes, she’d heard what he said. And she believed he meant it.

But how could she ever forgive herself if she took him up on it?

When she had married Anthony, she hadn’t realized all the things she’d be giving up. If she turned down a year in Italy, at least she’d be doing it with her eyes wide open.

Knowing they weren’t going to make any more headway tonight, she said, “Now that we’ve covered my day, it’s your turn to tell me all about yours. Especially the part where you got sweaty and your muscles bulged.”

“Well,” he teased her back, “I got this phone call tonight...”

For the next hour they shared the little details of their day that no one else would have cared about, but that meant the world to each of them. And after Ryan convinced her to take the phone into the master bathroom and get into the bathtub, and she was calling out his name as she followed his wickedly sensual instructions to the letter, she momentarily forgot that she’d ever had a worry in her life.

Chapter Twenty-five

Ryan would gladly have stayed on the phone with Vicki all night, but she insisted he get some sleep before his big game. She’d whispered how much she loved him one more time before she disconnected.

But even with her soft, sweet words of love playing on repeat in his head, he couldn’t sleep.

They hadn’t talked about Italy again before disconnecting, but it was clear that they both knew a long-distance relationship between San Francisco and Matera was next to impossible given his career. Sure, there were weeks here or there where he could leave town and work out from the road, but as soon as spring training started, he would be locked into a home and travel schedule that was set in stone.

After waiting so long for Vicki to finally be his, he wanted—needed—more time laughing with her, loving her. Not less, damn it!

If he asked her to give up Italy for him, he knew what would happen. Just as she’d thrown herself in front of a car for a stranger in high school, she’d let him wrap his love around her like a chain now.

The question wasn’t whether she’d stay. Not when he already knew she was planning to turn down the residency in Italy and the triumph that she deserved after so many years of playing second fiddle to her ex-husband’s ego.

The only question that remained was how much she’d end up hating Ryan after she’d given up the chance of a lifetime for him.

Some how, some way, he needed to stop her from making a choice she’d regret forever.

* * *

The moon was still high in the sky by the time Vicki gave up on sleep. She knew Ryan wouldn’t like her driving through some of the sketchier districts at three a.m., but she couldn’t spend one more second in his big bed without his arms around her. She’d even tried curling up on the couch, but thinking about their lovemaking on the soft cushions only made her miss him more.

What, she wondered as she let herself into the dark, empty fellowship building, was he doing right now? Was he missing her the way she was missing him? Or was he worrying about her news of a possible residency in Italy?