Page 80 of Backhanded Compliments

Livia drops the rose quartz back into a tray and cocks her head.“Come on, Luca, you’re going to have to think of an answer for Claudia and Octavia. I’m the least scary Ricci.”

Luca highly doubts that, but she keeps her mouth shut. “We’re friends,” Luca says finally.

Livia slinks closer, her fingers trailing across the crystals. “Those hickeys tell a different story.”

Luca snaps her hand up to cover them with her palm. She had tried to cover them with concealer as best she could, but the heat must’ve made her sweat some of it off.

Livia smirks, but it’s not unkind. “Come on, I’m not trying to interrogate you. I only want to know that you’re not just fucking around with my sister.”

Luca swallows. “Quite the opposite,” she says softly. She doesn’t add that she worries that Juliette is going to ruin her heart.

“What’s your opinion on soulmates?” Livia asks suddenly, her hands stilling. Her focus lands entirely on her. She and Juliette have the same warm, bright, amber-brown eyes, and Luca is vividly reminded of how Juliette seems to see right through her.

“It’s complicated,” Luca murmurs, and Livia frowns, unsatisfied. “I know Juliette wants a choice in who she loves, and I want tobeloved. If she chooses me, then that’s great.” She looks away from Livia, unsure if she should’ve laid all her cards on the counter like that.

“What about you choosing her?” Livia asks softly.

Luca’s throat tightens, her lungs constricting. It’s suddenly too dense and humid in this tiny shop. “I can’t stay away,” Luca admits, saying the thought out loud is more frightening than just thinking it. Like her mother, she realizes, she has attached herself to her soulmate, for better or for worse. “We’re trying to figure things out. It’s new for both of us.”

“Be careful with my sister, Luca, and we’ll get along just fine,” Livia says, patting Luca’s arm as she exits the shop without getting anything.

Luca sways in place, her vision spiraling as dizziness crashes over her. She needs to breathe. She pushes out of the crystal shop, but the boardwalk is too crowded. Too many people are talking, and her headthrobs with a headache. She cuts through the crowd toward the beach and the rhythmic crashing of the waves.

Luca gets to the sand and rips her shoes and socks off, jogging down closer to the water and a secluded patch of sand out of earshot of the other beachgoers.

She digs her toes in the sand.

She breathes in the salty Atlantic air.

She focuses on the frothy white foam washing up to her toes.

And slowly, as she focuses on real sensations, her panic loosens and she sinks into the sand, breathing hard.

Juliette is her soulmate. Theyshouldwork. She plunges her hands into the sand. It’s warm between her fingers and grounds her again.

She doesn’t need to leap with both feet immediately. She can warm up first, get her muscles loosened, and then slowly work her way into the relationship.

The tennis metaphor washes a sense of calm over her. Tennis is what she understands. It’s her safe space. Maybe they aren’t playing singles against each other. Maybe they’re playing doubles, and they just need to find their rhythm.

JULIETTE

Juliette hands off Livia’s drink as she catches sight of Luca making a beeline for the beach.

Livia shoves her shoulder. “Go talk to her.”

Juliette flips her off as she jogs along the boardwalk and down to the sand. She pauses to unlace her shoes before she continues scanning the beach for Luca. It reminds her of their first night in Naples, and she shudders. Better not to think of that.

Eventually, she spots Luca sitting alone, staring out at the ocean and the deepening twilight. The ruby sun silhouettes the Miami skyline as shadowy spikes on the sand and paints the water with a shimmering ribbon of dancing gold. She plops down next to Luca and setsher satchel and shoes next to her, not caring that she’s getting sand all over her silky skirt.

“Hey,” Juliette says, leaning sideways to bump their shoulders together. Luca’s T-shirt is soft against her skin.

“Hey,” Luca echoes, her voice barely there.

The waves lapping along the shore and the burble of the crowd create a soft atmosphere. It reminds Juliette that they’re in public, and as much as she would love to wrap her arms around Luca, she can’t.

“Are you okay?” Juliette asks, studying her profile.

Luca’s eyes are pinned to the horizon, and her lips are twisted into a deep, worried frown. Her chest rises and falls in shallow heaves. With the topaz luminance of the flaming sunset caressing her features, she is the most beautiful person Juliette has ever seen. She would give anything to capture this image forever with her camera, but she knows if she moves, the moment will be broken.

---