Page 80 of Love on the Vine
And with that the dagger buried deeper in my heart.
“Will you at least let me know . . .” His voice trailed off.
“Yeah, I’ll let you know when I get my period.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He released me and dragged his hand through his hair. “Okay. Looks like everything I say is wrong. Just promise me that you’re going to speak with your dad. That you’re not going to let this opportunity to follow your dream pass you by. You’re too talented to squander it.”
“Why do you care?” I sounded petty even to my own ears, but I was too hurt to play nice.
“Because, dammit, I do care about you, I just . . .”
“You just don’t care enough to try. I understand.” I took the stairs two at a time before he could say anything else.
“Ready?” I asked as I marched into the living room where my grandmother and Kirsten were busy flipping through some of the old photos that we’d found in the cardboard boxes.
“That was quick. Look at these photos that Jake gave me, dear,” said Gran. “Such a lovely surprise.”
Jake followed us outside as we loaded up the rental car. After he embraced my grandmother and Kirsten, my dad slapped him on the back once again. “Don’t be a stranger, Jake. You still have a place at our dinner table anytime.”
I knew it would be awkward saying goodbye to him in front of everyone, but I hadn’t counted on how my body ached to fall into his when he bent to give me a kiss on the cheek. The strength it took not to fling myself into his arms, just to feel them around me one last time, nearly wrecked me.
“Take care,” he said, his hand lingering at my waist a touch too long.
I took a ragged breath and nodded. “You too.”
The rest of the drive was a blur. I couldn’t make sense of the voices around me. I just kept thinking about everything I’d just lost.
I wasn’t even aware I was crying until we pulled up to the Airbnb and Kirsten gasped when the car light went on. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“The cat.” I was crying freely now, tears streaking down my face. “I forgot to say goodbye to the cat.”
Chapter 27
OLIVIA
We spent the next couple days driving through towns on the Côte d’Azur—Nice, Èze, Menton. Kirsten and my grandmotheroohedandahhedover each quaint village and picturesque view of the Mediterranean, but the beauty of the scenery was completely lost on me.
It was as if someone had dipped me in bucket of dry ice. Everything rolled off me like mist. Even the twins were perplexed and left me alone.
I kept replaying different scenes in my head from my last day with Jake: from our horrible fight to the moment on the stairs when I thought he might ask me to stay. In the back of my mind lived a hope that he was as miserable as I was and, at any moment, he’d call or text. But as the days passed with no word from him, I had to face the fact that he was more likely relieved to get back to his old life without me.
It didn’t make matters any easier that my grandmother kept bringing him up.
“I’m so pleased to see how well Jake’s done for himself. He was such a solitary little lamb,” she reminisced. “His parents left him alone too often. Even now he strikes me as a particularly independent kind of man.” Gran smiled as brought her keen gaze to mine. “I suppose you know him better than we do now,Liv. Isn’t life funny that way? It’s like our paths were always meant to cross and recross again.”
I swallowed. “I guess so.”
I know you were made just for me.I closed my eyes. I couldn’t read too much into this. It was confusing enough as it was without bringing fate into the mix.
By the time we’d crossed into Italy, my mood had plummeted, and my stomach ached. When we pulled into a highway rest stop teeming with truckers and tourists, I made a beeline for the toilet, knowing I’d find a bright red spot on my underwear. Now, I had no excuse not to forget about Jake and get on with my life.
Back outside, as I waited for my family to load up on overpriced snacks from the convenience store, I sat at one of the concrete picnic benches lining the parking lot and pulled out my phone. There was no point in trying to make polite text talk, so I got right to the point:Hey, just wanted to let you know I got my period.
So you’re off the hook, I thought but didn’t write.
Almost immediately, three dots appeared on my screen and then disappeared. I waited.
Jake: Are you all right?
