Page 136 of Capri

It’s going to be a long day of sailing, but it’s what needs to be done.

That way, I have no chance of touching her. Giving in too easily.

I reach the sliding door, attempting to open it, but the thing doesn’t budge.

The fuck? I train my eyes forward, finding Antonio inside, waving at me like he won’t be seeing me for a while.

I bang on the glass. “Antonio, aprire.”Open up.

His hands fly up, and I can’t make out what he’s saying since it’s in Italian, but he’s panicking and sending me praying hands.

What is going on?“Just open the goddamn door, Antonio.”

“No, no. Price for everyone, sir,” he yells.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now.”

I spin on my heels, searching for the feminine voice behind me. Capri has a wicked smile on her face, and not gonna lie, I’m surprised by her forwardness. She took action and paid off Antonio to get us alone.

Interesting.But why? After insisting we were over and she couldn’t move forward with me…now this?

“You did this?” I smirk, somewhat impressed.

“Had to get you to talk to me somehow.” She shrugs.

“How do you know I wouldn’t have talked to you? You haven’t tried,” I tell her.

She strides back to the pool and dips her toes in the crystal water. I follow, seeing as how I have nowhere else to go.

I also think I’d like to hear her out.

“That’s because I had to forgive myself first,” she says, holding no embarrassment, just genuine sincerity.

I slide my flip-flops off and sit beside her, letting my legs drop into the water. “Did you?” I ask, Capri looking at me curiously. “Forgive yourself.”

She nods. “I did. Only took me two months, but yeah. I knew I couldn’t talk to you until I understood why I reacted the way I did. Once I could work through that, I knew I was ready to ask for your forgiveness.”

“Capri…” I breathe out, taken aback.

I’d be lying to myself if I said I haven’t dreamed of her coming back and all being right between us again. I have. But this isn’t just a small blip in time. We’re talking about things that would alter our future together.

“I know, I know.” She waves me off. “It was worth a shot, right? If anything, I’d really just like a chance to apologize and explain.”

After everything we’ve been through together, I owe her that.

I know she made a mistake, and frankly, I’m ready to forgive her. All it would take is her to be honest with me and I’d stop at nothing to make her mine again.

But I need to be sure she’s serious about a future with me first. There are nonnegotiables I won’t sway on.

“So, talk,” I say kindly. “I’ll always listen to you, Capri.”

She smiles up at me. “I don’t deserve your kindness after what I said.”

“No, you don’t,” I tell her honestly. “But I’ll give it to you anyway.”

She leans her head on my shoulder slightly, a silent thank you passing between us before she sits upright. Shifting on her leg, Capri angles herself, giving me full eye contact.

She wants me to soak in every word. I can hear her whispering it to herself now. “One thing a lot of people don’t know about my marriage with Drew is that I spent most nights alone. It makes sense looking back now, but at the time, I’d never felt more isolated. I went to bed, and he was gone. Woke up, and he was gone. It wasn’t a marriage. I felt trapped because he was all I ever knew. I think that really depleted my confidence, making me so dependent on him. I wasn’t even sad about my marriage ending. It sounds horrible to admit out loud, but I know in my heart he never loved me. So it was almost like he did me a favor. The part that hurt the most, though, was losing my best friend.”

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