Page 28 of I Wanna Dance

“Brunch.” She gestured to her companion. “This is Ethan. E, this is my Papi, Marco.”

Ethan nodded, his smile easy. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ah...” I looked at Leah and decided to leap. “This is Leah, my girlfriend.”

Isabella punched a fist in the air. We all laughed.

It didn’t take long before we decided to eat together, turning brunch into an impromptu double date. Isabella and Ethan were easy company, their playful banter reminding me of when she was younger and used to tease me relentlessly about my taste in music. Leah fit right in, laughing at Isabella’s stories and even throwing in a few teasing comments of her own.

Watching Isabella with Ethan made me think of Camille. I hadn’t even known Isabella was dating, but I reminded myself she’d tell me when she was ready. She’d always been closer to her mother, and I knew she would have told Camille the moment someone interesting came into her life. Camille would have told me—she always did.

Leah put a hand on my thigh, drawing me back. I didn’t know how she knew, but she did when I wandered off emotionally.

“I’m doing a PhD in psychology,” Ethan told us.

He and Isabella had just started seeing each other. He seemed like a nice enough guy. I thought Camille would like him.

It felt strange to think about my wife while I was on a date with a woman, and that too with my daughter and her new boyfriend.

“You didn’t want to study engineering like your mother?” Leah asked like it was the most natural thing to do when we began to talk about education.

“That’s Sofia,” Isabella chuckled. “She’s the smart one, like Mama.”

“What do you do, Leah?” Ethan asked.

“She has her own law practice,” Isabella showed off. “Pretty cool, right?”

Ethan nodded his head appreciatively.

“I’m still building it up,” Leah said, flushing at the compliment.

Hearing Leah and Isabella mention Camille so openly, without hesitation or awkwardness, left me feeling both relieved and a little wary.

Breathe, Marco. This is what moving on feels like.

When I dropped Leah off at her apartment late in the afternoon, she kissed me with what felt like all her guards down, which made mine go up. “Thank you for brunch and…everything. It was lovely to see Isabella.”

“It was,” I agreed.

When I got home, I went straight to the bedroom. I opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a silk pouch. I emptied its contents into the palm of my left hand. Camille’s engagement ring and our wedding bands felt cool. I squeezed the rings as I folded my hand into a fist, feeling the metal and stone press into my skin.

Memories flooded back. I remembered slipping the ring on Camille’s finger, the way she’d whispered,Forever.

The weight of the ring felt unbearable.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at it, guilt crashing over me suddenly. How could I move on? How could I let myself feel something for Leah when Camille had been the center of my world for so long? Was I betraying her by wanting this, by wanting Leah?

And yet...Camille was gone. No amount of guilt or holding on would bring her back. I knew that. But knowing it didn’t make it easier.

“I don’t know what to do, Camille,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I miss you. I’ll always miss you. But I’m falling for her. And it scares me.”

I closed my eyes, gripping the ring tightly. I knew Camille would have wanted me to be happy. She wasn’t the kind ofwoman who would want me to live the rest of my life mourning her loss.

Then I thought about what Leah had said about moving forward didn’t mean forgetting. I could fall for Leah and keep the memory of my wife as Isabella and Leah had just shown me.

I put the rings away and looked around the bedroom.

Yeah, it was time to sell this house. I didn’t need a five-bedroom home. I could get something smaller and still have space to have the girls come over. Isabella and Sofia had often told me to get a place closer to my office and avoid the forty-minute one-way commute.

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